Page 51 of Maverick

“Would you do that? I don’t mind if he has a crush on me, but it was weird. Unnerving.”

“Did you happen to tell Corporal Garcia about the call?”

I laughed nervously. “Are you nuts? After what he did to the cowboy at the bar? Snake is not my protector. He’s not even mine. I doubt after what happened he’ll ever want to see me again.” I chewed on my lower lip, worried that Snake would go off. He had such a short fuse.

“And you aren’t going to tell me about the reason why you think that.”

“Not yet. I’m headed to my office now. I have paperwork to handle.” Why were my hands icy?

“Is that why you’ve been standing at the window since you arrived? Are you waiting for Snake?”

“I guess I’ve been hopeful.” I didn’t want to admit that I was freaking terrified of walking into my little cubicle. It sounded ridiculous even just thinking about it. I patted her on the arm and headed directly for the door, sliding my key into the lock. I threw it open, ready to toss my purse on the desk when I sensed something odd that bothered me. Backing away, I turned on the light.

Whoever had been inside my office had stripped off every petal from the roses, creating a heart design in the center of my desk. Even worse, the strands of hair I’d ripped out had been carefully placed in the center, as if done lovingly. I’d felt sick all morning long, thinking the anxiety was about Snake, even accepting a little guilt for no real reason. Now I knew the reason was because my body had sensed danger, knowing that I’d walk into a nightmare.

But was this some crush gone too far or something far more ominous? Why did I have the feeling things were going to get worse?

I backed out, closing the door behind me. This wasn’t anything like I’d expected upon returning to my hometown, and nothing I wanted a part of. But one thing was certain. I would confront Snake to see if he’d been responsible. Okay, so my rational mind knew he hadn’t made the call. Perhaps I was hoping for a logical explanation against all odds.

“What’s wrong?” Shelly asked as I headed for the door.

“I just need some air.”

“No, tell me what’s wrong?”

I stopped short, trying to catch my breath. “I think I have a stalker. Maybe Drake. Maybe not.”

She didn’t hesitate, immediately heading for my office. When she backed out, I could sense her growing tension. “I’m calling security and the sheriff.”

“What if it’s an innocent gesture?”

“Breaking and entering isn’t innocent, no matter who did it or the reason why. Even if Drake was at first doing his job, this is unacceptable. You can use my office for the rest of the day. I know you’re busy with patients.”

All I really wanted to do was to go home and crawl under the covers, but I had a feeling nowhere was safe. “If it’s alright, I need to make a couple phone calls.”

“Of course.”

I nodded, moving to the corridor leading to her office. If Corporal Lance Rollington had found me, I’d need to make some tough decisions.

Including leaving the home I loved more than anything.

As soon as I sat down, I riffled through my purse, yanking out my wallet. It took me several seconds to find the card the detective had given me all those months ago. I was shocked when she answered the phone.

“Detective Martin.”

“Detective, this is Chasity Garrington. I hoped I’d never have to talk to you again. I don’t mean any offense.” I laughed nervously, the same anxiety I’d experienced before rearing its ugly head. I swirled a portion of my hair in my fingers, rocking back and forth in the chair. Just seconds before I was ready to rip out another portion of my curls, I caught myself, placing my palm against my knee.

You’re better than this.

You don’t need to hurt yourself.

Maybe I couldn’t handle a real life, a normal life. Allowing my hand to curl into a fist, I held my breath until she answered.

“Chasity. You were on my mind earlier this week.”

“Why is that?” Oh, God, no. What if…

“I was finalizing old cases so I could archive them and ran across your file. How are you doing?” the detective asked. She’d been tenacious in her investigation, refusing to buy into media hype that my story had been overblown. Without her involvement, Lance would never have been hunted down.

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