Page 36 of Risk Assessment
Apparently, his answer surprised Harris as well because the man’s eyes instantly narrowed. “I never thought of you as a lazy type. Has staying home all day killed your ambition?
“No. Not at all. If anything, it’s just proven to me that there’s more than one path I can take.”
A look of annoyance passed over the other man’s face -- as if he was taken aback or had expected a different answer -- but it smoothed out an instant later. Bill Harris once again looked like the Wall Street suit that he was.
“Well, I think it’s time I check in with the ladies.” He nodded at Dylan and walked away.
Dylan mulled over his interactions with the men as he watched Raleigh talking with Josh. She seemed more relaxed. She was actually smiling. A flare of jealousy shot through his gut, and he looked away. He needed to get his shit together and concentrate on finding her stalker.
The bartender placed an ice water in front of Dylan, and the waitress whisked Raleigh’s iced tea onto her tray along with a few other drinks she had to deliver. Dylan kept an eye on her, making sure the drink wasn’t tampered with while on its way to Raleigh.
Raleigh looked smoking hot in her bikini, and he wasn’t the only one to notice. He’d caught quite a few guys giving her attention. Some of their wives had noticed as well. There were a lot of unhappy people around the pool, but Raleigh just kept chatting away with Josh. He was glad she was too engrossed to notice the stir she was causing.
He was doubly glad that Raleigh hadn’t caught the looks Jenn started shooting her way after she’d arrived a few moments ago. Jenn loved being the center of attention and did not like competition. Dylan used to hate being the focus of everything when he and Jenn had been together, but he had tolerated it for her. Now, he was totally content to be at the bar on the periphery.
He sipped his water and looked around the pool, but he found his gaze kept going back to Raleigh. He’d picked out the security cameras that were placed in the pool area and there weren’t enough in his opinion. They mainly concentrated on the bar area and the entrances to the pool. They didn’t actually cover much of the pool deck itself. This had to be an oversight or, more likely, one of the areas that were being upgraded.
This stalker was one lucky son-of-a-bitch. The rose in the backpack had scared Dylan more than the break-in. It was a sign of escalation. The stalker had gone from entering her placewhen she wasn’t around to following her, to messing with her things the moment her back was turned. The stalker was upping his game. That did not bode well. Being vigilant now was the only option. There was no telling what the stalker might do. No telling at all.
He anxiously sought out Raleigh again as that thought rattled around in his head. She’d been an easy target before but now that he was with her, it was more complicated. Was that why the stalker was getting bolder?
“I can see why you’re distracted.” A voice finally penetrated his fog.
“What?” He turned to face Rick Hernandez, one of his old ESU teammates. Rick was a lifer on the ESU teams. He was in his later thirties, bald and shorter than Dylan. He had wide shoulders and muscles that only came from spending hours at the gym. His eyes were covered by mirrored sunglasses.
Rick rested one heavily tattooed arm against the bar and smiled. “I said I can see why you’re distracted. She’s gorgeous.” He nodded toward Raleigh.
“Yes, she is.” His voice had taken on a menacing tone.
Rick held his hand up in the air as if to surrender. “It was just an observation. I’m not planning on hitting on her or anything.” His bald head glared in the sun. “She seems really nice, too. I got a chance to chat with her a bit this morning over breakfast. You picked a great one this time.”
“This time,” Dylan repeated. “Does that mean you’re not a big fan of the bride?” As he waited for Rick to answer, he realized he was curious about the man’s answer. Not defensive or upset. Just curious.
“To be honest, I think you dodged a bullet by not marrying that one.” Rick nodded toward Jenn. “I mean we’re all here to support Andrew. He’s a part of the team but Jenn… She’s ahandful, and not in a good way. Andrew is going to have a hard time of it.”
“You could be right about that.” Dylan frowned. “So, how have you been?” he asked, then took a sip. He had no idea what else to say.
Rick flagged the bartender, pointed to a beer bottle on the bar, and nodded. As the bartender took off to get one, Rick sat down heavily on the stool next to Dylan’s. “I’m good. Things are things. You know, the usual. My wife is pregnant again.”
“How many is that now?”
The bartender set a beer in front of Rick. “Four,” he said and then took a long swallow.
“Wow.” Four kids. He just couldn’t imagine it. Jenn hadn’t wanted kids, and he’d been fine with that since he had few good memories from his own childhood. His eyes landed on Raleigh. On the other hand, a little girl with big green eyes might be kind of nice.
“You can say that again.”
“Wh—what?” Dylan asked.
“Wow. That pretty much sums it up. We’ll have four kids under the age of six when this one is born.”
Dylan gulped his water. What was he supposed to say to that?
“Exactly. Kind of robs you of speech, don’t it? I keep saying this will be the last one, but Sheryl came from a big family and loves babies. So, I guess we keep going until she says stop.”
“Er…don’t you ever…?” What was he going to say? Get tired of so many kids? What parent would admit to that?
Well, one parent would. He could still see Jason Blake holding his boy over the second-floor railing. Dylan’s knuckles turned white on the glass.
