Page 49 of Risk Assessment
“No. I did ask Cosgrove to make sure one of her people mentioned in front of Clark that you’d asked them to keep a close eye on things as it was getting closer to the wedding, but that you wouldn’t be at the barbecue tonight. Bumping into Josh is just a bonus.”
The landscape zipped by as they drove back toward New York City. Worry settled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of not covering the barbeque. This date was exactly what she needed personally but career-wise it was another thing entirely. Still leaving everything behind felt great, freeing almost.
Hopefully Lydia and family would have an uneventful evening. They wouldn’t want the bride to be up late or doing any real partying the night before the wedding and there was no way Lydia would let Andrew do anything either. Raleigh could deal with whatever was waiting for her when they got back to the hotel. She trusted Dylan to keep her safe, and she knew he would do whatever was necessary to catch her stalker.
Clark. Fire burned in her stomach when she thought about how many times she’d spoken with him, been nice to him, even written about him as part of her job. She was sure as heck going to blast it from the rooftops as soon as she had proof that implicated him as her stalker.
“We’re here.” Dylan’s voice broke her reverie.
“Already? That was fast.”
“You were lost in thought. What are you thinking about?”
“Stuff I shouldn’t be.” She smiled at him. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
He laughed and pulled to stop in front of the restaurant. The valet opened Raleigh’s door and then ran around and took the keys from Dylan.
Raleigh smoothed down her shirt and then took Dylan’s proffered hand. “Thanks for suggesting this.”
Dylan winked and led her into the restaurant. Two minutes later they were seated at a table that overlooked the East River. “This is great. I’ve never eaten here before.”
“My old partner told me about this place. It’s kind of hidden away but the food and the view are killer.”
She smiled and sat back in her seat. “I don’t think I realized how much I needed this.”
Dylan nodded. “This wedding weekend has been a bit of a nightmare for both of us.”
That was an understatement if she’d ever heard one, but then again, her whole life had been a bit of a nightmare lately. At least it would be all over soon. She felt that in her bones.
The waitress come over to deliver menus. She took their drink orders and disappeared again. Dylan leaned on the table. “I think we’re on the right track with your stalker. With that note as evidence, your local precinct will have to believe you. Hopefully, Connor, the tech wiz at Risk, will find evidence of someone tampering with your security system, too. People are working to figure this out. It’s not just you anymore.”
She blinked hard and tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat. It had been so long since she’d actually felt safe. To have people believe in her and support her made her entire body shudder with emotion. It meant the world to her.
Dylan must have noticed because he grabbed her hand again and held on to it. “Let’s make a pact to relax and enjoy the next few hours. I think we both deserve it.”
She nodded because she was still incapable of speech. After a few moments, she asked, “You said you grew up all over the east coast. How come?”
He was silent for a while, and she started to think he wasn’t going to answer the question. Finally, he spoke. “My dad took off as soon as I was born. My mom was left with me and twenty-eight dollars. She went back to waitressing as soon as she could,but it was hard to find people to watch me while she worked. She ended up getting fired more often than not.
“We bounced around, living on friends’ couches or at shelters. Eventually, she got a job as an office clerk. Then we got to live in a trailer. It was good for a while, but the boss took a liking to her, and when the affair went south, so did the job.” He let go of her hand to rub the back of his neck.
“That sounds rough.”
“It wasn’t all bad. I made a few friends and got to see all different parts of the coast. Anyway, after the office job, Mom just kind of gave up. She’d always had some mental issues but she just went off the rails. Bipolar Disorder they called it. Life was tough. We lived off whatever we could scrounge. I tried to get her help when she’d let me, but she wouldn’t always recognize that she needed help. And I was just a kid so I couldn’t force her.
“We went back to moving around a lot. I didn’t want to be put into the foster system because I knew no one would look out for my mom. I took jobs after school at the local diners and things like that. Once I graduated from high school, I joined the army. I figured it would bring in more money than the jobs I’d been working, and Mom was stable at that time. She had made some progress. If I sent money back, she wouldn’t have to scrounge so much. She died while I was overseas.”
“Oh, Dylan, I’m so sorry.” She squeezed his arm.
The waitress arrived with Raleigh’s wine and Dylan’s beer and then she took their food order.
“Anyway,” Dylan said, “it was hard, but when I came back, Lauren tracked me down. Her father and mine are brothers. She welcomed me and gave me a family to be a part of, so I guess it all worked out.” He looked over at her. “What about you? What’s your family like?”
She gave a half-laugh and a snort. “My family? My parents are born and bred Connecticut blue bloods. It was practically a royal wedding when they got married. I went to all the best schools, belonged to all the right clubs, learned to play tennis and horseback ride, and generally excelled at everything. Not because I liked any of it, mind you, but because my parents cared about appearances. I had to look like an asset.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I hated every minute of it. I was what I now think of as an ‘accessory child.’ You know, purse-belt-shoes-child. They all had to match perfectly.” She took a sip of wine.
“My parents were flat-out horrified I wanted to become a writer. A doctor or a lawyer, either was acceptable. A trader on Wall Street, better yet. But a writer? My father threw a fit when I told him. He even suggested I become a social media influencer like all my other friends were doing. Why didn’t I go out and get millions of followers and take selfies all the time? It just wasn’t me.”
Dylan leaned forward as well. “I just can’t imagine that life. It must have been a hard decision to make to leave it knowing what your parents’ response would be. Pretty brave but what made you do it?” He gave her a quick smile and then glanced out the window at the river.
