Page 58 of Stalked

It was so sick and yet made so much sense at the same time.

A serial killer who didn’t actually kill his victims. Drove them to killing themselves by isolating them from everyone they loved, by terrorizing them until they felt they had no other choice.

It took a special sort of evil to inflict emotional trauma of that magnitude.

Steve realized the Watcher could’ve killed Rosalyn at any time. She’d been alone, undefended, for months before she met him and months afterward. The Watcher hadn’t tried to harm her. It was only within the last few days that he’d turned violent toward her.

And actually, he really hadn’t turned violent towardher. True, he’d killed Rosalyn’s sister, but probably because he found out it was Lindsey and not Rosalyn. He’d also been trying to kill Steve, not Rosalyn; she’d just been near collateral damage.

Brandon cleared his throat, dragging Steve’s attention back into the room. “If you think about it, the fact that Rosalyn is still alive is a testament to her strength. We’re still gathering information about these other women, but so far it seems that none of them lasted as long as Rosalyn has.”

Steve stood. “Because she was alone a long time before the Watcher found her.”

“She doesn’t have family?” Brandon’s brow wrinkled. “That would go against our profile.”

“No, she has family. Just none of them have ever been there for her. She has, in essence, been alone her whole life.” Steve began restacking the files. “Let’s go tell Rosalyn what we’ve found. I think it will definitely help, not hurt. At least give her an understanding of what’s going on.”

Yeah, she’d been alone. But she damn sure wasn’t anymore.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Steve had been correct—telling Rosalyn about Jon and Brandon’s theory had been the right thing to do. She felt sad for the other women and angry that the Watcher seemed to be getting away with a horrible crime without anyone even knowing. But mostly she was relieved to finally understand what was happening.

“So he was trying to get me to kill myself.” She was sitting across the table from him, next to Andrea. Her voice was still soft but at least she didn’t look as fragile as she had before. “I almost did, you know. That night I met you.”

“He wanted you to feel that way,” Steve said.

“Yes,” Brandon agreed. “That’s his pattern. From what we can tell, he’s very methodical about what he does. Almost like this is some sort of experiment to him. He wants to see how far he can push each woman before she breaks.”

Jon nodded. “He’s smart. Knows about law enforcement. His notes are never threatening and don’t mention anything that would raise a red flag with police.”

“Like what?” Rosalyn asked.

“Anything that would show obsession. ‘We’ll be together forever’ sort of stuff. Instead the Watcher mentions normal everyday occurrences. Meals. Activities. Something a friend would mention casually, not someone obsessed.”

Steve sat down in a chair across from Rosalyn. “Because he’s not obsessed.”

Brandon nodded. “Exactly. He’s scientific. Experimental. He’s not obsessed with the women themselves, just what sort of reactions he can get from them.”

“And he doesn’t actually harm them himself,” Brandon continued. “But he uses tools of psychological terror instead—isolation, fear, imbalance. Then it’s just a matter of time before they crack.”

“You didn’t,” Steve told her.

A single tear escaped and rolled slowly down the side of her cheek. “I almost did. If I hadn’t met you that night...”

He leaned forward, closer to her. “But you did meet me, not that I was of much help at the time. And if you hadn’t, you still would’ve made it through. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

Her smile was breathtaking.

She now knew the Watcher’s endgame—her taking her own life—and she was bound and determined not to give it to him. It was all Steve could do not to pull her up into his arms right there in the conference room in front of everyone. She was amazing.

And she was his. She might not realize it, but he had no intention of letting her out of his sight even after this was over. The baby was part of that, true, but he wasn’t the only part. Steve wanted Rosalyn—with all her strength, beauty, radiance—in his life. If she would have him.

“The Watcher doesn’t hurt the women,” Steve finally said, “but he’s obviously not above violence. We’ve got a dead agent and Rosalyn has a dead sister that proves that. He’s a killer.”

“Yes, absolutely.” Brandon nodded. “But killing the others are him manipulating variables in his equation. A means to an end. I don’t think he’s killing because he likes it. He’s killing to further the reaction in his victims. To isolate them further.”

“Everything’s different now,” Rosalyn looked around the room. “He hasn’t got me isolated anymore. But he threatened the baby, Steve.”

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