Page 65 of Further To Fall

“No problem. The detective from TMU should be here in about thirty minutes, so just sit tight,” Officer Hollis said and walked off.

Carter pinched my side, hard. “Ouch! Damn, woman.”

She scrambled off my lap as soon as my hold on her loosened. “It would have been nice to not talk to an officer of the law while straddling you, Austin.”

I grinned. “I’m sure she’s seen way more scandalous things than that.”

Carter huffed. “Come on, I want to go see Liam, and it looks like Blue is losing his mind since I walked away.”

“Okay, let’s go.” I grabbed her hand, interlocking our fingers. I didn’t want Carter out of my reach for a second. She was just going to have to get used to never being alone until they caught this creep.

34

Carter

Isat on the couch crammed in between two very angry alpha males. Ever since the cops had cleared my room, and Austin and Liam had peeked inside, rage had been coming off them in waves. Now, silence reigned as the detective from the LAPD Threat Management Unit jotted down notes in a very cop-looking notebook. We had just finished telling Detective Massey everything about the events of the past few months. He looked up from his pad. “Have you noticed anyone following you? Have any hang-up phone calls? Received any strange emails? Anything along those lines?”

Austin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees but turning his face towards me. “You had that weird hang-up when we were at the gym, remember?”

I grimaced at what I now had to share. “Yeah, and I’ve gotten a few more this week.”

Austin’s teeth clenched, but it was Liam who spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I twisted my fingers in my lap. “I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time.”

Detective Massey interrupted our back and forth. “Was there a number on your screen?”

“No, it always saysUNKNOWN CALLER.”

“Does the person say anything, or can you hear anything in the background?”

“I only answered the first two or three times. I could hear faint noises in the background, but nothing discernable. After that, I would just let any unknown numbers go to voicemail. The person never leaves a message.”

Detective Massey made a few notes. “Keep letting the calls go to voicemail. You want to minimize any possible contact with the stalker. We’ll pull your phone records and see if we can trace the call.” I nodded.

“I want you to make a list of anyone who might have a grudge against you. Ex-boyfriends, someone who made abnormally strong advances towards you, anyone in your life you’ve had a falling out with. Anything you can think of. We’re also going to look into the man you have a restraining order against.” I shuddered as I began mentally compiling a list of people who could possibly want to hurt me. How much did someone have to dislike me to qualify for this lineup? “Austin, have you had any issues with overzealous fans or stalkers?”

Austin was strung tight, I could feel the constant flexing of muscles as we sat side by side. “Overzealous fans? Yes. Stalkers? No. The UFL and my head of security will have a list of anyone who’s been banned from my fights for any reason.”

“I’ll get in touch with them for a list but, in the meantime, I want you to keep an eye out for any fans who are particularly angry that you’ve gotten a girlfriend. Since this started before any photos of the two of you were published, I’m leaning towards it being someone one or both of you knows. That doesn’t mean they’re someone you’ve been close to. A stalker can literally be anyone. It could be the barista at the coffee shop you go to every day.”

Panic began to rise up inside me. Austin leaned back into the couch and pulled me against him. “It’ll be okay, we’re going to figure this out.”

“I know it can be overwhelming, but the more information you can provide, the better. My goal isn’t to scare you, but to make sure you are as cautious as possible while we identify the perpetrator. I’m seeing a clear escalation in behavior. These latest two incidents show that the unsub is turning violent. From now on, I want you to avoid going anywhere alone if possible. Keep your phone with you at all times, even in the bathroom. Can you stay with a friend for the time being?”

“She’ll be staying with me from now on.” Austin practically growled the words. He tilted his face towards mine as if expecting me to argue. He would get no arguments from me. I wasn’t an idiot, and I was freaked. “I live on gated property and have a state-of-the-art security system. I also have security who works for me on fight weekends and when I do appearances, so I’ll see about having a couple of them patrol the perimeter of the property.”

I squeezed Austin’s hand. “You don’t have to go to that extreme.” The look he threw me had me going silent again.

“It’s actually not a bad idea. If you have the resources, you might as well use them. It’s a better-safe-than-sorry kind of scenario,” Detective Massey chimed in.

I nodded and leaned back into Austin’s side. His muscles were still strung tight, but he ran a gentle hand through my hair. “I’ll have my security contact you, and you can give them anything to be on the lookout for. They work with lots of celebrities, so I’m sure they’re not new to this stalker stuff.”

Detective Massey rose from his chair and flipped his notepad closed, the gold of his wedding band gleaming against his ebony skin. “Sounds good. Here’s my card. It has my cell on it. Call me at any time if you have any questions or notice anything concerning. Carter, plug that number into your phone so you know it’s me calling and aren’t alarmed.” It was sweet of him to think of that. Detective Massey had a fatherly feel to him. He was kind, thorough, and believed everything I told him, unlike the jerk cop I had dealt with after the first break-in.

I reached out a hand to shake his. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate your help.”

“Anytime, Carter.” He headed towards the door, calling out to the two officers who remained.

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