Page 34 of Pulse
“Hey.”
I suck in a lungful of air and look at him through the tears in my eyes.
“I got you,” he says, his voice softer than before. His eyes shine. “You’re not in this alone.”
His kind, stupid words cause a solitary tear to roll slowly down my cheek.
“I feel like I might panic,” I say, swaying on my feet.
“Then panic.”
“But isn’t that like rule number one in security? Don’t panic?”
“You can panic because I won’t.” He motions for me to go to him. And I do. “Now, let’s go.”
Troy’s palm lays lightly on the small of my back, guiding me down the hallway.
“You’re not in this alone.”
For the first time in two days, I don’t feel like I’m one hard breeze away from being knocked to the ground.
I glance at Troy. His fingers flex against my back.
And if I am thrown down, I’m pretty sure he’ll pick me up.
Chapter Eight
Troy
I keep my eyes glued to Ford’s office at the end of the hall.
The pictures in Dahlia’s email are seared into my mind. As disturbing as it is to know someone was stalking her, it’s easier to think about them than the fear in her eyes.
There are so many things I want to say and more things I want to do. I want to know why she didn’t call me last night and how long this has been going on.
Who the fuck is this walking dead man?
I struggle to contain my rage. It takes everything I have not to explode and find the fucker who’s behind this.
But I don’t.
There’s a time for calm and a time for war. I need to be patient.
Someone will pay for this. And I’ll be the one to ring them up.
“Hey,” Dahlia whispers, coming to an abrupt halt. She looks at me with an unguarded fear that pierces my heart. “What are we doing? I’m just following you down the hall like a puppy.”
The hysteria swimming in her eyes earlier has faded, and I can tell she’s getting her wits about her again.
“We need to talk to Ford,” I say.
“But the email said not to alert the authorities.”
I pause and nod at Becca as she returns to her office. I wait for her door to close before I speak.
“The email is meant to intimidate you. You’re right. You don’t want to put this on a billboard until we get a handle on it and …” I stop short of sayingmurder the motherfucker who's behind this. “And neutralize the threat.”
Her lips twitch. “That’s not what you were going to say.”
