Hunter (Reynolds Protective Book 2), page 14
There was already one name that sounded an alarm: Roscoe fucking Lambert.
“Statistically, Zoey’s stalker is most likely someone that she knows,” Ranger continued, trying to be helpful. “More than sixty percent of females who were victims of stalking reported that their stalker was someone they’d been in a previous relationship with, so you should try and focus on her past boyfriends.”
An ex-boyfriend was the most common link in victim-stalker cases, so Roscoe was my first suspect (and not because of my personal desire to arrest that fucker), but I’d already received a message back from Dean Prymas who confirmed that Roscoe and his team had been at the resort in Jackson all day, waiting to be brought into the Worth negotiations.
“Already on it, Range, unfortunately, her ex has an alibi,” I replied as gently as possible. “Let me know what you find out from Walt.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll touch base as soon as I talk to Roman. Keep her safe,” Arch said, excusing himself to get on his task.
I grunted, like I’d do anything less.
From the start of the call, they knew protecting Zoey was our first priority. I might’ve prefaced that we were going to treat this with the attention and dedication of any other case, but that was bullshit. I’d willingly burn the world down to find this fucker, so I’d never have to see that look on her face again.
I felt like I was in the middle of a burning building, and everyone told me to just stand still.
The hollowness in her eyes made my chest ache just as painfully as her riding along my dick made it throb.
“Is Zoey going back to her apartment?” Ranger switched gears. “It’s not quite finished, but she’s welcome to stay at the garage apartment—”
“No,” I said far too quickly. “She’s staying with me.”
“Oh, okay.” He accepted the statement without pause. If Gunner were here, we would’ve wasted five minutes on his lewd remarks on “bareback bodyguarding.” “Does she know that?”
My eyes drifted to the bedroom door, the sound of the shower still running. “Not yet.”
This part of my plan I’d known from the second I’d brought her back to my place last night; I wasn’t going to keep her in a cage, but neither was I going to let her out of my sight.
“Do you want me to call Gunner and let him know what happened?”
More and more, our youngest brother seemed to be chomping at the bit to do something other than serve as a data and analysis center. More and more he seemed to be eager to try and break out of his shell, but at the same time wasn’t sure how.
“Not at the moment. I’ll tell him when he gets back on Friday. Thanks, though.”
“Okay, well then I should just mention, too, that Mr. Bolden called this morning. I was letting most of the calls go through to voice mail, but when I saw it was his number, I figured I should answer it.”
My head snapped to the phone. “What did he say?”
That he changed his mind, and it was completely unacceptable for me to leave like I had and that he wanted a refund?
“He’s coordinating with Mr. Worth and his marketing people, but that they would be coming to Wisdom to go through and do some PR things at the hotel within the month and he would need us on site.”
I tensed. One more thing I didn’t want to have to lay on Zoey right now—that Roscoe had been at the meeting yesterday, and apparently, was going to be coming to town.
“Shit.”
If this had anything to do with her slimy ex, I would’ve steeled myself for another hard conversation, but since it didn’t, I made the command decision to hold off telling her about Roscoe until it was necessary. My woman didn’t need one more burden today.
“What is it?”
I shouldn’t say anything, but the thought of that man made my blood fucking boil and the last thing I wanted to do was let that rage steep.
“Bolden hired Zoey’s old firm to do the marketing for the acquisition and rebranding.”
“The Savon Group?” His voice rose, triggered by the onslaught of new information. “They are very highly rated in the greater Miami area—”
“The owner is a piece of shit,” I bit out, driving my hand through my hair and pulling for a second before releasing the tension. “Zoey told him she was being stalked, and he fired her.”
“Oh.” Ranger paused. “Well, that’s very wrong.” I could imagine the way my baby brother was wrinkling his nose. Classic Ranger.
“More than wrong, Range,” I rasped low. “When you find someone that you… care about… and somebody hurts them…” I shook my head. “It lets loose something wild inside you.”
“I don’t think I have that,” he admitted after a moment. “But thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saying when,” he explained. “Everyone else always says if when they mention me finding someone; you always say when.”
My mouth opened, about to argue that not everyone always said if, but then I remembered who I was talking to.
“No problem,” I rasped, growing more alert when I heard the shower stop running. “I’m going to talk to Zoey about the plan. Let me know if Walt remembers anything.”
“Will do.”
I ended the call and dropped my head into my hands.
My fingers squeezed into my skull, trying to contain the wildly oscillating thoughts that ricocheted in my head.
Zoey had a stalker.
Zoey slept in my bed last night.
It was like I was living both a nightmare and a dream—needing to protect her and needing her.
I groaned, mistakenly glancing at my couch. What happened on it just a few hours ago replayed in my mind like my own personal porno—the way she moaned into my mouth and churned her heat against my dick. I swore we’d been one lit match away from sending the whole damn building up in smoke.
Fuck. I groaned and palmed my hardening cock through my pants.
Not tonight. The two hardest words I’d ever said.
Even though she wanted me. Even though I died a little in order to resist.
But now wasn’t the time for that follow-through; panicked and in fear for her life wasn’t the moment to decide to sleep with me. Those emotions weren’t the ones I wanted in the driver’s seat when I fucked her.
“Hunter…”
I looked up and caught her standing in nothing more than one of my T-shirts as she towel dried her hair.
Well, fuck me.
“Sorry,” she murmured, dragging the towel in front of her. “I didn’t have…”
“Don’t apologize,” I grunted. “You look good in my shirt.”
She blushed and before I lost all restraint, I spun to the fridge and went in search of a bottle of cold water.
“Were you talking to someone?”
I cracked open the cap. “I called Arch and Ranger to let them know what’s going on. They’re starting on some leads,” I told her hesitantly, feeding her details in small doses.
“What did they say?”
I set my cup on the counter and regarded her, admiring how composed she stood though she was honest about how she was breaking inside.
“Ranger is going to follow up with Walt and see if he saw the guy. Arch is speaking with a behavioral specialist friend of ours who deals in special crimes. See if he can give us a better idea on the kind of guy we’re looking for.”
Her chin rose and fell slowly. “And what am I going to do?”
“Stay.” The word blurted from my lips. I cleared my throat and elaborated, “You’re going to stay here until we get to the bottom of this.”
“And what about work? What about Brews?” She sank onto the couch in dismay, not realizing when she pushed the towel to the side and bared the length of her toned legs all the way to where my shirt rode high on her thighs. “I can’t hide here forever.”
“You’re not going to hide,” I told her, forcing myself to remain behind the kitchen counter before my hard cock made things awkward. “You’re going to go to Brews and to the office like you normally do.” I met her widening stare. “And I’m going to go with you.”
She bolted upright. “No, Hunter. I can’t ask you to do that—”
“You didn’t. I told you that’s what I’m doing.”
“That’s not the point. I mean, I can’t ask you to babysit me—”
“Zoey.” Her name rumbled low with warning. “I’m not babysitting you. In fact, I’m not doing much more than I have been doing these last couple weeks.”
She opened her mouth to protest but then snapped it shut when she realized I was right. I was at the office with her all day, and then for the last several weeks, I’d joined her at Brews in the evenings while she cleaned so I could listen to my book.
I walked over and crouched in front of her.
“Baby, I’m sorry for all the men who abandoned you when they should’ve protected you. And I’m sorry for all the men who made you believe that protective men only existed in books.” I pinned her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “But make no mistake, I’m not sorry for the kind of man I am nor for the decision I’ve made. You’re in danger, and I damned well am going to do everything in my power to protect you, alright?”
She shuddered, and in my periphery, I caught the pebbled tips of her nipples pressing against the tee. I swallowed down a groan. That is if I survived wanting her long enough to do it.
“Okay.” Her tongue slid out along her lips, and I lurched toward the velvet temptation.
“I’m not going to let this fucker take away your life again.” I took her hand in mine and she nodded. “I promised you a safe place, Zoey. I won’t break that promise.”
Her gaze dropped to her lap for an instant before it lifted back to mine. “Thank you.”
My “you’re welcome” was silenced by the press of her lips to mine.
A slow groan melted from inside my chest as I slanted my mouth and deepened the kiss. I couldn’t fucking help myself. She was my damn kryptonite.
Her tongue glided along mine, drawing it deeper until I was leaning into her, my torso wedging between her thighs.
It would be so damn easy to take her. To lay her back, pull out my cock, and slide it deep into her bare cunt.
But I couldn’t.
“Zoey.” I panted and shoved myself back on my heels, stumbling slightly as I stood straight.
I hated the flash of pain that shadowed her face, but she had to understand. This… stalker… wasn’t the reason I wanted her to reach for me.
“I was going to head into the office for the day and finish some things for the class until I hear from my brothers. How does that sound?”
Her shoulders fell and she nodded. “That sounds good.”
She didn’t want to feel trapped and helpless any more than I wanted to make her.
Meanwhile my insides prepared for an afternoon of torture.
“Yeah, Arch. Tell me you have something,” I answered the call, turning from the last target I’d staked to the wooden support.
“Is Zoey there?”
My jaw clenched. I would’ve preferred to relay the information rather than have it come direct, but it didn’t look like either party was going to allow that the way Zoey approached me as soon as I picked up my phone.
“One sec.” I tapped on the speakerphone button and held the phone out when Zoey reached me. “You’re on speaker, Arch.”
“Hey, Zoey.”
“Hi, Archer.” Her eyes dropped to her feet for a second and then returned to the phone.
“Sorry this is happening.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” She glanced at me. “I’m just grateful for your help.”
“Of course. You’re family,” he said and the color in her cheeks deepened. “I’ll make this quick. Just wanted to confirm that you didn’t end a relationship with anyone who still wanted to be with you?”
Her jaw dropped but she shook it off quickly. “No. My last relationship ended… mutually.”
My head tipped. There was still more about Roscoe that I didn’t know, but unfortunately—or fortunately for him—he took a back seat to the danger my woman was in.
“And there’s no one you can think of who asked you out or flirted with you or made any kind of… advance… that you rejected?”
I watched her eyes fill with water, wishing the answer was that simple. Her gaze started to go vacant, and I knew she was struggling.
“Not including Gunner,” I said with a low voice; it took her a second before the joke sank in, but when it did, it broke the dark cloud over her face.
She needed to remember she wasn’t alone anymore. Without thought, I reached out and took her small hand in mine.
“No.” Her throat bobbed. “I… was kind of cut off when everyone at work realized I was dating the boss.”
“Got it.”
“What did Roman say?” I interjected, wanting to get to the point of the questions already.
“That Range was right.”
“Shocker,” I mumbled.
“Most stalkers are someone you know—someone you rejected,” he prefaced. “However, if you’re positive that’s not the case, then we’re dealing with an orbiting stranger.”
“Orbiting stranger?”
“Someone who has obviously had some kind of contact with you, but minimal.”
“But then why send me photos and notes? Why not just talk to me?” she asked with a strained voice.
I squeezed my hand around hers, reminding her I was here.
“Either he had reason to believe the two of you couldn’t be together at that point in time or it was some sort of courtship for him,” he explained. “Roman said there’s a good chance that the stalker suffers from erotomania which basically means the guy thinks that you gave him some sort of signal that you wanted him, and now he’s become obsessed.”
“What kind of signal? I didn’t send any signals,” she protested, biting and rolling her lower lip through her teeth anxiously.
“That’s the thing. It’s not a real signal. Roman said it could be something innocuous like asking him to pass the sugar or something imagined like you looked at him and he perceived your expression to be… wanting.”
She flattened her fingers to her mouth.
“Alright, Arch,” I growled, hauling Zoey against my chest before the conversation made her sicker. “I think that’s enough.” I hit the speaker button and brought the phone back to my ear.
“Sorry, Hunt. I had to ask—had to tell you.” His remorse was evident. “But if we’re correct in our assumptions, it could be anyone she came into contact with. A barista. A janitor. He’s suffering from a delusional disorder, and his delusions are making him believe that Zoey wants him, too.”
“Yeah, well, the only thing he’s going to get is me.”
“Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
I grunted my goodbye and hung up.
“So, it could’ve been anyone,” she murmured once the call disconnected, her watery gaze rising up my chest to meet mine. “How… how do I protect myself from anyone, Hunter?”
Her lip quivered, and I wanted to kick myself for allowing Arch to talk to her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t strong, dammit. It was that I saw the toll strength had taken on her, and for however long she’d let me, I wanted to take the weight from her shoulders.
I slid my palm to her cheek. “We’re going to find him, Zoey. I promise.”
My head dipped, and I touched my lips to hers.
No matter how many times we attempted something along the lines of a chaste kiss, it never lasted. One taste sent me spiraling down the well for more. We kissed for long minutes in the open field—and would’ve for longer if I hadn’t heard her stomach growl.
“Let’s go grab some dinner, and we’ll pick up whatever you need to stay at my place from your apartment.”
“Okay.”
After we finished up inside the office and made it to my car, I turned to her and asked, “Tacos?”
The suggestion rewarded me a smile. “You know my weakness,” she charged.
I grinned and started the engine.
“Do you have any weaknesses, Hunter?” she murmured, her tone indicating that she didn’t believe I did.
My hand froze on the gearshift, and then slid to her hand on the console. Taking it, I drew her palm to my mouth.
Her breath caught and her eyes locked on me as I pressed a slow kiss to the center of her hand.
Holding her stare with mine, I rasped low against her skin, “One.”
And I was certain it was obvious what—who it was.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ZOEY
Not tonight.
For days, the words hung in the air like a question I didn’t know how to answer.
Hunter and I spent every waking—and non-waking—moment together. The days started with my morning shift at Brews where he sat in the corner with a scone and a coffee, his iPad open, but his attention on every single person who came and went through the coffeehouse, looking for any sign of a stranger’s obsession with me. Then we drove to RPG, tackled the tasks of the security firm for the day, ate dinner together, and then back to Brews for a few hours.
Hunter’s presence never faltered. From dawn to dusk and finally to the moment when I’d head to bed and he’d find some reason or another to linger in the living room until he was sure I was tucked under the covers; only then did he quietly get ready, slide on top of the comforter and wrap his arm over me.
There had been more kisses than I could count in the last five days since he’d brought me to his place. And there had been just as many fires stamped out by those lingering words: not tonight. He always broke it off before it went too far, and I felt a piece of myself break away each time with him.
Did I want him that night? Yes.
I’d wanted Hunter Reynolds for a lot of nights. But that night, I’d wanted him as an escape, and it had taken me several days to realize it. I’d been begging him to be my escape, and he wanted to be my reality.
