Page 23

CHAPTER 22

T RINA

I thought nothing could ruin the high I was riding after watching two of my friends—Annie and Jack—marry yesterday and the celebration we had afterward. I was wrong.

My hands shake almost violently as I hold the photographs that arrived in the mail yesterday. I was so caught up in getting ready for the wedding that I brought in the mail, set it on the counter, and forgot about it until Ben left for work this morning.

They came in a brown envelope with no return address.

As I view the images, taking my time with each one, my heart pounds in my chest at the reality of how close my stalker has been to me to take the photographs. There are pictures of me entering the gym with Fitz, me walking into work, and photos from the bachelorette party. Images with my sister, Annie, and Shayna in them, too.This maniac has been too close to several people I love.

After flipping through all the photographs twice and spreading them out on the table, I get lost staring at them. It’s almost like I’m paralyzed—but by fear. I’m jolted out of my daze by the ringing of my phone but, when I look down, I see it’s another unknown number. That’s usually how my harasser’s calls show up, so I ignore it. Three more calls come, one after another, and I ignore them all.

I stand and grab the pile of prints, then walk to the door, slip on some shoes, grabbing my keys and bag before heading out to my car. Ten minutes later, I walk into the Elladine Police Department, the envelope of photos in my bag. When I get inside, I walk up to the receptionist.

“Hi. I’d like to speak with Detective Donley, please.” My voice is shaky.

“Do you have an appointment scheduled?” Her voice is kind.

“Um, no. I can just text him if that’s easier.” I pull out my phone.

“That’s okay. Just tell me your name and I’ll let him know someone is waiting to see him.”

“Thanks,” I say, my voice hushed. “Please tell him it’s Trina.”

I grip my bag and walk over to an empty wooden bench and sit while she calls Ben.

A few minutes later, Ben comes out from behind a door and grins when he sees me, but something in my expression must alert him to the anxiety consuming me, because his smile quickly falters.

“What’s wrong?” His voice is steady, yet there’s still some tension.

“C-can we go to your office?”

Ben’s brow wrinkles, and his eyebrows draw together in concern. He simply nods at me, and I stand. He places a reassuring hand to the small of my back and guides me to his office. I take a seat and pull my bag onto my lap and watch while Ben pulls his chair from behind his desk, positioning it so he’s close to me, facing me. When he places a hand on the side of each of my knees, something about it calms me slightly.

“Are you okay?”

I hate the way his eyes narrow on me and his mouth turns down in a frown. It’s his worried face. I suspect it’s going to get much worse in a moment.

I pull the envelope out of my bag and set it on my knee, his eyes never leaving mine until I pull my hands back. When he looks down at it, his brow furrows.

“What’s this?”He picks up the envelope.

“Photographs.” My voice shakes.

“From him?”He lifts his gaze to meet mine again.

I nod in response and watch as Ben stands and walks to the other side of his desk. He opens a drawer and pulls out a pair of gloves before coming back to sit near me and picking up the envelope.

I suck in a sharp breath. “I touched them,” I whisper. “Did I mess up evidence?”

“No. It’s okay. It’s just that if there are fingerprints on them, I want to make sure I don’t add mine, too.”

As he pulls the photographs out of the envelope and looks through them, Ben’s nostrils flare. I suspect he doesn’t know he’s glaring as he takes in each photograph. He turns one of them over and looks at the back, frowning. Then does the same to the rest of the pile.

“Jesus Christ.” He sets the pile of images down on his desk. “We’ll get these over to the lab to see if we can lift any prints. There doesn’t look to be any stamp to mark where they were developed, unfortunately.”

We sit quietly for several long seconds, then Ben stands and takes my hand, pulling me out of my chair and drawing me into an embrace.

I’m not usually a big hugger, but I let him. Today, I need to feel safe.

* * *

BEN

My frustration level rises when I get back the report on the photographs Trina received. Our lab lifted two partial fingerprints that didn’t belong to Trina off the photos. Because of smearing and smudging, neither matched with someone in the database. To further dash my hopes, there was no DNA able to be extracted off the back of the stamps.

It makes me absolutely crazy to think that whoever this is has been near enough to Trina to snap these photographs and seems to know her schedule. Or is watching her and following her. Though she won’t admit it, I think she’s afraid, and it infuriates me that this person has scared the strongest woman I know.

She texts me whenever she’s going anywhere, and she usually makes sure she’s busy during her days off by spending time with Emily or going to my parents’ house and plarning with my mom. My mom has also given Trina some cooking lessons. Sometimes Trina even goes into the fire station on her days off to do work in her office. She almost never goes home until I text her I’m on the way to her house.

I’ve taken to going to her place as early as possible on the days she isn’t at the station and if I have to run over to my house to get fresh clothes, she comes with me.

In all my years in law enforcement, I’ve never felt so helpless on a case and, as a man, I’ve never felt so fiercely protective of anyone. I would die to keep Trina safe, and I won’t stop until this fucker slips up and I catch him—because he will slip up. When he does, I’m going to find the pathetic asshole and give my wife back the peace of mind she deserves.