The Protector (Game of Chance, #1)

He studied her for a moment before nodding. She was glad he wasn’t hesitating, was going to get this done right now, even as a small part of her still wanted to postpone it for a little while longer. But she was a grown woman. And she needed to know one way or another.

She walked with him to the door and kissed him hard before he walked out with her phone and his keys. She watched through the window as he went to the small detached garage that obviously held his vehicle. He exited a moment later in a Jeep, waved at the cabin as if he knew she’d be watching, then powered down the path Bob’s truck had plowed when his friends had been here.

Taking a deep breath, Carlise turned, only to see Baxter standing three feet from her, studying her with a tilt of his head, as if he knew she was stressed.

“Hey, Bax,” she said softly. “He’ll be back soon.”

He didn’t move, just continued to stare at her with that all-knowing gaze of his.

Carlise walked around the dog, giving him plenty of space, and headed for the couch. She sat, not really wanting to read, and she didn’t bother to reach for her laptop. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate right now anyway.

To her surprise, Baxter walked around the couch and jumped up onto the cushion next to her.

He turned in a circle, then sat, his butt against her thigh.

Shocked and delighted, as she’d only been able to touch him once so far, Carlise very slowly ran her hand down his back. His spine wasn’t protruding nearly as much as it had when she’d first met him, and satisfaction swam through her veins.

Amazingly, she found herself relaxing. Whatever Riggs found when he turned on her phone, they’d deal with it. She was more excited that Baxter finally seemed to fully trust her. Either that, or he was trying to comfort her. She had a feeling it was a combination of both.

Whatever the dog’s reason for jumping up next to her, he’d taken Carlise’s thoughts away from the messages that might be on her phone. She couldn’t wait for Riggs to get back so he could see Baxter. As she continued to pet him, she smiled, which was the last thing she thought she’d be doing right now.



Chappy frowned at the phone in his hand. He’d expected to find some messages and texts, but he hadn’t expected to see hundreds of them. Carlise’s escape from Cleveland had not only not made her stalker back off, but it had also apparently escalated the situation.

His entire body tense, Chappy scrolled through the messages. They’d gotten more and more angry as the days went by. Whoever Carlise’s stalker was, he was pissed that he couldn’t find her. That she wasn’t responding to his messages. That she was apparently beyond his reach.

His stomach rolled. Carlise definitely needed to go into Newton and talk to the chief of police.

Alfred Rutkey had lived in Maine his entire life, was somewhat of a good ol’ boy, but Chappy respected him. He didn’t put up with shenanigans in his town, and he never hesitated to send help when someone was hurt or lost on the AT. Some small-town chiefs didn’t like to spend their hard-earned, somewhat-scarce budgets on what many assumed were wild goose chases, but Chief Rutkey wasn’t one of them.

Chappy was more relieved than he could say that Carlise wasn’t currently dealing with all these awful messages. As he scrolled through the texts, his anger continued to rise. How dare someone treat another human being this way? How dare he feel as if Carlise owed him something?

The latest texts were the most concerning.

Unknown: Where are you, bitch?

Unknown: You think you can hide from me? There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t find you.

Unknown: Eventually you’ll have to come back, and when you do, I’ll still be here. Waiting. Watching.

Unknown: How’s your mom doing? She looked pretty relaxed at the library. Too bad about that flat tire she got the other day.

Unknown: Women were made to obey. To be subservient to men. The problem with the world is people like YOU. You haven’t gotten it through your thick skull that you’re nothing without a man telling you what to do.

Unknown: Where the fuck are you?! You’re going to pay big time when I find you!

There were also several rambling emails that didn’t even make much sense. But the threats were clear. Carlise was in danger, and possibly her mother, too, if the stalker really had been following her like he’d insinuated . . . had somehow caused her flat tire.

If it was up to Chappy, Carlise would never go back to Cleveland and her mom would move to Newton.

He sighed. He’d so wanted to tell Carlise that all was well, that there were no messages, so she wouldn’t stress. But he wouldn’t lie to her. First, that would be a dick thing to do; second, he didn’t want her to let down her guard. And she needed to warn her mom to be careful as well.

He respected women. They were no more supposed to “obey” a man than men were supposed to expect subservience. As far as he was concerned, women made the world go round.

He sat in his Jeep on the side of the road, contemplating what his next steps should be. He’d need to talk to Carlise when he got back to the cabin, make sure she understood that whoever her stalker was, he wasn’t going away anytime soon. Then he’d talk to Chief Rutkey, get him to look into her ex, Tommy. He wanted to discuss everything with his friends, make sure they were aware of the situation. They’d help keep Carlise safe; he had no doubt.

The truth of the matter was, even though they’d decided to go into the tree business and not do anything clichéd for former Special Forces soldiers, like security or bodyguard work, Chappy still felt a deep-seated need to keep others safe. He kept a close eye on the men and women he led on hikes on the Appalachian Trail. He and his friends were all very protective of April, not only because she was their employee but also because she didn’t seem to have anyone else to rely on. Chappy didn’t know her story, none of them did, but they’d gotten the impression that whatever it was, it wasn’t great.

Chappy had no doubt that when Bob, Cal, and JJ heard about Carlise’s situation, they’d do whatever it took to make sure her stalker didn’t get anywhere near her.

Sighing, he forwarded the emails she’d received to his own inbox, then made a folder called Yucky Stuff in her email program. He couldn’t delete them since they were evidence, but he didn’t want her to have to see them either. He opened the emails she’d received from her mom and Susie but didn’t read them. He only wanted Carlise to be able to read them without cell service or Wi-Fi when he got back to the cabin.

He was in a quandary as to what to do about the hateful texts she’d received from her stalker. In the end, he left them because he knew they were more evidence, but he’d at least ask Carlise not to read them to avoid additional fear and stress. To trust him to take care of the situation.

He loved her. More than he ever thought possible after little more than a week. And it scared the hell out of him. Now that he’d had a glimpse of what it meant to find his person, to be loved by her, and what life could be like with Carlise at his side, he was terrified of losing her.

Looking at his watch, Chappy swore. He’d been gone longer than he’d thought. Especially with a stalker out there, pissed off at Carlise for some reason he hadn’t been able to ascertain. As far as he could tell, she’d done nothing more than break up with a man who was abusing her and was now trying to move on with her life. Not only that, but also none of the emails or texts actually talked about wanting to get Carlise back . . . or any mention of the breakup or their relationship.

If the stalker was Tommy, wouldn’t he at least reference their time together?

Susan Stoker's books