note to put together some books that might provide help. And get together a list of marital counselors. It was the least she could do for a friend.
Rachel went back inside her office and grabbed the manuscript, along with her purse and her briefcase. She wrote a quick note on top of the manuscript, then dropped it on Simon’s desk before she left.
Her car was parked in a surface lot not far from her office and Rachel took her time walking over, enjoying the sense of freedom she now had. She hadn’t realized how much having a stalker had affected her life. There had always been an underlying fear in everything she’d done, everywhere she’d gone. And now, that fear had vanished and she felt as if she could live her life again.
Today was Thursday. She had to wait another two days to see Dec, but in that time she planned to shop for a new dress, get her hair highlighted and her nails done, and decide on the perfect movie for them to see. It was strange. She was even enjoying the anticipation of their date, wondering what it would be like to just focus on each other for an evening, without the possibility of seduction surrounding them.
That possibility would probably always be there when they were together, Rachel mused. It was difficult not to think of Dec in those terms. Every time she looked at him, she found herself mentally undressing him, then mentally going through all the things she wanted to do to him once he was undressed. She could play out an entire seduction in her head, from first kiss to final orgasm and Rachel was sure even that fantasy wouldn’t live up to the reality.
But there was time for them now and she didn’t mind waiting. Waiting would make everything so much more intense once it actually happened. Rachel crossed the lawn to the parking lot, all the while going over the delicious details in her head.
She found her car where she had left it, but as she was unlocking the door, she noticed something odd. A long, deep scratch ran across the lower part of the door. She followed it, only to find that it ran the entire length of the Lexus sedan. Someone had keyed her car!
She knew there had been instances of vandalism on campus, but security kept that to a minimum. As she walked around the car, an uneasy feeling began to set in. Maybe this wasn’t a random act of vandalism. Maybe this had been deliberate. She’d never really believed Jerry was her stalker. What if the real one was still out there and the police had made a mistake? They’d ignored her case for so long, perhaps they’d just arrested the first convenient person they’d found.
But Jerry had confessed. Why would he have confessed when he didn’t do anything? Rachel groaned softly. She ought to know, since she understood the psychology of interrogation. Jerry had always seemed like such a sweet, shy guy, the kind of guy who got pushed around at the radio station, asked to pull all the worst shifts. When the other interns were out at the clubs on Friday and Saturday nights, Jerry was covering the shifts they were supposed to take.
It was easy for a guy like that to want a little attention. And if he’d been accused of doing something unlawful, perhaps accepting the blame was a way to increase his street cred with his fellow interns. She’d personally seen the way he sought their approval.
“No,” she murmured, getting into her car. “This is over. Dec said it was over and he knows what he’s talking about. He wouldn’t make a mistake.”
But as she drove to campus security to report the incident, Rachel’s mind began to spin with the possibilities. As she waited at a light, paranoia began to set in and odd little comments niggled at her brain. First, there was Daniel. He’d basically professed his unrequited love for her. Harboring a secret affection could give him every motivation to stalk her. And then there was Simon, who according to Daniel, was also carrying a torch for her. And then there were her clients and her students and her colleagues, any of whom could be concealing a hidden resentment.
Her first instinct was to call Declan and tell him what had happened. But after careful thought, she decided he would probably overreact and lock her up until he was sure she was safe. She’d just gained her freedom again, she wasn’t going to lose it due to her own paranoia.
“I’m just tired,” she said. “This is all just some post-traumatic panic attack.”
Rachel spent the next half hour with campus security detailing what had happened, then headed for home. Security reassured her that they would look into it and informed her that campus cameras may have picked up video proof of the perpetrator.
Satisfied and somewhat calmed, she headed for home. But when she got there, Rachel began to feel uneasy. She’d planned to do some gardening, planting a few flower pots for her porch. But instead, she locked herself inside the house.
As Dec had promised, a crew had showed up that morning to wire her house with alarms, but they wouldn’t complete the job for another day or two. She walked back and forth in the hallway, trying to work through her fears, telling herself that they were unfounded.
But the more she attempted to calm herself, the more upset she became. Rachel hurried to the kitchen and picked up the phone, ready to call Declan. She wouldn’t tell him what had happened, she’d just call to talk. His voice had a way of calming her. That would be enough.
She snatched her purse off the counter and searched through it for his business card. He’d written his cell phone number on the back, along with his address and his home phone number. She decided to try the cell phone first.
Punching in the number, she said a silent prayer that he’d pick up. Perhaps he’d be ready to head out for a run and she’d suggest he’d stop by for something to drink. Or maybe he was coming home from work and he’d drive by to say hello. Her mind conjured all kinds of excuses for him to come over and allay her fears.
It rang three times before his voice mail picked up. Rachel listened to the message, then hung up before leaving hers. With trembling hands, she set the phone down and stepped away, her need for Declan suddenly overwhelming her.
She’d known him for just a few days, and though they’d spent more time together than many couples who had dated for months, she still shouldn’t feel so dependent upon him. Rachel opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine, uncorked it and took a drink from the bottle.
“Don’t be such a baby,” she murmured to herself. “You’re just looking for any excuse to see him. If it wasn’t the vandalism on your car, you’d find another reason.”
She’d thought it was nearly impossible to resist Dec when she was with him. But now Rachel had found it was just as difficult to resist him when she wasn’t. Somehow, she suspected that until they were together twenty-four hours a day and enjoying a wild and wonderful sex life, she’d never be satisfied.
7
“DECLAN?”
Dec pressed the button on his phone to activate the intercom. “Yep.”
“Your brother, Ian, is here,” the receptionist said.
“Send him back, Celine,” Dec said, surprised by the impromptu visit. He gathered up the files he had spread over his desk and signed a few letters waiting in the file from his assistant, then walked to his office door and opened it.
His older brother smiled as he strode down the hall. He wasn’t wearing his uniform, dressed instead in a faded pair of jeans and a blue work shirt. “Hey there,” Ian said.
“Come on in. What are you doing in town?” Dec asked.
Ian flopped down into one of the chrome and leather chairs in front of Dec’s desk, heaving a deep sigh as he did. “Just hanging out,” he said. “I’m working this weekend, so I figured I’d take the day off.”
“So you came to Providence? Just to hang out? On a Friday night? Sounds like you’re here looking for women.”
“No, I had other stuff to do,” he said.
“Care to elaborate?” Dec asked.
“Stuff,” Ian insisted. “I had to drop a friend off at the airport. Hey, thanks again for that help with the forgery case. I haven’t talked to you since I saw you and Marcus for breakfast last weekend.”
