Blurb
She was on the run.
Emily Baxter has been running from a stalker determined to catch her. By chance she hears of Maxwell Secures and decides to fight one last time. Not realizing her biggest battle will be with herself.
They were hired to protect her.
Dane Johnston and Cooper Sheppard always knew they were meant to share a woman. They never anticipated the blond bombshell that was thrown their way. In need of protection, they jump at the chance to help.
He wanted her for himself.
Will they be able to protect Emily when she need’s it most? Or will her stalker finally get what he wants?
Walking home from work late at night was not one of Emily Baxter’s best ideas, but her car had broken down the week before and she really didn’t have much choice. Working as a graphic artist gave her a pretty flexible schedule and made it easy to work from home. But every once in a while, her boss would call a staff meeting and everyone had to attend. Why he insisted on having them in the evenings, she would never understand. It was like he thought that because he was a workaholic, everyone else was, too.
While her social calendar wasn’t screaming with dates every night of the week, she didn’t like having to go out at night after dark, either. Especially when she was minus a car and it was approaching eleven pm, which meant the bus that could have taken her directly home was no longer running.
Hearing a sound behind her, she turned, only to find the street empty. Shaking off the feeling of being watched she continued on her walk, and since she was only a block and a half away from her small ranch-style house, she picked up her pace, just wanting to get home. Walking as fast as her short five-foot frame would take her, she was startled when a cat hissed at her, jumping from a bush before darting across the street. Putting her hand to her chest to try and calm her nerves, Emily stopped and took a couple of breaths before picking up the pace and finally breaking into a sprint all the way home.
Running to her front door, she missed the warning signs in her hurry. She knew better to always make sure the door was closed as well as locked, but being in a panic had her frazzled, and she missed the telltale click when unlocking the door. Slamming the door shut and flipping the locks after she made it inside, it finally dawned on her that she hadn’t heard the deadbolt slide home when she unlocked it.
Tensing, she turned around slowly, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best that maybe she did forget to lock up when she left or that her mom had come over earlier and forgot to tell her. Knowing it was false hope on her part, Emily pulled her cell phone from her purse
prepared to dial 911 and slowly made her way deeper into the house. Not seeing anything out of place in the living room, she made her way to the kitchen. Everything seemed in order there so she moved down the hall to where the bedrooms and bathroom were.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door to her office. Cringing at the squeaky hinges, she took a quick look inside before moving on to the bathroom. Darting her gaze around the room and still seeing nothing wrong, she relaxed even more thinking that it was her mind playing tricks on her about the locks. She finally made it to her room at the end of the hall. Opening the door with a false sense of security and flicking on the light was the biggest mistake she would ever make.
Glancing up and into her room, she froze at the gruesome scene before her. With her panties and bras ripped up and strewn across her bed, blood covering nearly every surface, and nude pictures of her with her eyes scratched out and photoshopped to look like she was bound with chains, Emily lost the fight to stay conscious. Falling to the ground she noticed a figure lurking in the corner, coming closer to where she was lying motionless and shooting some kind of liquid all over her face and chest before her brain completely shut down in horror.
Waking up in a cold sweat from the nightmare she was having about that horrible night nearly two years ago, Emily shuttered just like she did every time she thought of the night she learned she had somehow managed to gain a stalker. Not knowing who was the worst part. She was always looking over her shoulder; moving more than a dozen times because he kept finding her.
She was afraid to go out and had become even more of an introvert than she had been before the psycho started stalking her. The police couldn’t do anything without a suspect, so she was stuck in a living nightmare. Not knowing who to trust, thus being unable to make friends; her existence was lonely and depressing and some days, she felt like it would be easier to let this person find her. Ironically, every time she thought it, he would find her, and she didn’t stick around to find out what her fate would be. She ran. Fast and hard. Not stopping for weeks until she was sure he couldn’t find her again.
Getting up from the bed, she made her way to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. Finished, she went into her teeny tiny kitchen to start the coffee. Her coffee addiction was probably the only thing she hadn’t changed about her life. How was she supposed to cope without it, after all? Being forced to make so many changes in her life, so often, has left her bitter towards people. She had a nice, if not lonely, life before. She didn’t have men lining up for dates, but she had friends and was occasionally asked out. Being so short, her weight showed; curvy was just how she was made. She accepted it, but just once, she’d like to be the girl with a happily ever after.
Her mom had always told her that she had child bearing hips. They were wide, and one day a man would recognize that and cherish her for it. She wasn’t holding out hope on that one. Grabbing her coffee and going to unlock the front door to grab her morning paper, she didn’t notice the note and flowers at first. Walking out to the mailbox that was hanging from the porch railing, she grabbed the paper and turned to see blood red roses and a large envelope next to her door. In her shock, she hadn’t noticed that she dropped her coffee and shattered the cup until she took a step forward. Emily grabbed the vase of roses and envelope, and as soon as she went inside, she took the flowers out of the vase and smashed it in the garbage can, shattering it. The flowers were stuffed down the garbage disposal before being turned on. With that done, she looked at the envelope, scared to open it but knowing she had to.
She had the twisted reality of needing to know exactly what he was sending her. Wiping the tears off her cheeks, she hadn’t even realized she was crying. She tore open the envelope to find more pictures of herself; in the garden, through her kitchen and bedroom windows. Grabbing her mail, which included the most recent one from yesterday after her hose had exploded and soaked her yellow shirt, making her pink bra visible. Shaking in fear and anger, she was about to tear it up when she remembered overhearing someone talking about a security firm that specialized in stalking cases.
Dropping into a kitchen chair, she put her head in her hands and tried to remember the name of it. After a few minutes of thinking so hard she was starting to get a headache, she got up to go get dressed and saw the blood drops on the floor. The pain in her feet from stepping on the broken mug finally registered. Sighing, she made her way to the washroom and started cleaning her feet when it suddenly hit her. Dropping the cloth and tweezers, she ran to the phone, picked it up, and called information for the number; she had them direct her right to the company.
After the line rang four times, someone finally picked up. “Maxwell Secures, this is Keeley, how may I help you today?” Unsure of what to say, Emily froze. Making the person say, “Hello, are you there?”
Finding her voice again she said, “Yes, umm, well, I need help.” The words cracked at the end and tears filled her eyes. She was relieved when the woman understood her panic.
“Honey, we will help. What’s your name?” she asked kindly.
“Emily.” Clearing her throat so she sounded stronger instead of some oversized mouse she repeated it. “It’s Emily Baxter.”
“Alright Emily, why don’t you come on in and we’ll talk. I feel like it might be easier on you to know who you’re talking to.” Keeley phrased it as a question, but Emily knew it was more like a demand. “Ok,” she whispered. Hanging up after getting the address, she rushed around getting ready so she could, hopefully, get help and maybe have her peaceful life back.
Getting off the bus just a block from the address she was given for Maxwell Secures, Emily made her way towards the building. Looking at it, it seemed like a modern warehouse with a slanted roof and gray exterior walls that looked like they could be reinforced steel, but she didn’t really know anything about that. The doors were huge glass panes with a simple M across one and S on the other, both letters acting as the handles. She noticed cameras strategically placed along the front and top of the building, as well as in the parking lot. If it had not been for the initials on the doors, she wouldn’t have known it was a security firm. Taking a deep breath and walking in, she was greeted with a very bright, modern-looking reception area. The walls were a light blue, beige carpeting covered the floors, plants were placed in every corner, and different types of artwork hung on the walls. Books and files filled shelves behind a big oak desk that held a computer screen, phone, and small picture frame.
Hearing laughter coming from a hallway, she stayed where she was and waited with baited breath for them to appear.
Body tense and feet ready to bolt at the first sign of danger, she felt the breath knocked from her at the beautiful, black-haired, young woman that rounded the corner, followed closely by two of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen.
“Oh!” The woman exclaimed, startled at seeing her. “You must be Emily. I’m Keeley,” she said walking up to her and giving her a quick hug before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the two hulking men. “Nathaniel, Tyler, this is Emily. I told you about her earlier.” She introduced them while pulling Emily into a meeting room and sitting her down. She was helpless to do anything so she just followed like a lost puppy.
Sitting down across from her, Nathaniel and Tyler scrutinized her. While she tried hard not to give in to the urge to squirm under their intense gazes, it was hard to hold their eyes, but she managed to, just barely. She let out a breath when Keeley sat down beside her and squeezed her hand on the table. “Alright, Miss Baxter, tell us what’s going on,” Tyler, she thought, said to her.
Looking down and clearing her throat of the balled up emotion and anxiety she was feeling, she looked up and explained to them some of her problems. “I have had a stalker since I was nineteen, and I don’t even know how I got one. I’m as boring as watching grass grow. I hadn’t met anyone new when I found out. Hell, it wasn’t until he took the liberty of defiling my house that I even knew about him.” Taking a brea
th, she continued while looking at a point between their shoulders so she didn’t have to see the pity in their eyes. “It’s been over two years now. He keeps finding me, and I’m tired of running. Tired of fighting. This is my last stand or I’m done. I don’t know what he wants from me, but I can’t take all the fear and stress anymore. It’s driving me insane not knowing when he’s going to eventually get his hands on me, I just can’t…” Stopping because her voice finally broke, Emily didn’t realize she had tears streaming down her face until Keeley handed her a Kleenex. With a whispered “thanks”, she wiped her eyes and waited for what would happen next.