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“Coke.”
The waitress didn’t say anything, and I glanced out of the corner of my eye at her. She was watching him watch me, and the look on her face said it all. She could feel the heat sizzling between us. She bent over and kept her voice low, but I could hear her. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit with her?”
“I’m good,” he grinned.
As the waitress walked away, I continued to eat, taking extra care as breadcrumbs fell on my lap. I brushed them off, then rearranged my napkin, but it was all wrinkled now, messing up the formation of it. I crumpled it up and tossed it on the table. Looking around, I searched for silverware on any of the other tables, but there was none. I was about to flag down the waitress when the man walked over to me, holding his roll of silverware out.
I slowly looked up into his eyes, wondering what he was playing at. When he didn’t make a move to leave, I took the silverware, unrolling it from the napkin. Very carefully, I unfolded the napkin and laid it out again. When I looked up, he was back in his seat, watching me carefully.
I nodded my head in thanks, then continued to eat. I felt like I was under the microscope as I finished my meal. He was served not too much later, eating much faster than I had. He also didn’t have a napkin to wipe his face. There was a small drop of mayonnaise at the corner of his mouth. I wondered briefly if he left it there just to annoy me, but that was just ridiculous.
When the check came, I paid but didn’t leave. It only seemed right since he was obviously here for me. When he was finished, I slid from the booth and headed to my car. I didn’t really have a plan in mind for where I was going. My only thought was to get him away from Nolan’s house.
I pulled out a map when I got in my car, finding my next mark. I was a good fourteen hours away and would have to stop overnight. There was no way I’d make the drive through the night. I folded it up and stuffed it in the glove box, then slipped my sunglasses on.
As I got back on the highway, I noted the car following me. Was he going to follow me everywhere I went? Our little dance at the restaurant was cute, but I couldn’t handle him following me for the whole drive. It was just weird.
I hit the gas, speeding down the highway until I reached the interstate. I didn’t use my blinker, just turned at the last minute onto the ramp. But it wasn’t enough. He followed easily, never letting up his pace. Now that I was on the open road, I really sped up, passing the few cars that remained on the road. I was getting further ahead of him, and when I saw the exit for the small town, I got off, taking a quick right and cutting off the semi that was barreling toward me.
The semi’s tires squealed as the driver swerved to avoid hitting me. I grinned as it blocked the off-ramp, making it easy for me to speed off down the road and lose my tail. I took the backroads, going in all directions in case he caught up to me. But by the time an hour passed, there was still no sign of his car in sight.
I got back on the road and didn’t stop until I pulled into a motel later that night. The bed was threadbare and the bathroom wasn’t the nicest I’d ever stayed in, but it was off the grid and I could finally relax without thinking about where this new adversary was.
I slid off the watch that belonged to my father and placed it on the nightstand. My mother’s pendant stayed around my neck. I couldn’t sleep with a watch on, but I would never willingly remove the ruby that laid perfectly hidden between my breasts. With a tired flop onto the bed, I closed my eyes and was asleep in minutes.
10
NICHOLAS
I smirked as she shot past the semi and sped off down the highway. She was smart, but I was smarter. I pulled over at a gas station and filled up my tank. While I was waiting, I opened the app on my phone and watched as she took a right and then zig-zagged around the countryside, probably trying to lose me.
Of course, she didn’t know that I’d slipped multiple trackers on her car at the diner. I’d spied her organizing the condiments at the table, completely ignoring what I was doing in the parking lot. And when I brought the napkin to her table, I slipped another tracker into her purse. There was no way she was losing me.
But I’d let her think she was.
She drove for hours, only stopping once night had fallen. I pulled into the motel about a half hour after the tracker stopped moving. It wasn’t what I would consider a luxury motel, but then again, I had slept in worse places.
Most of the time with Fox.
I sat in the car, waiting for her to turn out the lights. I couldn’t pinpoint what I was so fascinated with. By all accounts, she was a gorgeous woman. Any man would be attracted to her. But how many men would follow her to her home and then chase her across the country?
Not many.
There had to be something wrong with me. It was all because of Fox. I wasn’t normally this guy, but something about being around him set off something inside me. His personality fueled my darker side.
It started with my wife. It was an obsession, really. When she told me she wanted a divorce, I just had to know why. Was it just because she was screwing someone else? Was she really that unhappy with me? I couldn’t rest until I understood the situation. And even then, I couldn’t walk away. I couldn’t stop watching her.
It became like a drug to me. The need to know what she was doing and why was a habit that took me a long time to shake. It was only when I joined the department that I finally cut all ties with her. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but I couldn’t enforce the law while stalking my ex.
Besides, the man she was screwing behind my back was a lawyer.
The pretentious prick loved to sue people. It was a game to him, and I didn’t want to be caught up in any of his tricks. I forced myself to stay away from her for a week. Every day that passed became a little easier to tolerate until eventually, I didn’t need to see her. I walked away and felt the relief of knowing she was no longer my problem.
And that worked out great for me.
Until I saw those green eyes.
After the light had been out for a half hour, I made my move. The motel had cheap locks and flimsy door frames. I could kick the door in, but that would defeat the purpose of my mission. I quickly picked the lock and gently opened the door a scant inch. As I suspected, she’d put the chain lock on the door. I pulled out a tool I’d crafted a long time ago, slipping it between the door and the frame, up to the chain. When I felt the little hands click around the slider, I pulled the door shut as far as I could, then released the slider from the door.
