This couldn’t be happening. Why did such a wonderful weekend have to end like this? She’d thought since the past couple of weeks had been quiet that maybe things were ending…finally. That it would go away because she was ignoring it.

All those happy thoughts and past memories she’d been hugging tightly in her chest over the past forty-eight hours just lifted up in the air like a child releasing their favorite balloon. She wanted to scream and grab it back, but it was already gone, sailing into the sky never to be retrieved.

“Don’t touch it. Leave it right there on your lap,” he said, closing her garage door and putting the car in reverse.

“Where are we going?” She didn’t care that her voice was cracking. She wanted to chuck the mail out her window but did as he said instead.

“To the State Police barracks. We’ll open it there. We’ll let them open it and take it.”

“Why can’t we go in the house first?” She was hot and sweaty and needed to change and shower. Funny how that was the thing she thought of first.

“Because he knows where you live. This was personally addressed to your home. Not forwarded, and not to your place of business. We aren’t going in the house until I sweep it.”

“What do you mean by sweep it?” Her hot sweaty skin suddenly froze. “You don’t think he’s been in my house, do you?”

“Don’t know and I’m not willing to risk it. I’m not willing to risk you. We’ll do this my way.”

“You’re right. I know you are.” She took a deep breath. “What a slap in the face to come back to this.”

“It’s not going away, no matter how much you want it to,” Trevor said.

“I was hoping.” Why wasn’t she crying right now? Shouldn’t she be crying? Instead, she just wanted to break something.

A few minutes later, they were pulling into the barracks. Trevor took the whole pile of mail from her lap and brought it in, the mysterious letter sandwiched between everything else.

Cole was there at his desk and looked up when they came in, saw her white face and Trevor’s stern one, then dropped his gaze to the mail in Trevor’s hand. “Let’s go out back. I’ll call in the captain.”

“Thanks,” Trevor said.

She found herself sitting at a conference room table while Cole, another man—a detective, she thought—and Cole’s captain were in the room. They were talking amongst themselves. She heard voices, but not words. Nothing was penetrating through her brain.

The letter had been taken away to another room while someone opened it with gloves and tested it for prints and anything else they could. Soon the other trooper came back with the letter in a clear, sealed evidence bag and dropped it on the table, then turned it in her direction so she could read the typed words: “Don’t leave me.”

“Is he watching us?” she asked Trevor, her eyes filling with rage, her nails biting into her palms. “I said that to you Friday night. We said those words. Can he hear us? Our phones? Anything like that?”

This couldn’t be happening. She’d been taking the whole thing seriously all along, but she hadn’t been truly terrified like she was now. At least nothing like she was feeling in this instance.

“I doubt it,” Trevor said. “But hand over your phone. They’re going to check it too.” He pulled his out and placed it on the table. “I really don’t see that being the case. So far, everything seems almost juvenile, what he’s doing. There has been no indication of him tapping into anything. It could be just a coincidence.”

She hoped so. The thought of not even being able to have a conversation without worrying someone was listening was enough to make her want to run again. To climb a mountain and find a cave…screaming and cursing the whole time.

This was her life that was on hold. Why? What did she do to this person?

“He’s escalating though, isn’t he?” she asked. “This is the first time there has been something written. Something voiced toward me. Before it was empty envelopes. Blank sheets of paper. Messages on flowers. But nothing that he actually sent. Nothing he penned himself.”

“Something has changed. I’m just not sure what,” he said.

 

***

 

Trevor dropped Riley off at Max’s to stay while he, Cole, and Cole’s captain, Roger, swept Riley’s townhouse. His officers were going through the security tapes of the entire development to look for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here,” Roger said. “Nothing looks disturbed.”

“It doesn’t seem that way,” Trevor said, moving a picture away from the wall. They’d already done a sweep for any recording devices and came up empty. So far there weren’t any hidden cameras, either.

“Bugs and cameras don’t seem to jive with everything else,” Cole said.

“No,” Trevor said. “I just can’t get a take on what is happening right now. From the outside it seems innocent enough, but we know these things always escalate. They never have a good ending.”

“I’m not sure how much escalation has occurred,” Roger said. “I know she’s your girlfriend and I know she’s terrified, but we’ve seen no evidence that the person has been here or in this area. We’ve seen no evidence of violence at all. It’s annoying and frustrating and very upsetting. Borderline harassment, but not violent.”

Trevor turned and snarled. “Being my girlfriend has nothing to do with it. You can’t turn your back on something like this.”

“I’m not saying I’m turning my back,” Roger said. “I’m saying we don’t have a lot to go on other than some childlike letters and flowers. Not even a missed or disconnected call now. No voice, nothing to trace.”

Trevor knew this would be brought up eventually. They didn’t even know who or what they were dealing with right now. They couldn’t get a restraining order. They didn’t have a name, let alone a clue as to who was doing this or what they had planned. No pattern, nothing for the most part. Nothing concrete to even get a restraining order if he had a name.

“How would you feel if this were your daughter?” Trevor asked. Roger had a twenty-year-old daughter in college. “Would you just sit back and do nothing?”

“I’m not sitting back doing nothing. We’re here. We’re letting you use our labs and our resources. I’m just bringing up other questions. Other concerns.”

“What about you, Cole? Do you think this is nothing?” Trevor asked.

“I didn’t say it was nothing,” Roger argued.

Trevor ignored him and turned back to Cole.

“I’ll keep looking and working on it. If not while on the clock, then off. Just tell me what you want me to do, Trevor. Whatever you need. I can call in some favors, too.”

Roger shook his head. “No use arguing with you two. Are we done here?”

“Yeah. The place is clean,” Trevor said. “My men just sent over a text that the security tapes show nothing, too. I’ll look them over myself just to make sure.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Cole said, leaving with Roger.

Trevor walked around the house one more time. There were parts of Riley everywhere here. Memories of them together. Things he’d never thought about when he’d been with other women.

He’d never walked around and looked at a piece of furniture and remembered when he held her there while she cried. He’d never looked at a kitchen table and remembered when she smacked his ass playfully. Never felt like he’d lay his life on the line for another person other than family like he did right now.

Never felt like part of his heart was hurting trying to help her. The frustration of getting nowhere on top of it.

He didn’t care if Roger was brushing this off as something pesky. He hoped it was, he really did. But until he knew for sure—until he had all the answers—he couldn’t pretend this was nothing.

Locking the door behind him, he climbed back into his SUV and drove to Max’s to get Riley. He’d bring her back for some clothes, but she wasn’t staying here. Not now, not even with him under the same roof watching over her.

Whoever this person was knew where she lived and thought they could enter her personal domain of contentment. He’d like to see them come to the chief of police’s house.

“You changed,” he said when he walked into Max’s kitchen. “Where did you get the clothes?”

“Max brought me to your house. I showered there and we came back.”

He nodded his head. He wanted to argue but knew it would fall on deaf ears. His house was watched enough by the neighbors. If anyone strange or out of the ordinary was on his property, he’d know.

“Thanks, Max,” he said. “Come on, Riley, let’s go get some more clothes at your house and bring them to mine.”

“Why?” she asked. “Was someone in my house?”

He hated the frightened look on her face. “No. It’s all clear. But I’m not letting you stay there. Even with me. For now, grab what you need and move it into my house.”

“Okay.”

That she didn’t fight with him over this just showed how scared she truly was.

“What’s the next step?” Max asked.

“Everything is being sent to my buddy Logan in New York. I’m going to start at the beginning now.”

“Meaning what?” Riley asked.

“Tonight you’re going to tell me all about your life. Every boyfriend you’ve had. All your coworkers, any enemies, neighbors. Anything you remember, tell me. I’ll decide if it’s irrelevant or not.”

“That could take days,” she said.

“It has to be done,” he said. “We aren’t getting anywhere with what we’ve got, so we’ll look deeper.”