Page 114 of Fallen Princess: Shadow Stalker

If he doesn't shut his trap, I will seriously wallop him one.

“That’s beside the point,” Jagger leans forward from his seat. “What would Catalina gain by being your stalker?”

“It’s impossible that Catalina is my stalker.” Eden doesn’t elaborate.

“My lab here analyzed the white powder residue we found in her handbag when she was here yesterday.”

“You searched through her bag?” She stares at me in disbelief.

“I didn’t like the way she spoke to me when I questioned her about it. Shoot me for not trusting the old bitch,” Callum explains, and maybe I would have been angry had the old witch spoken to me the same way, but my brother needs to shut his rage down around Eden, or I’ll do it for him.

“I got the lab results earlier this evening,” I add fast before Eden retaliates back at my brother. “The ingredients in the white powder all point to phenobarbital or Pink Lady, which is the street name and most likely how she acquired it. It’s normally used to control seizures, relieve anxiety, and treat insomnia. Enough dosage of it, and it can render a person unconscious for over twelve hours.”

Eden sits back with a mixture of shock and confusion.

“Rick’s running a background check,” I announce.

“On Catalina?” she looks at me painfully. “She’s not my stalker, for fuck’s sake, I told you my stalker’s a man.”

“How do you know that, Eden? You said the person wore a mask and spoke through a voice piece. Where was Catalina that day he broke into your home?”

“Rick suspects the camera in your bedroom was planted on the same day Storm was kidnapped,” I explain calmly. “He said there were no signs of a break-in, but the front door was open, and Catalina admitted she typed in the code to unlock the door.”

Eden’s face contorts into an incredulous expression as if she’s just learned that pigs can fly – a perfect blend of disbelief and astonishment.

“For fuck’s sake!” she exclaims, standing up abruptly from the sofa. “Catalina was in New York that entire week. She had to put her mother in a home and took a long weekend off to prepare everything.”

She eyes us with an accusatory glare.

“You all want to play detective but won’t listen to me. My stalker was a man. There is no doubt about it. He held me against his body.” Tears begin to fill her eyes. “Close enough to know he was male. He got a kick out of scaring me, as did the other two….” she abruptly stops talking.

I lean forward, questioning what she’s just revealed.

“What other two?” Callum beats us all to ask. There’s no missing the dark undertone of his voice. The bastard stalker was fucking aroused by terrorizing Eden.

She looks away as two tears escape her swollen red eyes. A shaky hand raises up to brush them off her cheek.

“I can’t,” she mumbles, barely audible.

“What did they do to you?” Asher says, and I think we all realize more happened that Eden has never spoken to anyone about.

“Please stop,” she looks at us, her teary face begging us to stop asking questions she doesn’t want to answer.

“You fled because they did something to you, didn’t they?” I say, dreading the answer because I know I will wreak havoc on the world knowing the unthinkable happened.

“Eddie?” Asher, who’s closest to her, stands up and wraps his arms around her in an embrace. She falls straight into his body and hides her face against his chest.

My gaze follows first to Jagger and then to my brother. Both geezers are ready to explode. Maybe Eden doesn’t have to tell us because I think all four of us already know.

“How many broke into your home?” I ask because I need to know what we’re dealing with.

Eden pulls up from Asher’s body and steps abruptly away from him. Her face is red, and her eyes are swollen, but every tear she has suddenly dried up.

“That’s a past I don’t want dug up,” she says firmly as if she’s gotten a second wind and taking control of the situation. “So now you can understand Catalina is not responsible for this. Her drugging me is something I will take up with her personally because that’s a wholelot of fucked up. But right now, the stalker has left me a clue, and I don’t give a shit if it’s a trap. I need to do something to find Storm.”

Without further words, she suddenly departs, grabbing her bag and keys from the console table in the hallway. We all chase her out, and I see the stalker's card in her hand as she runs off to her truck.

“Follow us behind,” I snap at Jagger and chase after her, hopping into the passenger seat of her truck.

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