I flip through the threatening images. Most are graphic in nature, suggestive, and threatening. A picture of duct tape and rope. A noose.
It’s the images taken outside the house that have me on edge.
There are pictures from the gate outside, in both broad daylight and the cover of night.
“He knows where we live?” The pictures are being used to intimidate Clare. I open her recent texts from her ex, and my stomach flops.
You always liked it a little rough. Does your new boyfriend know what you asked me to do in bed?
Clare didn’t answer his texts. There’s picture after picture and then another message.
This is just foreplay, baby. I plan on tying you up and teaching you and that little brat a lesson.
I remove the battery and SIM card. However, it’s a little too late for that. He’s clearly been tracking her phone.
I grab my phone from my jacket pocket. I’m still dressed for work even though I should be getting ready for bed. I dial Declan, a friend of mine from when we both served in the military. He’s out west in Montana, working for a private security firm. If anyone can offer some advice, it’s him, and I trust him implicitly.
At least it’s a little earlier in Breckenridge.
“Hello?” Declan answers.
“I need a favor.”
“Not even a ‘hello, how are you?’”
I grumble, “Hello, how are you, Declan?”
He chuckles, and there’s something in his tone that I don’t quite recognize. Is that happiness? “I’m with the love of my life. I was good until you called. Are you dragging my ass out of bed?”
“It’s just after ten o’clock,” I say. “And the love of your life? Did you get hitched?” I didn’t know he was dating anyone.
“Don’t go putting any ideas in Katie’s head,” Declan says with a chuckle.
He shuffles around, and I imagine that he’s climbing out of bed and heading for his in-home office. He does have one of those, doesn’t he? I haven’t seen his place since he lived above his garage and owned the only car repair shop in town.
He left those days behind years ago, but he still owns the shop, letting someone else manage the day-to-day aspect.
“Katie,” I repeat. The name sounds familiar. “Wait. Is she that girl you were pining over back home while you were in training?”
“Shut it!”
I’ve clearly pushed a button. A smile grows on my face. “The reason I’m calling is that I need a favor. My nanny is being stalked by her ex.”
“We’re a few too many miles away to go rough the guy up,” Declan says, “but if you want to send your private jet over, we’d be happy to do you the honor.”
I run a hand through my hair. “That wasn’t what I had in mind.” Although now he mentions it, maybe it would be a good idea to keep the asshole away.
“Then what can I do for you?” Declan asks.
Clare stares at me, watching the entire time. Her bottom lip is tugged between her teeth, chewing the skin raw. I reach out, brushing my thumb over her lip, trying to stop her gesture, not wanting her to hurt herself.
“I need everything that you can dig up on the guy. Any dirt. Arrest warrants. Whatever you can find.”
“He doesn’t have any,” Clare says.
“We’ll look for the skeletons in his closet,” Declan says. “Got it. But can I make a suggestion? You could offer to pay him to go away. If he’s bothering the nanny, offer him a sum of cash to leave her alone and abandon New York. Put it into writing, and if he ever returns, you can threaten to sue his ass for breach of contract.”
“Isn’t that a tad harsh? New York isn’t a small state,” I say.