Page 4 of You Found Me

You want a man to take charge.

Message received, loud and clear.

You can count on me.

Yours now and always

Della sucked in a breath as icy fingers of fear raced up her spine. The words “I see you” felt like they’d been whispered in her ear. Like someone was standing right behind her. Watching.

She whirled around, but nobody was there. “Who’s in here?” Her voice came out breathy and weak and not at all like the command she’d intended.

She cleared her throat and tried again. “Anybody here?”

Nobody answered.

Of course they didn’t. She was alone in here.

Right?

She crept toward the bathroom, unable to stop herself from checking to see if it was empty.

The door to the dressing room opened and she jumped, her heart lodged in her throat.

Laughter spilled in with Piper, Mattie, and Lizzie.

Della crinkled the paper in her hand. Her instinct was to get rid of it before her sisters could read it. They’d totally freak out. She shifted, hoping they wouldn’t notice anything unusual, butMattie’s gaze found hers the second she stepped through the door, and there was no way Della could hide the look that had to be on her face. Not from Mattie.

Mattie froze in the center of the room. “What’s wrong?”

Piper and Lizzie stepped around Mattie to get a look at Della. The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at her with identical expressions of growing concern.

“What happened?” Lizzie asked.

“Somebody steal the Gatorade?” Piper asked.

“I guess I have a fan.” She kept her voice light as she waved vaguely in the direction of the flowers. The initial shock had passed, leaving her feeling a bit foolish at being so jumpy.

“A fan.” Piper peered at her like she suspected a lie. “What kind of fan?”

“What do you mean you have a fan?” Mattie asked, tension making her voice squeak.

Piper snatched the letter out of Della’s hand and started to read. Della tried to take the letter back, but Piper held it away.

“What’s it say?” Lizzie huddled over the letter with Piper.

Piper’s expression turned grim. “This guy knows where you live. He knows what hotel you’re staying in.”

“What?” Lizzie ripped the letter away from Piper and scanned it. One hand covered her mouth as she slowly sat on the nearby sofa.

“Sweet Jesus,” Mattie whispered.

Piper put a comforting hand on Mattie’s shoulder. “He didn’t sign it. Coward.”

Lizzie looked up at Della, worry etching deep lines on her forehead. “Do you have any idea who sent this?”

Della shrugged to ease the tension that had settled into her shoulders.

“This is…” Lizzie put her hand over her mouth.

---