She frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
Max picked up the walkie and radioed Cole.
“What’s going on?” Cole’s voice came through loud and clear.
“Shay ordered food.”
“I’ll stop the guy and check him before I let him up.”
“She got you food too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, man. You’ll have to get it while he’s down there.”
“I ordered us all the same thing, so he can grab whichever.”
Max relayed the information before setting the radio down.
“Thank you, Shay.”
She shook her head, dismissing his thanks. “We’re all hungry, and breakfast is in a few hours, so why not just eat it now and then get some sleep?”
Max shrugged and sat on the opposite end of the couch. “If I can get some blankets and a pillow, I’ll bunk down out here for the night.”
“No. I have two spare bedrooms…”
She trailed off when he shook his head. “I need to be near the door.”
“Oh.” Her head tilted, and she saw one of the cameras they’d installed. It faced the door, but it had a view of the entire living room. “That’s new.”
“Yes. There are two hidden in the hallway as well to catch both ends.”
“Hidden?”
“We got permission from the building management group to hide them in the hallway overhead lights. We didn’t want the stalker to see them if he came back. Speaking of hidden cameras, there’s something you should know.”
“What now?” She sounded downright weary.
He dreaded telling her this, as it would upset her, but she needed all the facts. “During our security sweep, Mason found several hidden cameras in the apartment.”
“He what?” Shay sat up, alarmed, real fear beginning to churn in her belly.
“There were two in here, one in your bedroom, your closet, and another one in the bathroom.”
Oh, dear God. “He would have seen me naked…”
Max nodded.
“I…I don’t know what to say to that.”
“People who do this kind of thing, there’s something wrong with them. Kade, one of the owners of KSI, used to be part of the behavioral analysis unit at the FBI. He studied deviants like this, and even he’ll tell you, no two are alike. They share similar patterns, but there’s always enough of a difference to make each one unique. He’ll get into this guy’s head and figure him out, though. I promise you that.”
A stalker who liked to watch women when they weren’t aware of it? It was creepy and highly disturbing. Had she known that, she might have changed her mind about coming back here. Shay had half a mind to torch the place and run screaming.
“Are you sure they’re all gone?”
“Mason swept the place three times to make sure. He found the receiver in an abandoned building a few blocks away. We shut it down. He can’t see you even if there was a camera he missed, which is highly unlikely. Mase is very good at what he does.”
“He has no access to any footage?”
Max’s lips pursed, and she got a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.
“Most cameras are made to link up with a cloud service, so any footage could have been saved to a private cloud.”
“So, he could have me on camera?”
“Possibly, but we don’t think so.”
She cocked her head questioningly.
“We think he used the break-in as a way to install the cameras.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier to just come in and install them without trashing everything?”
“It would, but we don’t know how his mind works yet.”
“Do the police have the cameras?”
“I’m sure they do by now, but Mase cloned the hard drive first. He’s working on trying to get into the guy’s cloud.”
Cole texted to say the food was on the way up. Max answered the door and tipped the guy. Shay had already paid when she ordered. Apparently, she had a card on file. The scent of bacon wafted up, and his stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten at all yesterday except for those burritos.
“I love Darlene’s.” Shay took the Styrofoam container Max gave her and handed him a fork. “They send me food over to the studio too.”
“Open all night?”
She nodded and sat down on the couch, pulling her feet under her, before digging into her food. “Best diner in New York.”
“I think Mason would argue. He loves a little place called Mae’s over by the NYU campus.”
“I’ve never tried that.” She watched Max as he found some milk in the fridge and doctored his coffee. She blinked when she started to fantasize how those large hands of his would feel on her skin. Having him here was not a good idea, but it was her only option.
She could keep her hands to herself.
“Do you want any cream?”
“I have hazelnut creamer in the fridge.”
While he didn’t say anything, she had the distinct feeling her creamer offended him.
“Don’t like hazelnut?”
“It’s fine.”
“Then why do you look like you want to pour it down the drain and throw the container away?”
“If you like it, then it’s fine.” He brought the creamer to her along with her coffee before collecting his own food and coming to sit on the couch. “I prefer milk in my coffee. It gives it a flavor those creamers can’t touch.”
“Really?” She added her hazelnut creamer to her coffee and used the little stirrer that came with it to blend the mix.
“Kade’s wife got everyone at KSI hooked on it.”
“I’ll make sure there’s milk on the set for you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to, though. It’s the least I can do for forcing your hand.”
“I’m still not sure this is the best idea.”
“Maybe not, but I’d rather have someone in here I can trust.”
“How did you meet my sister? She usually stays on the west coast.”
A small smile tilts the corners of her lips. “I was at a club, and Desi stumbled into me, causing me to spill my drink down the front of my dress.”
“Was she drunk?”
Shay shook her head. “Your sister doesn’t get drunk.”
“Thank God. She’s diabetic, and alcohol could put her into a diabetic coma.”
“I didn’t know that.” Des had never said a word to her. She was going to get an earful later.
“It’s not something she tells a lot of people, even though her agent is always on to her to share her story. Says she can use her platform to help others struggling with the same disease, but Des refuses to do it. She doesn’t want to admit she’s sick, but eventually, she’s going to end up in the hospital. She’s really good about eating right and taking her meds, but still, with her lifestyle, it’s only a matter of time.”
Max wasn’t wrong. The life of a pop star wasn’t as grand as people would think. There was a lot of stress and demands on Desiree’s time. Shay didn’t know how her friend kept up with it.