Page 30 of Burning Truth

Addie glanced around the parking lot. There were a few people around them, but not a lot. “I don’t think anyone was watching us.”

“Well, I’m not willing to risk your safety on that.”

She stared at him for a long moment, then reached for her seatbelt. She snapped it into place and sat back in the seat, trying to control her racing libido. Maybe it was a good thing he’d pulled away, because she would have totally spread her legs for him right here in the parking lot.

Addie shifted in the seat, feeling the slickness between her thighs. Severn Moran was one of the sexiest men she’d ever met, and even though they were in a crazy situation, she wasn’t going to ignore what was happening between them. Actually, she was going to encourage it.

As he turned the key in the ignition, Severn caught her glancing at her phone, frowning slightly as she scrolled through the latest comments on her posts. The glow illuminated her face, revealing a mixture of frustration and unease.

“Anything new?” he asked, watching her expression shift.

“Just a lot of people asking where I was during the festival. They seemed invested in the idea that I was going there for fun.” Her voice was laced with irritation.

“You were,” Severn said, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “This guy doesn’t get to dictate how you live your life. You’re allowed to have fun.”

“Yeah, well… it’s hard not to feel like I’m inviting more trouble with every post,” she admitted, a heavy sigh escaping her.

“You’re not,” he insisted, tension threading through his words. “We’ll handle this. No more hiding. You deserve to live without fear of this creep.”

Addie turned to him, and for a moment, the fierce appreciation in her eyes seemed to reach right into him. “Thank you, Severn.”

“Always,” he promised, shifting his gaze back to the road.

But as they drove through the shadowy streets, a thought crossed his mind—while they discussed strategies, strategies that felt like pinpointed blueprints on how to lure the stalker, this was ultimately about much more than just her safety.

Severn found himself increasingly captivated by Addie. Her mouth was addictive. Every laugh, every touch, fueled something deep inside him that he struggled to confine to mere instinct. It was turning into something visceral, something that might spur him onward—his protective instinct extending beyond the limits of duty.

He was beginning to look at her as more than a client.

“Severn?” Addie’s soft voice drew him back.

“Yes?”

“Do you really think we’ll find him?” There was a vulnerability in her tone that pierced through the bravado.

“I do,” he replied. “We’re doing everything right. And when we do find him, I promise he’ll regret every last moment he spent plotting against you.”

They pulledinto her driveway and he parked in front of the garage door. If they went anywhere, he would probably be the one driving. And now that they had a camera pointed directly at the spot, he didn’t worry about leaving his truck out.

Once through the security gauntlet, she peeled off her shoes, grateful for the familiar comfort of home. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” she asked as she headed toward the kitchen with a sense of determination. “I’m getting a hot tea. Do you want one?”

“No, thank you.”

Severn followed her into the kitchen, the air thick with the lingering scent of pizza and the emotional weariness of the day. “Tomorrow, we sift through the footage from the festival, analyze every exit and entrance, and see if we can trace any suspicious behavior. It’s all we have right now.”

Addie nodded, her fingers absently tapping against the counter as she thought through the night. “What if we don’t find anything? What if he slips through our fingers again?”

“He won’t,” he promised her. “Gabbie is one of the greatest hackers I’ve ever seen, and she won’t let that happen. Between the three of us, we’ll see something.”

She still wasn’t convinced. Actually, she felt almost depressed.

Severn leaned against the counter beside her, leaning close to look her in the eye. “If we don’t see anything, then we regroup and try again. But I have a feeling that tonight might just be the turning point. The stalker is obviously following your social media; using that against him will be the key.”

“We could post updates about tomorrow,” she said thoughtfully, “say we’re trying out a new restaurant or something. I don’t want to put a target on any one or any business, but if he knows we’re going to be out, he’ll be watching my stuff. It could draw him out again.”

“Exactly,” he said. “It might be risky, but it could also be our only chance to really corner him. The more he thinks he knows what you’re doing, the more we can figure out his moves before he makes them.”

“So we need to do this right,” she affirmed, leaning closer to him, her enthusiasm contagious. “We need to keep the audience engaged while still throwing him off.”

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