How had the guy, and she figured it was a guy from the wording of the notes, figured out who she was? Only a very few people knew that Riven Heart the burlesque dancer was Faith Murdock the psychologist. Certainly, none of her patients. This was her release from that world, where she could let go of everything she internalized. And there was plenty. Her patients were mostly SEALs, and they’d been through hell and back before they’d come to her see or be forced to.
The stalker situation had been escalating, and she didn’t know what to do. At first, she’d found notes on her windshield when she’d leave work at the end of the day. It creeped her out, but they weren’t threatening—at least not then. Now six months later, the notes had morphed into phone calls and packages. If Jess hadn’t calmed her down when she opened the box and saw the dead bird, she wouldn’t have been able to go on stage. But Jess and Caroline had been through their own private hell and understood all too well. Of course, that was after they yelled at her for not telling them sooner.
But she was a professional. She should have been able to handle this, shouldn’t she? Instead, Caroline was practically dragging her across the bar to a table filled with her friends and their SEAL husbands. It looked like the cat was going to be out of the bag big time, and knowing what she knew of these men, they were going to take charge whether she liked it or not.
“It’ll be okay, I promise. Matthew will get to the bottom of this,” Caroline whispered as she pulled her along. She hadn’t wanted to involve them; they had enough to deal with. When the SEALs weren’t on missions, they needed down time, and she knew it better than most.
“I can go to the police tomorrow, or even call them later.”
“We’ll see what the guys say.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything to any of us. Why?”
“Because it wasn’t a big deal. Seriously. Notes? They weren’t even threatening in the beginning. I figured if I didn’t do anything they’d just stop.”
“But they didn’t, did they?”
Caroline had her there. They hadn’t stopped. The hang ups happened at all hours and then the dead flowers on her front porch. Knowing the stalker knew where she lived had almost convinced her to talk to her friends, but the dead bird put her over the edge. Who would do such a thing? She was always so careful to be professional. After her one mistake three years ago, she made sure to never get too close to her patients, in fact, she did everything she could to keep them at arm’s length. That’s how she got involved with burlesque. After losing Frost, she had to find a way to work through her problems. Seeing an ad for dance classes, she’d signed up. After over a year of classes, she and her friends, Syn LaRue and Honey Potter, decided to start their own troupe. The Kitty Kats were born.
They got to the table in time for Syn to take the stage, it was weird for Faith to see her from the audience. Usually, she was backstage cheering for them. Not this time, she was standing in front of her friends and their SEAL husbands, and… No! It couldn’t be.
But blinking didn’t change anything. The man who’d haunted her dreams since she’d met him was sitting at the table. What was Frost doing there?
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this now,” Faith mumbled.
Caroline gave her an assessing look then followed Faith’s gaze to Frost. She was the only one who knew what happened with him. She’d sworn Caroline to secrecy too, but now that she’d dragged her to the table knowing he was there it made her wonder if something else was going on. Why was he there now? She didn’t believe in coincidences. The fact that he showed up for the first time in years the very night a dead bird was delivered to her dressing room was too much of one for her.
“Shhh. It’ll be fine. I know what you’re thinking but get it out of your head,” Caroline said to the question in Faith’s eyes.
“We’ll see.” Syn was about a quarter of the way into her act, and the crowd was so loud it would be impossible to talk without yelling, and she had no intention of doing that. They’d have to wait until Syn and Honey finished or go somewhere else.
“Jess, can we borrow your office?” So much for putting it off. She swore that Caroline could read minds.
“Of course.”
“Matthew, can you come with us? Fai…err Riven has a problem, and she needs our help.”
Ugh, that was close. She thought Caroline was going to say her real name. As far as she could tell Frost hadn’t recognized her with the mask on. If she was lucky she’d keep it that way. Dealing with the stalker was bad enough, and she still didn’t like that he picked tonight to show up.
“No problem. We’ll be right back. Someone order another round.”
“Is everything okay?” Chase asked as he looked from Matthew to Caroline, then his eyes turned her way. She knew the minute he recognized her. Not sure what triggered it, but the light of recognition shone in his eyes. So much for a clean escape.
Chapter Two
Holy crap. Faith. How had he missed it? On second thought, his body had figured it out, it was his brain that was slow to join the party. Then again, the last person he’d expected to be a burlesque dancer was Faith Murdock. Not that she wasn’t passionate, she was. But she kept her feelings buttoned up tight. Except for that one time. It was another moment where he’d made the wrong choice. There’d been too many of those back then. Wolf’s words saved him from the dark path he’d been about to travel and brought him back to the present.
“We’ll be right back. We can talk then.” Chase stood to follow them.
“I want to come too.”
“This isn’t the best time, Chase,” Caroline said before Wolf had a chance. Faith nibbled on her bottom lip, a tell she probably didn’t realize she had. He didn’t want to wait, he wanted, scratch that, needed to know what was going on. She’d been the one that got away, now that fate was handing him a second chance, he wasn’t about to blow it.
Abe put his hand on Chase’s shoulder and eased him back into his chair. Okay, so maybe he’d have to listen to Wolf whether he liked it or not. Either that or he’d have to fight his way through five trained killing machines. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll wait here.”
“I thought you might,” Abe said with a toothy grin. “We’ll have another beer and wait for them. I’m sure they’ll explain everything when they get back.”
He was probably right, but it didn’t make Chase feel any better. Watching Faith get swallowed up by the crowd left him feeling empty. It was as if the last three years melted away and once again he was broken and bloody inside.
“Bro, you okay?”
“Fine. I think I’ll have that beer now.” Abe nodded and refilled Chase’s mug. Whatever was going on with Faith, he’d find out soon enough. If there was anything he could do, he would. One call to the ESP team and he could have backup if he needed it. Although he had a feeling that the team he was sitting with would have something to say about it. But one thing he knew for sure was that tomorrow he’d be cancelling his flight home to Florida. With his mind made up, the anxious feeling inside his gut eased.
He leaned back in his chair and contemplated the men and women sitting around the table. He missed the comraderie of a close-knit team. ESP was still growing, and he only knew a couple of the guys really well. Maybe after he got back to Willow Haven, it would be time for some team building exercises. If it worked for SEALs, it would work for them.
The second dancer had come and gone, but Chase couldn’t tell you anything about her act having been focused on Faith. The third dancer took center stage, and the crowd was on their feet cheering as Honey Potter tossed the first piece of her costume. Her act was completely different from Faith’s. More like the traditional flirty, sassy, sexy dancers. When Honey’s music ended the only thing that still covered her voluptuous body were pasties and the tiniest thong he’d ever seen. Her dance had the crowd riled up and yelling for more, but it had no effect on his body—at least not compared to Faith’s
performance.
It did help to distract him from whatever the hell was going on with Faith, though. The fact that Caroline had to drag Wolf off to talk about it had him worried. Now that the entertainment was over, he was antsy for them to return so he could make sure she was okay. She might not know it yet, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for her to push him away this time.
The volume of the crowd finally lowered enough to carry on a conversation. It was good to meet the women he’d heard about through the grapevine. Every one of them had been through as much hell as their SEAL husbands. How was there so much violence in the world? After ten years as a SEAL, it shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. His career in the military kept him mostly overseas, but these women, except for Fiona, all suffered in the states. Insanity. You should be safe at home, but apparently, in this world, no one was safe anywhere. That thought brought him back around to Faith’s issue. What the hell was going on and what could be taking so long? The thought no sooner entered his head when they returned.
Looking grim, Wolf pulled his chair up to the table and Caroline sat next to him. Dude grabbed a chair from another table for Faith. Chase would have preferred she sit near him, but he’d have to be content to be at the same table.
Wolf looked around the group before speaking. Everyone leaned in to hear his low-pitched voice. “I’ll get right to it. Riven is being stalked.” He let that sink in for a moment before continuing. “She figured she could handle it herself,” he said as he glanced at Riven/Faith, and her cheeks pinked where they were visible under her mask.
Didn’t the team know her true identity?
“Wait, is it Riven or Faith who’s being stalked, because that’ll make a huge difference,” Mozart asked. Chase agreed but kept silent. He’d jump in when he had the opportunity to add something, but for now, he’d listen.
“It’s Faith, but obviously, her stalker knows she’s Riven too.”
“Damn.”
Faith nodded, which told him that she’d kept her burlesque life a secret for the most part. But seriously, anyone who looked into her eyes would know her in a second. That’s all it had taken for him to recognize her.
Wolf continued after getting a nod from Faith. “Only her burlesque partners and we knew. Faith doesn’t think Honey or Syn told anyone. Why don’t you tell them what you told me, it might be easier?”
After a deep breath, Faith gathered herself and the change was obvious. She’d assumed her psychologist persona. Calm and detached, but there was still a hint of fire in her eyes.
“It started about six months ago.”
“What the hell, why…”
“Let her finish, I’ve already been down that road with her,” Wolf interjected. “Go ahead, Faith.”
“At first, it seemed innocent enough. More like love notes pasted to my windshield at the end of the day and only at work or the VA hospital. But after a couple of weeks, the letters were there almost every day. The sweet notes changed, got demanding, wanted me to answer and stop ignoring him.”
Caroline laid her hand over Faith’s clenched fists. It was her only outward sign of stress. It also told Chase that the two were closer than he figured. Coronado was a small, tight community, but the odds of them running into each other didn’t seem high. Caroline was a chemist and didn’t work on base like Faith. More questions he’d need answers to eventually.
“And no, before you ask, I don’t have a clue who it is. I’m pretty sure it’s a man. Don’t laugh, you’d be surprised how many female stalkers are out there, remember David Letterman?”
Alabama pushed a mug of beer toward Faith, and she took a long swallow. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“I just bet you did. I wish you would have told us.”
“I really didn’t think it was a big deal. Like I said. Even though he was leaving notes almost every day, they were always at work or the hospital. Until two months ago, that’s when I found the first note at home when I was leaving for work one morning. Shortly after that, the calls started. It was a blocked number, but y’all block your numbers and mine is unlisted. I figured it was a patient. When I picked up, they’d just hang up without saying a word. I changed the number, and about a week later the calls started again.”
“And you still didn’t tell anyone?” Dude asked as he shook his head, disbelief painted on his face. Chase figured he knew what they were thinking—the same thing he was. Except she was his woman, even if she didn’t realize it yet.
*~*~*~*
Seeing the looks on not only the SEAL’s but her friend’s faces made her realize she had been stupid to let it go for so long. She never thought of herself as the damsel in distress type. Why would she? She’d been on her own since she was eighteen and had no problem taking care of herself. Never making friends easily, these were the first women she’d ever felt close to. Men were a whole other story. The only one she’d ever fallen for was Chase, Frost back then, and he was forbidden fruit, a patient, and a relationship with him would have broken all the rules. After growing up with a con artist who spent more time in jail than out of it, Faith learned to never break any rules. They used to call her goody-two-shoes in college.
She never shared with her friends how little experience she had with men. Hell, she was practically a virgin. Was it possible to for it to grow back from lack of use? She knew it wasn’t, but it made her grin thinking about it. She couldn’t even remember what it felt like to have a man’s hands on her.
“Go on, Faith,” Caroline prompted and squeezed her hand.
“No, I didn’t because it was still innocuous. Yes, they’d figured out where I lived, and maybe I was stupid. It had been annoying but not threatening up until then. Anyway, I didn’t realize they knew about the burlesque too, but I should have since they figured out where I lived.” Stalling, she took another swig of the beer. “I’ve been crazy busy between work, volunteering at the VA, and the dancing. I didn’t have time to worry about it, honestly.”
Chase looked like he was going to swallow his tongue. She knew him well, scratch that, she used to know him well. He didn’t have a lot of tolerance for what he thought was stupidity and not telling anyone what was going on was stupid and reckless. She worked with enough mentally ill people to know better.
“Last week, there was a bouquet of dead flowers sitting on my front stoop when I left for work. Later that day another note showed up on my car while I was at work, telling me that he was going to make it so I couldn’t keep ignoring him.”
“What happened to make you finally tell someone?” Chase asked, and the others nodded. Wolf, Caroline, and Jess knew already, but it was her story to tell.
“Just before the show a box was delivered addressed to me. Jess brought it in, and inside was a dead bird with a note.”
“Where is it now?” Mozart asked. “The box, I mean?”
“In my office, I figured tossing it in the trash was not an option,” Jess answered and her husband Benny nodded. Obviously, she’d shared that information with him already.
The women were horrified for her and said so. The men silently exchanged glances except for Chase. He was livid. Even the tips of his ears had turned pink. She’d only seem him like that once, and that was when he punched a hole in her office wall during their first session. He really, really hadn’t wanted to be there.
“Is there anything else?” Cookie asked, but he looked toward Wolf, not Faith. She couldn’t blame them for wondering if she was still holding back information.
“No, that’s all of it. Isn’t it enough?” It was a rhetorical question, she didn’t expect an answer, and she didn’t get one. Relief oozed through her. That she hadn’t expected. It just proved it affected her more than she allowed herself to accept. I guess that’s why doctors make the worst patients, who knew it was the same for psychologists?
“How are we going to handle this? Chase asked, and Faith wasn’t the only one surprised at the question. He would be leaving to go back home, wouldn’t he? She w
asn’t even sure why he was there at all or that he wasn’t behind all of it. Although rational thought said he couldn’t be. How would he have delivered all the notes and the rest of it? Okay so it wasn’t him, but they hadn’t spoken in over three years, why would he care?
“Don’t you have a business to head back to?” Wolf asked.
“It can wait, Faith is more important.” She was? It was news to her. Since when? Considering she’d transferred him to another doctor after their one kiss in her office and never spoke to him again, she found it hard to believe.
“We can handle this. Right, Wolf?” Mozart said, and the other men nodded their heads. It was exactly as she’d expected, and why she hadn’t wanted to tell them. But she couldn’t share it with her girlfriends without them spilling the beans to their husbands, it was inevitable.
Faith had met them at an art auction fundraiser for Wounded Warriors. The paintings were by wounded warriors in rehab. It was the first one like it in their area, and the turn out had been huge. She ended up sitting at the same table as Caroline and her friends. She even got into a bidding war with Caroline over one of the paintings. After a few bottles of wine and not enough cheese and crackers, a friendship was born. When they found out what she did, that she worked on base, and was alone, they welcomed her into their little circle. She was one of their “family” by default and often hung out with them when their men were away on missions.
“I don’t think anyone has to ‘handle’ this for me. I should have gone to the police from the beginning and then told you. But it doesn’t mean I can’t go to the police now. I even have a box of proof.”
Protecting Faith Page 2