20. Mike

20

MIKE

Lila and I sat across from Keith's desk as he and Jude looked over the letter. Lila had stopped shaking on the drive over, but she was quiet and withdrawn as she kept her gaze on the floor.

I knew she was shocked, scared, and embarrassed, and although I worked hard not to show it, so was I.

I'd known better than to antagonize this asshole, yet I'd done it anyway. I hadn't seen anyone around us at the beach, and I racked my brain, trying to think of where Ted could've been watching us from.

And how long had he been doing it? I'd promised her over and over that I'd protect her, and now I felt like I'd already let her down.

"What time did you leave the beach on Grove Street last night?" Jude asked.

"Maybe after eight," I said. "I'm not sure. I didn't see anyone around us when we were there or when we left."

"He could have been watching from a far enough distance, not necessarily on the street," Keith said. "It's worth asking the residents over there if they noticed any strange cars around."

He stood from his chair and came over to us, leaning against his desk as he turned to Lila.

"He's not going to be able to pull this here for long. I know you're spooked and afraid, and that's normal, but don't think what happened in Philly is going to happen now."

Keith shot her a smile, but Lila only met his gaze for a minute and nodded.

"I hope not," she said in a faint whisper. "I'm just afraid he's going to make trouble for Mike and Jake."

"He won't," Keith said with a chuckle. "Mike is a good cop, and Jake has his office and home very secure. Ted would be messing with the wrong people and pay the price."

She gave him a tiny nod as she met his gaze.

"One of the officers will drive you home while we work on this. We're going to look into what Ted's been up to lately and see if he's been tracked close by. Still waiting on the prints, and now we can see if there's a match."

He held up the envelope.

"From what you've described, he's sloppy when he's angry. We'll get him, Lila. Go home and try to get it out of your head."

"Thank you, Chief," she said, her voice so weak with defeat I wanted to pound the fucking walls.

I agreed with Keith that he'd get sloppy enough to be caught eventually, but the time it would take to figure out how to find him while we waited for something else to happen already had me on edge.

But again, I couldn't show it. My stomach had dropped when I'd seen the letter too, but if I showed anything other than calm confidence to Lila, she'd feel even worse.

Keith had told me when I'd first become a cop that this was what it was all about. Putting on a good show in front of the town that everything was fine and under control, no matter what was going on, while keeping our emotions in check.

I'd already experienced how hard that was, but when it was about the woman I loved, it was damn near impossible.

Still, I knew putting on a brave face was the only way I could protect her now.

"I'll come by after work," I told Lila as I walked her out. "I'm sure Terry and Kathy will keep you occupied today, or you can pay Claudia a visit if you feel up to it."

"I don't think I want to go out anywhere today." She shook her head without meeting my gaze.

The exhaustion etched in her beautiful face killed me.

"I'm not saying I'm going to go into hiding, but for today?—"

"I know, sweetheart," I said, pressing a quick but hard kiss to her lips. "Keith has never lied to me, and he's kept all of us safe for as long as I can remember. We'll get this jackass, and you will never have to worry about this again."

"Okay," she said, her voice still hollow, and kissed my cheek. "Be careful."

I waved as she got into a cruiser with one of our rookies and drove off. I'd wanted to take her home, but I knew Jude and Keith had questions for me that they didn't want to ask in front of Lila. And I wanted to be there when they did a search of Ted's activities over the past few months.

When I came back inside, Keith and Jude were still whispering over the letter in Keith's office.

"Don't look so worried, Russo," Keith said, nodding to the chairs in front of his desk. "Torres will get her home safe."

So much for keeping my emotions in check.

"I know he will," I said, sitting back down. "I'm just worried what this is going to do to her until we catch him, and what his next move is going to be. I'd thought since he hadn't tried to contact her or shown up that maybe he'd moved on."

"I looked over the messages and emails on the flash drive." Jude waved the envelope at me. "I'll be honest, this feels different to me."

"What do you mean by different?" I asked, scooting toward the edge of the seat.

"Yes, Ted followed her, slashed her tire to strand her, and threatened her friend. I would be afraid he'd physically assault her after that too, as it seemed to be escalating in that direction, but these threats have a different tone. Have you read any of the ones from him?"

"I helped her put them on the flash drive, so yes. The emails and texts seem to go from sorry to angry."

"They did, yes. And he'd call her a bitch for being so unreasonable or tell her no one else would ever want her, cruel things like that. But he'd always end it with let's just talk or let me explain ." He held up the envelope again. "This and the scratches on her car are pure hate. I know logic would say that it's the same guy and he could just be angry that she left and moved on, but I feel like we should keep our minds open."

"That this could be someone else?" I asked.

"Maybe," Jude said. "Someone who knows the town and how to not be seen. Again, this is just a gut feeling that I have."

"And your gut feelings are usually right." I dropped my head into my hands, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Not always. Again, he could just be really pissed she managed to hide from him all this time and is with someone else now. What I'm saying is, when you're out together, don't only keep your eyes open for Ted. Be on guard for anything suspicious. And that goes for when you're alone too."

"You think this is directed at me?"

"We don't think anything yet, Mike," Keith said. "The only thing we know for sure is whoever is doing this is watching you and doesn't like that you both are together. Just watch until we know more. I'll give your father a call in a minute and tell him the same thing."

Keith stood and made his way around the desk, settling in the chair next to me.

"I'm sorry this is happening. To both of you. This should be a nice time for you guys without having to worry about who you're pissing off. I can't see anyone hating either of you this much to do this, so Lila's ex still makes the most sense right now."

"You never know who hates you, Chief."

I raised a brow when I met his gaze. I couldn't think of anyone who'd want to do this to me. I'd never gotten serious enough with a woman to make her want to stalk my girlfriend, but maybe I was missing something.

As crazy as it sounded, Ted was the easier suspect. A burly dumbass who couldn't read a room or take no for an answer would be easy to catch once he inevitably fucked up.

But if this was someone coming after me, someone who lived here and was torturing Lila to get to me, I had no idea what to do with that.

I'd promised her a million times that I'd keep her safe, but how could I protect her if I was the reason she was in danger?