“I don’t understand. He didn’t know me until I went out that night and met him.”
“He planned it, Z. I’ll explain it all later when you have more time. Right now I just need you to understand this: he’s the one that dug up all the stuff about you and Luke. He’s obsessed and extremely dangerous. I wouldn’t have these people watching you if I didn’t believe that.”
“But you can’t—”
Alex put his finger over her lips. “I can and I will.”
No more talking, what Alex wanted more than anything now, was to taste her again. If he had to go another night without her, he needed take advantage of the moment before anyone came looking for her. He cradled her face and devoured her mouth again, groaning in delight.
***
The phone rang early Friday morning. It was Alex.
“Hmm?”
“Morning, sweetheart, did I wake you?”
Valerie stretched. “Hmm, yeah, but I was planning on getting up early anyway.”
“Really? What are your plans?”
She sat up pulling her legs over the edge of the bed. “I need to raid my dad’s fridge and pantry. I’m cleaning house today. Gotta get some better eating habits for him. But I’m not going anywhere. The only thing I’ll probably leave for is to get him some groceries.”
“You coming home tonight?” He sounded hopeful.
Last night after she’d nagged her dad about not staying up too late reading, she called Alex back. She just couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said.
Since Alex was having trouble getting any sleep in his empty bed, he was happy to fill her in on all the details. Valerie was grateful he hadn’t brought up Luke again. But she had a feeling he was saving that for a face to face conversation. She wasn’t looking forward to it, and she still wasn’t even sure if she was willing to tell him everything. Even though he hadn’t intentionally set out to find out, now that he knew the details of that night were really none of his business.
When she first decided to stay with her dad for a few days, part of the reason was to get away from Alex. She was so hurt and upset with him for a moment there, she wasn’t sure if she’d be going back to his house at all. After last night’s talk, she knew she would, but it was too soon to leave her dad. As stubborn as that man was, she knew it would take a few more days to help him make the changes he needed to make. Norma was all for throwing out the bad stuff and stocking up on healthy food. She said she’d been trying forever but as usual, her dad’s stubbornness was too much.
“No, I really need to be here, Alex. At least through the weekend.”
She heard Alex sigh. “I hate waking up without you.”
“I hate waking up without you too, babe. But this is really important to me.”
As disappointed as Alex sounded, Valerie knew he would understand. She’d been glad to hear they were having another big wedding this weekend at the restaurant. It would keep Alex busy, making her feel less guilty. Knowing Alex, since she wouldn’t be there when he got home, he’d work late into tonight and be back at the restaurant early tomorrow morning.
“You think maybe you can come by the restaurant today so I can see you?”
“I don’t wanna leave my dad so soon, Alex. As it is, I really don’t want to go to the market, but I have to.”
“And you really think it’s necessary to watch him like a child?” Valerie was glad to hear a little humor in his tone.
“Yes I do. If he’s gonna behave like one, then he’ll be treated like one.” She heard him chuckle. “But you can come by tonight, like you did yesterday.”
“Oh, I was planning on that. No way am I going the whole day without seeing you.” He lowered his voice and murmured. “I just hoped maybe I could be near you… alone… before that.”
“Oh.” She knew what he meant by that. They’d found very creative ways to be alone in the past. Her body shivered just thinking about it.
“Yeah, Oh.” She could almost hear the smile in his tone. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. We’ll make up for this later… I promise.”
How he could do things to her just with a simple change in his tone was beyond crazy. Once off the phone, she spent the morning digging through her father’s pantry as he sat having breakfast. Norma had made scrambled egg whites with turkey bacon, only two slices, some fruit and glass of prune juice for him.
“You should’ve been eating like this a long time ago.” Valerie scolded her dad, her nose still in his pantry. She’d already gone through the refrigerator. Norma had told her to have at it; it was high time, making her dad grumble in the process. Valerie pulled out all the high sodium products. She frowned at the amount they had in there.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Her dad complained.
With her hand on her hip, she turned to him. “Obviously this is where I need to be, and I will be here once a week. Look at all this!” She pointed to the cans of spam and high sodium soups on the counter. “You know better, Daddy. You’re just being bad. Well, say goodbye to all of it.” She pulled another can of sardines and shook her head.
“You’re crazy if you think you’re throwing all that stuff out,” he said, raising his fork at her.
“No, I’m donating it to the church up the street. I’ll go pick up some stuff to replace these. Good stuff.”
Her phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID. It was Luke this time. She picked it up and answered. “Hey, Luke.” She ducked her head back in the pantry.
“You got an interview.”
Valerie stood up straight. “I did? When?”
“First thing Monday. I got a whole file here on the types of questions they’ll be asking. I can fax it to you.”
She bit her lip. “My dad doesn’t have a fax machine.”
“I can drive by and drop it off if you want.”
Valerie thought of the people Alex had watching her. He was already not happy about her breakfasts with Luke. She was sure he’d have questions about Luke visiting her at her dad’s. If she knew Luke, he wouldn’t just drop them off either. He’d want to come in and meet her dad. “No, hmm. I wasn’t planning on going in the office for a few days but-”
“Go!” Her dad said. “I’ll be just fine here without you riding me all day.”
Valerie scowled at her dad. “You know what? I have to run an errand for my dad in a little bit. I’ll stop by and pick it up.” She continued to search through the pantry again.
“Do you know what time?”
Three cans of Vienna sausages were stacked in the corner of the pantry. Valerie picked one up, waved it at her dad and shook her head disapprovingly. “In about an hour, but just leave it on my desk if you have to go anywhere.”
“No, I’ll be here. I wanna go over a few things with you anyway.”
Valerie wasn’t sure she was comfortable being alone with Luke so much now, especially since Alex was now under the impression they’d slept together. Technically they had but she knew what Alex was thinking. She wasn’t even sure he’d be happy about the real version of what really happened that night. Any time she spent alone with Luke now was going to be a rough topic to bring up. There’d be no keeping things from him now that she knew she was being watched. They obviously didn’t just report back to him with the dangerous stuff. They were telling him every little thing.
She frowned, hanging up. “I’m only going to be gone for a few hours, you hear me?”
Her dad smiled. “Good riddance. So, you’re going by the market?”
“How rude.” Valerie smirked. “And yes I am. Any special requests?” She started bagging up all the cans she’d be dropping off at the church.
“Chips and dip. I’m watching the ballgame tonight. The kind with the ridges.”
She didn’t stop her bagging. Her dad wasn’t going to stop riling her. She was used to it. “Low sodium baked chips, and no fat plain yogurt it is.” She threw the last can in the bag. His loud groan made her smile. Two could play this game.
/>
*
Valerie checked her rearview mirror. She wondered which of all the cars around her were Alex’s guys. Now that she knew how demented Bruce really was and that he’d been stalking her long before she met him, she had to admit she did feel a lot better knowing she wasn’t alone.
She didn’t bother to dress up. Instead, she purposely wore shorts and a sweatshirt, no make up, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Most notably, she wore tennis shoes. Luke had never seen her without her big shoes, or dressed down. At this point, she didn’t care. In a way, she was hoping he’d be turned off.
She walked into her cubicle, dropping her keys on the desk, and picked up the file that Luke had left there. She had just started reading it when she heard his voice.
“Hey, tiny.”
She turned around. Luke leaned against frame of her cubicle looking down at her.
“Hey.”
The smile on his face was bigger than usual. “Wow, Val. I didn’t realize you were this short.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“The last time I saw you like this was the morning after…”
Her eyes were immediately back on the file, annoyed that he’d ever bring that up. “Is this all of it?”
“Yeah, but we need to go over some stuff.”
“No, I don’t have time, Luke. My dad needs me back.”
“But he’s better, right?”
“Oh yeah, but I need to be there before lunchtime. The man needs to have his meals monitored like a child. I swear he’s been out of the hospital for less than 24 hours, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try to pull a fast one.”
Luke laughed. “I’m glad he’s feeling well enough to be sneaky. For a moment there I thought you might miss out on George Stone this weekend.”
Valerie turned to him wide eyed. “That’s this weekend?”
“Don’t tell me you forgot.”
She placed a hand on her forehead. “Completely, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make it.”
“Why not? You said your dad’s better. Your step-mom can handle him alone for a few days.”
Few days? “That’s right. It’s an all weekend thing, isn’t it?” She shook her head, clutching the file in her hand. “There’s no way.”
“But it’s right here in La Jolla, Val. It’s not like you’ll be out of town. If anything were to happen, you’re only minutes away. You don’t have to spend the night there.” His eyes locked on hers. “Unless you want to. I never cancelled the suite.”
Irritated by the absurd suggestion and more than tired of his uncomfortable stares, she snapped. “Don’t be ridiculous, Luke. Of course I wouldn’t be spending the night.”
He leaned against the frame of her cubicle with a sheepish smile. “Well, the offer still stands if you change your mind. But you’ll still go to seminar right?”
She picked up the keys from the desk. “I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to my dad.”
Luke filled her in quickly about the man conducting the interviews. He’d worked with him in the past so he knew about his work ethics and what he expected out of a manager. He wasn’t too worried about Valerie making a good impression. He said Valerie had one of the most important things down and that was swagger.
Valerie started to make her exit.
“It’s business attire, Val. As cute as you look in shorts and tennis shoes, don’t plan on dressing that way for the seminar.”
She could feel his eyes on her as she walked past him. Her idea about dressing down had backfired. She responded to that with nothing more than a nod. Somehow, Luke had gone from being bitter about her rejection, and getting back with Alex so soon after, to flirting again. Spending the entire weekend with him at the seminar wasn’t the greatest idea. Even if she wouldn’t be going with him, it still might encourage the behavior further.
The thing was, now that he had reminded her of it, she really wanted to go. It didn’t seem fair. With all the stress she’d been under lately, a weekend of listening to George Stone’s inspirational speeches would be bliss. Having to tell Alex about it made her think twice. It would no doubt solicit a conversation about Luke. That was something she was trying to avoid.
She’d worry about that later. Right now, she needed to get to the market. She was determined to stay on top of her dad’s health. Like it or not, she intended to keep him around for a long time. If that meant holding his hand through every meal, then so be it.
CHAPTER 29
Alex went up to check the progress of the banquet rooms set-up. They were on schedule for the wedding tomorrow still. His phone vibrated with a text on his way down.
FYI, She went to church, her office, then the market, she’s back home now.
Romero had texted him a couple of hours ago to let him know Valerie was on the move. He really began to feel somewhat underhanded. The whole thing had started for her safety. In the beginning, they’d only let him know if something was wrong. Ever since his confrontation with her at the hospital, Romero started checking in with him on her every move.
He was trying hard not to read too much into everything. But this morning she’d made it clear she couldn’t swing by the restaurant even for just a little bit. Her office was even more out of her way. Did it really take her two hours to go to the market?
As tempting as it was to shoot Romero a text asking how long she’d been at the office, Alex held off. He’d get his answers soon enough and straight from the source.
He thought about calling her but then thought better. The day he found out about her breakfasts with Luke, he waited and waited for her to mention it. No way was he having another one of those exasperating conversations with her again. This could wait until he saw her tonight.
Back downstairs, he checked in on the food. The main dish would be Birria, the Mexican version of pot roast—only a lot spicier. This was a complex dish because it had to cook slowly for 24 hours. For a wedding as large as tomorrow’s, they’d have to watch it closely.
His phone rang just as he entered the office. It was Valerie.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey, you busy?”
“No, what’s up?” He sat down in the desk chair and leaned back.
“My dad’s taking a nap and I was thinking about you.”
“You should come by.” Just thinking about what he’d do to her made him sit up straight.
“I almost did.”
“Valerie don’t tease me.” He shifted in his seat in case anyone walked in, his situation wouldn’t be so noticeable. “So, why didn’t you?”
“I felt bad. I wanted to be here at least one full day, since I’ll be gone most of the weekend.”
“Gone? You coming home?” He sat up, unashamed about how excited that made him.
“Umm, no. I have that seminar to go to. Remember I told you about it, George Stone?”
Alex sat still for a moment and then it hit him. Suddenly there were other parts of his body hard and rigid but not in a good way. “With Luke?”
“No, not with Luke.” She replied. “I might see him there, but I’m not going with him.”
“What do you mean might, Valerie? He bought the tickets together. His ass will be sitting right next to you the whole time.”
“Not necessarily. It’s not like a concert. There are no set seats. My ticket just gets me in the door. I sit where I want.”
If Luke had even a fraction of a brain, he’ll be there saving the seat next to him for her. That wasn’t even what bothered him the most. There was no way Hank or Steve would be able to keep an eye on her in a setting like that. Bruce was getting ready to make a move. She had to be extra careful.
He stood up. “It’s dangerous.”
“What? I’m going to be in a conference surrounded by loads of people. The only times he’s ever tried anything was when I was alone.”
Alex almost growled. The coward. “I still think it’s a risk, babe. This guy is unpredictable.”
“A
lex, the place is going to be full of security. A resort that fancy has cameras all over. I highly doubt he’d choose that place to try anything.”
He thought about what might’ve happened to her if Hank hadn’t been there to see Bruce try to force his way into her apartment. Alex had a bad feeling about this. Ever since Romero told him about the D-day entries in Bruce’s journals, he’d been plagued with the dread of something really bad happening soon. He just couldn’t allow her to take such a chance.
“I don’t want you to go, Val.”
She was quiet for a moment. “You can’t just tell me what to do, Alex.”
He felt like punching something. “I’m not telling you,” he said through his teeth and took a deep breath. “I’m begging you. I really think you should lay low for the next few weeks. Until we know what his next move is. I’ll get you tickets to see this guy later. I promise.”
“Alex, I can’t let Bruce hold my life captive.” Then she added with even more conviction, “I won’t.”
Alex paced, frustrated. Valerie’s strong will had always been one of the things he most admired about her, but at a times like this he wished she could be a little more submissive. “Maybe…” He couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “Maybe it is best if Luke stays close by you while you’re there. Just so you’re never completely alone.”
“But I’m never going to be alone in that place. I’m telling you, the place is going to be packed.”