Chapter 32
Luke
“Are you sure you need to be at the office today?” I ask for probably the hundredth time.
“I told you, the software would run much faster on the servers at the office than here. Now that we have a partial picture of him, I want to run it through the facial recognition software and DMV database. Plus the manager at the rental car place should be in at nine today. Unfortunately, by the time I returned his call yesterday, he was already gone.”
She smirks at me, since I’m the reason she didn’t return his call right away. Yesterday we pretty much spent the entire day in my bedroom, stopping only to eat and take an occasional nap. We reconnected in a way that I didn’t think was possible. In some ways things have changed so much since I picked her up from the café two days ago but in other ways, things haven’t changed much between us.
This morning she surprised me by insisting she needed to go to the office. I tried to convince her that it was a bad idea, but with each argument I made she also made one about how she would be safe while she was at the office. Finally, I couldn’t argue with her if it meant getting whoever this bastard is out of her life once and for all. I agreed under certain circumstances, including altering our schedule so that we don’t leave the office at the normal time just in case he’s watching. I’ve also let Alec know that I’ll be switching vehicles before we leave as well, again just in case.
With any luck, today will bring us some answers. Emily’s software was able to match the license plate to a large rental company, but it’s like pulling teeth trying to get information on who actually rented the vehicle. She was also able to get a partial image of the bastard’s face from a traffic cam, but as both Garrett and Emily had said, his face was hidden by a low hat and sunglasses. Still, Emily believes that her software will be able to identify him.
“What happens once we figure out who he is?” she wonders.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think the police will do anything since he didn’t actually do anything—”
“He fucking followed you! He was stalking you!”
“Which is just a slap on the wrist,” she points out. “They have bigger issues going on compared to this, especially because he never actually threatened me.”
“If the police won’t do anything, then we’ll just arrange to have a little chat with him.”
“Meaning what?”
“We’ll let him know that you’re mine and under no circumstances do I share, with anyone. If that doesn’t work, then I have a few guys we’ve used in the past that are excellent at getting points across.”
“A little chauvinistic, don’t you think?” She laughs.
“What is?”
“I’m yours and you don’t share?”
“Em…you’ve always been mine, from that very first day, you’ve been mine. Ten years may have passed, but trust me, you’re still mine,” there has never been any doubt in my mind.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I glance over, not able to read the tone in her voice, but the smile she’s wearing tells me everything I need to know. I pull into the parking lot of the warehouse that houses our offices, quickly checking that no one pulls in after us. He wouldn’t have been able to follow us from the house, but it doesn’t stop me from checking anyway.
“Good morning, Margaret.” If she’s surprised to find Emily and I walking in together, holding hands, she hides it well. I emailed her this morning to let her know that Emily was having car trouble and that I would be bringing her in late. Alec and I both agreed that until we know who this bastard is, the fewer people who know what’s going on the better.
“Morning Mr. Simpson, Ms. Telford.” She nods.
“Let me know if you find anything.” I pause when we’ve reached Emily’s office and lean down to kiss her. Immediately, her face turns an adorable shade of pink and she looks around to make sure no one is around. I couldn’t care less. I have no fucking problem with the entire office knowing that she’s mine.
“I will.” She surprises me by leaning up and kissing me again before darting into her office.
I quickly make my way down the hall to my office, immediately turning on the cameras for the security system. The wall of flat-screen monitors display every angle of our office and the surrounding property so if someone tries to sneak in, not only will they trigger an alarm, but I’ll also be able to see them on the screen. I adjust one of the cameras so it has a clear view of the doorway to Emily’s office.
“Any problems?” Alec asks as soon as I answer my ringing phone.
“None, there were no signs that he was waiting here for her.”
“She have any other thoughts as to who this bastard might be?”
“No. She easily tracked down the last guy she dated before her dad got sick—”
“And?”
“He’s on his honeymoon in Aruba, easily verified by the plane ticket and credit card transactions.”
“Damn, I liked him for it.”
“So did I. A scorned lover is always my first thought and nine times out of ten, it’s them.”
“Let’s hope she can work her magic and find out who this bastard is so she can put this behind her. She doesn’t need something like this with everything she’s already been through,” Alec says.
“Agreed.” He has no idea just how right he is.
“Let me know what you find. I have a call with a potential new client this afternoon. Depending on how the call goes, do you have someone available for a live-in position?”
“Garrett,” I say without giving it a second thought. He proved himself to me handling the last minute call for help with Emily and then taking care of her car after we had to quickly leave. “He’s completed his training and has done a few on-site jobs. Depending on what all is needed, I’d consider presenting him with the case.”
“I’ll know more after the call, and then I’ll have Emily start running the background checks before we decide if we’re going to move forward. But from what I’ve gathered, he’s some big shot tech guru who has been receiving threats after it was revealed software his company developed was actually spying on their customers. Of course, he denies this, but it’s the nature of the threats.”
“Let me know what you find out. I’d like more information on the threats, but Garrett would probably be a good fit for the job. He was willing to consider live-in positions, so that won’t be a problem.”
“Great, I’ll let you know if we need to move forward with the background checks.”
“Thanks for covering the call this morning. I didn’t want to risk bringing her here early.”
“No, that made sense. It was fine, the timing worked out because Sophie took an early nap since she was up most of the night.”
“Everything okay?” She’s usually a pretty good sleeper for Alec.
“She’s teething, so just having a hard time.”
“Do you need anything? I can bring something by—”
“No, Dani…she thought ahead and had all these teething toys and stuff ready for this.”
“Let me know if you need something…I don’t know shit about babies but if there’s something I can do…”
“We’re good, thanks.”
A weird silence falls. This is the first time he’s even said Dani’s name since the accident. I don’t know if he even realizes he was avoiding saying her name or if he realizes he said it just now. Since it all happened, he’s been closed off about her. The closest I can get to talking about her is to ask about Sophie. That was a struggle at first too, but he’s slowly started opening up.
“Let me know what you find out. And, Luke, keep Emily safe.”
“Always.”
The next few hours pass by quickly, but, thankfully, without event. There’s no sign of Emily’s stalker, but I don’t think for even a second that he’s given up. Men like him don’t just give up, not once they set their eyes on someone they want. The thought sickens me.
“We have a name.” She practically bounces into my office just as I was wrapping up.
“Really?”
“Jackson Scott.”
“Who the hell is that?”
“That’s the guy who rented the Toyota that’s been following me, both according to the rental company and the DMV database.”
“I figured,” I grunt, “but who the hell is he to you?”
“I have no idea.”
“You don’t know him?”
“Never heard the name before.”
“Does he look familiar? At all?”
“No.”
“Where’s he from? He could have known you without you knowing who he is?”
“I only have a preliminary background check completed so far. The more in-depth one will take a few more hours. He lives outside of DC and, from what I can tell so far, he hasn’t stayed at the hotel where I am. He’s not married, no children, and from the looks of it he’s unemployed—”
“What did he do?”
“Everything.” She sighs. “Most recently he was a cab driver in the city, before that a bartender, and before that, he did stints at several construction companies.”
“Fuck, that doesn’t help us figure out how he knows you.”
“I know.” She adjusts the chair in front of my desk, angling it so her back isn’t toward the door before sitting down. I noticed she does that whenever she’s here, but I haven’t see her do it at my house.
“Any criminal record?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s something at least.”