Page 29 of Stalker

“You’re incorrigible.”

He scratched his head. “They want a nickname and an email address.”

“Why?”

“I guess they’re trying to keep both sides as anonymous as possible. I’m going to create a bogus email for you. I don’t think you want to use the email address at work. Right?”

There was far too much mischief in his eyes. “You’re enjoying this way too much. But you’re right.”

“I’ll do something simple,” he said, his thumb going to work on the keypad.

I took a deep breath, unable to keep several highly filthy images from littering my mind.

“Okay, done. Now, what about that nickname?”

I’d never had one before, at least not one I would ever mention in public. My thoughts drifted again and I bit back a smile. “Lady Butterfly.”

“Interesting. Is there a story behind it?”

“Not one I’m willing to tell you.”

“Okay then. So Lady Butterfly enjoys all thing dark and dangerous, preferring to take risks over playing it safe.”

He was actually typing what he was saying.

“Give me that.”

“Nope. I’m just capturing your true essence. Besides, you deserve that promotion. You’ve worked your ass off for it.”

“And you haven’t?” I scolded, almost snatching the phone.

“Not like you. We’re friends, dear girl, but you are the cream of the crop. If investigating this company gets you higher on the list, then why not? If that’s something you think you can handle.”

I snorted and we both laughed. “I can handle almost anything. I got rid of that shit of a boyfriend, didn’t I?”

“You mean after enduring the man for three long years.”

As I rolled my eyes, I snapped my hand against his arm. “You will not hold that against me.”

“I have every intention of doing so. So… We’ll fill it out creatively and see what happens. However, I will warn you that Braxton said he liked the experience, but he was pretty shaken for a couple weeks. We never talked about it again. At least you can always say no. Maybe you’ll get an interview. Right?”

I thought about everything he told me and gulped a part of my drink. All I’d thought about the past year was getting promoted. “True. Why don’t we go for it? I don’t have anything to lose.”

Or so I hoped.

CHAPTER7

“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”

-Niccolo Machiavelli

Stalker

As usual, darkness was my friend, shrouding me from prying eyes as I’d watched the asshole casing his latest prey. He’d taken pictures after following the woman home. In turn, I’d followed him, keeping an eye on his every move.

I’d known assholes like Drew Monahan my entire life. They hid behind wealth and opportunity, often living as pillars of the community while thriving on creating chaos. When arrogance took over all aspects of common sense, the jerks typically became careless in their activities.

They had God complexes, certain there wasn’t a person on earth who could stop them from enjoying their demented activities. In Drew’s case, he believed that because he lived in an upper scale community with tree-lined sidewalks and wealthy neighbors that his horrific acts would go unnoticed.

---