I nodded, and he left with a quiet assurance that he would contact me later.
Raven and I stared at each other.
“We have to do this, Damien. I have to do this. If we let him, we could still be wondering and worried a month from now. I can’t put my life on hold forever.”
I exhaled hard. “I know. I hate the idea, but I know.”
She stepped in front of me, laying her hand on my chest. “You’ll keep me safe. If he approaches me, you’ll get him. But maybe he listened to you. Walked away when he realized he wasn’t getting near me and I was serious when I said no.”
I covered her hand, not telling her how dubious I was. That men like him didn’t stop until they got what they wanted, or the woman they were after literally disappeared to get away from them. And even then, sometimes, it didn’t stop. I had seen it.
“You will do everything I tell you.”
“Yes.”
“No deviations.”
“No.”
“Fine. I’ll work it all out with Egan, Leo, and the men. Tomorrow, something will delay me when you go shopping, and my lazy, good-for-nothing man will sit on his ass in a car outside. You will be inside with Deb.”
She smiled. “Better not let them hear you say that.”
I laughed. “Nope. But that’s what I want Andy to think. See if it draws him out.”
“If it doesn’t?”
“Saturday, we’ll take a walk and have an argument. You’ll storm away and jump in a passing cab and go home. You’ll let him see you’re alone in the apartment.”
“But Egan will be inside my place?”
“Yes.”
“And it will be your man who drives me home?”
“Yes.”
“And there will be some of your people in the store?”
“Of course.”
She smiled at me. “Then I’m safe.”
“You’re coming back to mine on Sunday.” I lifted her hand and kissed it. “If I last that long.”
“Okay,” she agreed easily.
“I hate this. The thought of you being out of my sight makes me want to rage.”
“But you won’t. You’ll do it for me.”
“Yes. Now I guess I had better take you out to dinner, so he hears us if he is listening.”
She nodded, her eyes dimming. “Okay.”
I wrapped her in my arms, knowing how brave a front she was putting on. “We’ll figure this out, Raven. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She lifted her head, the trust in her gaze humbling me. “I know. That’s why I can do it.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Raven
As we left Damien’s office, he held a finger to his ear, reminding me that Andy might be listening. I still felt sick to my stomach at the breach of privacy. Knowing he’d listened to me in my apartment. At school. While I had coffee with Deb. Some intimate moments with Damien when he kissed me, comforted me, outside the safe zones. I was angry at Andy. Furious with myself for ever having joined a dating site. Deb may have had a lot of enjoyment with it, but my experience was vastly different. Then again, we were very different people. She was outgoing and fun. Loved going dancing and to parties. Always up for a weekend away. I preferred to stay home, read. Cook and bake. I was more comfortable with a small group of friends than a roomful of strangers. I was best one-on-one. Deb loved being in a crowd.
I nodded at his reminder, and he squeezed my hand, drawing me close and dropping a kiss to my head. I waited until we were in the car, the gate had rolled up, and we were pulling onto the street to talk.
“I mean it, Damien. I’m going shopping with Deb tomorrow, and we’re heading out for a drink after at Rockies. Just the two of us,” I stressed, acting as if I were returning to a conversation from earlier.
We weren’t sure if Andy knew I was being watched by someone other than Damien, if he knew who Damien was. Damien assumed he did, but we decided to act as if we had no clue.
“I said I would come. I’m not comfortable with you out on your own.”
“I’ll be in the Dollar Store. So will a hundred other people. Deb will drive us to the bar, we’ll have a few drinks and dinner and do some more planning.”
“Raven—”
I interrupted him. “You are not coming, Damien. Case closed.”
“And when Andy approaches you?”
“I will have Deb there, plus lots of other people around. Stop obsessing. You are almost as bad as he is.”
I saw the flash of hurt on his face, and I reached over, squeezing his hand and shaking my head. He squeezed my fingers back, but I had a feeling he was actually hurt by my words.
“Can I pick you up, at least?”
“Yes, when I’m done, you can pick me up. I just want to feel normal again, Damien. We haven’t seen or heard from Andy since the rock thing. I really think he’s moved on. Life can go back to normal soon.”
Damien’s only response was a grunt. We were quiet for the rest of the short trip, and when we arrived at his place, he held up his finger again, then unclipped the bunny from my satchel and dropped it into a cylinder.
“Okay.”
“I thought both of your buildings were protected?”
“They are, but I thought you’d feel better knowing the bunny is encased in a place that, no matter how sophisticated a device it is, he can’t hear us.” He took the case and put it in the cupboard and shut the door. “I’ll reattach it before we leave.”
I stepped close and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I didn’t mean it, you know. What I said.”
“I know. You were very convincing, though.”
I looked up. “I love how you look after me. How protective you are.”
He bent and kissed me. “Good. Because that’s not going to change.”
“Good.”
Deb was chatty and happy when she picked me up the next day. We drove to the store, spending an hour picking up things for activities. Chalk, watercolor paints, cardboard, colored pencils, glue, glitter, and all sorts of other items went into our baskets. I didn’t see any familiar faces, but I trusted Damien and I knew there were people in the store keeping an eye on me, and I relaxed and enjoyed the excursion. Deb and I laughed and joked, came up with new ideas, and my excitement for the day camp grew. The area I taught in wasn’t a wealthy one. Many of the parents both worked, and the day camp helped them have a safe, fun place for their kids to be during the day. The children loved it, and I had enjoyed working the one at spring break. It was part of the school, so I would still be in my classroom some of the time. We were outside a lot as long as the weather wasn’t too hot.
“Oh!” Deb exclaimed. “I forgot to tell you! We can take the kids to the zoo one day.”
“Oh, they will love that!”
She grinned. “I know. And it’s all covered.”
“That’s amazing—how did that happen?”
She grinned again. “Stewart’s company. I was telling him about it, and he just did it. Arranged it all. Got someone to donate the bus, the tickets, even a picnic for the kids.”