His to break.
His to torture.
His to kill.
Using her boyfriend’s name had been genius. He’d heard the relief in her voice when he’d used it. Sneaking around and spying on her had gained him the perfect information to notch up the torment. Showing up at the boyfriend’s place had been a risk, but it was one well worth taking.
He’d have to be ready at all times now. Follow her around and wait for just the right moment to grab her. Brett had no doubt he’d be successful. He hadn’t been caught so far because he was smart and careful.
Taylor Cardin would soon be at his mercy. All he needed was a small window of opportunity, and she’d be his. No one would get in his way. Not even that fucking boyfriend of hers with the ridiculous name.
And if the man had to die for Brett to get what he’d waited months to claim . . . so be it.
Chapter Fifteen
“This guy’s a ghost,” Bull said in frustration. “It’s pissing me off.”
“He’s been lucky,” Gramps agreed.
“Lucky?” Smoke spat. “He’s managed to avoid every surveillance camera we’ve found so far. We literally have nothing other than approximately how tall he is and the fact he’s got brown hair. Somehow he’s managed to avoid the cameras at her place and Eagle’s. He’s obviously very good at staying under the radar, almost as if he’s had plenty of practice.”
Eagle sat at the table in the safe room listening to his friends discuss Taylor’s stalker. They were no closer to catching him now than they’d been five days ago, when the guy had dropped off the fucking pizza at Eagle’s apartment. The man knew where they both lived. It was a good bet he knew about Silverstone Towing too. And somehow he’d found out Eagle’s name—which all added up to the fact that he’d repeatedly gotten way too close to Taylor for Eagle’s comfort.
But the best thing Taylor had going for her was that Eagle wasn’t going to let this asshole get anywhere near his woman from here on out.
He and Taylor had practically moved into Silverstone Towing. There was no way anyone was getting through all the security they had there. And while it might not make Taylor comfortable, she was never alone.
Eagle hadn’t taken any towing jobs since the pizza incident, and he spent as much time as possible trying to track down the mysterious man. With no luck.
The man really was a ghost, and it was frustrating as hell.
Surprisingly, Taylor had been taking everything in stride. She hadn’t complained about basically being locked down at Silverstone. Bull, Smoke, and Gramps were also impressed by her stoic attitude. When Eagle had asked her last night if she was all right with everything, she’d laughed. Actually laughed. Then said, “Eagle, if I have to be on lockdown anywhere, this is where I’d want to be. There’s a safe room, I have a personal chef, all the pinball I can play, and you’re never farther than a few steps away. What do I have to complain about?”
When she put it like that, Eagle had to agree. But still. He knew this wasn’t easy. Knowing someone was out there stalking her, and not knowing why, sucked.
But in an hour or so, they were heading to Bloomington. Eagle had talked it over with her, and they’d decided to go down today, spend the night, hang around Bloomington for the day, go to the awards ceremony tomorrow evening, spend another night, then come back to Indy on Sunday. That would give them both a weekend away to enjoy themselves and have a bit more privacy than they’d had recently, and it would give his team a chance to hopefully figure out who the fuck was messing with her. It was a win-win situation.
But Eagle couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had taken root in his belly.
“When are you guys leaving?” Gramps asked, jerking Eagle back to the present.
“In about an hour or so. We need to stop by both our apartments to grab some things. I need my tux, and Taylor needs to get her dress and a few other things.”
“How you gettin’ there?” Smoke asked.
“I think we’ll go down 37 to Martinsville. I thought about taking the scenic route from there, but it might not be a good idea to get off the main road, just in case.”
Bull and Smoke nodded, but Gramps said, “Although it might be harder to follow you if you don’t take the main route into Bloomington.”
“I’ve thought about that,” Eagle said. “I’m going to play it by ear. If I feel at all uneasy, I’ll probably stick to the more populated route.”
“If you need us, yell,” Bull said.
“You know I will,” Eagle reassured them. “I’m hoping this will be a stress-free weekend for Taylor. Even though she’s been handling everything well, I know she’s nervous leaving Silverstone.”
“Sucks,” Smoke commiserated.
“How’s your arm?” Gramps asked. “Back to full range of motion?”
“Yeah, it’s good,” Eagle told them. “It was stiff for a while, but now the wound just itches, and it doesn’t even hurt when I do push-ups.”
“Good.”
“Hey, Eagle,” Bull said.
“Yeah?”
“Happy for you,” his friend said. “It’s obvious things between you and Taylor have progressed past the friendship phase. You look happy.”
“I am,” Eagle said, not embarrassed in the least to admit it. “Things just kind of happened when I got back. I was hurt and thinking about what I might’ve missed out on if that bullet had been a few inches to the right, and when she saw I’d been wounded, she kinda flipped out too.”
“We all like her,” Smoke added. “She makes you laugh, which is awesome.”
“The test will be to find Gramps someone who makes him laugh,” Bull said with a chuckle.
“Fuck off,” Gramps said with a little shake of his head. “I laugh.”
“Not really, and then usually at our expense,” Smoke threw in.
“You too?” Gramps growled at Smoke. “I thought you’d be on my side, being single and all.”
“Look . . . I know when Eagle first told us about Taylor, I wasn’t all that enthused about relationships. But she’s grown on me. I’ve had a chance to get to know her better, and I really like her. And Skylar. Both women have been good for Bull and Eagle.” Smoke shrugged. “If I could find someone as great as they are, I might not mind settling down. You know, someone who doesn’t give a shit about how much money is in my bank account and likes me for me. But I’m not counting on it.”
“It’ll be hard to find anyone around here who doesn’t know you inherited a shitload of money from your uncle,” Eagle said.
“I know,” Smoke said on a sigh. “But hell, if Bull and Eagle can find women, then there’s got to be hope for an asshole like me. I just need to go on more towing calls to find a nice damsel in distress.” He grinned.
Bull, Eagle, and Gramps all rolled their eyes at the same time. “You don’t want a damsel in distress,” Bull told him. “You want a woman who can hold her own when the shit hits the fan. Who doesn’t fall apart in a stressful situation. Someone who can fight by your side as easily as she can fight when you aren’t there.”