Page 10 of Saved from Obsession

“Will he know…” Georgia picks up her now empty water bottle and fiddles with it. “Will he know I’m there? If my stalker is supposed to find me…”

“You’ll be listed as the tenant,” I answer, “And your new address will be changed on all your records. Driver’s license, credit cards, forwarding address—if he found you both times after you moved from the city, he’ll be able to find you here, too.”

“Okay.” Her lips purse into a pink bow, “Won’t that take a long time, though?”

Cole jumps in to answer her question. “Nope. It’s already in the works. Leo is a whiz at computers, and a friend of mine from Texas—her name is Beth—is helping out. Between the two of them, everything will be changed by the time you move.”

I lift my chin at Cole in acknowledgement, then look back at Georgia. “It’ll take us a couple of days to get everything finalized. I’m sorry we can’t move you in sooner. If you don’t want to stay at your house until then, we have an apartment here that we use for clients. You’re welcome to use it.”

“I’ll stay with Gigi until you guys are ready.” Hayden is quick to answer. “I’ll drive with her to the new place and head home once everything is all set.”

“Are you sure, Hayden?” Georgia frowns at her friend. “You’ve already taken time off work, and I know you miss Boone.”

“Of course, it’s fine,” Hayden tsks at her. “You’re my best friend. And Boone is fine. He can wait to see me for another couple of days.”

Georgia looks like she wants to argue, but instead she presses her lips shut. After a pause, she shifts her gaze to mine. “Thank you. Really.” Her eyes slide to Cole and Rylan before returning to me. “I am so thankful to you all. I wish I could pay you something… Maybe once this is over, and I find a job, I can pay you back.”

Cole immediately shuts down the idea. He says kindly, but firmly, “We won’t take your money, Georgia. Don’t even think about it.”

After another flustered round of thank yous from Georgia, I give Hayden the address of the duplex and tell her I’ll be in touch to set up the time to meet there. Georgia thanks us one more time before Hayden gently tells her they need to leave.

I get up to walk them out, and we’re just about to leave the room when Georgia’s phone starts to vibrate in her purse. Her entire body tenses, her spine going razor straight, and she stops so abruptly Hayden almost runs into her. She looks at Hayden, her eyes dark and conflicted.

“Go ahead,” Hayden urges. “If it’s a message from the stalker, these guys should see it.”

Georgia sighs heavily, her shoulders collapsing. She whispers, “okay,” and reaches into her purse. With a shaking hand, she pulls out her phone, swiping the screen to read the text that just came in.

After a moment, she lets out a shocked gasp, sharp and full of fear. All the color drains from her face and she starts to shake, little tremors wracking her body. Her fingers tighten around the phone until all her knuckles are white.

“G!” Hayden grabs her friend’s arm. “What is it?”

Georgia’s gaze is glazed and vacant—whatever she saw must have triggered her. She sways, and I wrap my arm around her waist without thinking. She doesn’t resist, just trembles against me as I lead her over to a chair. I’m not sure if she’s even aware of me, or if she’s disassociated completely.

I kneel in front of her, placing my hand on her knee. Hayden hovers at Georgia’s side, worry etched into her features. Cole and Rylan are up from their chairs, but are standing back so as not to crowd her. Whenever Georgia comes out of the state she’s in, the last thing she’ll want is three big men surrounding her.

I should probably step back as well, let Hayden comfort her friend, but I can’t seem to make myself move away. Maybe it’s because I’ve dealt with PTSD myself, and I think there’s a chance I could help her. Or is it because I can’t bear the thought of leaving Georgia when she’s suffering?

Hayden is speaking quietly to Georgia, reassuring her she’s okay. Georgia is still shaking, her skin chalk-white, breath sawing in and out in painful gasps. I rub my thumb across her knee, keeping my touch gentle and soothing. Adding my words to Hayden’s, I keep saying softly,you’re safe,we won’t let him hurt you, andeverything is going to be alright.

After several minutes, her breathing evens out, and awareness blinks back into her eyes. The blankness is replaced by fear and confusion, and her gaze jumps back and forth between Hayden and me. She doesn’t say anything—her jaw is locked and her lips are trembling—I think she’s doing everything she can not to fall apart in front of us.

I slide the phone from her icy hand, but I can’t read the message without asking Georgia to unlock it. Which I’m not going to do right now, not when she’s so obviously upset.

But Georgia surprises me. She takes the phone back and looks at it long enough to unlock it, then shoves it away like it’s poisonous. Hayden leans over as I open the message, and we both recoil at the same time—what’s on the screen is much worse than I could have imagined.

It’s a video compiled of dozens of images, all of them photos of Georgia. Some are posed shots, others taken from behind by someone who was clearly following her. And some of the photos are the ones I saw in the police report, taken in the hospital, a line of black stitches running up Georgia’s face. Throughout the video, messages splash across the screen, hateful words and violent threats.

It’s awful, made even worse because the target is this vulnerable woman sitting in front of me. A blaze of anger rushes through me—I want to track down the person who sent that video and beat them bloody. Torture them just like they’re torturing Georgia.

“Let me see.” Cole walks up behind me, and I thrust the phone back toward him.

Speaking over my shoulder, I say quietly, “Send me the video. I’ll try to find out where it came from later.” I doubt the sender left anything identifiable in the video, but if there’s anything there, I’m going to find it.

“I’m sorry.” Georgia whispers the words to her lap. “I didn’t mean to…” Two bright spots of pink appear high on her cheekbones. “I’m so embarrassed…” She swallows hard, her features crumpling, then she buries her face in her hands.

She hunches over her lap, her hair falling in long curtains on either side of her face. Her shoulders shake with silent sobs—even when she cries, she’s hiding it. Hayden looks miserable, distress pulling her mouth into a grimace. And I’m struck with the irrational desire to fold Georgia into my arms, rub her back, and hold her until she stops crying.

Rylan appears out of nowhere with a box of tissues, handing them over to Hayden. He returns to stand beside Cole—both of them have matching expressions of unhappy concern. Hayden hands over a few tissues and I watch as Georgia pulls herself together, straightening up, wiping her face, and sucking in long shaky breaths.

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