Page 25 of Reckless Single Daddy

But right now is not the time to think about my potential relationship with Sloane. Right now is about digging for clues about this potential stalker.

I return to the rental property, parking my Porsche behind the house so it’s out of sight from the road. I get inside and set up my laptop in front of the window adjacent to the Bennetts’ house, giving me a clear view should anything nefarious take place.

Uneasiness sets in as I keep my eyes peeled on the house. I can already tell it will be a long night. It isn’t that I expect the stalker to return, especially not tonight, but you can never rule anything out.

When I look down at my computer, I begin to research the most basic of clues, like stalking incidents in Rose Valley and crimes in Rose Valley. Really, anything that would elicit a result. But nothing solid comes up. Rose Valley is safe, for the most part, unless you count teenagers committing petty theft because they’re too bored to do anything else.

I sigh long and hard, racking my brain for every other possible lead, but I keep drawing a blank. Truthfully, I don’t think this has anything to do with my ability to strategize, but more like I can’t think anything clearly when other things are going on inside my head. Staying focused on the task at hand is going to be a problem.

“What the hell am I doing?” I ask the mostly empty room. This is insane, and not because I feel this inherent need to protect Sloane with every ounce of me, but because I’m literally doing a stakeout from my rental property. Despite how efficient that would be, I can’t stay here when I have Liam to think about.

Conflicting feelings loom over me, and I have no choice but to sit in silence as they eat at me like carnivores. The silence becomes deafening, saying all that it needs to. I miss Sloane. I miss her like air in my lungs. I know I just saw her, but I’d be lying to myself if I thought I’d be okay if I didn’t give this relationship a real fighting chance.

I sigh deeply as I take my phone out, my thumb hovering over Sloane’s number. If I call her, she could view my checking up on her, despite that she shut the door in my face, as proof that I truly care about her. That isn’t something that just goes away, especially when I’ve known her so long. Still, she doesn’t want my help, and most likely doesn’t even want to talk to me. If I hover or contact her when she isn’t ready, it’d only push her away further.

I put my phone down on the table, resolving that I’ll try again later. In the meantime, I look over the short letter to her, expecting to find any clues that would point me in the right direction. But unfortunately, nothing of use manages to turn up.

My phone vibrates, and I pick it up to see Mike’s name flash on the screen. Liam is still over at his house hanging with Landon, so I hope everything is okay.

“Hey, Mike, is everything alright with Liam?” I ask as I try another random search on the laptop, with no results.

“Oh, yeah, he’s great,” Mike answers. “He and Landon are having a Nerf war before they go to bed, but I actually wanted to talk to you about something important.”

Suddenly, I feel this sinking feeling inside me. Does he know about Sloane and me? What we’ve done? My stomach does flips as my nerves go into hyperdrive. Sloane’s a grown woman, but Mike will probably always see her as his baby sister.

I let out a shaky breath. “What’s going on?” Yes, that’s good. Keep him off the trail and ask the most mundane and basic questions to keep him from getting too close.

“Sloane called me and told me she came across a strange note in the family mailbox.”

I close my eyes, preparing for him to bring me into the middle of it, but the verbal beating never comes. She must have kept me scrubbed from the story, which I’m grateful for. I’m not ready to have to hash all that out with Mike. Not when we have more important matters to attend to, like dealing with this potential stalker.

“Seriously?” I ask, feigning surprise as I continue to keep Mike off my tail.

“Yeah, I’m going to need your help with this,” he says.

My help could mean one or two things: first, it could mean using my financial resources to secure her safety, but this is a stalker. Something tells me this person isn’t here to kill her. I think if they were, they probably would have tried by now.

No, this person is calculated. They’re hoping if Sloane is scared enough, she will do what they want. Whatever that is, I don’t know, but Sloane might.

The second thing is my connections. We don’t ask questions about where these connections come from; we just know that they exist and are at my disposal should I need them. Something tells me that they will be helpful for this particular operation.

“What do you need?” I ask Mike as I sit up straighter.

He sighs. “I’ll need you to keep an eye on Sloane for me. I don’t want her to be alone, so if for any reason she’s going to be, have her notify you so you can keep her company.”

I look around where I’m sitting, as if reminding myself that I am already looking over her. “Of course. What else can I do?”

He clears his throat. I listen to the screen door slam as he steps outside to finish our conversation. “I need you on standby,” he answers. “I know you’ve been out a long time, but—”

I make a noise and cut him off because I don’t even have to think about this. If I have to resort back to the various techniques I learned in the past, I’ll do it. It doesn’t matter that it screwed me and my family over long ago. It doesn’t matter that I walked away years ago.

Like a ghost, that part of my past will haunt me well into the afterlife.

I sigh. “Mike, I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect her.”

I listen to him breathe a sigh of relief as if he thought I’d say no, but these are the Bennetts we’re talking about.

And this is Sloane, and I would do anything to keep her safe.

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