Page 40 of Under My Skin

Fuck.

Wasthatreally what she thought I was worried about? Whether or not she still wanted to show up to some dinners, parties, and charity events with me? Did she really think I was that shallow and self-absorbed?

I needed to find a way to show her that I couldn’t have cared less about this stupid farce anymore. Thatshewas what I cared about, even above my own safety. And that would start the next time I took her out, with making sure there wasn’t a single photographer or so-called “journalist” in sight. No matter what my bitch of a publicist had to say about it.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

BRADEN

TEN DAYS LATER

“I’m sosorry we don’t have better news for you,” Kerry, one of the two detectives who was assigned to my case, told me over the phone.

“I know you’re trying your best,” I said with a sigh as I pulled into my driveway after a long day of performing my court-ordered community service at the local hospital. “And I really appreciate the work you’re doing. It’s just pissing me off that we’re still no closer to catching this woman than we were last week.”

It wasn’t this poor overworked detective’s fault that my cyberstalker was basically a ghost. She was just that good. In fact, everyone who was working on this case – Bobbi, Kerry, and Kerry’s partner, Susan – had told me that given how good she was, we’d probably find that this wasn’t this woman’s first offense.

Unsurprisingly, every single email that had been sent to me and Dani had come from a burner phone. And all of the geotags and IP addresses just led them to very public places like grocerystores or malls, so all they’d been able to tell was that the woman probably lived in Orlando.

“We’ll get her, Braden,” Kerry tried to assure me. “She’ll make a mistake eventually, and when she does, we’ll catch her.”

I could tell he was trying to sound encouraging, but he wasn’t succeeding. Then again, I was pretty surenothingother than finding out who was doing this and bringing her to justice would encourage me right now. I just needed this to be over.

I didn’t know how much longer I could handle jumping every time my phone went off. How much longer I could deal with the knot in the pit of my stomach every time I left my house, wondering if every single woman I passed on the street was the one who was terrorizing me. How much more sleep I could lose praying that this freak didn’t do anything to physically harm me – or worse, Dani or Isaac.

“And what if thatmistakeis showing up at my house with a gun or a knife?” I choked out. “Or worse, my girlfriend’s house, where she lives with a six-week-old baby?”

Yes, I knew Dani wasn’t really my girlfriend. But it wasn’t like I could tell Kerry that. And frankly, where her safety was concerned, she might as well have been. I knew all the guards on her security detail were licensed to carry, but still. What if this woman showed up at her apartment and fired a shot before they could stop her?

“I know this is hard, Braden.” His calm, even tone was starting to piss me off. “Have you called that number I gave you? For victims’ services?”

My blood started to simmer in my veins and my hand clenched into a fist as I used every ounce of self-control I possessed not to unleash my anger on him. Yelling at him wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t bring us any closer to catching the woman who seemed to have endless amounts of free time to harass me and Dani.

I took a slow, deep inhale before speaking. “I appreciate that you’re trying to help, but I already have a court-appointed therapist, Detective. What I need is for you to find this maniac.”

“We will,” he repeated. “And please make sure you call me if you can think ofanythingthat might help. No matter how small or insignificant it seems. Even if you just feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and can’t figure out why.”

“That happens every time I leave the house,” I said with a humorless, sarcastic chuckle. “But I’ll call if I think of anything useful. I’ll talk to you later.”

I ended the call before he had a chance to respond and shoved my car door open harder than I needed to, then slammed it shut and stormed up the driveway toward my front door. As I got closer, I noticed a cardboard box on my front porch.

That was weird. I hadn’t ordered anything. But it wouldn’t have been the first time my friends or family in Kansas had sent me a random care package – which usually contained a bottle or two of barbecue sauce from my absolute favorite barbecue joint, Joe’s KC.

Stepping onto the doormat, I picked up the box and unlocked my door, shutting and locking it behind me before using my key to cut the packing tape. And the moment I unfolded the lid, I dropped the parcel on the floor as I doubled over, clutching my stomach and swallowing down the bile that rose in my throat.

Inside was a set of lacy black lingerie that looked new, but didn’t have any tags on it. And sitting on top of that was a plain white envelope.

I knew I shouldn’t look. There was no reason for me to torture myself. Yet I found myself reaching for that damn envelope, driven by morbid curiosity. Clutching the single piece of white cardstock between trembling fingers, I used my free hand to steady the quivers as I read the typewritten message.

I bought this just for you, baby. I can’t wait until I finally get you alone so you can rip it off me and fuck me raw like the animal I know you are.

Xoxo,

Me

My head spun, my vision started to blur at the edges, and it felt like a three-ton weight had been dropped on my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

This lunatic already had me wound up as tight as a drum. Because of her, I was now in a constant state of panic every time I stepped foot outside my house. I’d spent night after sleepless night lying in bed in fear for my safety and the safety of the two innocent people I’d inadvertently dragged into this mess.

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