Page 41 of No Pucks Given
Carter thankfully just held me tight as I processed everything.
Lou continued to talk on the phone, “I think, for this road trip, we should keep the hotel reservation but stay at your home. That way, we can throw the stalker off your trail and hopefully spot the guy.”
That made sense. It’s not the first time we’ve done something similar. Last time, Lou thought they might have spotted my stalker trying to leave a present for me.
“Okay," I said slightly despondently. It just felt so futile on days like this.
Carter’s hands caressed my arms, and he whispered into my ear, “You’re in control, and nothing will happen to you.”
Deep down, I knew he was right, but on days like this, it felt so tough to believe.
Carter pulled me down onto the couch. It felt good to be held in his lap. Carter raised his voice so it would be picked up by the speaker phone that was now behind us on the countertop. “Keep on monitoring everything."
“Oh, and there is one other thing that we wanted to mention. You know how you had me look at your ex, Russell? While he’s been pretty vitriolic when it comes to your dating life, there’s no proof he’s your stalker. Steve was able to track all his computer usage to either California or Vancouver. The last set of gifts and the hotel upgrade call originated in Toronto, according to the records. There’s only so much information we have access tosince we’re not police and we can’t exactly do some of the traces the police can.”
While a part of me wanted it to be my ex so I could really hate him, it wasn’t to be. So there were two people in the world who wanted to see me unhappy.
“Keep doing what you can.”
“Of course. Did you want to go to the game on Thursday?” Lou asked.
Carter’s eyebrow rose. I didn’t tell him that I wanted to go to his game. It was always fun to watch him play, but he thought it was a stupid risk, so I didn’t always tell him when I wanted to go.
“Yes," I said.
Carter shook his head, but he had a sly grin on his face, which was why I liked to go to his games like a normal girlfriend. He loved it when I wore his jersey and watched him dominate, even if he thought it was a security risk.
Soon, the call disconnected and it was just the two of us on the sofa. Thankfully, Carter spent the evening trying to make me forget about all the stress related to my stalker.
Chapter 38
Carter
As I drove from Coop’s place to the practice rink, there was a break in the music when Siri said, “Text message from Stephanie: SOS. Do you wish to respond?”
For the first time in my life, I didn’t give a fuck about hockey practice. I swung the car around so fast that Coop grabbed onto the rental’s “Oh shit” handle. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He just let me take control.
As much as I wanted to call Stephanie, I didn’t want to put her more at risk. Plus, I needed to know if her mom knew anything or was hurt first.
“Call Shiv," I said to my phone.
The phone took over the sound system. With each ring, I was panicking more and more. I was so close to reaching for thephone to activate the Guardian app on both of their phones, but it was a massive invasion of privacy.
After the third ring, Siobhan picked up. “I’m safe, but I’m trying to find out where she is.”
Thank fuck for that. I didn’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to Siobhan. We’d been so damn careful, and I wanted to protect my love and her daughter.
Plus, if she opened up the Guardian app, she could figure out where Stephanie’s phone was.
“When you get the coordinates, send them to me. But what happened? I thought you were taking her to school.”
“Her dad showed up. Not wanting to create more issues with him since this was his time with Stephanie, I let him take her to school.”
Every worst-case scenario was going through my mind. I didn’t trust her ex-husband one iota. I didn’t give a shit if he was some famous actor. He was a fuckwad, and something was not right. Plus, I hated the fact that he had gotten all pissy when he found out Siobhan and Stephanie were at my place, thanks to the stalker.
The coordinates to Stephanie’s phone never arrived. I tried to call the phone, but it must have been taken away or shut off.
Coop gripped my shoulder. “Go back to the house, and we’ll use my special skills. I’ll find her.”
