Page 35 of The Watcher's Bride

“Are you parked nearby?” I ask.

It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea how he follows me around. He just always seems to be there, like a ghost able to disappear and reappear at will without the need for frivolous human transportation. Which is, of course, completely ridiculous. He might be mysterious, but he is human. He’s also not stupid, which makes me think he must have a plan in mind for how to move the body without getting caught. My mind is racing, I’m so frazzled, yet he remains as cool as a cucumber. Part of me wonders just how experienced he is at this.

“No more questions. The less you know the better,” he replies.

Even now he’s trying to protect me. He’s right. Should the police come asking questions, plausible deniability is surely my best option.

“Of course. And thank you… for protecting me.”

He nods and groans slightly under the weight of the body, walking toward the door.

I quickly open it for him, checking that there’s no sign of Max or anyone else. “The coast is clear,” I whisper and he heads out.

“Keep your doors locked. Don’t let anyone in,” he commands.

I want to ask when I’ll see him again, or what he’s going to do now. But he just told me not to ask any more questions, so I stay quiet.

I lock the door behind him and spend some time straightening up the apartment so there’s no sign of any disturbance. Then I decide to take a long, hot shower. As I’mlathering shampoo in my hair, I remember the surveillance system Max installed. A system that will have captured the entire murder on camera.

Shit! I need to delete that immediately. The police are going to show up to interview me about Mike at any moment, and the last thing I need is for them to stumble across incriminating evidence of another crime.

I hurriedly rinse the shampoo out of my hair and wrap a towel around my head before drying off and throwing on some sweats and a top, all the while praying the system isn’t too complicated and I’ll be capable of deleting the footage. I open the app on my phone and eventually manage to find it. I watch, half fascinated, half disgusted, as the video shows the struggle between the two men. My involvement is clear, and my reaction could easily be construed as calm and collected. No jury would believe I was acting out of self-preservation.

I curse, fretting that the one thing designed to protect me will actually end up being my downfall. Why didn’t I ask Max more questions when he installed the system? How long does the footage back up for? If I delete it, will it still be accessible somewhere?

I delete the file and then pace around anxiously for a while before deciding to make myself a cup of tea with plenty of sugar. Tea in hand, I sit on the couch and Josef joins me, purring as I stroke his fur. As the adrenaline spike slowly starts to wear off, it occurs to me that if the cameras caught the murder, there’s probably other footage of my watcher on here.

Pulling my phone back out, I look back over the files that have been automatically saved. Sure enough, there’s plenty of footage of my watcher. To my surprise, I notice that he’s beencoming in through the front door, which means he must have a copy of my keys.

I’m grateful that there isn’t a camera in the bedroom. My cheeks redden at the footage it would have caught. I go through each video, hoping to catch a glimpse of my watcher without the mask, but he’s careful to always wear it, and based on his movements, he’s aware of the cameras, trying to avoid being captured as much as possible. With a sigh, I go to the settings and delete all footage. I’ll need to find out if there’s a way to recover the files. I wonder how I can ask Max without arousing his suspicion. That’s if he’ll even talk to me after how I ended things between us.

But if tonight’s proven anything, it’s that I did the right thing by pushing Max away. Sure, he’d have tried to protect me, but chances are he’d have ended up getting hurt, or worse, by the man my father sent. Max is confident and strong, he knows how to handle himself, but he’s no match for trained killers. I got lucky tonight. Lucky that my watcher was here, luckier still that he could handle himself and protect me.

If my father sent that man, he won’t stop at one. More will come for me. What if more are on their way already? With my watcher gone, I’m completely alone and vulnerable.

My phone pings, and to my surprise, and relief, I see that it’s a text from the only other person who could help me.

Max:Hey, I know you said you needed space, and I’ll respect that, but I just found out about Mike. I wanted to let you know that I’m here if you need a friend.

I respond without allowing myself to think about how selfish and weak I’m being.

Moments later, there’s a knock at my door. I rush to it and let Max in. I collapse into his arms, letting myself enjoy the simple comfort of his strong chest and warm embrace. The enormity of my situation finally sinks in and I’m unable to hold back tears.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here,” he soothes, stroking my hair gently.

How easy it would be to fall in love with this man. If only things were different. If only I wasn’t already falling for my dark protector.

The thought only serves to make me cry harder. I’m going to have to push him away, hurt him all over again to protect him. If my father finds out about Max, he’ll kill him just to punish me.

But for now, for just one final night, I want to pretend I’m the girl Max believes me to be.

Chapter 21

Leo

My uncle is getting impatient for news of his bride. There are only so many times I can lie and avoid answering him before he demands I bring her to him. Although the man I killed was sent by Quinn, I don’t doubt he intended to bring her back for my uncle.

Eamonn Quinn sees Nora as an asset, and he’ll want to see a return on his investment soon. I took a big risk killing his man, but to leave him alive would have alerted Quinn to our surveillance of Nora, which could harm the tentative alliance my uncle is building with him. But it won’t take him long to realize something happened to his man, and he could send another for Nora again at any time. Killing more of his men would only alert him to my presence here and my feelings for Nora. But if I let them take her, I won’t be able to live with the results.

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