“Okay,” she whispered.
“Good girl. Going to run out and move my truck. I’ll make a call while I’m doing it. I’m going to make it look like I’m storming out. Just in case he’s around. Then I’ll sneak back in. You think you can be in here alone for a few minutes? Promise, less than ten I’ll be back.”
She thought about that. Just ten minutes and he’d be back. He was covering his bases in case this person was out there watching right now. A lot could happen in ten minutes, though. Could she handle it? Handle drawing back the curtains so if he was out there he could see in? See her?
“Look at me.” He cupped her face. “I pretend to storm out. I get in my truck. I take off. I park it around the block and I come straight back.”
“He’ll see you come back.”
“He won’t see me. Before I leave, you go lock yourself in the bathroom with your phone and bat. You don’t come out until I knock on the door and you hear me talk, all right?”
“The curtains?” she whispered.
“We do that when I get back. Can you do that, baby?”
“I can do that.”
“My brave girl. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know you won’t.”
“I’m going to catch him. After this, I won’t leave you unprotected at any time. I swear.”
15
“You okay there, love?”
She jumped at the words, spoken in a sexy accent. All right? No, she wasn’t all right. She was so far from all right she didn’t even know how to describe how she was feeling. The man standing in the shadowed corner of the living room, turned from looking out the front window to stare at her where she sat on the sofa.
She had the TV on, but it was muted. It was early evening. She should probably turn a light on. But she didn’t want to move.
“Just concentrate on breathing. In then out. Everything is going to be fine. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I don’t even know you,” she whispered. He was a stranger. With a surprisingly sexy accent. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.
“Macca is a weird name.” She needed to focus on something other than the fact that Jed was outside somewhere, hunting her stalker.
Back-up had arrived thirty minutes ago, in the form of three seriously attractive, muscular men. Macca and Bain were inside with her. Kent was outside with Jed.
Thankfully, Bain, who was one of the scariest men she’d ever seen in her life, was upstairs while Macca was acting as her bodyguard, or at least she figured that was what it meant when Jed had told Macca that if she got so much as one scratch, he’d make sure he never fathered any children. Macca hadn’t seemed too worried. She was starting to think that nothing much bothered him.
“Macca is because my last name is McKenzie.”
“Right.” Damn, he had to think she was stupid. Something rattled outside and she jumped.
“Don’t panic, baby, nothing is going to happen to you.”
“What if he finds out you’re all here? What if he sees one of the guys outside?” she asked.
“You know much about what your man does?”
“A bit. I know JSI stands for Jensen Security International and that you guys often help find people or guard them.”
“Yep. We have a few Government contracts, do some work overseas. Bodyguard work, some retrieval, tracking down people.”
She nodded.
“Your man is the best at what he does,” Macca told her. “He’s focused. Knows what he needs to do and gets it done. Fucking amazing tracker. Best I’ve ever seen. But no matter what he does, he excels at it. You think some two-bit stalker in a little town like this has a chance against him? Especially when he’s got the three of us at his back? Baby, I feel sorry for this asswipe. Or would have, if he hadn’t frightened you so much, you’re sitting there white as a sheet and trembling. Honey, he hasn’t got a chance. You got me here, Bain upstairs and Jed and Kent out there. It’s the dream team, baby.”
Ridiculously, her lips twitched. “Dream team, huh?”
He pounded at his chest with his fist. “Hell yeah.”
She just shook her head, but she had to admit to feeling better.
“Roger that,” Macca said. She turned to look at him. She knew he wasn’t talking to her. All of the men had ear pieces and were armed.
Macca looked over at her. “Bain’s coming down. Daisy?”
She was so tense that even her teeth ached. “Yes?”
“Jed thinks he’s found the place where this bastard has been holing up. There’s signs of someone camping out in one of the large trees in your yard. Found some gum wrappers. Some footprints.”
“But he wasn’t there.”
“No, but we know where to look. Jed says you usually go to bed at ten?”
“Yeah.”
“Probably this guy knows that. You should stick as close to routine as possible. We’ll keep the curtains open but don’t stand directly in front of the windows. What would you usually be doing about now?”
“Umm, I’d usually work until around nine then watch some TV.”
His eyebrow rose. “Working? At this time of night? Screen time right before bed ain’t something I’d ever allow. Surprised Jed does.”
She scowled at him. “I changed my mind, your accent isn’t sexy, it’s annoying.”
He huffed out a laugh. She looked over her shoulder as Bain entered the room, standing in the doorway. Not that she’d heard him move, she’d just felt him.
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to work, she pretended to watch TV for a while, until it grew truly dark. She turned on a floor lamp and, combined with the fairy lights on the mantel they provided enough light for her to see. Macca kept to the shadows. Bain had come downstairs; he was keeping watch out the dining room window.
“This waiting stuff sucks.”
She was worn out. But at the same time, she was wired and knew she wouldn’t sleep.
“Lie down on the couch, baby,” Macca told her. “You can go up to bed soon.”
“I won’t sleep.”
“You can rest.”
“What if he doesn’t show? Are we going to have to do this again tomorrow night?” How the hell would she get through this night after night?
“Tomorrow, we install cameras around the house. When Jed can’t be here one of us is. We’ll catch him, Daisy.”
Nope. No way. She didn’t want strangers in her house.
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“First time you received those flowers, you should have told Jed,” Bain told her. “You couldn’t get hold of him; you should have told us. We could have had cameras on this place, gotten him well before now.”
“Bain.” Macca frowned over at him.
“Now, you got to put up with someone with you at all times to make you safe then that’s what you have to deal with. Jed’s not here, one of us is. You need to go somewhere, then someone is on your ass protecting you. Deal.”
Wow. Someone who was even blunter and growlier than Jed. She didn’t think it was possible.
Macca grimaced. “We normally don’t let him speak to clients. He tends to scare them off.”
“I’m not a client.” She very much doubted she could afford their rates.
“No. You’re family,” Bain told her. Then he grunted and stiffened. “Jed’s caught sight of someone approaching. They’re gonna see if he heads to the spot.”
“Right, baby,” Macca told her. “It’s show time. Let’s head upstairs and lure this guy in. Last thing we want is to scare him off by doing anything differently. But you do what I tell you, yeah?”
“What if he’s got a gun? What if he hurts someone?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“What’d I tell you about your man, Daisy?”
“That he’s a badass.”
Bain snorted.
“Didn’t quite put it like that,” Macca said with a grin. “But yeah, baby, he’s a badass.”
“He�
�s gonna have your balls, he hears you calling his woman baby,” Bain warned.
“That’s okay. I like to live dangerously. Let’s go.”
She walked up the stairs.
“Wait until I’m in the bedroom and in position until you turn on the light.”
She nodded at him. Macca slipped inside the bedroom, moving silently. “Walk in here, baby. Then make your way to the bathroom like usual.”
She switched on the light as he’d told her. Then she walked over to the attached bathroom and switched that light on.
“He’s up the tree,” Macca told her in a low voice. She stiffened, as she stood in the bathroom, waiting. It seemed like forever, but it was probably less than a minute before she heard Macca say, “Jed’s got him!”
Her heart leaped in her throat and she had to grasp hold of the sink. Her legs shook. Macca stepped into the doorway with a big grin. It faded when he saw her.
“Jesus, Daisy. It’s all right now. It’s over.”
“Is Jed all right?”
“Of course he is. Takedown was easy. Guy wasn’t even aware Jed was there. Too busy getting his binoculars out of his backpack to spy on you, the fucker. He wasn’t armed. Didn’t even put up a fight.”
“I need to see Jed.”
He studied her, nodded. “He’ll be up soon as he can. Why don’t you come downstairs? I’ll make you something to drink.”
“I don’t need a drink.”
“You sure look like you do. Come with me, Daisy.” His voice suddenly deepened. Funny Macca was gone and in his place was a commander. Who wasn’t someone you should disobey. She stepped forward and took his hand. She let him lead her out of the bedroom and downstairs. Suddenly, she was in her living room, looking around it as though she’d never seen it before.
Jed had caught him. She’d been living this nightmare for days. Felt unsafe in the one place she should feel safest. And in a few hours Jed had made everything all right. She felt dazed.
“Bain, Daisy needs a drink.”
“Chocolate,” she whispered. “There’s chocolate milk in the fridge.”
Macca’s eyes warmed for some reason. “Okay, baby. Chocolate milk it is. Come sit.” He led her to the sofa and helped her sit. Then he sat on the coffee table in front of her.
“Jed’s really all right?”
“He’s fine,” Bain answered then handed her a glass filled with chocolate milk. “Just getting a few answers from this guy.”
“Thanks,” she managed to get out without looking at Bain. Then she tipped the glass up and drank it in five big swallows.
She took a breath. “I need another.”
Macca’s eyes widened. “You really like your chocolate milk, huh?”
She felt herself blushing. They must think she was an idiot. When Macca had said she needed a drink, he’d probably meant an alcoholic one.
What kind of grown woman drank chocolate milk?
“Um. . .”
“No need to be embarrassed.” Surprisingly, it was Bain who spoke. His voice was rough but he was gentle as he grabbed the glass from her hand. “I’ll get you some more.”
“Should we call the police? Does Jed know the person?” she asked.
“Just waiting to hear, baby,” Macca told her. “You know as much as we do.”
This time she sipped the glass of milk Bain gave her more slowly. The chocolately goodness wasn’t soothing her the way it normally would.
Macca went still, she knew that meant he was listening to whoever was talking to him through the earpiece. He turned to her. “You know a Mike Lyle?”
“Yes, why?” She froze as understanding hit her. “It was him? Seriously?”
“Yep. That’s what Jed says. He’s going to call the sheriff, get him out here now that he’s got a few answers.”
She sat there. Stunned. “I can’t believe it was him. I went on a date with him.”
“A date?” Macca asked as she sat there, her hand on her rolling stomach. She wished she hadn’t drunk all that milk now.
“Yes. I met him on an online dating site. We went on one date. Jed interrupted it. I didn’t think he was even interested in me. And he didn’t seem the type to send me those notes, to hide up a tree and watch me. . .oh God, I’m gonna be ill.” She placed her hand over her mouth, her stomach heaving
Suddenly, she was in the air. She only had a few seconds to realize it was Bain holding her before he had her in the downstairs bathroom. He supported her as she lost all of the chocolate milk she’d just drunk. That really hadn’t been a good idea. When the spasms stopped and she was shaking like a leaf, he picked her back up, and carried her upstairs.
“W-where are we going?” she asked.
“Figure your toothbrush and stuff are in the upstairs bathroom,” he replied gruffly. He held her easily, not showing any strain at carrying her up the stairs. But then his biceps were bigger than her thighs.
He set her down in her much larger bathroom. Then he stood there, staring at her awkwardly. He didn’t strike her as the awkward type. He seemed like the kind of guy who was ultra-confident in everything he did. “You need help?”
“No. Thanks. I’m good now.” Not really. But she wasn’t bad enough to need the hulking man’s help.
“Yeah. Okay. Call out if you’re not.”
“Thanks, I mean that.” She reacted without thinking and reached out to squeeze his forearm.
He just nodded and left, shutting the door behind him. Daisy took a moment to try and calm herself. Unfortunately, her mind kept thinking about the fact that she’d gone on a date with that asshole. Who knew what might have happened had Jed not shown up that night? Or what might have happened if he hadn’t come back today. She quickly splashed her face with cold water then brushed her teeth.
By the time she was finished, her teeth were chattering and she was freezing. Then the door opened and Jed was there.
“Sugar.”
She didn’t think. She just threw herself at him. Thankfully, he caught her.
16
“It’s over now, sugar. We got him.”
He could feel her shaking in his arms. He was shaking himself. How could he have let a fucking stalker get close to her? Terrorize her? She’d been so terrified she’d been carrying around a damned baseball bat for days.
Then to top things off, he’d jumped to the wrong fucking conclusion and thought she was cheating on him.
Yeah, he had some stuff to sort out.
“He confessed to everything. Leaving the flowers and the notes. Following you. Calling you and hanging up.”
“That was him too?” she whispered.
He ran his hand through her hair. “Yeah, baby. It was all him.”
“Jed?” He glanced up, pulled out of his thoughts to see Macca in the bedroom.
“Yeah?”
“Sheriff is here. Wants to talk to you both.”
“Yeah. Right. Give us a minute, will you?”
“Yeah.” Macca’s eyes were soft as he stared at Daisy. Jed tightened his arms around her slightly.
Mine.
“You’re lucky, mate. Hope you know how lucky.”
He loosened his hold. He knew. And he wouldn’t be letting her go again. No doubt they’d have their ups and downs, but he wasn’t walking away from this and he wouldn’t let her either. Maybe he’d originally figured he could just work her out of his system, but she’d managed to get deeper under his skin.
And she was there to stay.
He led her out to the bedroom and sat on the bed, pulling her onto his lap. She clung to him.
“I can’t believe it was Mike. I can’t believe I went on a date with him. What would have happened if you hadn’t interrupted our date?”
“It does no good to think of what if’s, sugar. All that matters is we caught the bastard. He went down easy. Confessed to it all as soon as I got my hands on him. Apparently, he decided after that date that you were his. He saw me around the house, hung back. Then when a few days went b
y where I wasn’t there, he decided that I had left and he started with the flowers. Then the notes. He’d come here in the evenings, camp out in that tree and watch you.”
She buried her face into his chest. Shit. Maybe he should have tried to break that to her more gently. But he was so fucked off that he hadn’t protected her better that he wasn’t capable of filtering his mouth. What if he hadn’t returned home for a few more days? What if he hadn’t realized something was wrong and turned around? Would this guy have stepped things up?
Undoubtedly. And despite the fact that he was out-of-shape and unarmed, he was a helluva lot bigger than Daisy.
Fuck. Fuck
She needs you to hold your shit together.
“How did I not know he was out there?” she asked, bewildered.
“He only came when it was growing dark. The tree was good cover. No reason you would know, baby.”
“I should have told you. Told someone.”
She should have. He’d need to talk to her about that again. But not right now. From now on, he was going to make certain she was far better protected.
“Wh-where is he now?”
“Sheriff has him. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but do you think you can talk to the sheriff?”
“The sheriff?” She looked up at him in confusion. He knew she was in shock. He just needed her to keep it together a bit longer.
“He’s downstairs. He needs a statement. I can tell him to come back tomorrow if you can’t do it.”
She seemed to think that over then she shook her head. “No. I want to get it over with. I can do it.”
“That’s my brave girl.” He kissed her lightly. “Come on, let’s do this. Then I can focus on taking care of you.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Jed said goodbye to the sheriff. He wrapped his arms tightly around Daisy who was sitting in his lap. He didn’t bother to get up. Bain was seeing the sheriff out. Turned out Lyle was already known to the sheriff. He had two restraining orders against him already for each of his ex-wives.
Daddy’s Lost Love Page 15