Page 66 of The Stalker Snafu

Julian glanced at me over the car roof. “Something about needing the duplex for the evening to study with a classmate. He asked me to steer clear or go to his place.”

I shook my head. Noah had called me his classmate? I wanted to smack him for getting all worked up about me calling him a friend to my mother. “That doesn’t make any sense. Does he have a roommate?”

“Nope. It’s just him.” Julian led the way up the front path and held the door for me.

I shuffled past, slipping off my shoes in the foyer and setting my bookbag down. “But we could’ve avoided inconveniencing you if he’d just taken me to where he actually lives. He did all that for a shorter drive?”

Julian shrugged as I followed him into the living room. “That’s just my guess. I can’t pretend to know what’s going on in Noah Kincaid’s brilliant mind, but he has a reason for everything he does. So there must be one for why he pretended to live here. And I sure hope there’s a reason he kicked me out on my ass every time you came over.”

He grumbled the last part a little bitterly, and I instantly felt horrible for putting him out so many times.

“I’m so sorry, Julian.”

He waved off my apology. “Eh, it’s fine. I’m hardly here, and I’ve gotten used to crashing on campus.”

“I’m still sorry.” I wet my lips, trying to get back on track. “Okay, okay, okay. Plan. We need a plan. What’s the plan? What do we do?”

He rubbed his temples and sent me a tight smile. “First, we gather the troops. I texted the others when we left the clinic and told them what’s going on. They’re coming over now.”

“Others?” I echoed, leaning against the back of an armchair. That didn’t sound good.

Julian’s smile turned grim. “My and Noah’s friends.”

My stomach dropped. The secret friends. The ones Noah mentioned once in a blue moon, but had never really told me about.

“Do they know about me?” I asked doubtfully, and Julian’s hesitation confirmed my thoughts. “Figures. They can help find him, though?”

He sat on an armrest, crossing his arms. “Someone might know something, but I just want to get everyone together before they hear it from anyone else. They’re overdue to find out about you, too.”

I rubbed a hand over my stomach, trying to settle the sudden jump in nerves. This was what I’d been wanting—to meet Noah’s friends.

Just preferably with Noah at my side and not disappearing as a fugitive.

“Lovely. But why haven’t you tried calling Noah?” I asked, scratching my elbow and surveying the room. It looked the same as the last time I’d been here, but now it felt alien since I knew it wasn’t Noah’s place. “I’ve called him a dozen times and sent texts, but you’ve only looked at your phone once since I found you. Did you text him?”

“He hasn’t reached out, so that means he doesn’t have his phone. Why don’t you sit and get comfortable?” Julian gestured to the couch, fishing his phone out of a pocket and glancing at it. “The guys shouldn’t be long now. Rafe and Adrian said they’ll be here in a minute.”

I didn’t even have time to sit. Turns out in a minute meant right now, as the front door swung open, and I jumped like a startled cat.

A large form filled the doorframe. I only had a moment to take in his messy dark hair and slight scowl before my gaze met a familiar pair of piercing dark eyes.

All the air in my lungs vanished.

Creepy Stalker.

The guy who had been following me around campus and work—the one who didn’t speak English—stepped inside, and his dark eyes screamed murder when they landed on me.

CHAPTER 26

A Stalker

As my stalker’s eyes narrowed, all I could think was I was going to die and I’d never tried eating Oreos without licking off the cream first because I was against it on principle. Biting into one whole? It just wasn’t right. Or maybe I was too much of a chicken. Now I was going to die without knowing the full Oreo experience, and that terrified me more than death.

“He found me,” I wheezed through a tight throat, stumbling back through the kitchen doorway. “Julian, run!”

My stalker took a step inside, and I frantically scanned the kitchen behind me for anything helpful since my stupid pepper spray was in my bag by the door—right next to my stalker.

Emma, you moron. Haven’t crime shows taught you anything?