Katy smiled. “He’s charming and sweet and kind and sexy. I think I’m in love.” She was kidding. Sort of. “But he hasn’t made his big move yet.”
“What?” Jenna stepped closer. “That’s unheard of. I mean I could understand if you were putting him off for a few weeks, but the other way around. Is he gay?” Jenna smirked.
“Hardly. But believe me, I asked him that point blank.”
“You didn’t.” Jenna’s mouth gaped open.
“I did.” Katy nodded. “And besides, he kisses like a professional. Leaves me weak in the knees every time.” Well, both times… But she didn’t need to share every gory detail with her friend.
They took off down the path on their regular loop around the park.
Katy looked over her shoulder as they began. She had watched her rearview mirror closely on the way to meet Jenna. She’d seen nothing out of the ordinary. Although she was loathe to admit it out loud, she was nervous. And she hadn’t slept well. She’d held her phone in her palm all night. In fact, she’d programmed 9-1-1 into the speed dial so one button would get her help in an emergency.
Every single noise in the night startled her awake. Not that she’d ever tell Rafe. She didn’t want him thinking she couldn’t take care of herself and she didn’t want anyone to scare her into leaving her home.
It was easy to distract herself with Jenna. All she had to do was ask a stream of questions about her friend’s floral shop and the miles slipped away. In the last half mile, they came to a spot where they jogged across the street. There was a pedestrian crosswalk and it was inside the park, so rarely did they encounter traffic.
But the coincidences in Katy’s world kept piling up. She entered the road two paces ahead of Jenna, barely glancing in either direction. The next thing she knew, Jenna had shoved her hard from behind, sending both of them into the grass on the far opposite side of the street.
The squeal of tires made Katy twist her head to see over her shoulder. All she saw was a car speeding away.
She gasped for air, straining to breathe from both the run and the unexpected tumble to the ground.
“Shit.” Jenna jumped to her feet and peered down the road at the disappearing car. “What the fuck? That asshole didn’t stop. He nearly ran us over.”
Katy scrambled to stand also. “What color was that car?”
“Brown.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Just curious.” She bit her lip as she followed Jenna’s line of sight, deciding not to tell Jenna about her stalker. No sense turning her best friend into a worrywart on top of everything else.
Surely this incident was a coincidence. The car looked older, at least what little Katy managed to see of it. And it wasn’t black. She agreed with that assessment. Probably some asshole not paying attention.
If she kept the stalker insanity from Jenna and the pedestrian accident from Rafe, neither one of them would freak out on her.
She wiped her hands on her shorts and glanced down at her knees. Oh, great. Her knees were skinned. How was she going to keep that a secret?
She almost laughed out loud when she considered the likelihood of Mr. Prude trying to get her pants off her in the foreseeable future anyway. If she wore jeans on their next date, maybe the scrapes would disappear before he ever saw her knees again.
When had she gotten so devious? And why did she feel the need?
As they returned to their cars, Katy worried about her sanity. Was she taking a huge personal risk being so blasé about the various encounters she’d had in the last week? Or was the entire stack of odd occurrences just that—random acts that had nothing to do with each other?
Katy hugged her friend and got in her car. She gripped the steering wheel tighter than usual and scanned the area harder than ever.
She saw nothing out of the ordinary on the way home and sighed in relief when she was once again locked inside.
•●•
The week was busy. Katy’s case load at work had her running in ten directions, and she spent almost twelve hours a day at the office.
She hardly had time to ponder the possibility someone was following her. Nothing unusual happened the entire week, and she’d been diligent about her surroundings. In the evenings she found herself peering out the window several times to see if any strange vehicles were parked in front of her condo.
By Wednesday she’d convinced herself there was nothing to worry about. After all, none of the incidents were related. She was confident it had been Jonathan Stewart from her office who followed her to the gym that Saturday morning. Whoever was behind her after the date with Rafe hadn’t been in the same car. Right? And he sure hadn’t fit the description of the partner from work.
And the car that almost hit her in the park…well fuck. That had to have been a coincidence. Jenna said it was brown.
Katy shivered every time she pondered the possibilities, but she came up with nothing and tried desperately to put it out of her mind before she lost her sanity.
Rafe texted her consistently, the perfect amount. She’d worried he might be overbearing after what happened Saturday night. But he hadn’t gone all macho on her again. He’d politely questioned her safety, but nothing else. Of course she hadn’t told him about the incident in the park. Somehow that seemed prudent.
In the middle of the week, Rafe texted to see if she wanted to do a late dinner Friday night after he finished working out at the gym.
Katy offered to cook this time. Maybe if she could get him comfortable and alone in her condo, he might lighten up and remove some clothes. In spite of her workload and the fact some stalker might be following her, thoughts of Rafe were never far from her mind. She really liked him, like serious, big-time liked him. He could be the “one.”
And the man was ripped. He worked out nearly every night. And his body was visual evidence to that fact. Katy had never dated anyone that sexy. She was eager to see him without his shirt on.
Granted, he hadn’t been wearing a shirt the first time she saw him, that Saturday morning at the gym, but she’d only glanced his way in time to see him fall to the ground when his friend got a good punch in. If she’d known then what she knew now, she’d have wandered a bit closer for a better look…
With dinner in the oven, Katy was setting the table when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her clock. It was almost eight. Rafe had texted her he was on his way, but he’d arrived much faster than she’d expected.
She smiled as she set the silverware down and sped to the front door. Her heart rate increased at the thought of seeing Rafe. She was in a state of complete lust for the man. “That was fast,” she said as she whipped open the door.
Only it wasn’t Rafe. In less than a second she knew she’d made a mistake. The man standing on her doorstep fit the description Rafe had given her of the man who followed her home last Saturday night. He wore a ball cap this time, which kept her from seeing his eyes clearly, but he had stringy, dirty-blond hair that hung to his shoulders.
And the look on his face was feral. His mouth curved up at one corner menacingly. “Been waiting a long time to see you again, bitch,” he growled.
Again? She gripped the door so hard her fingers hurt. She dug into the recesses of her mind, but came up with nothing. If she’d ever met this man before she couldn’t recall it. “Do I know you?” She slowly inched the door forward, hoping to shut it quickly any second.
He laughed sardonically, his cackle making her wince.
Katy slammed the door forward, but she wasn’t fast enough.
The man stuck his foot out and wedged it in the frame so it wouldn’t shut all the way. With the flat of his hand, he shoved it open until it crashed into the wall, rebounding loudly. The entire frame shook.
Katy jumped back. Fuck.
The scraggly-looking man stepped forward and in one stride lifted his fist and slammed it into her face.
Katy fell back on her butt and slid several feet across
the hardwood floor. Stars filled her vision and blood ran down her face. Her nose hurt so bad she couldn’t concentrate on anything but the instant pain.
She tried to shake the shock from her head and get her bearings, but her vision was clouded. She couldn’t see, and when she reached out with both hands to protect herself she met with air.
Someone screamed her name. She could hear it from far away. “Katy!”
The shadow of the man who’d punched her disappeared and footsteps pounded on the pavement. Had he left?
Katy leaned forward on all fours and crawled toward the door. She needed to shut it somehow. What if he came back?
Before she made it more than a few inches, someone hovered over her. And then she recognized the voice. Rafe. “Katy. God.” He lifted her chin and met her gaze. “Holy shit.”
She took a deep breath, tears running down her face. She was relieved for Rafe’s arrival, but still in shock.
Rafe pulled his phone out of his pocket, still holding her chin with his other hand. He pressed a few buttons quickly and then pulled Katy against his chest and lifted her off the floor. “Yes, I’d like to report an intruder… A man attacked my girlfriend… Yes… No… He ran from the scene as soon as I approached… Yes, that’s the address… Okay.”
Rafe set the phone down and stood with Katy in his arms. Her ears were ringing, but she had distinctly heard him say “girlfriend” and it warmed her inside. Rafe set her on the counter next to the sink, grabbed a towel from the counter, and flipped on the water.
He didn’t say a word as he wrung out the towel and then gently wiped her face.
As her vision cleared, she stared at his expression to judge how bad she looked. His brow was furrowed and his lips were tucked inside his mouth. She couldn’t decide if she was that messed up or if he was simply pissed. “If I had been one minute later…”
“But you weren’t,” she mumbled. She grabbed his arm, blinking back the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. They stung as they slid across her lips. She tried to lick them and winced. Her upper lip was swollen and cracked. She tasted blood.
Rafe held the towel up to her nose. “Hold this for a second. We need to stop the bleeding.”
Katy switched her hand from his arm to hold the towel against her face with both hands. As he stepped to the other side of the kitchen and opened drawers, she saw that the front door was still open. It didn’t matter now. Rafe was here. That scrawny little shit wouldn’t dare fuck with a man Rafe’s size.
She could hear sirens in the distance.
Rafe found what he was looking for—a plastic bag and another towel. He wet the second hand towel and filled the bag with ice. And then he was in front of her again, pulling her hands away from her face. “Let me see.”
She felt the flow of blood coming from her nose to wet her upper lip still.
Rafe reached for her nose. “Hold still. This is going to hurt. But I want to see if it’s broken.” He gently touched the bridge of her nose. When she didn’t flinch or scream, he prodded a little harder.
“Ouch.” She winced again.
“It’s not broken.” He used the first towel to wipe away some more of the blood and then set that one aside and lifted the new towel with the ice wrapped inside.
“I bet it’s super pretty.” She tried to smile, but it hurt to lift her lips.
He ignored her. “Tip your head back.” He set his hand on her neck, and she shivered at the touch of his cold fingers. His other hand held the ice.
They stayed in that position for several moments. Katy listened as Rafe breathed so hard she imagined he was in the middle of a fight. And in his mind, he probably was. She had little doubt he wanted to chase the punk down and beat the tar out of him.
But it didn’t slip her notice that instead of doing that, he was here, holding her. Taking care of her. Wiping her tears and her blood. He hadn’t gone for revenge. He’d made a choice, and he’d chosen her.
She wanted to hug him, but her arms wouldn’t lift. They were heavy at her sides.
Rafe finally relaxed marginally and pulled her closer to his chest. He kissed her forehead and then eased the ice away for a second. “It’s slowing down. Another minute.” He set it back against her face.
Tears kept flowing. She knew her nose would hurt like fuck later, but right now she wasn’t crying from pain. She was overloaded with emotion. Fear from the man who’d attacked her. And incredible admiration for the man holding her.
Voices filled the doorway and Rafe turned around as Katy stiffened for a moment. When she saw the two police officers, she relaxed.
Rafe did most of the talking, explaining to the cops what he’d come upon. He actually knew the details better than her. He gave a good visual of the man who’d punched her, including his ball cap, his hair, his ratty jeans, his torn maroon T-shirt, and his scuffed sneakers.
The police took notes. They examined the scene for any evidence, but there was nothing on the floor except Katy’s blood.
“Are there any other distinguishing details you can recall?” he asked her.
Katy visualized him in her mind. “Oh, yes. He had a tattoo running up his arm. A snake.”
“Good.” The cop wrote that down. “That will help. Was he wearing gloves, ma’am?”
“Gloves? No.” Katy was confused.
“Did he touch anything?”
Ah. Katy glanced around, thinking. “Yes. I think he grabbed the door frame when he entered. Oh, and he flattened his hand on the center of the door to push it open.”
The other officer left and came back a few moments later with a kit. He proceeded to dust for finger prints. A thousand people could have touched that door. Katy was less than hopeful.
“Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt you?” the first officer asked.
Katy shook her head, wincing at the pain. She released the ice and set it on the counter where she still sat. Rafe kept his hand on her thigh. “No. I’ve never had any enemies.”
“No exes? No disgruntled old boyfriends?”
She shook her head again.
Rafe spoke next. “She’s a lawyer though.” He glanced at her. “Could you have pissed off a client along the way?”
She shrugged. “I suppose. There have been so many though, I don’t think I could narrow that down.”
The officer took more notes. “We’ll see if we can lift any prints here. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” He put his note pad in his pocket. “In the meantime, I wouldn’t stay here, ma’am. Do you have someplace else you could go for a while?”
“I guess I could go stay at Jenna’s.” She glanced at Rafe.
He shook his head. “She’ll stay with me.”
Katy stared at him. Stay with him? At his house? She took a deep breath. They’d only been dating a few weeks. She barely knew him. Was that such a good idea?
“You’ll be safer with me. I can’t keep you safe at Jenna’s, and she can’t keep you safe either.”
Katy slid off the counter. She followed the officers to the door, still a bit uneasy about Rafe’s arrangement.
“We’ll be in touch, ma’am.” The officer handed her a card and she thanked him as the two men left.
Katy shut the door and turned around. “I can’t believe all that just happened.” Moving her lips to speak hurt like a mother.
Rafe stepped up and tipped her head back. He narrowed his gaze as he examined her face, tipping it from side to side. “I could take you to urgent care, but I don’t think there’s much they can do for you. It isn’t broken and the bleeding has stopped.”
Katy shook her head. “I’m fine.”
He pulled her in to his chest. “I wish I’d arrived about five minutes earlier.”
“Me too.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I assumed he was you at the door. When I heard the doorbell, I opened it. Stupid.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. It happened. That guy obviously has a mission. If it hadn’t happened at that moment, it could have been
worse another day. Now we know someone is definitely following you.”
“And it isn’t the guy from my office.” She tipped her head back. “I’m scared. I’ll be honest.”
He squeezed her tighter. “You should be. And nothing will happen to you at my place.” He released her finally and angled her down the hall. “Let’s gather up some of your stuff and get out of here.”
When they reached her bedroom, Katy grabbed a small suitcase with shaky hands and started dumping stuff into it. She hardly paid attention to what she was gathering.
“Smells good in here.” Rafe lifted his head and took a deep breath.
“Oh, shit. Dinner. It’s in the oven.”
“I’ll get it.” Rafe stepped around her. “You finish packing.”
Thank God. As soon as he left the room, Katy was able to concentrate better. The man sucked all the oxygen out of the air, and she hadn’t relished the idea of opening her bra and panties drawer while he stared over her shoulder.
It didn’t take her long to gather enough things to stay with him a few days. Any longer and she’d have to come back and get more stuff.
When she emerged from the bedroom, Rafe had the lasagna out of the oven and was covering it with tin foil. “Figured we could take it with us.”
“Yeah. I don’t have an appetite now.” She touched her lip as she spoke. It stung.
“I’ll grab your suitcase.” Rafe passed her and headed for her bedroom.
Katy gathered her briefcase, laptop, and several files she’d been working on from the counter. “Do you think he’ll break in here while I’m gone?” She asked as he returned. The idea of some asshole going through her things made her cringe.
“I doubt it. I think he’s after you for some reason. We can ponder that a bit more later. Maybe try to think of some clients who lost their case.”
She lifted her face to him and tried to smile, but it hurt her nose to move her mouth very far. “What makes you think I have any cases I’ve ever lost?”
He lifted both hands in defeat. “My bad,” he teased. “I forgot you were the best lawyer in town.”
“Yeah. I wish. The list would be too long to read even over a long weekend.”
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