“Yeah,” I muttered. “Maybe.”
But in my gut, I knew this guy wasn’t just going to slither back into the dark, disgusting hole he crawled out of.
--
I called Luca to let him know I was taking him up on his offer to help him decorate his new house. But he reminded me that he hadn’t closed yet and wouldn’t until after the new year. He was still at his parents’ house for a few more days, but he told me I could fly back with him if I wanted.
The problem with that was he would draw too much attention on his own. If I were with him, it would stir up the paps even more, and then whoever this stalker was would know exactly where I was. Telling Luca I’d let him know, I drove to Cathryn’s to drop off the box.
Detective Kirtner was standing in her office when I walked in. He was a middle-aged man with a bald patch on top of his head. Skinny, he was dressed in a cheap suit. His face was set in grave lines as he looked at the box I was carrying. I couldn’t bring myself to touch the damn thing with my bare hands, so I’d found a towel in my trunk from one of my trips to the gym and used it to hold the box.
He instructed me to put it on Cathryn’s desk and then pulled on a pair of gloves.
“I don’t know if I want to see what’s in there,” I told him as I backed away.
He turned and gave me a hard look. “Miss Stevenson, you’re going to have to stop running from reality here. This is serious, and you need to be aware of just how far this person is willing to go to get your attention.”
“He’s right, doll,” Cathryn told me with a twist of her mouth. “You need to see how dangerous this is.”
I steeled my spine and nodded, but I kept a few feet between the desk and me.
Cathryn stood beside the detective as he used a pocketknife to tear through the tape on the box and then opened the flaps. The first thing he pulled out was a stack of glossy photos. “Same as last time,” he muttered, and Cathryn nodded, watching him flip through the stack over his shoulder.
“Gross,” my agent muttered, making a disgusted face at whatever she saw. “This guy is seriously perverted.”
“Unfortunately, this isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen,” Kirtner informed her stoically. “But he has a real fetish for her preferred lotion, it seems.”
Once he got to the last picture, he turned it over. “It says, ‘Merry Christmas, little bird. Next year, we will celebrate it together.’” He nodded to Cathryn, who opened a zip-top baggie, and he placed the stack of photos inside. She sealed it up, and he took it from her before writing on it with a black Sharpie. Once that was done, he placed it on the desk and reached back into the box.
“Doll, I hope you have a strong stomach,” was the only warning I got before Kirtner pulled out the poor little dead bird.
A pained cry left me when I saw the way its neck was twisted, tears blinding me so I couldn’t see the pitiful creature in the detective’s large hand. “It’s identical to the last one,” he said with a shake of his head. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps birds for pets.”
“Is that a parakeet?” I sobbed. “It was so pretty. The colors of its wings…” I hiccuped then shuddered. “Oh God, I-I feel sick.”
Thankfully, a trash can was right beside the door, and I picked it up just in time to empty my stomach contents into it. Mom had made another huge breakfast that morning, and I regretted eating so many pancakes.
When I was done, I felt cold and empty, my heart broken for the tiny, beautiful bird. Shivering, I moved to one of the chairs and dropped down onto it. As tears poured down my face, I grabbed my phone.
Without thinking, I pulled up Jordan’s contact information, but my thumb hovered over his number. I couldn’t call my parents about this, but there was someone I could talk to. I needed to hear his voice.
No, I moaned to myself as I held back another sob. I needed him to hold me, but he was in fucking Italy.
Christmas Eve, he’d said he would call me the next day, but he never did. I’d stayed off social media, afraid of what I would find he’d been up to when he’d made me promises.
Promises I knew deep down he wouldn’t keep.
That didn’t stop me from wanting him there with me in that moment. To hold me, protect me, tell me everything was going to be okay because he wouldn’t let this sick fuck touch me.
“What are you doing when I need you, Jordan?” I whispered as I angrily shoved my phone back into my purse.
Six
Arella
I changed hotels for a few days until Luca flew home, but by New Year’s, I was sick of my own company and ready to be around people. I’d called my parents, but I’d made excuses not to go to their house or have them meet me anywhere, just in case this stalker dickhead was watching me.
The first week of January, I landed in Nashville and rented a car. My plane ticket and rental were in the name of one of my aliases, just in case someone was watching my credit card activity. It was insane to me that someone would care enough to track me down in such a way, but Cathryn and Detective Kirtner both said it was a big possibility and I had to be extra careful.