Eredine nodded, her mass of dark brown curls shimmering with the movement. Her age wasn’t clear. She had smooth, golden brown skin that made her eyes seem unusually light. No signs of a certain age in her skin and definitely not in her long, lithe body delineated by her workout bra and yoga pants.
I’d put her in her twenties, but I didn’t know which end of the scale.
If I went by how gorgeous she was and how Adair hovered protectively, I’d say there was definitely something going on between them. That would make her the perfect target for his stalker. If that was what we were dealing with.
Realizing all three of us stood over her, I gestured to Adair and Lucy. “Maybe we can all just sit and have a chat.”
I took the sofa across from Eredine without asking as Adair sat beside his yoga instructor and Lucy sprawled casually on the window seat near the front of the cabin. I almost laughed at how effortlessly elegant she looked—like she was ready for a photo shoot.
I was in a cabin with two-time Oscar-winning actor Lucy Wainwright hours after visiting my father in the hospital where he was recovering from multiple stab wounds.
My life had taken a very surreal turn.
“So, Eredine, I’m Mac’s daughter, Robyn.”
“I know.” She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, her graceful fingers twisting together as she stared at the coffee table between us.
“I’m helping Mac with the investigation. I’m a cop. Well, I was a cop. Back in Boston.”
“Okay.”
“You teach Pilates and yoga here?”
“Yeah. And mindfulness.”
“I’ve studied mindfulness.” It was something my therapist had suggested. It was a type of meditation, and to my surprise, I really got into it. During moments of stress, I practiced it. “It works.”
I ignored Adair’s intense stare because Eredine had finally lifted her eyes to meet mine.
“Yeah, it does.” She was American. I couldn’t place a specific accent. With a name like Eredine, I’d assumed she was Scottish. False name?
“So, when did you discover the break-in at the studio?”
Her hands twisted tighter together. “About 2:45. I-I’d finished my morning classes. There are only a few members who come to those at this time of year. Occupancy is higher during the summer. But my afternoon classes are a little busier. They start at three thirty.”
“But you discovered the studio was wrecked.”
“Yes.”
“Did you touch anything?”
Eredine shook her head. “I called security and waited.”
Adair covered her hands with one of his, drawing my attention. Genuine concern and distress etched his rugged features.
“I … uh … I’m still trying to get a picture here of what’s going on, but I know from Mac’s findings that he’s pretty certain the messages are all for you, Adair. That it’s mostly likely a stalker, and it’s more than likely someone you know who has access here.”
“Your point?”
I ignored his harsh tone. “Is Eredine a deliberate target because of your relationship with her?”
“For fuck’s sake,” he gritted out. “A man holds a woman’s hand to comfort her and suddenly they’re in a relationship?”
“No need to get defensive.”
“We’re not in a relationship. Eredine is a longtime friend of the family and a valued member of our staff.”
Eredine nodded in agreement. Such sadness in her eyes.
“Okay. Then I guess we can assume the stalker is just making the rounds. And, Eredine, you didn’t see anyone leaving the studio before you got there?”
“No one. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
“Thank God she didn’t see anyone,” Lucy spoke up. “Can you imagine what might have happened if she’d turned up while that person was there? Look at what happened to Mac.”
Eredine inhaled sharply.
“Lucy,” Adair admonished.
The actor winced. “I’m sorry. I just meant it was a good thing Ery didn’t see anything.”
I studied the way Eredine seemed to fold in on herself, frowning angrily at the coffee table.
Call it a cop’s instinct, or a woman’s instinct, but she was definitely afraid of something. Possibly frustrated by that fear too. Maybe I was projecting.
Whenever I was afraid, it pissed me off, and I’d find a way to arm myself.
When I was fifteen, I’d gone on a fifth date with a junior I’d been crushing on forever. That night in his car, he’d pushed me to go to third base. When I’d said no, he’d fought me and touched me without my permission. I was furious, humiliated, violated … and scared.
But instead of letting the little shit win, I told my stepdad what happened. Seth dealt with the boy’s parents, but he also enrolled me in a mixed martial arts class. Because his parents came down hard on him, that boy and his friends taunted me for months. Then one day, near the end of the school year, he came at me in the parking lot.
I took him down with what I’d learned, and he was so humiliated, I never heard a peep out of him again.
It empowered me.
And it had given me more confidence as a female cop to know I could handle myself against stronger perpetrators.
It wasn’t the answer for every woman.
But it could be.
“Eredine.” My softer tone drew her eyes back to mine. “I know when something like this happens, we feel violated. It’s not just our space that’s violated, it feels like we have been.” Her eyes narrowed, and I could feel her drawing away so I hurried on. “I do mixed martial arts. I started training when I was fifteen after some shithead got the better of me.” Her expression relaxed into understanding. “I’m going to be here awhile, visiting my dad, figuring all of this out. I could teach you self-defense.”
Her surprise was obvious.
Adair butted in, “Teach her?”
I didn’t look at him. This wasn’t about him. “Teach you some self-defense moves that actually work in real-life situations. I
