Page 78 of The Daredevil

While watching a crime show with Royce, I started to drift off to sleep. I sensed his arms carrying me somewhere. With my eyes closed, I asked, “Where are you taking me?”

“Shhh. Just sleep, baby. I’ve got you.”

His soothing words tucked me in for the night.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE

ROYCE

I saton the edge of my bed, watching Michelle sleep peacefully. I wanted her in my bed so I could feel her warmth tonight and know she was safe.

Tonight’s revelation shifted my perspective. It explained the attraction I had to her. This connection we shared was beyond anything I’d experienced.

She made a soft sound, and her eyebrows furrowed as though she was having a nightmare. I clasped her hand, trying to let her know I was there. We had shared a kiss when she was eighteen and I was twenty, eleven years ago. Though that lip contact had been me saving her life and not a passionate kiss between lovers, it was still an unforgettable moment. That had been our first meeting, and now fate was ready for us to meet again as adults who had gone through several trials and torments.

Rising from the bed, I glanced at her once more. Her brown hair was a wild mass of curls over my pillow. She was so beautiful, and it hurt to know how dark her life had been. I wished I had been there to help her. But back then, I had my own shit to deal with.

Would we have connected the same way if I had known her? My priorities back then were to get my master’s, enroll for my doctorate at Stanford, and grow my excursion business. A serious relationship hadn’t been on my radar. So even if we had dated, I wouldn’t have been able to give her the attention she needed.

But now I could, and I treasured the opportunity. My powerful feelings for Michelle had been sown a long time ago. It had rooted over time, unseen, and yet just as powerfully. When I saw her that day during the thunderstorm, I felt the spark coming from somewhere deep. Now I understood where.

I brushed a hand over her cheekbone. “Sweet dreams.” Shutting the door quietly, I walked to my office.

It angered me that Michelle’s mother hadn’t been as supportive as she should have been. A mother should always be there for her child, listening to their concerns. When my mom was alive, she did her best for me. Though she worked a lot, she put me in a good school and listened to what I had to say. We only had each other. Even when she was dying, she made sure I was taken care of. But I also had a father who abandoned his family. I supposed there were all kinds of parents out there.

As I sat at my desk,my phone rang with an anonymous caller. The PI used various numbers when contacting me. At first, I only wanted to hire him for a temporary job, but now he was an asset.

My thoughts returned to all the chaos surrounding us, and I picked up the call. “What do you have for me?”

“Fiona Clark’s phone shows text messages about wanting to scare Michelle with her friend. I’ll send you some images. Nothing about planning any actual events, though. I’ll keep tabs on her and let you know if something comes up. I got a recording from a neighboring building on the day of the explosion. Everything is in the encrypted email.”

“Thanks.”

Fiona had been a thorn in my side, but now she had crossed the line. Stalking and annoying me was one thing, but hurting the woman I cared about was another.

After a few more minutes of updates on other jobs he’d been working on, I ended the call and opened the email. Browsing through the images of chats between Fiona and her friend Brittany, I concluded Fiona hated Michelle. But nothing showed concrete proof that she’d hired anyone. I had a plan to deal with her.

The recording from the PI showed the face of the guy who had run from Michelle’s building: he was the thief who had snatched her purse. I made a copy and sent it to Ludvik, saying that a neighbor had offered the recording to help the investigation. Hopefully, with his new information, his men could apprehend the asshole before I got to him. At least with the police, he’d be going to prison. With me, he’d be in the ground. I’d never forget that day when Michelle could’ve been in her apartment during the explosion.

From my recollection of the thief, he was taller than the stocky man who had shot at me. Were these two incidents separate or connected?

My phone rang again, and I glanced at the number. “Ludvik, did you get my email about the recording?”

“No. I haven’t gotten to my desk yet. I’m calling regarding the shooter.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s your employee, Oskar. One of our men recognized him when he shot at them. They fired back, and he fell into a ravine. His body hasn’t been located.”

I blinked at the shock of Oskar’s name. He had been a stellar employee. What had he gotten himself into? If he had wanted me dead, he would’ve aimed the shot at me and not elsewhere.

“Thank you for the update. Please keep me posted on any other news.”

The police department would do what they could, but I needed to know who had killed Oskar.

I spent the rest of the evening looking into Oskar’s employment. Did his wife know anything?

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