Page 81 of Luke, The Profiler

I glanced at Nix. We were in my dining room, an overnight bag on the table and bulging at the seams as I shoved my trusty old BB gun case into its already-full depths. It was the only gun I’d kept from my childhood, because it looked like a real handgun and seemed like the best choice when it came to home security. Sure, it wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. “That’s why I’m hurrying. If Mr. Dick Pic did start a fire at Bebe’s place, it’s going to take him a while to get all the way up to the North Shore. I’d like to get there before he does.”

Nix tilted his head in faint acknowledgment. “And you want to go to HEG because…?”

“I need to talk to someone there.”

“They came up with an invention for that kind of thing. It’s called a phone.”

“Ha-ha.”

“I’m serious. Who do you need to talk to that it’s so important you have to talk to them face-to-face?”

I took a deep breath and dived in. “Cobee Bruno.”

Nix’s expression shut down. “Luke should’ve never told you about that.”

“Nix, I’m hurt. You really think I needed Luke to tell me about Cobee?” I grunted a bit as I wrestled with the bag’s heavy-duty zipper. “I figured out who was behind my original stalking a while ago, and I confronted my father with my evidence. He’s the one who coughed up Cobee’s name. Not to mention Luke would never be so unprofessional as to just blurt that out to a protectee.”

“But you’re not just any protectee, are you? I never thought any woman would be able to topple that guy—too smart for a thing like moony-eyed hearts and flowers. But here he is, running around like a chicken with his fucking head cut off because he can’t think straight and do his job when it comes to you.”

That stung. “In what way is Luke running around like a chicken with his head cut off?”

“Well, he did quit because of you.”

I went still. “He quit PSI? When?”

“A couple days ago, and he un-quit about five minutes later. But it was because of you. He’s been a fucking train wreck from the moment you two met.”

I took that in and let it roll around in my head for a while before going back to my wrestling match with the bag’s zipper. “I had no idea I was so dangerous to the fragile male psyche. And maybe that’s true—maybe I am dangerous when it comes to most men. But not Luke. Underestimate his psyche—and everything else about him—at your peril. He’ll eat you for lunch and not even remember the meal as he walks away. And as for him running around like a chicken with his head cut off, nothing could be further from the truth. Every move Luke makes has been calculated a dozen times over, while the rest of the world maybe had the time to put one thought together. You can’t begin to comprehend his genius, and neither can I. He’s that much ahead of us, and that’s why you should watch your damn mouth when you’re talking about him—especially around me. Am I making myself clear?”

Nix seemed taken aback by the ferocity in my response before a huge grin split his bearded face. “Yeah, crystal clear. You’re hooked, too. Good deal.”

I stared at him, outraged. “Wait. You were testing me?”

“Nah, not even close,” came the shrugging reply. “You and Luke pull that sort of mind-game crap on people all the time, but me? I go with my gut. Until about five seconds ago I genuinely thought you were wrong for my guy, because I’ve never seen him like this before—emotional, impulsive. That’s not good for the lifestyle we have, and if you’d just shrugged like you didn’t give a shit, I would’ve done everything I could to get you out of Luke’s life. But you just stood up for him. Defended him. Told me off. So in my mind you’re good.”

“Oh… kay.” Not quite sure what to do with this bearded mountain man’s official stamp of approval—though part of me felt very much like there should be some sort of Viking-level celebration where we kill a stag and dance naked around a bonfire—I turned my attention back to the bag and finally got the stupid thing closed. “All right, that’s it, I’m ready to go. Do you have any final instructions for me?”

“I still think you should let me drive you.”

I sighed. “Nix, we’ve had this conversation not once, but twice. I’m trying to lure my stalker out into the open. That’s why I didn’t have anyone nearby at the press conference. That’s why I insisted that I drove myself home to pick up some fresh clothes—”

“And a BB gun.”

“And a BB gun,” I nodded, ignoring his sneering contempt for my choice of weapon. “And it’s why I’m insisting on driving myself to HEG. He’s a coward, my stalker, so I have to have the appearance of vulnerability. Traveling around with muscle-bound bodyguards that look like they eat lions for breakfast isn’t the way to do that.”

“Bears,” Nix said, deadpan. “We eat bears for breakfast. Lions are for dinner.”

“Lions, tigers, bears—none of it would surprise me.” I shouldered the bag and scooped my keys up off the table, my fingers trying not to miss the pewter mailbox keychain that had become my talisman over the years.He doesn’t give a shit about you… “I’m ready.”

“Go the speed limit and don’t change lanes once we get on the freeway,” he said, just like he had before we left the hospital. “Keep your eyes open but don’t be too obvious about it. Echo and I will follow in a loose tail, and we’re the ones who will do the looking for you. If you grow a tail, it’s our job to spot it and take care of it. Your job is to go from point A to point B without faltering. Do not stop foranyreason. Understood?”

“Understood.”

It took nearly half an hour to drive to the sprawling property that had once been my home. Luckily for me and my bodyguards, there was always a certain amount of traffic going in and out of HEG, which had a parking lot that could rival that of an amusement park’s. I chose to park close to the back—not great for security purposes, but awesome for access to the greenhouses. At the last minute I took the BB gun out of its case and shoved it in my purse before I left my car and made a beeline for the main greenhouse. It took all my strength not to look around to find out where Nix and Echo were, but I did keep an eye out for anyone who might be taking a special interest in me.

That was a tall order. Even though I’d been gone for three years, people involved in HEG knew me. Now, with my father in the hospital and the future of HEG up in the air, it didn’t surprise me that the few people I passed on my way to the main greenhouse looked at me with wide, questioning eyes.

Any one of them could have been my stalker.

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