‘You’re wrong.’ Her clipped words took him by surprise. ‘What you saw in the car park was the result of a vow never to allow myself to be pushed around, bullied, or walked over ever again.’
Zac cursed inwardly, annoyed with himself. It seemed he’d done what he hated others doing to him. Made a judgement without the facts. ‘Sorry. I actually meant my remarks as a compliment. It’s refreshing to meet someone so … unconventional.’
Her hands slowly relaxed the vice-like hold they’d had on the steering wheel. ‘Unconventional? Is that your fancy way of saying I’m odd?’
‘No. It’s my fancy way of apologising.’ Interested, he angled his head towards her. ‘Collier said you’d been in the army. Did that have something to do with this vow?’
‘In a way, yes, because it gave me a means of escape. Mainly I joined for the thrill of doing something different, something physical. Challenging myself. I mean, I was never going to sit at a desk, that’s for certain.’
‘No.’
She slid him a look. ‘You don’t think I could hack it in an office?’
‘I think that would stifle your … spirit.’
‘It would certainly drive me crazy.’
Suddenly the mood in the car changed and he watched, part in fascination, part in fear, as she checked the mirror and quickly switched lanes. For the next few minutes she alternated her focus between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror, turning right when the sat nav said left, an intensity to her bearing that hadn’t been there before. Yet when she finally spoke again, it was as if nothing had happened. ‘What about you? Why did you get into acting?’
‘I enjoy it.’ He swallowed, relieved to find he still had some saliva left after the heart-bumping few minutes. ‘Are you going to tell me why we’re going the wrong way?’
She appeared briefly confused. ‘Oh, you mean the right turn? A white Golf has been behind us for the last five minutes. I wanted to check if it was following us.’
‘And was it?’
‘If it was, it decided not to make it obvious.’ He felt his palms begin to sweat and when he didn’t reply, she spoke again. ‘Not the answer you were looking for?’
‘A simple no would have worked.’
‘It would also give you a false sense of security.’ Her voice was strong and steady. Clearly he was the only one in the car rattled by what had happened. ‘Look, whoever’s leaving you those love notes managed to find out where you live,’ she continued in that same, matter-of-fact tone. ‘As I assume you don’t make the information public knowledge, either they’ve hacked into some database to find it, or they’ve asked the right people. Or they’ve followed you home.’
He felt everything inside him clench and tighten. Considering the perks of his life, being paid a stupid sum of money for doing what he loved, he could concede that he deserved the reporters and the cameras with their prying lenses. At least there were rules governing how far they could encroach. The stalker was different, though. The person who’d walked right up to his front door and left the note clearly didn’t follow rules.
Once again, he felt the slippery coils of fear wrap around his gut. Who was doing this to him? Were they doing it to scare him, or did they have a more sinister motive? And if the latter, would Kat Parker, with her disorganised ways and her whole three years of experience, really have a chance in hell of stopping them?
‘You’ve gone quiet on me.’ She laughed softly. ‘Maybe I should say “even quieter”, because you don’t seem the type who likes to talk.’
Zac massaged the back of his neck in a bid to rub out the tension. He was getting overly paranoid. This was a fan who got a kick out of leaving him notes. In a matter of days, the police would discover who it was and order her to keep away. ‘I’m trying to get my head around it all.’
‘Will it help if I tell you we see this a lot? The stalker is usually found quickly, given a restraining order and never heard from again.’
‘It would help if you’d left out the usually.’
‘Ah, but then I’d be lying, and that’s something I promise not to do.’
He wondered if she was aware her hands had gripped the steering wheel again. ‘I can tell you I’ve never lost a … client.’
Her hesitation, almost imperceptible, did nothing to allay his fears. She hadn’t lost a client, but she had lost someone? ‘But were any of those clients in danger? Were they being stalked?’
‘Danger doesn’t always come waving a big red flag.’ Halting at a traffic light, she turned those sharp brown eyes on him. ‘I might be untidy, and today I might have turned up late, but I can also tell you – stuff that – I can promise you, none of it is a reflection on how I operate in my job. I’m bloody good at what I do.’
‘Ah.’ He shifted on the seat, feeling about three foot tall. ‘What gave me away?’
‘You thought I wouldn’t pick up on that dig about standards?’
‘I’m sorry. I …’ His brain came up blank. He had nothing that could explain his snotty comment. Nothing that wouldn’t leave him open to further questions about why he was so paranoid she wasn’t up to the job. ‘I’m sure you’re eminently capable,’ he finished lamely.
***
As Kat pulled up outside the swanky modern apartment block in Highgate, she mentally high fived herself. Yep, just as she’d imagined. She’d like to bet inside it was all wooden floors, stainless steel fittings and … minimalism. Was that a word? She was pretty sure it was. Also, pretty sure nobody would ever accuse her of it.
Parking in the private underground car park, she noted the lack of security. No CCTV, no electronic gate. There was a key fob entry system, but all the stalker had to do was wait for someone else to enter or leave and walk in after them. There was no reception area, no door man.
Mr Edwards was going to have to move out. And she could just imagine how happy he was going to be about that. The guy was already quietly freaking out after the not-sure-if-it-was-a-tail incident. Well, she assumed he was freaking out but it was hard to tell because at times his thoughts were locked away so securely – not just in a vault, but within a castle with the steel portcullis down and the drawbridge up – it was impossible for her to get a read on him.
She did know he wasn’t impressed with her so-called standards, though, or her relative inexperience, and it rankled. He was finding her guilty without any evidence. There’s plenty to be had if he knew where to look. Yeah, that thought could go and take a running jump. She hadn’t been at fault.
She hadn’t.
At least that’s what everyone had told her.
When they reached the door to his apartment, he gave her a wry smile. ‘I’m heading for 24/7 room service and a chocolate on my pillow, aren’t I?’
Taking the key from him, she opened the door and motioned for him to wait. When she was satisfied it was clear, she waved him inside. ‘Was my expression that obvious?’
His gaze captured hers and once again she felt the power of his attraction. It wasn’t just that his eyes were a pretty shade of green. It was the pull of them. ‘The curl of your lip did rather give it away.’