He at least had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. “Once Caden found you and reported that you were fine, the group decided you’d disappeared for a reason. After all your talk about a stalker and your cryptic text, we deduced that you were probably hiding from him. I decided once we found you, I’d simply watch to see who was watching you—which is why I was at the scene where the person ran you off the road. I just wasn’t quick enough to get to him before—” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Well, before.”
She nodded. “It’s not your fault.”
“I should have—” He paused and shook his head. “No sense in going down that road.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been watching me for two weeks and I never noticed.”
A half smile curved his lips. “I’m in the security business, remember? Surveillance is part of that. I would have let you know I was there, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that. To be honest, we were all a little perturbed you didn’t reach out to us and ask for help, but also realized that would be incredibly out of character for you.”
She frowned. “Ouch.” Her friends knew her well.
“What? I’m wrong?”
“No, not completely anyway.” She paused. “Did you find the picture?”
“What picture?”
“The one on my refrigerator.” She’d almost snatched it but had left it for them to find.
“There wasn’t any picture on your refrigerator.”
“What?” Ice settled in her veins, colder than any downpour that came from the clouds. “But the picture was supposed to clarify my text that Sarah, Ava, and Brooke were all in danger.”
He held up a hand. “Hold on. Back up. What makes you think anyone was in danger?”
“There was a picture on my refrigerator of me with Brooke, Ava, Kat, and Sarah. Someone—the person in my house that night—drew red dots on all of their foreheads—like bull’s-eyes.”
He blinked. “Whoa.”
“Exactly. They’re all okay, right?”
“Yeah, they’re fine.”
She nodded. “I figure you’d have mentioned if they weren’t. Anyway, I took that to mean everyone was in danger because of me. I mean, why else come into my house and draw bull’s-eyes on my friends’ foreheads? So, I . . . left. I thought if I disappeared, the person would have no reason to go after the others.” She paused. “I kind of assumed you’d ignore my text and look for me. Leaving the picture was my way of hoping once you saw it, you’d understand why I had to disappear—and why you should let me.”
“Of course we ignored your text. Especially after that stalker conversation at the party.” He rubbed his forehead. “Did you really think we wouldn’t move heaven and earth to find you?”
Finally feeling warm, Heather shrugged out of Travis’s jacket and laid it over the back of the sofa. She then went to pace in front of the flames. “I . . . I don’t know.”
“Seriously?” He clasped his hands and leaned forward. “How long have you known us? How can you not see how much you’re loved?”
“I . . .” She frowned. How could she explain without sounding pathetic? “No one’s ever bothered to come after me before.” No one had ever cared enough to worry about her.
Travis moved to kneel in front of her and gripped her fingers. She swallowed the surge of surprise mixed with hope and a touch of fear. The intensity of his stare stole the breath right from her lungs.
“You needed help. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not. We’d—I’d—never turn my back on that. On you.”
Heat crawled from her neck into her cheeks and she searched for the words to express her gratitude even while her mind was screaming at her to step away and keep her distance. Don’t ask for help. Don’t let anyone see your weakness. No one helps you without expecting something in return.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She paused, then looked him in the eye. “I knew you’d come. Somewhere in my head—or maybe my heart—I knew you’d come.”
“I’m very glad you knew that. Even if was only on a subconscious level.”
The crackle of the flames and the steady roar of the rain outside filled the quiet space between them. Then she cleared her throat. “I have to say, I didn’t think you’d find me this fast, though.”
“They didn’t give Caden that shield because he’s pretty.”
Heather snickered, then sobered. “I’d been thinking what I would do if worse came to worst with this stalker, and when I realized he was probably still in my house that night, I might have panicked a bit. I didn’t know what to do. But I figured if he was still in my house, he wouldn’t be able to follow me, so I turned my phone off and started driving. Ditched my car at the hospital, made my way to the rental place, hit an ATM, and kept going. That night, I knew I needed to get away to plan further and figure out what to do next. When I stopped for gas and to purchase a pay-as-you-go cell phone, there was a map of North Carolina on the wall. Sunrise sounded like a pretty place, so,”—she lifted her hands, palms up—“here I’ve been for the past three weeks—which you already know about since you’ve been tailing me for two of them.”
“Yeah, and during the two weeks I’ve been watching, I haven’t seen a stalker. No one’s paid you any extra attention or been overly watchful. Nothing. So, how did he find you tonight?”
She shook her head. “There’s no sure explanation. Just like there’s no explanation how someone got in and out of my house without setting off my alarm.”
He eyed her. “You’re sure someone was in there?”
“Absolutely no doubt in my mind.”
“Where did you make the call to your supervisor from?”
She frowned. “My car. As soon as I started driving, I knew I wouldn’t be at work the next day. Why?”
“Just wondering if someone could have traced that call.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered if they traced it. By the time anyone arrived at that location, I would have been long gone.”
He tapped his chin, his frown deepening.
“What is it?”
“There’s something about that picture on the refrigerator story that bothers me.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know. And the fact that I can’t put my finger on it bothers me too.”
“I’ll tell you what bothers me. The fact that it wasn’t there when you searched my house.”
A scuff on the porch propelled Travis to his feet. He lifted a finger to his lips, and she nodded just as the door opened and a figure stepped inside.
Travis wanted to pounce but waited. After all, they were the intruders. The newcomer was a young guy in his late teens. Eighteen? Nineteen? It was hard to judge with the dark hoodie covering a lot of his features. Scraggly blond hair peeked out from beneath the hood. He wore jeans, a quilted vest over the hoodie, and heavy boots.
Dark eyes flicked back and forth between Travis and Heather while rainwater dripped from his clothing. He held a hand against his left side. “I’m not going back, so you can just leave.”