Gray stood. “Come to the club tonight, you need to relax, my friend. It looks like you haven’t slept in weeks and you’re even grumpier than usual. Didn’t know that was possible.”
Hunter growled as Gray grinned.
“Don’t make me call Sasha,” Gray warned. “She’s already making noises about popping in to check on you, I wouldn’t want to let slip how depressed you’re acting.”
“You bastard.”
Simon’s wife had a heart of gold. She was also as nosy as they came. If she thought Hunter was depressed, she’d be on his case. He wouldn’t get any peace until he gave into her or Simon took her to task. And Simon was far too lenient on his sub to Hunter’s way of thinking.
“Fine, fine,” Hunter said impatiently. “I can’t make it tonight, but I’ll be there this weekend.”
***
A shiver ran down Cady’s spine as she walked down the pavement and she resisted the urge to spin around, knowing he was there, watching her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She clenched her hands, trying to push back the fear that threatened to overwhelm her.
She ducked down an alleyway and took off running, determined to lose him.
Why the fuck was he doing this to her? Sean was a volunteer at one of the shelters. His attention had creeped her out, the staring, using any excuse to get close to her, touch her. The one time he’d actually managed to grab her ass, she’d made certain he wouldn’t be experiencing a hard-on for quite a while, at least not without some pain.
She’d been banned from that shelter, but it had been worth it. Or so she’d thought. Now it seemed she’d ended up with her own stalker. Why the hell wouldn’t he get a clue? He’d gone from just a nuisance to bordering on insane. He hadn’t approached her again, but who the hell knew what was going on through his creepy brain? Cady could protect herself, but she was under no illusion about the ways he could get to her, render her helpless, hurt her.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He gave her a bad feeling and Cady knew better than to ignore those feelings.
Getting out of town might not be a bad idea, but there was only one way she could see that happening. Damn it. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t take Hunter’s offer. She couldn’t be part of a team again, couldn’t have other people relying on her.
Yet, what other choices did she have? Stay here and wait for Sean to work up his nerve to attack her? Go to the cops? Would they even believe her?
Christ, what a mess. Now she was running late for her meeting with Jacey. Cady sped up as she headed toward the small diner.
She took one last look around, but she hadn’t sensed Sean in a while. He didn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was large and scary, so she wasn’t about to take chances.
Cady stepped into the diner and glanced around. Didn’t take her long to spot Jacey. She moved over to the other woman, waving at her to remain seated. It had been just over two weeks since she’d last seen Jacey and she was looking so much better. Her cheeks had color and happiness filled her eyes.
“Don’t get up,” Cady said, eyeing her large stomach. “You need to keep off your feet.”
Jacey rolled her eyes. “You sound like Derrick. I’m not going to break.”
“I’m more concerned with you popping, how much longer have you got?” Cady eyed her stomach with suspicion.
“I’m only five months pregnant; I’m not even that big yet.”
Cady had no idea how big she was going to get, she didn’t know anything about kids.
They chatted for a while about Jacey’s trip to Rarotonga and her ex-husband’s suicide. Cady was just glad that Jacey wouldn’t have to go through the ordeal of a trial. Eventually, Jacey cleared her throat and leaned forward. “I have a proposition for you.”
“Yes?”
“Derrick needs an assistant. I was going to take on the job, but I’ve realized I don’t want to work once the baby arrives. So there’s not much point in my working for him when he could be training someone now.”
“Uh huh.” Cady didn’t quite see what any of this had to do with her.
“Well, I wondered if you wanted the job.”
“Me? You want me to work for Derrick?” Cady asked incredulously.
Jacey nodded enthusiastically. Cady felt ill.