Page 27 of Something to Believe In
He nodded. "Or Lacey."
Officer Danton jotted in his notepad. "Do you have last names?"
He didn't know Doug's last name, and it was not the time to call him Doug Dickhead. He glanced at Mads, and she responded. "Doug Schmidt."
"Do you know how I can reach Mr. Schmidt?"
Mads pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped Doug's name. She turned it toward the officer, and he jotted down Doug's number.
Officer Danton nodded. "How about Lacey?"
Axel shook his head. "She's a fan and got herself into the press panel a couple of nights ago."
Mads cocked her head. "And since then, he's gotten a handwritten note in his mailbox and a shoe box with a rose in it dropped on his front porch."
Officer Danton turned to look him in the eye. "Was this Lacey the one who wrote the note and delivered the rose?"
"I don't know."
The officer jotted some things down, then took his phone out and began snapping pictures. When he walked around the passenger side of the car, his brows rose into the air. He snapped pictures, loaded them with descriptions, and took their phone numbers in case he had questions.
Axel walked with Officer Danton to his squad and softly said, "Did you see a car on the road when you drove down here?"
"No, I didn't. Why do you ask?"
"I thought I heard a car stop on the road leading to this cabin when we got here. I should have walked out to check, but I didn't."
"Did you notice anyone following you on your way here?"
"No."
"I'll say this. I'd stay inside tonight. I'll ask the night duty officer to drive by a couple of times tonight and make sure no one is lurking about. And you may want to take your car in tomorrow and make an appointment to have it fixed. Driving it as is sure calls attention to you."
"Yes, sir. I'll do that."
Axel stood back as the officer left the driveway. His chest felt heavy, and anger still flowed through his veins. After Officer Denton turned off the private road, Axel turned toward Mads, who stood near the steps of the cottage.
"Let's go inside, honey."
She swallowed and nodded. He followed her into the cottage. Then he went around and checked all the windows and locked the two doors. So much for feeling safe and secure. Once the entire cottage was secured, he turned to Mads, who stood stone-still in the middle of the living room.
"We can go," he said.
Her eyes moved to his. "Where?"
He nodded and shrugged. "A hotel."
She stared at him for a long time. "Safety in numbers?"
"Right. It wouldn't be as private, but it would be more secure."
"I think I prefer that. I'm sorry, you made arrangements for this place."
He huffed out a breath. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we feel safe. So let's go to town and get a hotel. It's only about a ten-minute drive, and we'll have the security of being somewhere safe for the night."
She nodded. His shoulders tensed again, just when he'd relaxed. But he knew they wouldn't get any sleep here. Tomorrow cameras would be installed at his place. They'd be able to sleep there and feel more secure.
He strode to the bedroom and picked up their bags. Mads waited by the door for him. As soon as he neared the door, she unlocked it and opened it for him. He grinned as he passed by and waited on the porch for her to close the door. "Push the lock button to secure it, Mads."
