Page 19 of Stalked

“Yeah, that’s what I call him. I’ve kept everything since Detective Johnson showed me what to do.”

“And did he do anything with it? Did it go any further?”

“Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack the next day.”

Steve’s head snapped up. “Was he old?”

“Maybe fifty. And in pretty good shape.”

“That’s a damn unfortunate coincidence.” And probably a devastating blow for Rosalyn, to have found someone who wanted to help, then died.

“I thought so too until I got an anonymous email the next day about a drug that caused heart attacks.”

“What?”

“The Watcher killed Detective Johnson. He’s killed everyone I’ve told about him. I’m afraid you’ll be next.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Steve didn’t believe her.

He wasn’t overt in his disbelief, didn’t mock her or anything like that. But she could tell he didn’t think the Watcher was actually a credible threat. He thought Detective Johnson, a fifty-year-old policeman, had died of a heart attack.

It certainly happened all the time. Police work was stressful.

Her sister was also dead, but she’d been a drug addict. That happened all the time too.

She didn’t tell him about Shawn, the mechanic, who’d also died after she’d told him about the Watcher. Because she could already tell Steve thought she was exaggerating.

She’d recognized the placating look. The attempt to figure out how to convince her of reason without offending her. He didn’t want to add to her stress, but he also didn’t think there was anything sinister to her story.

Not to mention he was still pretty shocked about her reappearance and pregnancy. So she should probably cut him a little slack.

She hadn’t planned to drag him into this. Because whether he wanted to believe her or not, she knew it was true: the Watcher would try to kill him next.

Rosalyn wanted to run, to try to keep Steve safe. But she couldn’t anymore. She had to face the fact that soon it wouldn’t just be her. She’d have the baby. She couldn’t go back on the run with a child in tow.

She’d had six months of relative peace. Although she’d lived in fear every single night of the Watcher contacting her, he hadn’t. Rosalyn didn’t know why. She’d thought he’d given up, decided to leave her alone.

She’d made a huge error, she realized now, contacting her sister. It had not only cost Lindsey her life, but put Rosalyn back on the Watcher’s radar.

She knew she wouldn’t escape him again. Not without help.

Steve turned to her. “Look, let’s just sleep on everything tonight. We can discuss this more in the morning.”

She nodded. Maybe if she showed him the notes, he’d take her more seriously. Plus, she knew the questioning was nowhere near done on either side.

He was a cop and had deliberately withheld that information from her. She wasn’t mad, but it changed some things. Maybe he could help protect her from the Watcher.

Of course, Detective Johnson had been in law enforcement too, and the Watcher had killed him. But that had been before she had realized how far the Watcher would go. Until Johnson’s death Rosalyn had assumed only she would be his victim. She knew better now. When they met tomorrow, she would have to make sure Steve understood the danger he was in.

“Okay, what time do you want to meet tomorrow?”

Steve looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “I’m not leaving you here. You’re coming with me.”

She hadn’t been expecting that. “Why?”

“Multiple reasons. One, I don’t trust that you’re not going to be gone again in the morning.”

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