Page 30

CHAPTER 30

Birdie

I stop dead in my tracks. One of the people that I’ve known for years could be my stalker? “That’s…” I work a swallow, but my mouth is too dry. “Are you telling me Benson from the bakery could be the man terrorizing me for months? Or that seventeen-year-old waiter at Sweet Home? Or Travis, the local bookstore owner’s husband?”

“All it takes is one person misreading the situation, fixating on you in an unhealthy way. We can’t eliminate anyone or assume your stalker is a complete stranger,” Tristan says firmly. “Think about it. He had access to your house. He never broke in.”

“Which made me fire all the help even though they were all females and changed the locks, leaving only me, Gia and Blake with keys to the house. Still, it didn’t stop him from reentering it.”

“Then he must have had access to those keys from one of you and made his own set, and who is more likely to do so other than the people you interact with on a daily basis like those on that list?”

A shudder runs through me. What if what he’s saying is true? Butterfly Man isn’t a random fan I’ve never met before. He’s someone I know, closer to me than I think. The threat isn’t coming from a stranger. It’s from someone I trust.

“Hey.” Tristan’s voice is gentler now as he falls into step beside me. “I’m not trying to frighten you, just preparing for all contingencies. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

I take in his face, that strong profile, that firm set jaw, and a flicker of reassurance buds in me. Despite our...complicated interactions, he’s always looking out for me. I’m no longer facing dangers alone. I know in my heart he’ll do everything in his power to protect me. “You’re right. No one can be trusted. Everybody is a suspect.” I give Tristan access to the document.

“It’s best if we head back, Birdie,” Marcus says this time. “Until we vet everyone on the list.”

“No. I didn’t come all the way just to head back. You can relax. Spencer can’t be the stalker.” I continue down the path to the lighthouse.

“How could you be so sure?”

“Because if he has any obsessive tendencies, they’ll fixate on someone who looks like you.”

Spencer is waiting at the bottom of the lighthouse when we arrive. He is a bald, lanky man with strawberry blond facial hair and acne that hasn’t seemed to heal over the seven years I’ve known him. He grins when he sees me. “If it isn’t our local celebrity writer… Long time no see.”

A little over a year. “Spencer, my man. How are you, and how is Aedan?”

“Glorious. He’ll freak when he knows I met you today. He’s a big fan, and I brag to him all the time that I know you, but he doesn’t believe me. I know you don’t allow photos, but—”

“Could you open the entrance please?” Tristan interrupts. “We’d like to conduct a swift security check before Mrs. Abel goes in.”

Spencer’s grin vanishes. Confusion dulls his expression, perhaps fear, too. Tristan can be very intimidating. Add Marcus to the equation, and I bet they can make grown men piss their pants just by staring at them. Poor Spencer blinks at me. “Are these gentlemen your friends?”

“Bodyguards. After the last book, things got a little…you know…”

“Oh, of course! Twisted Obsession is epic. I can imagine fans lining up at your door.” He lightens up, but when his stare collides with Tristan’s he recoils. “Where is Mr. Abel?”

“It’s just me now, Spencer.”

“What? But you were the most adorable couple… Those wedding photos…” He looks like he’s about to cry. “If you split up, what hope do people like us have?”

“The doors to the entrance, please,” Tristan repeats, and I can practically hear his teeth clenching.

“Yeah. Sure.” Spencer lets us in, but Tristan tells me to stay with Marcus until he secures the lighthouse. I thought he’d assign Marcus the task and he’d be the one staying with me, but jealousy doesn’t have room in his repertoire when it comes to my safety. He’ll always step up to ensure the job is done properly and to his standards. A smile crawls on my face despite the emotional turmoil I’ve been through.

A few minutes later, filled with Spencer’s babbling about how Aedan could be the one, Marcus gets the go-ahead from Tristan, and we start climbing.

“Thank you, Spencer, for doing this,” I tell him over my shoulder, catching him staring at Marcus’s behind, “I’ll send Aedan a signed book.”

His cheeks turn redder than his beard, and he yanks his gaze away. “Anytime. Thank you so much!”

Yeah, Aedan is definitely the one . I do a mental snort.

Pale light filters down through the narrow windows, casting eerie streaks across the spiral steps as Marcus and I ascend the winding staircase inside the lighthouse. I take off Tristan’s sunglasses for better optics.

“You’d think after all these years, they’d have installed some better lighting in here,” Marcus huffs from behind me. His footfalls echo with every upward revolution of the staircase.

Did he not say he’d never been on the island or to any of the lighthouses on it before he moved in for the job? The thick stone walls press in all of a sudden, the air thick with the scents of aged brick and marine brine. I slow down and run my hand along the cylindrical wall to guide myself.

“You okay?” Marcus’s voice echoes, laced with concern.

My heat hammers against my chest. Should I confront him or pretend I’ve never heard him make that casual complaint about the lighting as if he was familiar with the layout? Swallowing, I look up. If I yell for Tristan, can he hear me?

“Birdie?”

No one can be trusted. Everyone is a suspect. Be the obstacle, not the victim. If I’m going to confront him, if my suspicions turn out to be true, it’s best I’m not alone in a dark, confined place with him, without having Tristan close enough to protect me. I plaster the smile I give my fans on my face. “Yeah, just...it’s steeper than I remember. Not as young as I used to be when I last climbed these stairs.”

Marcus lets out a small chuckle. “Don’t sell yourself short. We’re almost at the top.”

We’re not. Is it another lie to cover the first? Has he sensed my suspicions? Is he trying to convince me he hasn’t been here before? What if Marcus is hiding something?

What if he, of all people, is Butterfly Man and he knows I’m on to him?

“Go ahead.” I shouldn’t be alone with Marcus any second longer. “I just need a second to catch my breath.” Pulling my phone out of my pocket, all I can think of is that I need Tristan. Subtly, I try to call him, but there’s no reception.

“I can’t leave you, Birdie. You know better.”

Something in his voice sends a chill down my spine, and my mind spirals. Am I staring at one of the people I’ve entrusted with my safety or has Butterfly Man’s mask finally slipped off, revealing the face lurking underneath?