Page 45 of Last Resort

The guys were mostly quiet as they ate. “Anything with Stella’s case?” she asked.

Chance stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. “We’ve been going through party footage from the last two months trying to find any repeats or patterns that we didn’t notice before.”

Luke ate a big bite of ramen. “So far, we’ve got nothing. No leads, no patterns, no suspicious faces. And the boys we chased were a dead end—they didn’t know anything. Nothing on Stella’s apartment security feed either.”

She pushed her food away from her, not feeling as hungry. “I guess I was pretty useless too.”

Chance pushed the food back toward her. “No. You survived and are healthy and whole. That is definitely not useless.”

“Would you mind if we ask you a few questions about the voice you heard?” Weston asked.

Chance turned and glared at him. Obviously, Chance had told them not to ask her about it.

Enough was enough. “Yes, please do. I want to help if I can.”

“You don’t have to,” Chance muttered.

She rolled her eyes. “What harm exactly do you think is going to come to me by trying to remember how the stalker sounded?”

“I don’t want it to upset you.”

She folder her arms over her chest. “You know what upsets me? Possibly being able to help stop a stalker but someone deciding for me that it’s too much, rather than allowing me to make my own decisions.”

There were snickers around the table but she kept her eyes on Chance.

He gave in with ill grace. “Fine.”

Now she turned to Weston. “What do you want to know?”

“Did you recognize the voice at all? Or maybe there was some sort of accent or noticeable trait?”

“It was a weird, spooky whisper. Like he was trying to be menacing.” As if him breaking into the apartment hadn’t been menacing enough.

“Do you think it could’ve been anyone you talked to at one of the events?” Brax asked.

She shook her head. “Not that comes to mind.”

“What about Rich?” Chance asked.

“Rich?” Maci turned to Chance. “Do you think it was him?”

“We aren’t sure. We’re trying to eliminate all possibilities.”

Maci thought back to the attack, to the voice echoing in her ears. “I don’t think so. Rich’s voice is warm all the time. The man who spoke was cold. Empty.”

Lifeless. The man who grabbed her had sounded lifeless.

“But then again, it was a sick whisper,” she continued. “I’ve only ever heard Rich’s regular voice. But still, I don’t think it was him.”

The brothers glanced at each other. Chance frowned again. “Alright, so not Rich. Could you pick the voice out if you heard it again?”

“Yes.” Maci knew that for certain. “It’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

“I know you didn’t get a look at his face, but what about smells or strange sounds?” Brax asked. “Anything you can remember will be helpful.”

She tried to think back, but other than the voice, everything else was a blur. “I’m sorry.”

“Would you mind if we try something, since he was behind you?” Weston asked.

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