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“More like from who.”

I studied her. “Is it an ex? Or . . .”

“No.” She blew out a breath. “For the last two years, I’ve been stalked by a customer at the bank I used to work at.”

I blinked at her. “Do you have a restraining order?”

She nodded. “I do. But he doesn’t care. And it’s really hard to catch him.”

“Catch him doing what? What does he do?”

“Well, he started by just coming in a lot? He was creepy, and he only wanted me to help him, so I would because that was my job. Then he went from coming in every week to coming in every day. Then multiple times a day. Then the threats started.”

“What kind of threats?”

“Weird stuff? That I was his one true spirit wife, I’m supposed to bear him sons, if he can’t have me, no one can.” She shivered. “We banned him from the building, but the next day, he was waiting for me in the parking lot, so I quit my job. Then he showed up at the next one. And the next one. He broke into my car and did disgusting things in there, left me a gross letter detailing how he was going to kill me. He finds where I live. He’d go through my trash—”

“Your trash?”

“Yeah. It’s not a crime, did you know that? You can go into someone’s garbage and collect their lint balls. Totally legal. He’s tried to break into my apartment twice—”

“What?”

“Yup. It’s why I live on the second floor, even though I don’t like heights.”

“What happens when you call the police?”

She shrugged. “He’s usually gone by the time they get here? The car and the death threat letter they couldn’t prove was him. They did catch him this last time he tried to break in, but only because a neighbor noticed him looking in my window, and they called the cops before he could run. He made bail the next day, it took months for the court proceedings, and then he only got a week in jail and probation.”

“So he just walks around free,” I deadpanned.

“Pretty much. They say they can’t do anything until he does something more serious. So I carry bear spray.”

She paused before continuing. “His name is George. He’s forty-two. And he’s ruined my life.”

She gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

I stared at her. “I’m going to give you my number,” I said. “If you ever need me, you call me. I’ll get here faster than the police.”

“Thanks. John’s been really great about it too. I had to leave my last apartment because George found me again. Izzy rented this one for me under her name. Hopefully, he can’t track me down this time.”

“God, no wonder she showed up with a bat . . .”

“She usually brings the one with barbed wire on it.”

I cough-laughed.

She peered into her ice. “I’ve really been hoping that this move would be the last one. It’s my fifth one in two years. I don’t even want to hang frames on the walls. I can’t rationalize the effort.”

I looked out at our view. “I get that. When nothing feels permanent.”

Completely different circumstances of course, but I did understand. It took me a long time to hang frames too. Then I accepted that my life was actually my life, and I might as well have artwork to look at.

I puffed my cheeks out. “I just got divorced. It was finalized today.”

She blinked at me. “Today?”

“It’s fine,” I said, putting up a hand. “It’s been a year. I’m over it, it was for the best. It still sucks, though.”