Stalker

Chapter 12

Lisa

After I pay and give the clerk the address to my office, I search for Jennie. Her eyes are haunted as she stares straight ahead. She's stiff-shouldered and her skin is pale.

What the fuck?

I stalk over to her and kneel right in front of her. Her pretty brown eyes are lost. Those plump pink lips are positively kissable, but she's in a zone. Trapped in a memory. I know far too well how that feels. It fucking sucks.

I cradle her face with my palms and tilt her head to look at me. "Jennie, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Her eyes shimmer with tears, and a sound of despair groans from her throat. Without thinking, I press a kiss to her cheek and then her nose. Then to her forehead against a pale white scar. When I drag my nose against hers, her breath hitches. Our mouths are so close to kissing it makes me crazy.

"Lisa," she murmurs, her voice so damn soft.

I pull away and regard her with a frown. "What just happened?"

Her entire body shudders as shame crosses over her features. She darts her gaze past me while she worries her lip between her teeth. "Nothing."

Fucking liar.

I refrain from rolling my eyes.

Instead, I indulge her.

"Okay," I say with a sigh. "Let's go grab some lunch."

She doesn't balk when I take her hand in mine and guide her out of the store. I want to take her someplace nice but the nicest place at the mall is a Mexican restaurant. Thankfully, they find us a round booth in the back corner away from everyone. I'm able to sit close to her with my hand still clutching hers.

I hate how zoned out she is. Whatever her past holds, I intend on shaking it out so I can inspect it. Someone hurt her. And I will hurt that someone.

It isn't until after I've ordered our food and drinks that she seems to snap out of it. Her hand tries to pull from mine, but I grip it.

"You're okay," I assure her and give her hand a squeeze. "You're safe now."

Her eyes dart to mine and her cheeks blaze red. "Oh my God. I am so sorry for that."

"Panic attack?"

She bites on her bottom lip and shrugs. "Something like that."

I let out a heavy sigh and reach forward for a tortilla chip. "Friends open up to one another."

This time, she's the one letting out a heavy breath. "Some things are better left locked up in the past. Some monsters belong there."

I'll free her monsters.

Because once they're free, I can find them and kill them.

"What's his name?" I probe.

She shudders and jerks her hand from my grasp. "He was nobody."

"He was somebody. I have a sneaking suspicion he's the reason you go to great lengths to protect yourself. That shitty cash-only apartment is one of those ways."

Her body stiffens. "Kai."

The name on her lips is like ice. Cold and bitter. Whoever this Kai fucker is has hurt her badly. I need to know how he hurt her so I can fix it.

"Was he your boyfriend?"

She darts her head toward the rest of the restaurant and skims the growing lunch crowd as if she's searching for someone. When she doesn't find said person, her body relaxes.