This whole thing was a horrible idea.

When I’d gotten home from a long, tension filled, awkward day at work that started with Ben making eyes at me, Grace had been there with Mom like usual.

What hadn’t been usual, though, was Grace insisting I shower, change, and go on a blind date with this great guy that “You would just love.” Though I tried to protest, and insist that I would rather stay home with my mom, like usual, Grace had said she could wait for the locks guy to come—I’d custom ordered locks to keep Mom from wondering off in the middle of the night—and had all but booted me out of my own house.

So. Here I was. Waiting for some dude I didn’t know to show up…or not. Knowing my luck, the dude would stand me up. Then again, if he never showed, I could go home.

Ugh.

What if the locksmith had an issue installing the locks? What if my mother had another episode like she’d had in the middle of the night last night? Sleep had been hard to come by lately, and so had peace of mind, so the last thing I needed was to be here, waiting for some guy to show up so I could find out he was just as disappointingly selfish as all the other men I’d dated. But Grace had asked, and she was doing a lot for me, so I went.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced down. It was a call from an unknown number. Grimacing, I picked up. “Hello?”

“Hello, Sarah.” The voice on the other end was crackly and broke up, so I could barely hear him.

I pressed my hand to my free ear, leaning down a bit to hear better. “Yes, is this Derek?”

“No.” A short laugh. “Don’t you recognize my voice, babe?”

I froze. My whole world, everything, froze. That laugh. That cold, careless tone… No. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not after I’d finally gotten away from him. My heart unfroze, coming to life with painful acceleration. “How did you get this number?”

“Who the fuck is Derek?” Vinnie asked, anger seeping from every word.

I ignored his question. “You’re not supposed to call me. You’re breaking the Protection from Abuse Order I filed against you, and if you think I won’t report it to Judge—”

“Go ahead. I’m not scared.” He laughed again. “But you should be, and so should this Derek guy. You belong to me, and I don’t share what’s mine. You know that.”

My stomach dropped. So many memories of him “punishing” me because some guy had checked me out came over me. Familiar, chilling and all unwelcome. “I’m not yours.”

“I bet you look really pretty tonight. Are you wearing a dress?”

I shivered, glancing around the restaurant. Was he here? Could he see me now? I ignored his questions again. He was just trying to get a rise out of me. It wouldn’t work. He no longer held any power over me, and it was time for him to realize it. “How did you get out of jail?”

He laughed, not answering me.

After a period of silence, I broke it. “Don’t call me again.”

“See you soon.”

I tightened my grip on the phone. “Then you’ll go to jail.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He laughed again. That sound, that horrible sound, sent a shiver down my spine. “You shouldn’t have gone home. It was too easy to find you. But, hey, for what it’s worth? That color of purple looks amazing on you, babe.”

Oh my God. He was here. He was actually here.

Hanging up, I stood, trembling. Spinning in a circle, I scanned the crowd, looking for him. Was he in this room? Watching? Planning? Plotting? Despite myself, and the strength I’d recently found after leaving him…I started to panic. Picturing his face on every man’s face in this restaurant, sure he was about to come out and take me. “Oh God.”

“Sarah?”

I swung around, my hand on my purse, which held my holstered pistol. I fully intended to aim it at Vinnie, if he was stupid enough to come at me in public, but it wasn’t him. It was someone else who haunted me, but in an entirely different way. I grabbed his suit jacket, hanging on tightly. “He called me, Ben.”

“Who called—?” Ben started to ask, but then he broke off and stepped closer. “You mean, him?”

I nodded frantically, swallowing hard “He found me. He’s going to come for me, and this time, he won’t stop until I’m dead. He promised me one day he’d find me and kill me, and now he has. He’s going to kill me.”

Ben rested his hands on my shoulders. They were big. Warm. “I won’t let that happen.”

“You can’t stop him. No one can.” I held onto him tighter, panic taking over me. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t process. Couldn’t—just couldn’t. “I’m going to die, just like Liz. He’s going to find me, and kill me, and then you’ll file the report.”

“Never.” Ben let out a growl, pulled me into his arms, and hugged me close. I knew it was bad to do this, to lean on him like this, but there was no way in hell I was letting go of him right now. I needed to know I wasn’t alone. I…I needed help. “I won’t let him. I swear to you, I will protect you from him, and I’ll have your back.”

I pulled back, staring into his dark green eyes. The way he watched me, with his arms around me tight, almost made me believe he could keep me safe. That he wanted to keep me safe, when I’d done nothing but be standoffish to him since we became partners. “Ben…”

He shifted closer, his grip on me changing ever so slightly. “Yeah?”

“I—”

“Sarah?” an unfamiliar male voice said from behind us.

I spun and stared at him, breathing heavily. There were so many emotions swirling inside me that I couldn’t tell one apart from the other. Long lost feelings for Ben. Fear of Vinnie. Uncertainty about how to proceed from here on out. “D-Derek?”

Ben stepped in front of me protectively, his hand on his pistol. “Who the hell is this?”

“It’s not him,” I said quickly, resting a hand on his arm.

Ben immediately went at ease.

“Not who?” Derek hesitated. “Is something wrong?”

“N-Nothing.” I stepped around Ben, trying to smile at the poor guy and failing horribly. “This is my partner, Detective Rollins.”

They shook hands.

As Ben pulled back, I forced a smile. “I’m sorry, Derek, but can we get a raincheck? Something with…work…came up. That’s why he’s here.”

Derek shifted his weight on his feet. “Of course. Sure. I’ll call you?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Nice to meet you, man.” Ben wrapped an arm around my shoulder, nodding once at Derek as he led me toward the door.

I should shrug free, pull loose of his hold…but I didn’t want to. For just a second, I wanted to feel safe, like someone had my back. For just a second, I didn’t want to feel so alone in this fight against Vinnie…and then after that second passed, I’d go back to being the strong, independent woman I’d become.

The one who didn’t want or need a man to save me.