Page 76 of Stalker

Wow. His words were stark and cold, said with such honesty and knowing that I was momentarily at a loss for words. It was what he’d been through in foster care. I was positive of it. I strove to hide a series of cold chills.

“So you save damsels in distress whenever the opportunity comes into play, keeping them safe from unknown creeps and jerks?”

“You knew your attacker. He had an advantage.”

He was ignoring my question. “Yes, but he’d never threatened me before.”

“As I said, it was only a matter of time before he did much worse.” Wilder was very blunt and I was reminded of the threat from a few days before.

“Said like a man with experience.”

I’ll be damned if he didn’t chuckle, the tone even darker than before.

“I know his type all too well.”

“What did you do to the man in the park?”

He threw me a grin. “I simply reminded him that women were to be worshipped, not abused.”

“By use of violence just as you did with David.”

“Has he bothered you again? Your ex?”

“Other than another threat if I exposed his affair? Not really. Well, he did call and try and get me back. He wasn’t very nice doing so.”

The moment I noticed his hand was more tightly wrapped around the steering wheel, I sucked in my breath. Wilder felt as if he needed to protect me.

Like what had occurred with the woman in the park.

And what he hadn’t been able to do with his mother. He did remember more than he was likely telling anyone.

“Often lessons have difficulty taking root,” he stated, and his tone was terse. “Sometimes a second helping of discipline is needed to erase the aspects of danger.”

I shuddered and folded my arms, doing my best to ignore the feelings of desire that I’d felt the moment I’d laid eyes on him. “David isn’t in my life any longer. That’s all that matters. If he’s a danger to anyone, it’s to himself.”

Only I thought about the video, which I’d tried to put out of my mind.

Less than a minute later, I finally realized he’d driven into Michigan. If the sign that we had passed was correct, he was taking me to New Buffalo. While I’d never been to the small coastal town, I’d heard it was quiet, quaint, and welcoming. His choice of destinations was a far cry from what I’d expected.

Although we were both right in that we knew very little about the other.

Except carnally.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable, but not in a way to demand he take me back to the hotel. An entirely different way. As if we were soulmates. That was ridiculous, of course, since what I knew about him had been derived from reading articles. However, in the limited time we’d spent together, he’d awakened the kind of need only reserved for those involved in long-term relationships.

Kindred spirits.

Trusting.

We were both from foster care. But my story was completely different.

“Wouldn’t you enjoy seeing David’s improprieties exposed?” he asked a full minute later.

“I did, but it’s not worth it at this point.” Which wasn’t true and for some reason, I think he already knew that.

“Wouldn’t you like to see him hurt the way he hurt you?”

I laughed nervously, uncertain of where this was going. “I’m not that way.”

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