Moving with all the grace and speed of a three-toed sloth, Laura made her way to standing, and eventually to the bedroom to ditch her ski gear. She pulled on her Red Sox sweats, a white V-neck tee, and piled her damp hair on top of her head. Just removing the weight of the ski clothes relaxed and revived her.
She grabbed her phone and dialed guest services. “Guten nachmittag. Portier.”
“Hello. I’d like to place an order to be delivered to my room, please.” Laura held her breath in the hopes his English was good.
“Ja? What can I get for you?”
She blew the breath out with some force, relieved she didn’t have to attempt to use her subpar German from the sixth grade. “Could I please get an order of the butternut squash soup with goat cheese and the venison dinner, please? I’m in the Alpine Matterhorn suite.”
“Ah, Mrs. Decker. That is not a problem. Can I get you anything else?”
Laura caught the concierge’s mistake and paused, debating whether to correct him or not. She decided to let it go. They weren’t married, but it really didn’t matter for a dinner order. “Is there a pharmacy I can maybe get a bag of Epsom salts from or some kind of bath oil? I hurt myself skiing.”
The concierge chuckled. “Of course. I actually think I can get you something from the spa. Perhaps you’ll consider one of our world famous massages if the soreness becomes too much?”
Oh, he was good. “Perhaps, but for now I want to be as still as possible and just relax.”
“Of course, Mrs. Decker. I’ll put your order in and have it sent up to you right away.”
“I appreciate that. And if you can send the salts as soon as possible, that would be the biggest help.”
“Ja. Of course. We will have that to you soon. Auf wiederhören.”
“Thanks.” Laura hung up and went to hunker down on the couch to order a movie, when a text alert caught her attention. It was from her elderly neighbor, Maggie.
I saw a man lurking around your door twice this week. The first time I thought he may have had the wrong apartment, but when I saw him again I figured I should let you know.
Laura’s hands grew sweaty. Clearly, her leaving the country wasn’t deterrent enough. Her hands shook as she replied.
If you see him again, call the police.
She switched to a text conversation with Mason.
He’s back. A neighbor just alerted me to some guy checking out my apartment. Come back please, I’m freaking out.
She tapped her phone against her hand. She really didn’t want to cut her vacation off early, but she saw no choice. Her rational, adult mind told her to get home and deal with the situation…immediately. Her phone pinged again.
I’m on my way.
Chapter Twenty Eight
She knew the trek from the slope to the hotel was maybe fifteen minutes, but the ten seconds since she’d received the text already felt too long. She wanted to crawl out of her skin. The feeling of helplessness and complete and total uselessness was overwhelming. She began to pace the floor, all soreness in her body forgotten.
Laura yelped as someone knocked at the room door. “Who is it?” she called, her voice shaking and cracking.
“Room service, gnä Frau. I have your salts.”
Laura wiped her hands on her pants and opened the door. “Thank you so much. And so fast!” She tipped him a few francs and shut the door. She blindly rubbed at a bruise forming above her kneecap. Considering there was nothing she could do at the moment, maybe she would go soak the aches away. She ambled to the bathroom to run the hot water.
***
Mason hurried back across the snow, dialing the NYPD at the same time. He may not be able to rearrange yet another flight with this short notice, so he needed to get someone alerted to the stalker problem immediately
“Precinct,” a curt male voice answered.
“Hello, my name is Mason Decker. I just received word that someone was lurking around my apartment. I’m out of the country and need to have it looked in on.”
The voice on the other end of the phone sighed. “Was there a break-in?”
“Not that I’m aware of as yet. I just had a neighbor let me know she saw someone at my apartment door twice this week.”
“All right, guy. I’ll put this through to the right department. If I get word of anything I’ll be in touch.” The officer took down all of Mason’s contact information and abruptly hung up. When Mason reached the lobby he looked up a personal security service. Something told him the cops weren’t going to be much help unless the apartment was actually broken into.
***
Laura rested her head against the back of the tub and closed her eyes. A knot of tension had begun to tighten at the base of her neck and one eye had started to throb. The stress she had all but forgotten about had returned with a vengeance.
“Laura?” Mason’s voice echoed through the suite.
“I’m in the tub!” she answered back.
Mason entered the room and sat on the toilet lid. “Tell me everything that happened.”
“There isn’t much to tell. I just got off the phone with Joan, and she didn’t have more to add than what she told me in the text message.” Laura shrugged. “I asked her if she saw what he looked like, and she didn’t. She saw him from behind and only said she saw it was a man with dark hair. I guess he had on a thick jacket and heavy pants, so she couldn’t make out his build or if he had any tattoos or markings.”
Mason nodded in silence. He waited to see if she had any more to add.
“I have no idea who this guys is. I have contact with any number of dark-haired men on any given day. It could be a guy I’ve interviewed, worked with, or even some random guy I’ve ordered food or coffee from. This is making me crazy.” Laura slipped further into the water so her chin dipped below the surface.
“We need to end this. I called a security service, and the police on my way up here. What do you want to do? We can finish out our trip or head back and deal with this.”
Laura knew what the answer should be, but she didn’t think going back to New York yet was the best option. Her admirer had been too close for too long. At least in Europe he couldn’t follow her. “Let’s stay. I think it may be safer to not be within this guy’s vicinity. He can’t find me here.”
Mason nodded in agreement. “Good. I’ll add my assistant and partner to the list of people to drop in on your place. Call your other neighbors and let them know what’s going on.” Mason paused and furrowed his brow. “You didn’t happen to post anything on social media about this? Facebook, Twitter, or anything?”
Laura’s eyes grew wide as dinner plates. “I posted a couple of photos to Instagram. Hand me my phone. I need to take them down!” With lightning speed, Laura logged in and cleared the three pictures and their tags from her account. As long as nobody shared them, they should be gone.
Another knock came at the hotel door. “Room service!” a muffled voice called. Mason waved at Laura to relax and went to fetch her food.
Her stomach knotted. As hungry as she had been, her appetite had soured right along with her mood. “Can you just put that in the fridge, Mase?” she called out. Her legs became restless and her skin crawled. She couldn’t sit still anymore, so she drained the tub and climbed out.
As she slipped on the fluffy, white hotel robe, she sent out a plea to the universe that she could stay and find some enjoyment with her boyfriend. Christmas was in a few days, and she really didn’t want this black cloud to ruin it.
Chapter Twenty Nine
The man inhaled deeply. The apartment had that closed up odor that only seemed to intensify the smell of her in the room. He wandered around, picking up tchotchkes and examining her framed pictures.
He strolled into her bedroom, a place that was once so familiar and yet so different. He took off his boots and lay on her comforter, burying his face in her pillow, inhaling the scent of her shampoo and perfume.
The man pulled open the bedside draw
er. No condoms. He became livid. That Decker asshole was having unprotected sex with his girl! How could she be so free, so giving of herself to him as to trust he’d be clean?
Oh, he had done his research on Mason Decker. The billionaire tech wunderkind had a reputation for being a total Lothario. Laura deserved better than some dickhead who would use her and throw her away.
She should be with me. Laura was always his perfect mate, even if she didn’t realize it. He got up from her bed and moved to rummage through her dresser.
He pulled open her underwear drawer and one by one pulled each pair out, turning them over in his hands as if they were precious artifacts from a different world. He dug until he found his favorite pair. A pair of leopard print, lace boy shorts. She looked so magnificent in these with just a hint of ass cheek peeking out of the bottom.
He rubbed the wad of lace against his cheek, drawing out the memories of having them pressed against his face once before. He always loved how she would squirm and writhe around him as he fed from her. The man licked his lips as he remembered how good her cunt tasted.
His hand hovered over the open drawer. Should he put them back? He decided not to and slipped the underwear into his coat pocket. They were his favorite, so no one else should get to enjoy them.
The same went for Laura. She belonged to him. It was only a matter of time before she realized it and came running to him. He would welcome her into his life with open arms and never let her go.
A photo on the bathroom wall caught his attention. The gilt frame drew his eye, but it was the actual photo that set him on fire. It was Laura on the beach, side by side with Decker, looking smiley and happy. Decker’s arm was wrapped around her, drawing her body close to him, and his free hand rested on her upper thigh in an almost sexual way.
The man tore the frame off the wall and chucked it against the tile, shattering the glass and disjointing the wood. With a smothered roar he stormed through the apartment, knocking every photo of her and that disgusting man-whore to the floor, smashing the contents under his boot.
He flew around the room, upending furniture and leaving a wake of destruction behind him. When he finished he whirled around to look at his handiwork, but the disaster wasn’t enough; he had to let her know how much he loved her. All of this was for her.
He rifled through the junk drawer in the kitchen and fished out a fat-tipped Sharpie. After clearing off the only wall in the living room that had been dry walled and not done in brick, he began to scribble huge, black letters across the surface.
Chapter Thirty
“Please return to your seats. We will be landing at JFK in roughly thirty minutes. Thank you for flying American Airlines.”
Mason nudged Laura. “Wake up. We’ll be home soon.”
Laura wiped the sleep from her eyes. She had been so wired the last few days she hadn’t had any rest. She had been out since shortly after takeoff. “Thank you for doing this. I really tried.”
“It was a bitch finding two tickets to New York on Christmas Day, but we got lucky.” He slipped his fingers between hers and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t be able to stay away from home.” He grinned at her.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I ruined our trip.”
“Don’t be. You were a little naïve to think this whole thing would just disappear. You’ll be home in a couple of hours, so sit tight.” Mason secured both of their tray tables and put Laura’s magazines away.
On one hand, Mason was disappointed the vacation had ended much sooner than he had hoped. On the other, he was glad that Laura had pulled the plug. He could tell the stress of receiving the text from her neighbor was eating her alive. She hadn’t slept well, didn’t have much of an appetite for food or sex, and was getting punchy over little things. It was time to leave.
Laura rested her head against Mason’s shoulder as the plane descended. The closer the plane got to the ground the calmer Laura became. Each foot closer to earth brought her that much closer to ending her situation.
“You called the security company and the precinct to let them know what time we’d be back, right?” There was no way she was entering her apartment alone.
“Yes. The cops are on standby, and I have a guard meeting us at your building to check things out before we go in.” Mason patted Laura on the knee.
“Good. I’m looking forward to nailing this guy.” Laura was fed up. She had been violated and driven crazy with all of the weird behavior. The letters and gifts had unraveled her to the point that she didn’t even want anything from Mason. On their last day in Switzerland he’d surprised her with chocolates and a stuffed mountain goat, and she’d burst into tears.
Finally, the plane had landed. Now it was a matter of getting off and getting home quickly.
***
So she’s coming home today? What a nice little surprise. The man had overheard two of the neighbors discussing her homecoming from Switzerland – Of all places. How stupid. – and the strange figure that had been creeping around outside her door.
He had thought about being there to greet her when she saw his handiwork, but decided to get them at Decker’s building. He wanted Laura to come running to him on that bastard’s home turf. That would show him, the visiting team getting the win.
“You don’t want to go in there.” The security guy had come out of the apartment with a look of terror in his eyes and his phone pressed to his ear. “I’m calling the cops. I found no sign of a person still on the premises, but I’m sorry, ma’am, your apartment has been destroyed.”
“What!” Laura squeezed past the large man and into the foyer. She gasped as the scene in front of her. Everything had been destroyed. Broken glass and couch stuffing were strewn across the floor. The kitchen looked like the cabinets had exploded their contents all over the room.
Fear gripped her chest when she read the graffiti on her wall.
Mine you are, but you dont know
How quick it was my love to grow
Lost in time to one undeserved
Come back again Youre mine you see
Fall into my Embrace
A dangerous game you play with my heart as your wager
Mine again youll be when that fucker goes down
Laura couldn’t be sure if was the shock, the jet lag, her empty stomach, or some combination of the above, but her eyes rolled back into her head and she crumpled to the floor.
Chapter Thirty One
“Laura! Holy fuck! Laura, baby, wake up!” Mason desperately shook her. The state of her apartment turned him to ice. He felt a blood lust so strong he thought he’d kill the next person who so much as looked at her sideways.
He yelled to the security guard, “I have to get her out of here! When the cops show, tell one of them to either call me or get to my penthouse. I can’t leave her here, interview or no.” Mason scooped her up into a fireman’s carry and took off through the building. Smith had waited at the curb, and for that, Mason was grateful.
Slowly, Laura came to. She felt the jarring of a bump and realized she was moving. “Where the fuck are we going? I have to talk to the police!” She sat up in a panic and tried to escape the car.
Mason gripped her shoulders and pinned her to the seat. “You will…at my place. I had to get you out of there. You completely cracked. I left security at your place in the meantime. An officer will meet with us as soon as we get home.”
Laura stiffened like a cornered animal. Her eyes darted back and forth, her breathing picked up almost to hyperventilation, and she felt like she may bolt from the car at the next red light.
Much to Mason’s relief, the car slowed and pulled over in front of his building. “Go home, Smith. And thank you.” Mason helped ease Laura out of the car and put his arm around her waist to keep her standing all the way to the elevator, where she collapsed against the wall.
Laura continued to stare off into space. Her eyes had gone glassy with the film of unshed tears. The ominous fe
eling that Mason was going to die settled on her shoulders. Her admirer had been upsetting to this point, but he had kept his distance. Twice he had been inside her home and this time destroyed it.
She didn’t care about the furniture or the decorations. Every photo of her and Mason had been shattered, stepped on, and torn. The man after her had sent a very clear message that Mason was in the way and would be dealt with.
The tears silently overflowed and soaked her cheeks. She was about to have her happily ever after taken away…again! “Mason, I’m really scared.”
“We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.” He scanned up and down the corridor with no sign of another person before pulling Laura out towards his door.
“Mason, stop! I think this guy wants to kill you. I’m freaking out!” Laura dug her heels into the carpet and yanked her arm away.
“Then we had better get inside now before he realizes we’re here and not where he thinks you’ll be.” Mason gripped her hand, and without another word, dragged her across the threshold.
In their arguing, neither of them saw the man step into the corridor from the stairwell and slip in behind them.
“Mason, let go of me!” Laura tugged at Mason’s grip and couldn’t beak it. A voice from behind them drew their attention.
“Let her go.” The man tossed his hood back to reveal a full head of dark hair streaked with silver, straight brows, and eyes like ice.
Laura’s jaw dropped. “Frank? What are you doing–” As the words were leaving her mouth, she knew: it was all him.
“I came for you, my love. You deserve so much better than to be a chew toy. I can take you away from all of this and we can be together.” The sincerity in his eyes tugged at Laura’s heart. She had thought their entire relationship was just for fun.
“Frank, I had no idea you felt this way. I thought we were just fuck buddies.” Her eyes widened when she thought of the photos he’d sent her. “You photographed me without my knowing, didn’t you?’
KYLE: A Mafia Romance (The Callahans Book 4) Page 102