Page 10 of Taking Adalisa (Montgomery Syndicate #2)

ADALISA

“ H ave none of them confessed to giving you the stuffed zebra stuffy?” I ask, walking into the store.

Margery looks up and shakes her head. “No, they haven’t. I don’t think it’s one of them.”

“What makes you think that?” I start to unpack my lunch from my bag.

I’m hoping that, if Matthias is watching me, he sees that I’m eating, so he doesn’t buy anything for me. I don’t need him coming in with a disguise or having someone else deliver the food. What if he got one of his men to bring it to me?

I still as I think about that. No, he wouldn’t. He said he works for someone, so he wouldn’t have men to look after me or do anything like that. Or would he?

No, I can’t think about that. I need to come up with a way to get away from him, to find a way to escape and get him to stop wanting me. That’s what I need to do. I don’t need to think about him anymore.

“Adalisa?” Margery touches my shoulder.

“Sorry, in my head.” I give her a small smile. “I was just thinking about lunch and how I can’t wait to eat it,” I lie. “Anyway, what makes you think it wasn’t one of your dates who gave it to you?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. They don’t know where I work. And unless they followed me, they wouldn’t know. And if it was them, why wouldn’t they just give it to me in person?”

Those are all very good points, I hadn’t thought about those.

“Okay, so then who could it be?” I ask, sitting down. “Could it be an ex? Someone you know from high school? An uncle you don’t know about?”

She shakes her head and sighs. “I don’t have any ex-boyfriends. I only dated Ethan… he was the only one. And as for people I know in high school, I didn’t have many friends. They didn’t want to be friends with me.”

“Uncles or aunts?”

“Nope. I don’t talk to them, and they don’t like stuffed animals.” She rolls her eyes. “But I don’t know who else it could be.”

“A secret admirer. Maybe someone walked into the store, you helped them out, and they took an interest in you. Or they could have been walking past and saw you through the window,” I suggest, but immediately regret it.

That’s just how Matthias found me. He saw me, walked into the store, and then stalked me for a little while. Now I can’t get rid of him.

Margery laughs. “I don’t think that’s the case. This stuffed zebra is like the one I have at home… the exact same.”

My shoulders shrug. “So it’s a coincidence. Things happen like that all the time.”

She looks at me, unsure, and I smile.

“You can’t be paranoid. It’s just a zebra,” I suggest. “Whoever gave it to you will show their face eventually, and you’ll realize that you’ve known them for a long time. You don’t need to worry.”

“I guess,” she mumbles, looking off into the distance.

“Not I guess, but I know. You are going to look back at all of this and laugh at how paranoid you are being.” I sit back and relax. “Everything is going to be fine. It’s harmless what the person is doing.”

Margery has something harmless while I’m over here getting told I belong to Matthias, his mother says not to fight it, and he breaks into my apartment.

He also watches me and has done for a while, changing his appearance so I don’t know I’m actually talking to him.

How much else does he do that I don’t know about?

I’ve tried not to think about it since I don’t know him. I don’t know what he’s capable of. The possibilities are endless, which is scary to think about. Has he been in my apartment before waking me up? The only way into my apartment is through the front door.

I’m on the fourth floor, so unless he scaled the side of the building to get in through my window, he got in through the front door. Does he have a key?

“Adalisa?” Margery places a hand on my shoulder.

I look at her. “Sorry, in my thoughts again. What did I miss?”

In my very important thoughts.

If he had a key to my apartment, he would have used it when he got me out of the elevator, right? He wouldn’t have needed me to hand mine over. Unless that is how he got my keys. Asked me for it, takes them to a different room while he gets me water and copies them in foam to later get them made.

How could I have been so stupid? I gave him everything he needed to get into my apartment and do whatever he wanted. Did he also place cameras around my rooms while getting me the water?

I take a deep breath, trying to stop myself from panicking in front of Margery.

Now is not the time to think about everything Matthias could have possibly done.

When I get home, I’m going to have to check every room to make sure nothing is out of.

Maybe I can stop by a camera shop and see if there is a machine that finds little cameras.

There has to be.

“I was just talking about my plans,” Margery chuckles. “I know my life is boring, but you didn’t have to completely check out.”

I wince. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m just not all here right now. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Your friend been on your mind a lot? Are you going to go ask him out, and then fall in love?” she asks, winking.

If only she knew that this friend I am talking about isn’t a friend at all. He is someone I want to stay away from, someone very dangerous.

“No, that is not happening. He and I are never getting together,” I reiterate. “We can’t. We don’t mesh well.”

Her whole body slumps. “I was rooting for him. I thought you guys would have made a good couple.”

“You don’t even know him.” I shake my head. “You’ve never met him before.”

“Yeah, but him mailing the bracelet to you. Come on. And him telling you it’s going to keep you safe.” She gives me a pointed look and looks down at my wrists. “Which I see you aren’t wearing. What if he finds out you?”

“A small bracelet cannot give protection. It’s just like any other one you can get at any corner store.

It wasn’t anything special.” I roll my eyes.

“He insisted I wear it again, but I haven’t, and I don’t think I will.

No one is going to look at my wrist and back off because they see me wearing a silver bracelet. ”

She shrugs. “You never know. Did you leave it at home or did you bring it with you?”

Sighing, I pick up my bag and rummage through it. “Here it is. I brought it just in case, but honestly, I think tomorrow I’m not going to. It’s pointless. It doesn’t signify anything.”

I spent so many hours last night looking at it, trying to see if there was a hidden inscription on it that someone could see. But there isn’t. It’s just a plain silver bracelet that shows whether Matthias can fuck me in the middle of the night or not.

That is all.“So why don’t you just wear it. It’s not like it’s going to harm you,” Margery encourages.

“It may not harm me, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me wear it when he won’t tell me why it will keep me safe.

There is no point. What is he keeping from me?

” I counter. “This is why we won’t do well together.

He doesn’t tell me things, and I don’t like to be kept in the dark. ”

I also don’t enjoy being claimed.

Lies , my inner voice whispers in my head.

I sigh. I love being claimed. It’s so hot when a man comes up to me and tells me I am theirs and no one else’s. I want that, especially with Matthias, but there are so many red flags. I don’t know who he is; he’s stalked me, got into my apartment, and decided that I’m his without consulting me.

But maybe I didn’t want to be consulted.

No .

This is not happening. I am not going down this road. I need to be strong and stay with my original plan. I need to leave. I need to get off his radar, stay low, and when he forgets about me, I can come back. That is the only thing I need to do right now.

“I don’t see a problem with it. I think it’s kind of hot, him claiming you and all. I think you should go with it if you really want to,” Margery whispers.

“Can we not talk about him? I’m trying not to think about him for at least an hour or more,” I whine.

How is that working out? It’s not. Matthias is constantly on my mind, and I can’t get him out of it. He knew, and he acted all smug about it.

Margery cracks a smile. “Okay, whatever you want. If you do want to talk about him, you let me know, and we can. Maybe later you can tell me what he looks like, or better yet, if you can show me a picture. I will gladly look at him.”

“He could be butt ugly,” I mumble.

“You being friends with someone butt ugly? I don’t think so. You aren’t mean, and you just attract hot men. You always will. They take one look at you and know you are everything they need and want.” Margery smirks brightly. “I don’t know how you aren’t dating or married.”

I shrug. “Haven’t found the right person yet.”

“And you will… eventually. You just need to take a leap of faith. Maybe your friend is the right person for you. Have you guys tried dating before?” she asks.

“No, we haven’t. He’s wanted to, but I don’t want to ruin the friendship if anything happens,” I lie.

How big is this lie going to get?

Margery places a hand on my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

“I think you should really think about it and then decide. Maybe you should have a conversation and let him know that. I know a lot of people who were friends before, started dating, didn’t work out, and are still great friends to this day. ”

“Okay, fine. Maybe I’ll message him and see if we can meet up this weekend to talk about things,” I lie once again.

I have no intention of messaging him. If anything, this weekend I am going to come up with a plan on how to get away and be undetected. Someone in New York has to know what to do and where to go, so he can’t find me.

How much cash do I have in my bank? I’m going to have to withdraw all of it since I won’t be able to work.

Maybe I can tell my boss I’m going on a little vacation and lay low that way.

Then, when he is looking for me, I can stay away and come back to work a few months later.

I could change my hair color and appearance to make myself look different.

He won’t know that.

“Good. I really think you should do this. I don’t think you will regret it,” she gently says.

I hope I don’t.