Page 66 of Sophia, Property of Tracker

“He’s gone. I can’t find him.”

I don’t reply. I sit there just staring at him. He sits on the bed next to me and holds my face. Then in a calm voice, he says, “Tell me what happened, baby.”

“I think I overreacted.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“It’s what he said that creeped me out.”

“What did he say?” he asks, and I hesitate to breathe.

Then I tell him everything.

“He said he heard us making love yesterday and that he can do better and wanted to show me to prove it to me.”

“What the fuck!” he shouts, standing and pacing the floor. “That fuckin’ man is dead. Iwillfind him, and Iwillkill him. I knew something wasn’t right about him when I saw him with you yesterday. I didn’t like the way he looked at you. It was like he wanted to eat you.”

“Please, Ryan,” I plead, getting up on my knees and edging closer to the bed. “Just forget it. He’s gone anyway.”

“I can’t forget it. I’ve known people like him before, Sophia. When I was an agent, I put men like him behind bars. But, nah…” he says, shaking his head. “He was watching us, probably jerking off at the same time. He’s a fuckin’ stalker, and the fact he offered to fuck you takes some balls.”

“Please, Ryan, sit down. Let’s not let him destroy our break. We were having such a good time.”

Running his hand down the back of his neck, he sits beside me, and I hold him to me. He rests his head on mine and kisses my forehead.

“I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I don’t want you back down there on your own, you understand? I don’t trust men like him. I’ll give him one thing, though, he has fuckin’ balls for trying to hit on you when I was only a few feet away. For now, I’ll forget it because I don’t want him to ruin our vacation. But if you see him again, you must tell me. Promise me.”

I nod and reply. “Promise.”

The rest of the day was spent sunbathing, swimming, and eating, but my mind was elsewhere, and Ryan knew it too. He kept asking me if I was okay, so I knew I wasn’t acting myself. I couldn’t help but be constantly casing the place to see if Matt was close by, but he wasn’t. He must have left when I responded the way I did. What did he expect me to do? These men are deranged.

We decide to go back to the house when the sun begins to set, and I tell Ryan I’m going to shower and get ready for dinner. He nods and heads out of the room, saying he needs to make a couple of calls.

TRACKER

Present

Once Sophia heads into the shower and I hear the water running, I head into the kitchen and dial Sam’s number.

“Hey, Ryan, how’s it going? You guys like the place?”

“Hey, man, yeah, it’s something else,” I reply, walking outside to shut the door behind me so Sophia can’t hear our conversation.

“I’m glad you like it. What’s up?”

“Listen, you have a gardener here, Matt. What company does he work for?”

“Gardener? I never organized a gardener. What are you talking about, Ryan?”

“Hold on a sec, Sam. You’re saying you didn’t ask for the gardener to come here this week?”

My hand squeezes my phone, and I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter into a million pieces.I knew there was something not right about that fucker.

“Nah, no gardener, Ryan. When I was down there two weeks ago, Pam and I cleaned up the yard. Who is this gardener you’re talking about? Was he on my property?”

“I gotta go,” I state.

“Wait, Ryan, what’s going on?”

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