Page 61 of Keep You Close

“Of course. But King’s wife, Savvy, was already friends with Peyton, who was associated with some of the other crews in Navesink Bank, so she was unfazed by it.

“Nixon’s girl, Reagan, was stalking and threatening some guy that King’s company was being paid to protect.”

“And Rush?” she asked.

“Rush was working as a phone sex operator, and—“

“Wait, wait,” she said, eyes bright. “You can’t just brush over that. He was a phone sex operator? I didn’t know men did that!”

“I don’t think any of us did at the time. But Fiona, Hunter Mallick’s wife, ran a phone sex business. And said there was a demand for men. He was looking for a job he wouldn’t hate and… so he started it. Katie, his wife, was working as a receptionist at the company. And had been… calling him anonymously for a long time. Fee ended up hooking them up. She’d already been head-over by the time she learned. So, I guess, it didn’t matter to her at that point.”

“Your family is interesting,” she said, shaking her head.

“Wait till I tell you all about the Mallicks,” I said. “Anyway, yeah, that’s how King got into this business. He has a knack for putting himself in the mind of someone who is trying to get into some place, for whatever reason, and figuring out ways to deter that.”

“He would probably be better at protecting this house if he knew about Joss…”

“I don’t think so. King is a husband and father now. I think he would look at you here, living alone, or being home alone when I’m not here,” I quickly amended, “and think of how he would want to keep his woman or his kids safe. Then do that.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I think that’s probably a good idea. Even just in general. A month or so back, people were breaking into cars in their driveways just a few streets over. Even in safe areas, crime can happen. If the lights or cameras would prevent that, it’s probably worth it.”

I didn’t give a fuck about car or property crime.

I cared about her.

And what might happen to her if Joss caught up to her here.

No, a security system wouldn’t necessarily keep someone determined out, but it would give AJ a heads-up that he was there. It would automatically send up alarm bells to King’s office. And the police.

Someone from King’s office would try to contact her, see if it was accidental. If they got no answer, the police would be called.

Someone would be there within a few minutes to help her if she needed it.

Joss wouldn’t get the chance to try to take her back again.

There were other extreme measures available, too. Ones I’d seen King use for clients who were facing a real threat like a stalker or exes who wouldn’t accept that their wives or kids were off-limits to them.

Trackers attached to cars. Apps on their phones. Other types of trackers that the wife and kids wore in carefully disguised necklaces or bracelets that the police would follow in an emergency to recover them before anything bad happened.

And as much as a part of me wanted to mention the latter to AJ, I didn’t want to push it too far. Or make her even more paranoid than she clearly already was.

Besides, I was here now.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

I didn’t keep weapons in the house, since it seemed unconscionable to do so in a home that would be empty most of the time. But I was starting to wonder if I should head on over to the biker compound and get myself one or two to keep around. Then maybe teach AJ how to use them.

I mean, it was one thing to have an abusive ex.

It was another to have one who was actively stalking you, tracking you down no matter how many times you moved.

It wasn’t really a question of if Joss would find her again. It was when. And I wanted us to be prepared for that eventuality.

But I didn’t want to overwhelm her all at once. She agreed to the security system. I would get that in the works. After that was done, I could start to mention other things that I personally thought might be good ideas.

Trackers.

Weapons.

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