I hoped that I could too.
20
ADRIANNE
I was going to burn my hands. The tea that the barista just dropped off was blazing hot, but if I didn’t keep my hands molded around it, they would shake uncontrollably. It made me look incredibly suspicious, and considering we were trying to trap my stalker long enough for the men to apprehend him, I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself. I wanted whoever it was to be extremely at ease so that he didn’t try and run away.
I stared at the mug with resentment for its not being coffee. Foster and I had done well since agreeing to give up coffee together for the length of my pregnancy. We both had taken to drinking black tea, which had just enough caffeine in it to stave off the headaches, but not enough to actually replace coffee in any meaningful way.
I could really use a cup right now. Something rich and bitter to chase off the feeling of impending dread that had taken up residency in my belly. Ever since I made them agree to use me as bait, I’d been putting on a good, brave front, but in reality, I was terrified.
Our plan was simple. We would frequent the cafe near the hotel—a lot of the film crew did, thanks to their excellent pastries—and I would slowly begin to appear there “alone”. I wasn’t truly alone. All of my men were in the building and armed to the teeth, but I had to appear to be alone. We were trying to get my stalker to break and approach me once and for all. Then, my men could hand him off to the police.
Once or twice, Ryan came and sat with me, and we talked and laughed as if we were on a date or were just hanging out on our own. Those pictures, of course, ended up online, but I had long since stopped caring about that. Ryan was quickly becoming my best friend. Foster and Ethan both liked him now that he wasn’t actively trying to sleep with me. Callan was the only one who still didn’t like him, but the feeling was mutual.
We had been doing this for a few days, and each time we came here, doom would boil in my gut. I was between hoping that he would just make a move or hoping that he never would. “You’re Adrianne Montoya, right?”
I looked up, and the man in front of me was a mess, to say the least. He had a handsome face, but there was something about his eyes that seemed a touch wild. His hair was as blond as Foster’s but unkempt. It looked like he’d put his hands into it a lot. He had wide shoulders and thick arms and legs. Solidly built, my mother would say. This was a solidly built man... and if he swung at me and connected, I would be down for the count.
I did my best to smile. “That’s me,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Steven,” the man said with a scoff. “As if you didn’t know that.”
I swallowed hard and kept that smile on my face. “It’s nice to meet you, Steven.” I gestured to the empty chair across from me. “Would you like to sit down?” He sat, and even sitting, he looked massive to me. “Is there something I can do for you today?”
He frowned. “Don’t toy with me,” he said, low and cutting. “You know who I am.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “You’re the one who’s left me all those... gifts,” I said. “The roses and the bear, right? I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to thank you for those.”
He didn’t respond to that. It was like I hadn’t spoken at all. “You were supposed to be Dr. Falconi,” he said. “You were supposed to be perfect.”
I clamped my teeth around a nervous laugh. I didn’t think he’d be the type to respond well to that. My heart was banging against my ribs. “No casting is perfect,” I said.
Steven shook off that thought. “Notcasting.” He spat the word as if it were a curse. “You were destined to be her. To embody her. For me.”
There it is, I thought. The fantasy that had fueled this whole thing. He thought that I would become Dr. Falconi for real, his fantasy come to life. “I’m just an actress who was hired to play a part,” I said softly, pleadingly. “I’m getting paid to play the role. I’m sorry if you’re not happy with the choice that the director made in picking me. I don’t think he is half the time, either.” I tried to make a joke, but it fell flat.
He slammed his hand on the table, and the patrons around us were starting to get spooked. I could see them leaning in and whispering to each other.Good, call the cops, I thought. “No,” Steven growled. “No, you’re Dr. Falconi.”
I realized that reality wasn’t the same for him and me. His grasp on what was real was slipping, and I didn’t want to see what would happen if he lost it entirely. “I’m Adrianne Montoya,” I insisted. “I’m playing Dr. Falconi in an upcoming movie, but she and I aren’t the same person.”
Rage ate its way across Steven’s face, and he slammed his hand down again. “That’s not true,” he insisted. “That’s not true.”
“Steven,” I said, trying to get him to focus. “In your letter, you wanted me to quit. If I was truly Dr. Falconi, I couldn’t quit, right?”
Reminding him of the letter was probably not the smartest idea, I realized a second too late. “Youruined it,” he spat.
“I’m sorry if you think so,” I said, still trying to calm him down. I know the plan was for Ethan to call the police the moment my stalker revealed himself—there was more than plenty of evidence that would warrant picking him up for questioning, at the very least—but how long was that supposed to take? How long was I supposed to keep him talking? “You could tell me what I did to ruin things,” I suggested. “Would that help?”
Steven gritted his teeth. “I don’t need help from you, whore,” he spat. He dug into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a picture much like the one that had been delivered to the hotel room. I was on my knees in front of Callan. “I’ve seen you,” he said, “prostituting yourself for those morons you call a security team.” He had to be the guy that Callan caught in Coober Pedy. He was there masquerading as a paparazzi, so he couldn’t be entirely off the rails, right? He came here. He planned a trip and executed it. But what was his end game?
I winced. “Just how close did you get, Steven?” I asked.
He leaned in, and I could smell the staleness of his breath. It didn’t look like he’d slept in days, honestly. He looked exhausted. “I’ve seen you take two of them at once,” he said. “I’ve seen you debase yourself for them.”
Fear poured over my head like water, and I shivered despite not being cold. “Buthow? How could you possibly get that close to me to know that?” I had to know, or I would never be able to get it out of my head.
He stared at me in utter confusion, like he couldn’t believe I’d forgotten something so important. “You reached out to me,” he said. “Youcalledme.”