“That’s crazy, Sara. You were always welcome here. Always. I know things were rough when your dad died. It was rough on all of us, but even after you and your mother left, we’ve always considered you both to be family. Nothing changed that.”
“I know, Cotton, but Mom… she really lost it after Dad died. I’d never seen her like that before, and honestly, she hasn’t been the same since.” She sighed as she recalled the memory, concern filling her eyes. After a brief pause, she continued, “You know, she moved back here a couple of years ago when Aunt Clara got sick.”
“Yeah. We’ve been keeping an eye on her.”
“I knew you would, Cotton. I appreciate it more than you know. Even though she wouldn’t like it, it’s helped me to know the club would always be there for her,” she smiled sincerely. “With work, I haven’t been able to visit her as much as I would like, but she seems happy being with her sister.”
“Is she the reason why you’re here now, or is there something else?” I finally asked.
The blood quickly drained from her face as she said, “No, Cotton. My visit has nothing to do with my mother. I’ve come because of Derek.”
The sound of his name coming from her mouth caught me by surprise. I couldn’t rationalize it in my head, so I growled, “What about Derek?”
“It’s a long story, but the short version of it is… I think he’s stalking me again, but this time it’s different. This time, I’m worried he might try to kill me.”
“Tell me what’s happened, Sara. I need to know everything,” I ordered.
“It started with strange things happening around my house and work. Things like weird gifts left on my doorstep or on my car and strange phone calls in the middle of the night. Then, almost two months ago, I saw him for the first time. I was making a coffee run for the team and ran into him at the checkout counter. I was surprised to see him in Anchorage, but at the time, I didn’t make much of it. I mean, it seemed simple enough, until I ran into him again a couple of days later at my favorite diner. Even then, I knew it could’ve been a coincidence, but I never liked Derek. After what happened all those years ago, I definitely never trusted the guy. When I asked him about it, he just tried to play it off like it was nothing, but something didn’t feel right.”
“Did he threaten you?” I asked after I finally stopped pacing and sat back down beside her.
I reached into my pocket and grabbed a cigarette, quickly lighting it, as she said, “No. He was all smiles and charms the first few times we ran into each other. He even had the nerve to ask me out on a date. Promised to show me a good time, but when I blew him off, things started to escalate. Every time I turned around, he was there, and it was starting to get to me. He was flat out stalking me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands—turn the tables on him. I had Seth, my partner at the firm, put a GPS tracker on his bike. I was able to use that to keep an eye on him… to know whenever he was close. My guys were even able to find his warehouse and got intel on some of the guys he was running with. He didn’t make it easy on us though. He always covered his tracks, changing out burners and even changing his name. Then, two weeks ago, he vanished. Disappeared without a trace and took most of his crew with him.”
“You still haven’t told me why you think he’s trying to kill you, Sara,” I pushed.
“He came back.”
She reached for her phone and pulled up one of her pictures. Her hand was trembling as she turned the screen to me, showing me a picture of her sleeping soundly in her bed. At first, it didn’t register what the picture meant. There was no message. No one standing in the background, just her lying there, sleeping. Then it hit me. Sara was home alone, and someone had come into her house while she was sleeping and took the picture. Fuck.
“What kind of person would do something like that? He’s insane, Cotton. He always has been. I can’t believe he was actually in my house, standing right next to my bed while I was sleeping. I can’t shake it. It’s all I can think about.”
“Are you sure he’s the one who took the picture?”
“Oh, it was him. There’s no doubt. Something woke me up, and the first thing I noticed was my phone. The screen was lit up, and when I checked it, I found that picture of me. I rushed out of bed and went straight to my laptop to check the security footage of the house, and that’s when I saw Derek. He was right there by my bed, and he wasn’t alone. Joe Delaney was standing next to him while he smiled at the security camera. He’s a hacker, one of the best. The FBI has been trying to track him down for months. He’s the one who got Derek inside the house without setting off my alarm. After seeing that footage, I couldn’t stay in that house a minute longer. I packed my bags and headed here.”