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“A few days ago. When… Oh my God. The night I went to Voodoo.” Wide eyed, I gestured with my head back to Jake.

“Did you throw them out? Go to the gym in them? The laundry mat? Anywhere where they’d have been outside of your house?”

I shook my head as I tried to find some excuse for why my panties weren’t at my house. Myhome. “No. I have a washer and dryer at home. Tomorrow’s laundry day. They were in my hamper.”

When Jake began rubbing my arms, I noticed I was shivering.

“I’m going to be honest, this was an extreme escalation. This isn’t cyber stalking, or even regular stalking. Someone obviously broke into your house. There was a note included in the package, Miss Skye.” Grabbing the other evidence bag, she moved it so I could see.

I leaned down to see the frantic scrawl on a torn piece of paper.

Next time she creams her panties,

it’ll be for me.

“Wait, what?” Like my brain was trying to protect me, the words were a meaningless jumble. As realization dawned, I wished I hadn’t tried so hard to understand. A strangled sob broke free and my shivering intensified, the chair vibrating and rattling from the movement. “Why?”

Detective Oscar shook her head sadly. “I wish I knew. There’s something else. Another reason this is anextremeescalation. It appears as though there’s fresh ejaculate on these.”

Lifting a small table, Jake jerked it up so he was gripping the bottom of two legs. Assuming a batting stance, he stepped into it as he swung forcefully, putting all of his weight into the momentum. Time seemed to slow down as the table hit the wall. Like an explosion in an action movie, the wood imploded as it splintered into pieces.

When the door burst open, I was vaguely aware of Rhys moving to stand in front of me. However, my eyes were locked on Jake.

His fury radiated as he dropped the jagged posts and turned back towards the desk. “Are you sayin’ some sicko jacked off on my woman’s panties? And then sent them to me in the fuckin’ mail?” he bellowed, making the room feel as though it was shaking.

Detective Oscar’s face softened again. “Yes, but also no, I’m sorry, that isn’t what I’m saying. There’s no postage on this envelope. No evidence it’s been through the postal service. This was hand delivered.”

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!”

“Who has access to your office?”

“Anyone. Everyone. I got a safe I keep anythin’ valuable in, but the door is unlocked.”

“I need any surveillance you have, Mr. Hyde. I’ll contact businesses around you to see if anyone has seen anything. We’ll also check if there are other cameras in the vicinity that might’ve picked something up. In the meantime, I’m going to send these off for analysis. In fact, Mendez and Franklin here will take them to the lab.” With a nod, she held them out to the officers that had burst in.

“That means you might be able to get the DNA, right? And if there’s DNA, he might be in a system? Or it could help when you catch him?” I preferred to look at the one positive thing that could come out of having my privacy so grossly violated.

“Ifit is confirmed that this is ejaculate and there’s DNA, it will help. But you need to remember this kind of extreme escalation is a double-edged sword. On one side, he’s breaking his pattern. Instead of the occasional emails, and most likely the flowers too, he’s increasing both in timeframe and actions. He’s pushing for a reaction.”

He’s about to get one in the form of me losing my lunch on my shoes.

“And he’s getting stupid. All of this could make him easier to apprehend. But I need to stress that this level of recklessness could also make him more dangerous. His obsession with you is surpassing his desire to not get caught.”

“Fuck,” Jake cursed roughly.

“Jake, we’ll need to swab for your DNA so we can exclude it.”

Clenching his jaw, he jerked his chin up.

“How long do the results take to come back?” I asked.

“It’s not like on TV. DNA is temperamental and it takes a while for the analysis to come back. After that, there’s the additional time to search through multiple databases. In the meantime, keep safe. Continue to have friends go everywhere with you.” Her voice softened. “We’ll get him, Piper. Just stay watchful and vigilant. Contact me day or night, okay?”

“Yes, thank you, Detective Oscar.” My legs shook as I stood and began walking to the door.

“Come on, sweets. We’ll head to the condo for the day.” Jake’s arm wrapped tight around me.

“No. I have so much to do and want to work. It’ll help.” I felt numb, my mind in a fog as I tried to process everything.