by T. C. Clark
Leslie’s chestnut brown skin turned pink. He felt stupid for bringing him up. He knew something had happened between his brother and his secretary. He hated that it had. Maks was the player of the brothers. He’d confronted him about it but he swore nothing happened and because Leslie refused to talk about it, he couldn’t do anything. All the hours they’d spent together made him protective of her. She felt like a little sister to him and he would happily whoop Maks’ ass if he hurt her.
“Why would I want to know if Maks was there?” she asked nonchalantly. She tried to make her words light but her eyes pleaded with him to say no more.
“No reason, just get some rest. Next week is going to be hell. We have three cases to review and two contracts we need to get over to Dudley by the end of the week. What are you doing for the weekend?” Leslie had made it her mission to teach him manners. He now asked about her day as well.
“Nothing, I have my writing group on Saturday and church on Sunday,” she said, slipping on her sable colored trench coat. They walked downstairs quickly. Leslie greeted everyone while he focused on the notes on his phone. The good thing about having a friendly secretary was that people talked to her whenever they were both around. She was clearly the easier one to deal with.
Once they got to the parking garage, they separated and he took the company car to the airport. He thought back to that notorious night once again. How had Tara just walked away? More than sex had happened in that hotel room. It still pissed him off that she couldn’t see that. But he couldn’t dwell on it. He had things to do and a life to live. If Tara wanted to be just a memory then that’s what she would be.
* * *
Tara Denton had a secret. A secret that could end her life. She’d spent months dealing with it alone and now it was all starting to catch up to her. That was the thing about secrets; they couldn’t stay hidden for long.
She’d tried everything she could think of. She’d enlisted the help of a private investigator. She’d even turned to Dan and begged for his help. But all their evidence just told the tale of her secret. She had a stalker.
A stalker who was not your typical garden variety kind. He was complex and so careful that if Dan hadn’t been around on a couple of occasions when he’d contacted her, no one would have believed a word she said.
It had started with phone calls, thousands of phone calls over the course of a few weeks from different numbers which made them impossible to track. Then came the candy, chocolate, and balloons delivered to her in waves. The delivery guy who brought them was a sweet man who’d started to recognize her signs of distress every time he came. He’d tried to figure out who was sending them. But soon after he’d started looking into it he’d crashed his car, something about his brakes going out. She knew she couldn’t prove it but she was sure it was her stalker’s doing.
Her neighbor Terrence had also noticed someone lurking around her apartment. He’d come over to talk about what was going on and offer to help. He was a coach at a local high school, and he’d seen this before with his sister. He’d told her he would call a friend of his who dealt with cases like this. Just like before, the next day he hadn’t shown up. When she’d finally tracked down one of his family members she’d been told that someone had jumped him when he was out on his daily run and that he was in critical condition. After that, she stopped asking for help.
Tara was lucky, in a sense. Thanks to her consulting work with the Chicago PD, she had friends on the force. Every night they patrolled her neighborhood. She’d even hired a security guard for her home and her office. It cost a lot of money, but the only way she could sleep was if someone was watching her home.
She’d never felt so afraid in her life. She’d always been a strong woman but all of this was too much. When she started receiving hand-typed letters with poems about her death, the police started getting concerned. But they couldn’t pull anything from them. Whoever was doing this had left zero evidence. Every day her fear grew. She’d cut back on her hours at her clinic. She’d even brought in a friend to take over care for most of her patients.
She’d also hired a teenager to help out at the charity program she hosted with her sister. She’d had to make up a lie about exhaustion. It was a lie her sister had easily bought because of how stressed she’d seemed lately. She’d distanced herself from family and friends and spent her night scouring the internet for information on how to stop a stalker.
Today, at long last, they’d finally had a break. A few of her friends on the police force, led by Dan, had started working her case in their off hours because she didn’t have enough evidence to open an official one. They’d finally called her and they had a name. A police officer was sent to collect her. When she walked into the conference room something about the grim look on all of their faces told her she needed to sit down and prepare for the worst.
“How is this possible?” she asked Dan again as another cop went over the findings of her case. She felt cold, and her hands were clenched in her lap.
From what they’d gathered so far they believed her stalker was Josh Boehm, the serial killer she’d interviewed a few months ago. After she’d submitted her report there was some information revealed about how the Chicago PD gathered the evidence. It didn’t take long for Boehm’s attorney to get the case thrown out, and now a police officer was being brought up on charges for potentially planting evidence. It didn’t matter that everyone knew Boehm had committed these atrocities he’d walked.
After he was released, the DA tried to reform the case, but Boehm disappeared. Now that they’d finally found some concrete evidence against him in the form of a very detailed journal and multiple bodies at one of his houses that he’d hid under a pseudonym, they couldn’t find him.
Tara’s name was in that journal. He’d listed her as his next angel. The nickname he’d given his first twelve victims.
“We believe the only thing keeping him around is you, Ms. Denton,” Charlie said. He was the lead detective on the official case. He walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup while he talked. “Want some?” he asked.
“No, I don’t. So, what do you want me to do? I bought a gun, I hired security. Hell, I even stopped going out at night. I don’t know what else to do.”
“They want to use you as bait,” Dan said, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed in frustration. Although nothing had ever blossomed from their friendship, Tara was happy that he was here. He had her back at least. She didn’t mind being bait to catch a predator, but she didn’t want to endanger anyone else around her.
“How do you want to use me as bait?” Tara asked quietly. She’d spent months trying to pretend everything was okay. She couldn’t do it anymore.
“We need you to do something publicly, anything to draw him out,” Charlie said ignoring the mutinous expression on Dan’s face. “Our profiler believes he is growing more obsessed with you and that he won’t leave until he has you. But he has to go through his ritual. Apparently, it starts with a courtship, which is the phase we think you’re in now, then a marriage, where he takes you, and then the honeymoon, where he….” He stopped and cleared his throat.
“Kills me,” she supplied the words for him. She took a deep breath and moved her hands from her lap to the table. She couldn’t stop shaking. She forced herself to calm down. She modified her breathing just like she did when she meditated. They knew who her stalker was that gave her more control over the outcome.
“So, you need me to do something to draw him out?” She was proud of how calm her voice sounded.
“Yeah, it needs to be something big with a lot of people. The more people there are, the better our cops can blend into the crowd and watch for him. I know it’s a lot to ask but this may be our one chance at catching him. We know he somehow got access to two of his frozen accounts and he has the money to run.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Dan said quietly, but they both knew she did. She could wait around for Josh to finally take her or s
he could try to fight back. There was really no choice here.
“I’ll do it,” Tara said. “Bella’s boyfriend is having a fight this weekend. I’ll make a post on Facebook and make it clear I’ll be there.”
“This is going to be dangerous,” Dan said. His light blue eyes reflected his concern. He was the only one who didn’t agree with the plan. She knew he was worried about her getting hurt. But she couldn’t hide or pretend anymore. For months Josh had controlled her life. As long as they were sure they could protect her family, she would do it.
“I can handle it. You just have to make sure my family stays safe.” Tara picked up the papers one of the detectives placed in front of her and reviewed them. She could do this, and hopefully, by this time next week, the killer who was hunting her would be out of her life. Once she got home she would call Nisha and give her an update. She deserved to know who her stalker was.
The only person who knew the truth about her situation was Nisha. She’d told her because she needed her to take over her practice for the time being. She also didn’t want to hide the fact that she had a stalker in case Nisha didn’t want to get involved. But she’d been blessed; Nisha was a good friend who still wanted to help. But she wasn’t a fool; she now kept a gun in the office, and Tara had hired an around the clock security guard for her with her.
Dan took Tara home and waited while she packed. She could feel her eyes watering as she gathered her things. She shook her head to clear the fear that pleaded with her to stay home. She was safe here in her luxury prison. She prayed she was making the right decision. Josh had turned her life upside down but this was her chance to fight back and fight she would. Tara Denton was not a woman to take shit lying down.
* * *
She feels safe with all of the people around her. But she doesn’t understand that the only reason she is still alive is because I allow it. Soon, soon, angel of my heart, I will come for you and show you heaven on earth…
Tara arrived at the arena with a scowl on her face. Everything about this trip was starting to grate on her nerves. The plane landed late, which gave her virtually zero time to get ready.
She still had on her same clothes from this morning. A silk blouse and tailored suit were not what she wanted to wear to an MMA event. She’d taken just enough time to retouch her makeup and brush her hair. Then she’d had to fight with one of the detectives over wearing a wire. She refused to record her conversations with Bella.
Tara plowed through the crowd following an event coordinator who was taking her to Bella’s boyfriend’s designated family area. More than once, someone let out a wolf whistle as she passed. Dutifully, she ignored it and focused on finding Bella. She’d tried to be a good big sister to her the last few months, helping her navigate her relationship with the sexy Julian. But she knew she’d barely been aware of what was going on. As things escalated with her stalker, her entire life started to revolve around him. Nothing else mattered at this point; it was as if her life was on hold until this was over.
She stopped when she spotted her sister. Bella waved at her. She looked gorgeous. Her waist length braids and bright blue maxi dress gave her an exotic appeal. The girl was learning. But her sister wasn’t the only thing that caught her attention. After everything with Josh, she’d buried her memories of her sexy one night stand.
How had she not put this together? Both of their last names were Stravanos. Oh, this was crazy. She prayed he’d forgotten her but no he hadn’t. His green eyes devoured her. Everyone else in the room seemed to fade away as he got to his feet and made his way to her. She braced herself for a scene.
“Really, how are you, Tara Marshall?” he asked scathingly. Okay, so he knew she’d lied about her name.
“It’s actually Tara Denton. Sorry about lying, but I never intended to see you again, so…”
“So you lied,” he finished for her.
“Look, I’m sorry about that. It’s been a really long day. Do you mind if we go sit down?” she asked, moving to walk around him.
“Did you know who I was? You knew my last name and I know you know Julian as well. Are you playing some sort of game with me, or do you often go out and do this sort of thing?” He asked sharply. Something about his tone made her hackles rise. Who the fuck did he think he was?
“First off, we were both consenting adults who decided to spend the night together. Don’t turn into a righteous ass hole and ruin that memory for me. And second, I’ve had a lot going on the last few months I honestly forgot your last name.”
“Ah, but I didn’t forget yours. Which brings me back to my previous question, how often do you do that sort of thing?” Alex asked nastily.
Tara pressed her lips together. “I’m not doing this with you. I don’t have the time and I damn sure don’t have the patience. You pursued me that night and what happened…happened I owe you nothing, not an explanation or an excuse as to why I lied. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Tara didn’t give him time to react this time; she just walked around him.
She hurried over to Bella and shook her head as she started to say something. “Before you ask, I don’t want to talk about what just happened. I had a horrible day and I just want to be here for you,” she said, grabbing Bella’s hand and squeezing it reassuringly.
“I understand that and because you are my big sister, I will wait to interrogate you about what just happened after the fight. But that conversation is going to happen,” Bella said, pulling her into a hug.
Tara tried to focus on the fight happening in front of her. She wanted to offer her support to Bella and her brand new relationship, but she couldn’t focus on it. Not with Alex constantly sneaking glances at her. Why did he have to be the one-night stand?
She was contemplating that when her phone buzzed. For the first time in months, she forgot to be afraid of looking at the message. Currently, her mind was filled with memories from that night and from the look on Alex’s face he was thinking about the same thing.
She opened the message and her heart stopped. It was brief and to the point, as were all her messages from Dan. He is here, be ready. Her hands started to shake as the message sunk in and all thoughts of Alex fled away.
Josh was here, breathing the same air. She forced her body to remain seated even though she longed to run.
Fear was an interesting thing. She’d never truly felt it until this moment. Her heart was beating out of control. What should she do now? They’d told her to act normal but how the fuck was she supposed to do that?
Her eyes caught Alex’s and she saw him visibly stiffen. Her expression must have given away her fear. When her eyes drifted a little to the right she caught her breath. There at the entrance of seating area B was Josh Boehm. He wasn’t even trying to hide his face. He blew her a kiss as if they were long-time friends and she shuddered.
Some of the horror must have shown on her face because Alex turned to see what she was looking at and saw him too. The crowd went crazy and Tara realized Julian must have won his fight.
She couldn’t wait anymore. Someone from the octagon had pulled a beaming Bella out of the crowd. She was sure Julian was getting ready to propose to her. But she couldn’t stay and watch. She leaned down and told Ada, Nikos’ wife, that she had an emergency and she had to go back to the hotel. Although she appreciated Ada’s look of concern, she ignored it. Tara turned away and disappeared into the crowd. She knew the police were all around her but she needed to get out of here. She pushed her way through the mob of people while texting Dan.
When she got to the street, she stopped and looked around. She was surrounded by people coming and going. Where the hell was Dan? He’d told her to meet him here.
She was so focused on finding him that she didn’t realize someone was behind her until a cloth covered her mouth with such force she started choking. She thought she heard Alex’s voice.
She tried to scream, to beg someone to help her, but darkness called and so she went.
* * *
Ta
ra woke up in the hospital disoriented and alone. Her last memory was of being attacked from behind. It was hard but she forced herself to sit up and examine where she was. Her clothes were in the corner on the table. Why was she here? How was she here? She’d thought for sure that Josh had caught her.
Dan walked in with a grave expression, holding a cup of coffee. He looked haggard, with his five o’ clock shadow and bags under his eyes.
“What happened?” she croaked. Her voice was hoarse, probably from whatever was on that cloth.
“Josh almost got you. He had a plan to take you. He almost got away with it, too, but your friend Alex was following you and saw it happened. He attacked him and saved you.”
“Okay, well at least we got him,” Tara relaxed with relief. She would have to thank Alex the next time she saw him.
Dan still looked tense, though. Why did he look tense?
“I’m sorry, but we didn’t get him, Tara,” he said.
“How could you not get him? The whole reason why we were there was so you could catch him!” she yelled.
“There were too many people. After the fighter won they rushed forward when he proposed. The scene scattered us. By the time we caught up with you, we caught the end of Alex and Josh’s fight. When he saw us he ran. We had several officers chasing him but he got away, disappeared somewhere inside of the arena.”
“Oh my god, it’s not over. He’s never going to stop,” she said in a shaky voice mostly to herself.
“We did find his hotel room, and it revealed several things we’d already assumed. Based off the evidence on his laptop, not only did he do the things we’d previously thought, but he was also the one who tried to break into your sister’s bookstore. Apparently, it had something to do with your courtship. He said he needed to get to know your family.”
“Oh my god. We thought that was Sarah’s dad.”