Page 22 of Risk Assessment
Dylan sat down on the bed with her in his lap. “It’s okay, Raleigh. I’ve got you. Just keep taking deep, slow breaths.” His calmness grounded her. He kept speaking quietly in a firm tone, telling her she was ok, telling her to breathe. The deep cadence of his voice washed over her and soothe her nerves. A minute later, she was able to breathe normally. She struggled to sit on her own, but Dylan held her tightly.
“What happened?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.
“I saw—” Her breath hitched in her throat. She closed her eyes for a second and then started again. “There’s a red rose in the vase in my room. It wasn’t there earlier today. It’s m-m-m-my stalker. H-h-he’s here.” She bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. Dylan’s arms immediately tightened around her. He looked quickly about the room, but it was obviously empty except for the two of them.
“Okay. I’m going to set you on the bed and go take a look at your room. I already checked the rest of the cabin. No one else is here.”
“No!” she yelled. She bit her lip again and tried to calm down. “Please. I don’t want to be alone.”
He looked at her and then nodded. “Okay. Come with me but stay behind me. Your stalker is gone but I want to check it out.”
She nodded once, and he gently shifted her off his lap and onto her feet. An immediate sense of loss filled her. She was safe in his arms, and she knew it.
She followed him over to the doorway. “Where’s your gun?” she whispered.
He glanced back at her. “I’m on desk duty. I don’t carry my gun with me all the time and I didn’t think I would need one.” Guilt danced across his features. So he still didn’t believe her about the stalker.
She leaned on the wall and screamed a string of obscenities in her head. What else did he need for proof? She asked for help, and all she got was his doubt. She blinked back tears as her hands curled into fists. She just wanted her life back.
“You know what? Why don’t you come sit in the kitchen. I’ve already checked it. You saw me. It’s safe. I’ll take a look around your room on my own. Sound like a plan?”
Nursing her anger, which was way better than fear, she nodded and followed him down the hall.
He walked over and grabbed the electric kettle. He filled it with water and then plugged it in. “Can you try to relax? I’ll check out the bedroom to see if he left anything else behind. Then I’ll get right back here. One minute, tops.”
She walked over to the stool and sat down hard. When he reached the doorway, he turned back to look at her. “We should call hotel security.”
“No! No way! If Lydia finds out about the stalker, she’ll blame me for bringing him to the wedding and I’ll get fired.”
“Raleigh, the cabin was broken into. We have to report it. I’ll make sure to ask the security guys to be very discrete. They usually are anyway. It’s their job.”
“Dylan, I really don’t want to be looked at like I’m crazy by more security men.” She blinked hard to stop the tears pooling in her eyes from rolling down her cheeks.
“I get it. I really do but they might have cameras. That will help us find out who this guy is. I know you want to catch him. This could be the best way to get him.”
Her shoulders slumped and she nodded. Her limbs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. She just wanted her life back. Was that too much to ask?
“I’m going to call them and then check your room. I’ll be right back. The front door is locked and chained. You’ll be fine here, okay?”
She nodded again. She could do this. She took a deep breath as she watched him disappear around the corner. Her hands trembled like leaves in the wind. She slipped off the stool when the kettle boiled and scanned the tea options. There were a few packages of Chamomile in one of the drawers. Although she hated the taste, she was willing to drink anything that had calming properties.
She needed all the help she could get.
Dylan walked back into the room. His face was blank. Gone was the concern he’d shown her earlier.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Her hands began to shake again. She couldn’t take anything else happening tonight. She slumped against the island.
“Tell me what happened when you walked into the room,” he said as he sat on a stool.
She looked across the counter at him. “What do you mean, what happened? I walked over the threshold and immediately saw the vase with the red rose in the middle of it. I—I panicked, I guess. I thought I’d be safe here. I thought… I don’t know what I thought, but I didn’t think he would follow me here.” She shook her head. “I was starting to relax a bit, so the rose took me by surprise. My throat, I—I couldn’t scream. I froze, I guess. I passed out, or at least started to, and you caught me.”
“How far into the room did you go?” His voice was flat, business-like.
“I don’t know. I didn’t move after I saw the flower. I couldn’t.” A shudder shook her whole body. “I guess I only went as far as I was standing when you caught me.”
“So right inside the door?”
“What is this all about? What’s going on?” she demanded.
