Her middle name wasn’t listed. Anywhere. Not on her driver’s license, in the phone book, not even on her credit cards. Whoever had sent the e-mails had done his homework. She’d known then that ignoring them wasn’t going to make the situation go away, so she’d done what any woman with a crazy e-mail fan might do; she’d gone to the police. That road had gotten her exactly nowhere. He hadn’t threatened, so he’d done nothing wrong, the detective had explained. He’d instructed her to save the e-mails and contact him if the situation worsened.
That had been two weeks ago, and the e-mails hadn’t let up. In fact, he’d gotten more persistent. He e-mailed every three hours now, like clockwork. Each e-mail rambled on about how much he loved her, how they’d be together soon and they’d be able to live happily ever after.
Stil , he was careful never to threaten her outright. She had nothing to bring to the police save for a lot of e-mails from a guy who had the hots for her.
Bile rose in her throat as she imagined what sort of person spoke like that to a complete stranger. It was like something out of a scary movie.
Only in the movie the bad guy usual y ended up dead and the damsel in distress would be rescued just in the nick of time.
Fear threatened to consume her when she thought of what this guy might be wil ing to do to keep her al to himself. An image of Wade Harrison fil ed her mind, and Gracie quickly banished it. She couldn’t think of Wade. He would only want to help, but she refused to burden him with her problems. Besides, what would her stalker do if he suspected she desired another man? The creep hadn’t done anything to harm her yet, and she knew it was partly due to the fact she kept to herself. She didn’t date, didn’t even go out with friends. When she wasn’t at work, she was alone. The instant someone came into her life, someone as handsome and charming as Wade, things would escalate. She could very wel be putting more than just herself in danger then.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a rush
of clients. Gracie had been only too grateful for the distraction, as brief as it was. After the last client left, Gracie shut down the computer, then picked up the flash drive that contained al her crazy admirer’s e-mails. Just as Gracie slipped it into her purse, Cherry came out of her office. “Ready to go?”
“Yep.”
Cherry always insisted they leave together. More often than not, Dante would show up and escort both of them out. Gracie liked Cherry and Dante. They were good people. As if she’d conjured him, Dante opened the front door and held it for the two of them. He waited while Cherry set the alarm and locked up, then he took her hand in his. The little green monster rose up as Gracie watched them. She wondered what that kind of bond was like. That kind of al -consuming love. Would she ever know?
“I wanted to tel you now that Wade’s not here that if he real y ever bothers you, just say the word and I’l have a talk with him. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable, Gracie.”
Gracie smiled for the first time in hours. “He doesn’t bother me. Not real y. I just like to give him a hard time.”
“I sort of figured. Do you like him?”
Gracie stiffened, unsure how much to say. “He’s attractive. The idea of going out with him is very appealing, but I don’t have time for a man right now.”
Cherry looked up at Dante and smiled. “Sometimes it’s worth it to make time.”
Gracie nodded, pretending she understood. In truth, she’d never been loved. Not the way Cherry and Dante loved. She’d had boyfriends, but hers had always been surface relationships. Deep, soul mate stuff wasn’t something she knew anything about.
Once Gracie was in her car and on her way, she thought back to the day Cherry had hired her on as a receptionist. Gracie had been thril ed.
The extra income meant she could help her father with his bil s and stil keep her own apartment. Maybe she could even get him out of debt once and for al .
Hel , who was she kidding? Her father was a drunk and a pathetic excuse for a human being. He started drinking when he woke up in the morning and didn’t stop until his head hit the pil ow. The only thing keeping a roof over his head was his only child working two jobs. If she didn’t pay both their bil s, one of them would be on the street.
As she turned a corner and started down the long, winding road to her apartment complex, her mind once again went back to Wade. God, the man was beyond delicious. His large, hard body and gorgeous brown eyes were like something out of a tough guy action movie. She’d been sucked in. He’d grinned at her, and she’d nearly fal en at his feet. His dark hair seemed forever disheveled. Models spent good money on hair products to get that tousled look, while Wade simply ran a hand through his hair. Women sighed as they watched him, longing to do the same. She knew, because she was one of those women.
The first time he’d asked her out, she’d nearly caved. Then, like an omen, a bel on her computer signaled a new e-mail message. When she recognized the e-mail address as her stalker’s, the “yes” she’d been about to utter died on her tongue. She’d tried every trick in the book since to keep Wade at a distance, but, damn, the man was tenacious. She had to admit to herself that he didn’t push, not real y. Deep down Gracie knew if she truly meant no, he’d hear it and leave her alone. He wasn’t an ass, just intuitive. He knew the attraction wasn’t al on his side of the desk. He just couldn’t understand why she was so reluctant to act on it. Unfortunately the truth simply wasn’t something one brought up in casual conversation. “Oh, by the way, you might become the target of a crazy man if you and I went out on a date. My stalker has this thing about having me all to his wacko self.” Yeah, that’d go over wel .
As she neared the S curve a half mile from her home, Gracie pushed the maudlin thoughts out of her head and concentrated instead on simply getting home in one piece. Friday night, and she was alone. Damned pathetic. Pressing her foot down on the brake, Gracie managed the first curve and had started into the second when something slammed into her rear bumper.
Gracie automatical y hit the brake. As she slowed down, her hands shook as panic started to settle over her. She glanced in the rearview mirror, but it was too dark to see more than a set of headlights behind her. She started to move her smal sedan to the side of the road, her mind already on cal ing the police and exchanging insurance information, when another impact, harder this time, sent her car careening out of control.
“Oh, God!”
Panic turned to al -out terror as she witnessed the other vehicle speed up and smash into her yet a third time. As fear tore a scream from her throat, her car spun. Looking through the windshield, Gracie’s gaze locked onto the thick woods, and the deep ravine she knew lay hidden fifty feet beyond. She clutched the wheel in a death grip and pushed the brake pedal clear to the floor, her only thought on keeping from diving into that ravine. Her car tore through weeds and brush, the world turning upside down. Suddenly, everything went black.
2
Gracie woke to a conversation that sounded way out of control. While she tried to get her eyelids to lift, she heard her father’s bel igerent voice, and she stil ed.
“I’m her father! You have no right to keep me from seeing her.”
“You can see her once you’re sober. I won’t have my patient stressed unnecessarily.”
“Bul shit. Gracie can handle it. She’s a sturdy girl.”