She shivered. “That’s quite the proposition.”
“It’s all yours,” I murmured, nuzzling the soft skin at the base of her neck. “I’m all yours.”
My car alarm went off.
Frowning, I took her hand, and we hurried outside. Splintered and shattered glass was all that was left of my windshield. It was like an intricate cobweb, but the spider that made it sat in the middle. A rock thrown with deadly accuracy, and from the location and force, I would say from above. I pulled Raven back to the awning at the door of the bar, sending a quick text.
Me: Don’t move. Keep your eyes open for perp. Scan the rooftops around us.
If Andy was watching, which I was sure he was, I didn’t want him to know I had two others looking out for Raven.
Raven stared at the destruction as I turned off the alarm and called CAA. A crowd was gathering around the car and I studied them all, but Andy wasn’t among them. I was certain he was crouched on the rooftop overhead, wanting to see my reaction. Or gone by now. He was such a coward, it was probably the second. Raven turned to me, and I laid a finger on her lips, shaking my head. I knew why Andy had thrown the rock. I had pushed to see if he was listening.
His response was loud and clear.
He was. And he used his weapon of choice well again. First, the window of Raven’s apartment, now, the window of my car. He was telling us he didn’t like what he saw or heard.
CAA arrived, and I dealt with them and the garage where I had my car serviced. Egan showed up, and Raven slid into the back seat of his car while Egan came over, whistling at the damage to my car.
“Sending a message?” he asked quietly.
“Yes. I taunted him.” I tapped my ear, knowing Egan would understand.
“I take it he has no sense of humor.”
“Nope.”
“He’s dangerous, Damien. More devious and dark than we thought. I fear he’s more than just a stalker.”
I looked over at his car, seeing Raven staring at us from the back seat. She’d barely said a word since it happened, and she was pale and obviously distraught.
“I have to find him.”
“We will, brother. We will.”
My car was towed away, and I shook my head as he clasped me on the shoulder. “Let’s get you home where you can talk to your lady in private.”
In the car, I sat beside Raven in the back seat. We were quiet, although I slipped my hand around hers and held it. Her grip was tight, and I knew she was upset. After a few days of silence, she had been hopeful Andy was gone. He wasn’t.
At my place, I shoved the bunny in the cylinder by the front door and followed Raven to the kitchen. She poured us each a glass of water, the cold condensation immediately covering the outside of the glass.
“I’m sorry about your car,” she said quietly.
“It will be repaired.”
“What if he had thrown the rock while you were in the car? What if he hurt you?”
“He didn’t. He was angry. I shouldn’t have said what I did to you in the bar. I knew there was a chance he was listening. The problem is, I had no idea he was so close.”
“I’m going home tomorrow.”
“I don’t think we need to test the theory that he is watching, Raven. Obviously, he is.”
“No, I meant I’m going home. Alone. If he doesn’t see you around, he’ll leave you alone.”
I tilted my head, studying her. “You really think that will work? I’m not around, and he’ll just move on?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t let you get hurt on my account, Damien. I can’t. When I think of how that could have been you. How he could have hit you with that rock. All I could see standing there was you lying on the ground, bleeding and hurt because of me.”
I set down my glass and crossed the kitchen. I took her glass from her tight grip and pulled her into my arms. She was as stiff as a board, her anxiety obvious. “He’s not that good a shot, Raven.”
“He’s two for two.”
“Through a large window and a car directly below him that he dropped a rock on. He could have been aiming for the hood, for all we know. That would have caused more damage and inconvenience,” I soothed.
“He might have a gun.”
“So do I. I assure you, I am a far better shot.”
“I can’t let you get hurt.”
I lifted her chin, meeting her worried eyes. “I can’t let you get hurt either. Don’t ask me to let you go alone, Raven. I can’t do that.”
“What do we do, then? Keep letting him attack us? I hide and let him rule our lives?”
“We stick together, and you give me time to find him. We don’t hide. We do what we want as long as we’re careful. The one thing I know right now is that he is listening and doesn’t know we know he is. I have to somehow turn that to our advantage.”
“Then we fight on Saturday. Just like we planned.”
I hated that she was right. “Yes.”
She worried her lip. “What about your other plans?”
“Other plans?”
She slipped her arms around my waist, pressing herself close. “The ones for tonight. That you told me about earlier. You still want to do those?”
I grinned, pleased and surprised she was wanting to ignore the asshole as much as I did. “As long as you’re up to it, Ms. Raven. I certainly am.” I ran my hands down her back, cupping her ass and grinding against her. “Nothing has changed there.”
“I guess you have some work to do, then.”
I lifted her in my arms, and she laughed, wrapping her legs around me. I headed down the hall. “It’s a dirty job, Raven, but someone’s got to do it.”
Her voice was a whisper in my ear, her breath hot on my skin. “Make it really dirty, Damien.”
I lowered her onto the bed, following her down to the mattress.
“Whatever you want, Ms. Raven.”
Friday morning, I borrowed Egan’s car and drove Raven to work. I wanted to ask her not to go, but I knew she would refuse. I walked her into the building, knowing without a doubt Andy was still around, then once I knew she was safely inside, headed to the office. I called the garage, made arrangements for my car, then called Julian directly, bringing him up to speed on the situation. He listened, not interrupting, then mused in silence for a moment when I finished speaking.
“He’s escalating, Damien. He’s angry. When unstable people get angry, get denied the one thing they want, they get desperate—which makes him more dangerous.”
“I’m hoping he gets sloppy.”
“So he’s slipped under the radar on the website, even with the extra backups they do,” he said, thinking aloud. “Have you thought of an inside job?”
“Yes. I was going to contact Jeff today and ask for a list of employees. Or I’ll get Egan to do it maybe,” I replied. “I seemed to make him nervous.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Egan noticed how tense he was around me. I put him on edge. He’s, ah, already really introverted, and I was rather insistent.”
“Have you checked him out?”
“Quickly. He’s intensely private and stays out of the limelight. Opened the company four years ago. No complaints aside from some disgruntled people who didn’t find their connection, but the same as on any site. He’s late forties, heavyset, married. Clean record. Not a suspect at all.”