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Walking toward my red Nissan Altima, I click the unlock button on the fob. The smell of cypress greets me as I slide into the driver’s seat courtesy of my air freshener. I stop in my tracks when it reminds me of the delicious smell of the stranger from the night before.

Let it go.

Blowing out a breath I hit the remote start and cruise onto the street and into Chicago traffic. Vex is about fifteen minutes away from the police department so I cycle through my Guns N Roses playlist and zone out.

I’m not sure what exactly I’m hoping to find running by Vex. Once I’m home I need to focus on the Mayhem Murderer case files but something in me says I have to stop here just in case.

I park a street over from the club and get out. I scan my surroundings and make sure there's nothing out of the norm. For some reason lately I’ve had the odd feeling of someone watching me but I’ve never able to spot the ghostly culprit. It could just be the case and my paranoia getting to me.

Closing the door, I cross the street while there’s a break in cars and slink my way to a spot that gives me a decent glimpse down the narrow alleyway alongside the club.

Two hours pass, longer than I intended to watch and enough for my limbs to become stiff and my feet to hurt. I don’t spot a single thing of notable suspicion. I suppose it’s what I get for listening to Luna. Normally I wouldn’t even entertain a civilian saying something like she did, but there’s something about this whole thing that doesn’t sit right with me.

Slowly backing away from the wall, I keep my head down and pull up my jacket collar, speed walking as silently as possible toward my car. The sun is just starting to set.

As I reach the street, I notice a black sports car parked near mine with the engine running. At first, I write it off but when I pull away, I notice it tailing me a few minutes later.

My heart thumps erratically at the uneasy feeling I have, and I drive a little faster.

I pull into the underground garage beneath my building, making sure the car didn’t manage to get inside somehow.

The uneasy feeling follows me all the way up and doesn’t go away. I make sure to keep my hand by my gun as I near my apartment.

I make one last scan of the hall when I turn and run face first into a hard wall.

A wall that grabs me.

CHAPTER 8

CELINE

Adrenaline spiking, I push against the hands holding me and whip my gun out, clicking off the safety. If I’m going down, I’m taking this stalking fuck with me.

“Whoa, Rambo!” A startled baritone voice has me instantly looking up and into a pair of vividly green eyes wide with shock.

I grip my gun tighter and train it on the stranger in front of me who then holds his hands up non-threateningly.

“Who the hell are you? Why are you following me?” I ask accusatorially, my breaths coming out in short pants.

“What? Following you?” His tone makes him sound oddly innocent. “I don’t even know you,” he says in an even tone. “I live on this floor. I take it we’re...” He eyes my gun warily and cocks his head to the side. “Neighbors.”

Giving the hallway another scan for anything that appears off, I look back into his eyes and see nothing malevolent.

You’re paranoid, Celine.

These cases have me feeling a little edgy. Not that the club situation is an actual case, but it’s weighing on me as such.

With a sigh I click the safety back on and pocket my gun. The man slowly lowers his hands and watches me cautiously. I swipea hand down my face and center myself before untensing my shoulders and allowing myself to relax.

“Look, I’m sorry for pulling a gun on you. It’s been a weird couple of days.” I give a humorless chuckle and look back up at the stranger. I burst out laughing when I see a pizza box balanced precariously on his head. I’m not sure how I missed it. I blame it on the initial shock of thinking I was being attacked.

“Nice hat.”

How he managed to get a pizza box on his headandbalance it is beyond me.

Lush pink lips quirk to the side, and he releases me to grab the box.

While he's focused on that, I allow myself to fully examine the man in front of me. My heart races for an entirely different reason as I take him in.