“I won!” Brooke jumped in the air spinning around making her skimpy tennis skirt fly up revealing her tiny panties.

“Lucky for you.” Jax laughed. Brooke was an amazing tennis player. She’d won all three games they’d played.

Clutching her racket, Brooke ran over to him.

“Luck had nothing to do with it, baby. I’m just that good.”

“Or I’m just that bad.” Jax swatted her playfully on the ass.

“Maybe we can both get lucky if we slip into the locker room.” Brooke tossed her racket aside to slip her arms about his neck.

“The locker room? There are a ton of people here! How are we going to get away with that?”

“Let me figure that out, beautiful.” Jax picked up their rackets and swung an arm around her tiny waist.

As they walked back to the locker room, Brooke felt his phone vibrate.

“Seems like you got a call.”

Annoyed, Jax pulled his phone from his shorts.

It was Kristi.

Call me asap. It’s an emergency.

“It’s Kristi. I have to call her back, Brooke. She says it’s an emergency.” Jax handed Brooke their rackets.

“That’s okay. I’ll put everything up.” Brooke sauntered off as he called Kristi.

“Kristi, what’s going on?”

“Jax! Are you okay? Where are you?” Kristi’s normally calm voice was frantic.

“Just finished playing tennis with Brooke. Why?” Hearing the hysteria in her voice, Jax started to panic.

“Did you hear the news this morning?”

“No, why?”

Kristi burst into sobs.

“Jessica Pierce…oh God, Jax.”

“What is it, Kristi?” Jax’s heart pounded in his chest.

“She was….oh God, she was found…shot to death.”

Jax felt as though he would faint.

“Where? When? What happened?”

“Last night around 10 PM, the cleaning staff found her in her office. She was lying face down on her desk.”

Jax sank to his knees in the middle of the park. The concrete cut his legs, but he paid no mind. He began to shake.

Sarah.

First, the model now Jessica.

It had to be her.

Jax looked all around him seeing if she were there watching him, but he didn’t see any sign of her.

“That’s awful. Who do they think did it?” Jax held his breath.

“No one knows anything right now. The police are keeping quiet. The office is closed until further notice.” Kristi was still crying.

“So she was murdered?”

“They thought suicide at first, but the way she was shot indicated someone else had done it.”

Jax took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Brooke emerged from the locker room holding their bag. Her mouth fell open when she noticed how pale Jax had become.

“My God, Jax, what’s wrong?”

Jax shook his head.

“Kristi, do you think it’s Sarah?” He gripped his phone tightly as he paced. Several passersby stared at him.

“I don’t know what to think, Jax. I’m just sickened by it. Jessica could be harsh at times, but she was a good person. I enjoyed working with her. I just don’t know about anyone anymore.”

“Did you hear about the model, Brianna?”

“Yes. It’s terrible, but she may have just run off or something.”

“No, I don’t think she did. I think it’s Sarah. I can’t explain how I know I just do.”

“Be careful, Jax.”

“Let me know as soon as you know anything about Jessica.”

“I will. Stay safe.”

“You too.”

* * *

Driving home, Jax remained on high alert. Sarah had done this he was certain of that. His stomach was coiled into knots as he drove along the long winding road to his private drive.

“Should we be going home, Jax? Are we safe there?” Brooke asked reaching to grip his arm.

“To tell you the truth, Brooke, I don’t know. I promise you this: she won’t lay a fucking hand on you. I’ll tear her apart if she even tries.” Jax gritted his teeth.

Brooke ran her hand over the length of her ponytail. The huge trees whizzed past them as Jax guided the sports car down the road.

“So, it was Jessica’s plan for her to stalk you?”

“Yes, but somehow things went wrong.”

“How do you know Sarah did all this? Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Maybe the model had a jealous boyfriend. That shit happens all the time.”

Jax shook his head.

“No, it was Sarah. I’ve been with her, Brooke. I know.”

Brooke narrowed her eyes. The hard driving beat of Rob Zombie filled the car. She turned down the music to face him.

“What do you mean ‘been with her’?”

Sighing, Jax pulled the car over hearing the gravel crunch beneath the tires.

“I was with her once, Brooke. It was before we got back together.”

Her eyes blazed at him.

“When?”

Jax shrugged. He hated explaining what happened in his life while they’d been apart. She was the one who left him. Whatever had gone on while they were split up wasn’t really her concern, but in this situation he supposed it was.

“It was the first night I met her about five months ago.”

“Was it planned for you to fuck her?” Brooke tugged on the string of her pink hooded sweatshirt.

“I don’t think so. I just told Jessica about it when I met with her Friday. She had no idea. The things Sarah has done…” He trailed off.

“Like what?”

He flipped through his phone to show her the bloody feathers she’d left in his kitchen.

“Ugh. That’s awful, Jax! And you were with this girl?”

“It was only one night. I don’t have any feelings for her. She freaks me out, Brooke.”

“I can see why. She did that in your house? She’s fucking crazy.”

“Exactly. I knew when she did that she wasn’t acting anymore.”

Brooke shivered looking all around them.

“She follows us everywhere, Jax. I’ve seen her watching us. Why didn’t you tell me how serious this had become?” She put her hand on his leg. God, she was so beautiful. If Sarah ever tried to hurt her….

He’d put her in the fucking ground.

“I wanted to, Brooke. I just didn’t want to scare you. I thought it was just my writer’s imagination running wild. That is, until I heard about Jessica today.”

“That’s so tragic. I’m so sorry. She was young---“

“---and had a thirteen year old son as well. I’m sure the family is devastated.”

“To say the least. Now this crazy bitch is after me!”

“How can you be sure it’s her?”

Jax thought a moment. This was just the scene in his book, Tormented. His PI, Jim Sanders had been investigating the deaths of several women and he found out the woman he’d thought was the love of his life was the killer.

“It’s just like in my last book, Tormented!”

“Tormented? The one where his girlfriend was the killer?”

“Yes! I did some research on FBI investigations and such.”

“You did?”

“You didn’t think I made it all up, did you? I like my books to have some substance unlike a lot of romance books today. I want a strong plot not just flowery romance and dirty fucking.”

“I thought you liked dirty fucking.” Brooke laughed.

“I do, but that’s not the point. We need to turn the tables on Sarah.”

“What do you mean?”

Jax put the car in gear and turned around heading back towards the city.

“Stalk the stalker.”

* * *

“Sir, we need you to tell us about the last time you saw Ms. Pierce.” The detective in his gray suit looked disinstinctly uncomfortable.

“Please don’t call me Sir. Just Jax is fine.” He sipped his coffee and grimaced. It tasted burned.

“Jax, tell us the last time you saw her.”

He sighed leaning back in the hard chair. The lights were bright and the room very stuffy as he recalled that day last week.

“So, that was the last time you saw her? Last Friday?”

“Yes.” Jax wished for a cigarette. He guessed that smoking in the interrogation room only happened on TV.

“Did you speak to her on the phone at all?” The younger detective must’ve been hot too, he’d rolled up his sleeves.

“Ever? She was my publicist. Obviously, we spoke often.”

Detective Colquitt, the younger detective, rolled his eyes.

“Of course. But had you had any recent phone calls with her?”

“Define recent.” Jax knew he was being stubborn, but he hated being interrogated like some criminal.

“Look, this is a murder investigation. We understand she was your publicist. I would think you’d be upset about this. Any help you can give us might help catch her killer.” Detective Andrews tapped his pen on the table.

“I haven’t talked to her since that day.”

Detective Colquitt stared at him. He hit the play button on his phone.

“Then what the hell is this?”

“Jessica, please call me as soon as you can. It’s urgent.” It was Jax’s voice.

“That was recorded at 11:14 PM last night. Then again at 11:56 PM.”

“Jessica, I need to talk to you now. This is important. Call me back.”

“What was that all about, Jax?” Detective Andrews eyed him suspiciously.

Jax swallowed. He’d forgotten he’d tried to call her last night. He ran his hands through his hair nervously.

“I found out something disturbing about one of Jessica’s employees.”

“What was it?”

“A woman named Sarah Bender. She’s a staff editor at Meridian. Jessica had her stalking me.”

“Stalking you?”

Jax waved his hand.

“It was for publicity. It wasn’t supposed to be real, only…”

“Only what?” The young detective leaned forward expectantly.

“Only the woman stalking me wasn’t Sarah Bender. I found that out last night when I went searching for her.”

Both detectives looked uneasy. They made a few notes before addressing him again.

“What disturbed you so much you were looking for her?”

“She seemed to be too…intense, I guess you could say. She followed me everywhere. She even watched my girlfriend and I having sex.” Jax confessed.

“This wasn’t part of the plan I take it?”

Jax shook his head.

“No, and I told Jessica about it last Friday. She told me she was going to talk to Sarah immediately. She also told me she hadn’t seen Sarah in more than a month.”

Detective Colquitt pursed his lips.

“So, Sarah Bender hadn’t been to the office in over a month?”

“I guess not.”

“What else did this woman do that upset you so much?”

Jax brought up the photo of the bloody feathers in his kitchen and held it out for them to see.

“God, it looks like she sacrificed a chicken in there!”

“I know.”

Detective Andrews let out a low whistle.

“This wasn’t planned either, I guess?”

“Absolutely not. I showed Jessica and she said Sarah was an excellent actress. She became more concerned when I told her it was real blood.”

“How did you know it was real blood?”

“The smell.” Jax shook his head. “It’s distinct.”

The detectives nodded.

“So all these things upset you and then you decided to look up Sarah Bender?”

“Yes. And the photo on the Meridian International website doesn’t match the woman who’s been following me.”

“Who is the woman who’s been following you then?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. It sure as hell isn’t Sarah Bender.”

“Describe the woman who has been following you.”

Jax leaned back in his chair. God, he wanted a cigarette so badly.

“She has long light brown hair that goes past her shoulders. She has green eyes, tall for a woman about 5’9 I’d say maybe taller. She’s slender with a small waist. I’d guess she weighs about 130 lbs.”

“Any noticeable tattoos or scars?”

Jax thought a moment.

“She has a small ankh tattooed on her right shoulder.”

The detectives jotted down the information.

“When was the last time you saw her?”

Jax shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m not sure. A few nights ago. She follows me whenever I go out. That was part of the plan. However, she’s started to approach my dates and question them.”

“What?” They looked at him incredulously.

“Whenever I go out, she follows them to the restroom and talks to them.”

“Hold up. This doesn’t make any sense, Jax. You said you had a girlfriend?”

Jax waved his hand.

“It’s publicity. Jessica would set me up on different dates. I’d take them to dinner, be seen out with them, and then end the date. No one knows I have a steady girlfriend. It plays better if I’m single.”

The detectives lost in the vagaries of the romance writing world shook their heads.

“To make a long story short, you went out and this woman would bother your dates.”

“Yes.” Jax debated if he should mention the missing model.

“Then you told Jessica?”

“Yes. Do you think this woman may have had something to do with Jessica’s murder?”

Detective Colquitt drummed his fingers on the table.

“We’re not sure. So if this woman was pretending to be Sarah Bender what happened to the real Sarah Bender?”

“I don’t know. There were messages on her Facebook profile saying she hadn’t been in contact with her friends.”

The detectives looked at each other.

“Is there anything else, Jax?”

“I just want this woman out of my life. I don’t know who she really is. I just want her to leave me alone. I want to know who killed Jessica. I really think…I think she had something to do with it.”

The detective nodded.

“We’ll definitely look into it. Is there anything else, Jax?”

“There’s a model I took out once about a month ago. Her name is Brianna Jaynes. She’s been reported missing too.”

Their eyes widened.

“Really? She hasn’t been found yet.”

“Seems like you’re the common factor here, Jax.” Detective Andrews crossed his arms over his chest.

Hell no.

Jax stood up.

“If you guys are going to start treating me like a suspect, then I’m calling my attorney.”

“Relax, Jax. You’re not a suspect.” Detective Colquitt nudged his partner.

“Not yet anyway.”