Page 13 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)

She screamed, but it was doubtful anyone would hear it over the constant flow of traffic on the adjacent busy street and a roar of thunder that sounded above. She needed to immobilize him so she could escape. Londyn dropped the pizza and elbowed him as hard as she could in the nose.

A groan met her actions, and Mr. Nuss clutched his face. She stomped on his foot and threw a kick, her toe connecting with his knee. Londyn flung open her SUV door and slid inside, the pizza forgotten.

“Wait! Please. I’m not here to hurt you.” BJ Nuss’s muffled voice caught her off guard.

She slammed the door and locked it. Inserting the key into the ignition, she rolled down the window an inch. “Who are you?” she asked, even though she already knew.

He limped a few steps forward. Two people in a nearby car turned to look.

“My name is BJ Nuss. I just need to talk to you.”

“How did you find me?” Her finger hovered over the emergency button on her phone.

Adrenaline crashed through her. She needed to start the car, leave, and drive directly to the police station.

And yet, as bizarre and unconventional as it sounded, Londyn also needed answers.

She glanced at the glovebox where she kept her gun.

Blood gushed from BJ Nuss’s nose. He swiped at it with his upper arm, leaving a streak of red. He then held up both hands, palms up. “Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you, I just need to talk to you.”

“If it’s about your bill, you can call me during work hours. You don’t sneak up on someone in the parking lot.”

BJ Nuss pumped his palms. “I know. I know. Wrong way of going about it. Just hear me out, okay?”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I was two people ahead of you in line.”

That must have been the time when her attention was focused on Jasmine's text. While she’d only seen Mr. Nuss once in the photo Detective Rivas showed her, she would have recognized him had she been looking up as he passed her.

Londyn craned her neck behind her vehicle.

The parking lot not only housed the pizza place, but also a dry cleaner's, salon, Italian restaurant, pharmacy, and a shoe store.

There was no way she was leaving anytime soon.

Not during rush hour traffic with customers waiting to exit the parking lot.

Not when some of them were turning left onto one of the busiest streets in Rowland.

Not when the line to exit was a mile long. Not to mention those entering the lot.

“Call me during work hours.”

“It’s not about my bill.” BJ Nuss took a cautious step forward, and she noticed his hunched posture.

“Stay right there,” she warned. Her mouth went dry. This crazy lunatic had already been stalking her. What else would he try? She glanced down at her phone, the emergency button begging her to press it. “How do you know who I am?”

“It's not hard. The company you work for has a website where anyone can see pictures of staff members.”

Londyn inwardly groaned. She should have opted out of an online presence when she had the chance. At the time, she hadn’t thought it would be an issue.

What else did he know about her? Obviously, he knew where she lived, and he somehow knew her phone number.

She allowed her gaze to fall to the pizza box on the ground.

Half of the pie had slid out onto the asphalt.

Not that it mattered. She'd have cereal for dinner if she needed to. What would BJ Nuss have done if she hadn’t fought back? She recoiled at the thought.

She just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. She spoke again through the barely rolled-down window. “We have nothing to discuss. I’m leaving.” Yes, she wanted—no, needed—answers. But she wasn’t willing to jeopardize her life for them.

A man rushed by and took a double-take. His attention veered to BJ Nuss, then back to Londyn. “Is everything okay here?”

She was about to reply when Nuss said, “Yes, it is, we're just having a conversation, but thank you for your concern.”

“What is it that you need to say that is so important that it can't be said over the phone?” She sized up the man in front of her. He was thin, and he definitely could have been the man at the door that night and across the street.

“I need you to stop lying about me to the cops.”

“I'm not lying about you. You have been texting, calling, and loitering around my apartment. That’s called stalking. Grabbing my shoulder today was assault.” Londyn was grateful her voice sounded stronger than she felt.

“Texting you, calling you, stalking you, and showing up at your apartment wasn't me.”

She wanted to dispute his answer but didn't want to rile him further.

“I haven’t done any of those things, just as I told the cops.”

She didn't believe him. Londyn turned over the engine. The line to exit the parking lot hadn’t budged.

“No, wait. Just a few more minutes to explain myself.”

He’d respectfully kept his distance. She’d give him that at least. “Make it quick.”

“Look, I was not happy about the hospital bill.

It was more than I thought it was going to be for the back surgery, and then with all the additional fees that have accumulated.

I was furious when you sent me to collections.

But I would never show up at your apartment or send you a text.

He ran a hand through his thinning red hair.

“The detective even checked my phone. There were no texts to you.”

Londyn didn't mention that those could easily be deleted, or in the case of burner phones, discarded. “You mentioned on the phone that you weren't satisfied with the bill.”

“I'm not. There's absolutely no way I can pay that. “

“I told you we could talk about payment terms.”

“Yes, and I was angry that last time we spoke and said some things I regret. I mishandled that phone call, and I'm sorry about that.”

“Those words sounded like a threat.” She eyed the increasing line of cars. It would be tomorrow before she was able to exit onto the main road.

Mr. Nuss released a long, slow sigh. “I accumulated a lot of bills while I was out of work after the back surgery.

And then you went to the cops, and they showed up on my doorstep and contacted my probation officer.

I'm on probation for embezzling some funds from my former employer.

Slowly paying that back. But when my probation officer heard that I was potentially stalking someone, it didn't do me any favors. I need you to stop lying to the cops,” he repeated.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something that seemed genuine about BJ Nuss’s pleas.

“I will pay back all that I owe, along with the interest. I can't do it right away, but I will do it. I just need a little more time.”

“This is all stuff that you can tell me over the phone during work hours.”

“Not the cop stuff, and not the reassurance that I'm not the one who's stalking you.”

“You don't know where I live?”

“I don’t. And even if I did, I wouldn't go to your house. I may have made a lot of mistakes, like embezzlement and drinking while driving, losing the only woman I ever loved, and the harsh words I said to you over the phone, but I'm not a stalker. Please believe me.”

His eyes searched her face. Eyes that might not have been the eyes of the one who was at her door that day. Eyes that may not have been the ones watching her in her bedroom that night.

“Look. I never meant to scare you.”

She peered again at the dilapidated pizza.

“I’ll buy you another pizza.” Nuss stuck his hand in his pocket and withdrew a wad of cash. “Please take it and get another pizza.”

He held it out to her. But no matter what he was promising, Londyn wasn’t going to leave the safe confines of her locked vehicle.

“No, thank you. I’m going to go now.”

Easier said than done, based on a cursory glance at the line of vehicles still waiting to exit the parking lot. She made a mental note to never again assume “grabbing” a pizza on the way home from work was an efficient idea.

BJ Nuss put the money back in his pocket. “Just please believe me. I’m not the one who’s been stalking you. I’m mad about the bill, yeah, but I’m not going to hurt you.”

She scrutinized him. Londyn had always figured herself a good judge of character, yet BJ Nuss could be a professional at lying. He hadn’t exactly lived a law-abiding life.

Mr. Nuss swiped again at his nose, which had slowed its bleeding. A police car entered the parking lot, and Londyn recognized it as Officer Nelson.

“I will call you tomorrow during normal business hours. Maybe we can get my bill back from collections.” He turned on his heel and started toward an older model vehicle that appeared to be held together by duct tape.

Thank You, Lord, she breathed.

Officer Nelson intercepted BJ Nuss. “Please wait a minute, Mr. Nuss.” The officer approached Londyn’s SUV, and she further rolled down her window.

“We received a call from a concerned citizen.”

“Yes, sir. Mr. Nuss needed to talk to me.”

“Doesn’t look like he went about it the right way.”

“No, he grabbed my shoulder, and I defended myself.”

“I want you both to come down to the station and give your statements. Nuss?”

BJ Nuss nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll be there.”

After another fifteen minutes of waiting in line, Londyn and BJ Nuss followed Officer Nelson to the police station.

She thanked the Lord for keeping her safe in what could have been a volatile situation.

It was only after she was halfway to the station that her heartbeat finally returned to a normal rhythm.

BJ Nuss was denying his involvement in the past several weeks of texts, calls, and fear. Londyn shook her head. Oddly enough, she believed he was telling the truth.

But if he wasn’t the one who’d committed these crimes, who had?

And if BJ Nuss hadn’t stalked her, threatened her, scared her, and made her scared to even leave her own apartment, then who was it?