I know how to let go of the love for someone who no longer exists, I don’t know if I’ll ever quite be able to master unrequited love.
Focus, Maeve. Focus.
I need coffee, that’s what the problem is. Quickly, I make a pot and head back to the office, peeking in on Turner on my way. He’s snoring softly as the subdued sunlight makes his room glow pink. My throat tightens when I realize this might be the last time I have him here, with me, like this. Steeling my nerves, I head back to the computer and continue. My stomach turns and flips at the details of her atrocities. She is less of a human and more of a heartless, cruel monster.
When I’ve exhausted what I was able to find online, comparing it to my stalking police reports, I decide to message Aria back, asking for her to do whatever it takes to get more information from her contact. I don’t tell her what’s been happening to me, but I do suggest more information could help me solve something important. Surely if she’s going to have to cheat on her boyfriend to get more info, she’s going to want details. My life has been quiet since Rexy died, a monotonous climb to reach a place where I’ve now built myself up enough to be destroyed once again. The thought of dragging Aria into my mess makes me feel ill, but maybe, for the first time, I’ll be able to count on a family member to help me out. Hell, maybe I can offer up something in order to get more information so Aria doesn’t have to.
I dropped Turner at school and came directly to the office where Aspen was waiting for me at the front door, tapping her foot. “What the hell took you so long?” She pets Chonk’s head and gives me the evil eye.
“I’ve had Turner all week. I take him to the same place every morning, and I’ve arrived here at the same time every day. How do you forget?”
“Listen, the phone has been ringing off the hook all morning long.” I glance at my watch. She’s being dramatic, Aspen opens the office at eight and it’s now half-past. I give her a look. “When I answer it, Maeve, no one is on the other line. They stay silent. Hang up and call back immediately.” Aspen holds open the door and I slide past her and enter the front desk area where the phone is ringing yet again.
I answer in the breathless standard greeting. The same greeting Aspen uses several dozen times a day. “Hello,” I say, when the silence stretches on. “This is Dr. Ahern. Can I help you with something? Hello?”
More silence. No one followed me today. I was vigilant, I was cautious, I used back roads, and kept my eye on the rearview mirror more frequently than I should admit while having Turner in the back seat. I hang up the phone after several more moments of hushed quiet, but the phone doesn’t ring again. Locking the front door, I return to the front desk, hand pressed against my upset stomach. I hate this. All of this. I remind myself that at least Turner is safe, tucked away in a classroom at school. The first time I picked him up, I didn’t think the security person was going to let me have him. She didn’t recognize me and quizzed Turner about me, despite me being on his list of people. The school system means business when it comes to security. You have to be buzzed in and out.
Aspen sits down in her chair. “That’s the first time it hasn’t rung the second the phone was hung up, Maeve. Someone was calling non-stop until they figured out you were here. Until they heard your voice.”
I have to tell her. It’s only fair if we’re going to be working side-by-side day in and day out. I ask her to come into my office and shut the door behind us. Chonk settles on his bed, but doesn’t shut his eyes. It’s as if he knows there’s trouble lurking just out of view, too. I blow out a big breath and I tell her everything. About the conversation with Lincoln last night, the cousin I’ve been corresponding with and how she came across me. I don’t leave anything out for fear something happens to me and not another soul in the world knows what I know.
“Wow, you don’t seem upset.”
I crinkle my brows. “About what?”
“Fair point. You did list several things you should be upset about, but I mostly meant about Lincoln breaking up with you.”
Shaking my head, I say, “I am upset. Very upset. My bandwidth is stretched thin right now. He shouldn’t be near me right now.” I swallow hard and look to my closed door. I open it up. If someone is coming to kill me, I want to look them in the eye. “Aspen, I think I need to close the office for the rest of the week or until this person is caught.”
She cringes. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but they haven’t popped up lately, Maeve. This could very well already be over.”
I shudder. “Or it’s just starting. Unfortunately, I don’t want to wait to see if I’m on their calendar. I need to call Lincoln. I have to tell him… warn him about all of this.”
Someone raps on the front door so hard it vibrates my office door. “Stay here,” I tell Aspen. The smug look disappears from her face. I look down to Chonk. “Come. Guard,” I say, ordering him to my side with a pat on my
