by Alice Raine
‘His name...’ Her words were broken by a small sob before she collected herself and continued. ‘His name was Greg. We were together a while. Around a year or so.’ Another hiccupy noise escaped as she began to chew frantically on her lip, seeming to try to gather her control. ‘There’s a reason I don’t want to be seen in public with you, but I swear it has nothing to do with what’s developing between us.’
Pausing, she unclenched her grip from the folder in her hands and laid it on the table before looking at me with a sombre gaze.
My natural reaction was to protect her, but what from? All I could do was offer my hand, which she accepted immediately, and then give a reassuring squeeze.
Caitlin returned the gesture before sighing again. ‘I finished with him over three years ago, but I haven’t been able to move on because I think he might be looking for me. Stalking me.’ She whispered the final two words so softly I barely heard them, but when they sunk in I felt my entire body bristle to alertness.
‘He...’ She cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable, so I swivelled myself on the sofa and took hold of her other hand. Her fingers were trembling, but she managed to offer a weak smile of thanks. ‘He sometimes sends me letters to my parent’s house. They come from all around the world, as if he’s trying to catch up with me.’
Ho-ly fuck. I wanted to kill this scumbag. How fucking dare he inflict this type of mental torture on to someone?
‘I’ve avoided all social media for years so I don’t give him an easy way to find me, and that’s why I freaked out about being seen in public.’ Her hands gripped mine even tighter. ‘I know it’s a small chance, but if a photograph of us together gets into the media, he might see it and be able to track me down.’
Bloody hell.
‘I...I’ve been having such a great time with you that it just didn’t occur to me.’
I hated the fear I could see in her eyes and I desperately wanted to wrap her in my arms, but I wasn’t sure it would be the right thing to do–she already looked stiff and terrified, overwhelming her with physical contact might make it worse.
‘Christ, Caitlin, you could have told me earlier, sweetheart.’
Caitlin nodded and then sniffed up a few strayed tears. ‘I know, but it honestly didn’t cross my mind until I heard the camera and thought about how famous you are.’
‘We’ll find a way to work around this, Caitlin.’ My tone held an edge of demand, because I seriously couldn’t even contemplate how I would cope if she finished with me over this, but Caitlin’s face lit with relief and I finally felt the tension leave my body.
‘I’m so glad you said that,’ she said. ‘I want to be with you, Jack. I really want it. You’ve got yourself a freak show of a girlfriend, though,’ she whispered. ‘I hate you knowing I’m so weak.’
I experienced a moment of joy at the way she had referred to herself as my girlfriend – that was far better than the ‘friend’ title–but my spine immediately straightened at her self-derogatory words. I shook my head vehemently. ‘Don’t ever say that. You are one of the strongest, bravest people I’ve ever met.’
Caitlin’s eyes were averted, but her dejection was clear to see in her slumped posture. ‘Yeah, so brave I don’t want to be seen in public with you,’ she muttered.
‘What have the police done about this?’ I demanded, trying to distract her from her unnecessary self-doubt. As Caitlin explained what had been done so far my brain immediately began trying to work out what contacts I had that might be able to help me track the fucker down.
‘I...I ran back to the house to get these.’ She reached out a palm and briefly rubbed the folder on the table. ‘They’re copies of letters he’s sent,’ Caitlin murmured. ‘I keep them with me wherever I travel in case I ever need to go to the police. I wish I could burn them.’
My skin prickled and my eyes flicked from the folder to Caitlin, finding myself wanting to read them in case I could gain any clue to where her ex could be.
‘You can look if you want. He made them look like love letters.’ She shuddered and stood up. ‘I’m going to use your toilet.’
Caitlin disappeared into the en suite and I sat with the folder in my hands, unsure if I should read it. Eventually, the desire to know more overwhelmed me and I opened it.
The first thing I pulled out was a colour photocopy of a postcard. The picture was a red heart and the writing on the back was minimal. ‘I can’t wait until we are back together again.’ The veiled threat sickened me.
Next was a letter. This was obviously a copy made by the police because there were station details across the top. The handwriting was the same as the card, and although there was a date in the top right corner, there was no forwarding address. It wasn’t signed. In lieu of a signature was simply a cross.
Reading the first few lines, I saw what Caitlin had meant about it appearing like a love letter. There were mentions of him missing her and wanting to be together again, but then, it started to get explicit. ‘I’ll tie you down and take you, because I know how much you love to tease me. All good whores love to be tied down and forced, and you’re no different, are you, my little slut? You love the chase. And you’ll love it until you beg me to stop. But I won’t, not until I’ve had my fill this time...’
Holy fuck. I felt sick to my guts, and as my eyes skimmed the rest of the letter, my teeth clenched so hard I heard them squeak in protest.
Shoving the letter back into the folder, I threw it down and surged to my feet feeling totally helpless. Reading those letters just made me even more determined to protect Caitlin like she deserved.
After another minute, the toilet door opened and Caitlin re-emerged looking pale and anxious. She took a step toward me like she was about to step into my arms when a knock on the door interrupted us and caused her to jump back with a startled yelp.
‘On set in one minute, Jack,’ a runner called from behind the closed door. Fuck. Talk about shitty timing. I didn’t want to leave her alone, not for a second.
‘Damn it.’ Swiping a hand through my hair, I stared at my watch and grimaced. ‘I’m going to have to go.’
Caitlin nodded and wrapped her arms around herself almost defensively.
‘I know I don’t have the full story, but thank you for letting me in. I’ll never let him hurt you again, Caitlin. I swear to God I’ll keep you safe.’ I wasn’t quite sure it was the right time to pursue a date with her, but after her emotional confession I was even more desperate to spend time with her and found my next words falling from my mouth unfiltered. ‘Can I see you Friday night? We can do something under the radar, but I’d love to spend some time with you.’
Caitlin’s cheeks started to get some colour back in them as she smiled shyly up at me and then nodded. ‘I’d really like that, Jack. Thank you.’
My heart almost exploded with happiness at her acceptance, and I wanted to drag her into my embrace so badly that my arms ached from holding back. Instead, I settled for placing a kiss on her cheek, but she turned her face slightly into mine so my lips briefly brushed across hers, almost imitating the kiss we’d shared at her house.
Thrilled at her small advance, I reluctantly stood back, taking in her flushed cheeks and smile with a grin of my own, before heading for the door.
Nineteen
Jack
It had been two days since Caitlin’s meltdown about the photograph, and to my surprise she now seemed remarkably calm about it. After my promise to keep her safe she seemed to be taking me at my word, and instead of pulling away like I’d feared she would, she was still meeting me at the studio café daily, and still holding my hand at every chance she got.
It was a scorcher today, so instead of our usual Americanos, Caitlin and I were drinking iced coffees on our afternoon break and the refreshingly cool liquid was going a long way to cooling my heated skin.
‘I should be finished by five on Friday, thank God. I can’t wait to have a full weekend off,’ I breathed, so excited by the prospect
of my date with Caitlin that I could barely contain myself.
‘I’m really looking forward to your weekend off too,’ she replied with a shy grin. As I returned her smile she sipped her drink and licked a trace of coffee from her lips. It was an innocent enough gesture, but I found myself staring at her mouth and counting down the minutes until Friday when I was hoping to share many kisses with her.
Just two more days.
I could wait that long. Just.
Great. Thinking about kissing Caitlin had predictable results and beneath the table I now had a hard-on. Again. Luckily, with work keeping me frantically busy, I was so tired most nights that I hadn’t given into the desire to turn up on her doorstep and throw myself at her.
Yet.
I might on Friday, if Caitlin was anywhere near as teasing as she had been when I’d last gone to her house. It had been as if being in her own space had emboldened her, and I was kind of hoping she might feel just as relaxed at my house and let us advance things a little bit.
‘I’ll come straight across after work and pick you up, if that’s OK? Then we can have dinner at my place. Or Flynn can collect you?’ I added quickly, thinking about her concerns about keeping our relationship under the radar.
‘Uh, as long as there aren’t loads of journalists around I don’t see why you can’t get me,’ she offered, her cheeks flushing with colour and giving me a small hint that she might be just as excited about Friday as I was.
Beside me, Caitlin put down her coffee and started to dig through her handbag. ‘Damn, I must have left my phone on the workbench. Let me run and grab it.’
After Caitlin had walked off, I relaxed in the sun, sipping my cool beverage, and tried to plan what I could cook on Friday. I was pretty good in the kitchen, if I did say so myself, but I wanted an easy meal that would allow me to spend plenty of time with Caitlin. Perhaps salmon baked in the oven–that was easy, and really tasty too.
After replying to a few emails on my phone, I glanced at my watch and realised it had now been ten minutes since Caitlin had headed inside. What was taking her so long? Wondering if she’d lost her mobile and needed help looking, I finished the last of my coffee and strolled towards the studio door to find her.
I took off my sunglasses as I entered the dim corridor and could just about make out the shape of two people at the far end. One was a male, facing away from me and blocking most of my view of his companion, but the long, brown hair that I could see was immediately recognisable to me as Caitlin, so I began to make my way towards them.
My footsteps obviously made my presence known because the man suddenly swung around to face me. ‘We’re trying to talk privately, buddy. Just give us a minute, OK?’ he asked, but his tone was far from polite and I immediately felt my hackles rise.
Who was this guy? For a crazy second I panicked that it was her ex, but he had an American accent and a studio lanyard and ID tag around his neck. A work conflict perhaps? Was Caitlin behind on a deadline?
I saw she was as white as a sheet and I shook my head, knowing I wasn’t moving a millimetre until I had Caitlin by my side. Whoever this guy was, he had clearly upset Caitlin, which in turn upset me.
‘Actually, I work on this set,’ I said. ‘Who are you again?’
He didn’t bother to respond. Instead, he just ran a hand through his hair and rolled his eyes. After fidgeting on the spot for a second, he murmured something under his breath then sent a narrow-eyed stare my way.
Something was definitely off, so I pulled my phone from my pocket ready to call site security if I needed to.
‘Caitlin? Did you find your phone?’ I asked, taking another step closer, but Caitlin barely seemed to notice my presence–she was just staring ahead in a dream. What the heck was going on?
‘Caitlin?’ I tried again, but as I went to go around the man, he threw out a hand.
‘She’s fine! Just fuck off.’ In the blink of an eye the guy flew at me, his fist shooting towards my face.
What. The. Fuck?
Thank goodness my military skills kicked in and I managed to dodge the punch so it only chipped the tip of my jaw. Howling at his miss, he tried to throw another punch and I ducked and stepped into him as I threw all my weight into an uppercut to his solar plexus.
My hit found its target spot-on and he dropped to his knees, gurgling and gasping as I raised my phone to call security. I went to bend to restrain him but a sob from Caitlin had me stopping in my tracks.
Her eyes were wide and blank, but tears were now streaming down her cheeks as her slim body slowly began sliding down the wall to the floor. Fuck.
‘Caitlin? Caitlin?’ Forgetting the spluttering man at my feet I immediately ran to her side, careful not to touch her.
Dropping to my knees, I watched as she curled herself into a ball with her knees pulled to her chest as silent tears continued to flow down her cheeks. ‘Caitlin? Sweetheart, it’s me, it’s Jack. It’s OK.’
The crash of a door opening behind me alerted me to the arrival of three security guards, but when I turned back I saw that the corridor just contained them.
The mystery guy was gone.
‘Shit! There was a man here less than a minute ago. He swung at me; looked to be mid-thirties. Blond hair, chin-length, and an orange T-shirt.’
One of the guards ran out the door while a second bent down beside Caitlin and the third picked up his walkie-talkie. ‘Control, this is Mike, I need you to check the feed on the CCTV by stage five for the last ten minutes. See if you can get any images of a young man with blond, chin length hair wearing an orange T-shirt. Try to find his location, he attacked someone.’
There was fuss going on all around us, but all I could focus on was the fact that I needed to try and help Caitlin, but that she was still non-responsive. How could I help when she wouldn’t answer me? Christ, she was as white as a sheet, so pale I genuinely feared she was about to pass out.
‘Are you OK? Can you speak, sweetheart?’ The only response I got was a watery-eyed blink, still unfocused and glassy.
What had he said to her?
‘Caitlin?’ I sounded like a broken record, but short of grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, I didn’t know what else to do. Her fingers were gripped into tight fists, so I very carefully laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. As soon as my fingers brushed against her she flinched to the side and a pitiful whimper left her lips.
I withdrew my hand as if I’d been scalded. ‘Fuck!’
‘Is she gonna puke?’ The security guard beside me asked, shifting himself backwards out of the firing line. He called into the walkie-talkie on his lapel, ‘Control, we need a paramedic. Corridor of stage five, we’ve an unresponsive employee.’
Flicking my thumb across the screen of my phone, I found Sean’s number and pressed dial, hoping with all my life that he wasn’t on set. He answered after three rings and I felt my chest decompress in relief.
‘Sean? It’s Jack, is Allie with you?’
‘No, I’m at the studio. She’s at their house writing. Why?’
‘I don’t have Allie’s number, but something’s wrong with Caitlin. Can you call Allie and ask her to come across to the studio? I’ll have someone meet her by the gates.’ I gave the security guard an intense look. He nodded and pulled out a pad for me to scribble Allie’s name down and then hurried out of the door.
‘Of course. Is Cait OK?’
‘I’m not sure. I think she’s having a panic attack, I’m hoping Allie will know what to do.’
‘Shit. I’ll call her now. Good luck.’
‘Thanks. We’re in stage five. Tell her to be quick.’
Twenty
Allie
Sean’s phone call had really shaken me up. Thank goodness I’d spent the morning writing and hadn’t gone out shopping as planned, because otherwise I’d have been miles away in the middle of Wal-Mart juggling a trolley load of goodies right now.
Hot on the heels of a security guard, I rushed through a set of heav
y doors and saw Jack’s tall figure, pale and drawn as he frantically ushered me toward him.
Practically tripping over every step, I made it to his side and my stomach dropped as I saw Cait sitting on the floor, tiny and terrified with her arms around her knees as she gently rocked back and forth while a paramedic attempted to read her blood pressure. Jeez.
This didn’t look good.
Dropping to my knees, I leant in close. ‘Cait, it’s Allie.’ Even though I’d used my softest voice, she didn’t respond at all.
Her eyes were open, but staring straight ahead sightlessly.
‘What happened?’ I asked, standing up next to Jack.
‘We were on a coffee break when Caitlin realised she’d left her phone here. She went back to get it but she’d been gone a while so I came in to check on her.’ Pausing, he ran a hand through his hair, looking completely stressed out. ‘When I got back, she was talking to this guy. Well, he was talking to her. As soon as I tried to intervene he attacked me.’
‘What?’ I squawked. Jack was a sizable guy, tall and well-built. I’d imagine another man would have to be pretty confident to go for him. Or pretty crazy.
‘Yeah, he tried to punch me in the face, but I managed to dodge it. I dropped him to the floor but while I was checking on Caitlin he managed to get away.’
‘Oh my God. Who was it?’ I whispered.
‘No idea. He was wearing a tag that looked like a site pass, but I’d never seen him before.’ At that moment, a security guard hurried to us with a sheet of paper that he thrust at Jack.
‘We got this from the entry gate footage just over an hour ago. This the guy? The ID tag looks the wrong colour, might be a fake.’
Jack examined the image and nodded.
‘We’re checking it against the staff database, but if that tag is fake then whoever let him in is in serious trouble.’
As they we talking I leant in and glanced at the picture and the blood in my veins turned icy. Shit. His hair was longer, and the picture was quite grainy, but there was no mistaking that pointy face.