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I look at my friend. I trust him like I would a brother.

“It’s about the kid’s nanny,” I say.

A playful smirk appears on his face, making me regret this already.

“What about her?” he asks.

“Wipe that smile off your face before I do it for you,” I growl.

“Dude, sometimes you forget I’m your only friend,” he says. “You should start being nicer to me.”

“She has a stalker,” I say. “I need you to look into him.”

“A stalker?” he repeats. “Like an ex-boyfriend?”

“I’m not sure about the nature of their relationship or if they even had one, but this man has turned her life into a living hell,” I say.

As I speak about her, a strange emotion rises from within me—protectiveness. It’s the same emotion I feel when I look at my niece and nephew. The world took a lot from them, and I want to make sure that nothing touches them ever again.

But what I feel for the nanny is darker. It’s tainted at the edges. It’s far more dangerous.

“What do you know about this stalker?” Alaric asks.

“Nothing,” I say. “My private investigator is still looking into it, but we don’t even have his name yet. All I know is that he terrorized her. She was afraid to even go to the police.”

I tell Alaric about the threatening emails and the break-ins.

“Wait, what?” Alaric asks. “The dude tried to poison hergrandmother? That’s so messed up.”

“There’s no conclusive evidence of it, but that’s what she suspects,” I say.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Alaric asks. “If he’s a danger to her, he’s also a danger to the kids.”

“I know,” I say. “I amplified every security measure. Nothing’s going to happen to them. I’ll make sure of it.”

Alaric watches me with a curious expression on his face. He’s usually a man with a lot to say, but right now, he’s rendered speechless.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” This time, he’s smiling as he says the words.

“Don’t even,” I say.

“Fine, but this is actually serious, dude,” he says. “Did you talk to her about this stalker?”

“We don’t talk,” I reply.

“That’s spectacular,” he says. “Have you considered that she might give you more details if you just asked her about what happened?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary,” I say.

“Your mind works in mysterious ways.” He shakes his head. “And I know that sounds like a compliment, but it’s not.”

“It didn’t seem like something she wanted to discuss,” I say. “And I respect that.”

I understand the need to not talk about some things. Not everything has to be dissected and analyzed.

Whoever this stalker is, I’ll take care of him myself.

“You’re in deep waters, Sinclair.” Alaric has a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ve never seen you this flustered over a woman before. You want to get rid of her. You want to protect her. I think I know how this is going to end.”