Tease Me (Private Listing #4)

My gaze pivots to where I saw Yvonne earlier. She’s still there, talking to Courtney. I’ll need to verify that this is that access card and it was used to get up to the apartment level. It doesn’t have access to the actual apartment, so the guy had to know Madison would open that door.

Otherwise, I would have seen someone waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs when I went to find her. Unless I spooked someone away. If so, maybe a camera caught them.

“No one was inside. We checked everywhere.” The officer hands Seth back his card. Knowing these men were in our apartment, in Madison’s apartment, feels like another violation from the stalker. Our rooms were all locked, but not the play room.

Fuck. I’m sure they’ve seen worse, but I don’t like to advertise my kinks.

“Noah, Coop, and Madison are on their way to the hotel. We need to finish up here before we head over there.” Seth claps me on the back as we walk into the building.

When we reach the apartment, we check that everything is in order and nothing is missing. I’ll have a team sweep it for bugs and I’ll check the play room myself. We don’t know when he stopped pursuing Madison or how long he was alone in our space.

While Seth packs a bag for us, I go down to the lobby to meet with Bill.

“Sorry I couldn’t get this to you sooner.” Bill holds out a flash drive after I tell him what happened. “With this attempted kidnapping, we pushed the phone up the line, and I got our techs working on it. Pretty sure your stalker got to it before we did.”

I take the flash drive and turn it over in my hand. “What makes you say that?”

“You might want to watch that before you show Ms. Harris.” Bill nods to the drive and turns to look over his shoulder, but we’re all alone. “Pretty sure that’s a message for her from her stalker. Whatever Valerie might have had is long gone. We couldn’t recover anything from the memory besides what’s on that.”

A stone lodges in my stomach. He always seems to be one step ahead of us. “What’s next?”

“Keep an eye on her. If she feels threatened, tell her to call 911.” Bill clears his throat. “We don’t have a suspect to charge. But I can have some guys come by during their patrol.”

“Thanks, Bill.” I shake his hand. His hands are tied, but if something happens, he’ll help us out.

“Wish I could do more.” Bill lowers his head. “You staying here tonight?”

“No.” Our walls have been breached. I’m not sure any of us would put Madison at risk. “I’ll contact a personal security company in the morning.”

Bill nods. “That would be wise.”

We talk for a few more minutes about his wife and their grandkids before he leaves. The thumb drive burns in the palm of my hand. I’m not sure I want to know what’s on it, but I need to know in the same breath. Whatever it is, somehow this guy has to fuck up, and that’s how we’ll catch him.

Chapter 157

Message Received

Madison

“Water?”

“What?” I stop staring out the window at the twinkling lights of the city to focus on Noah and the glass he’s offering me. “Oh, thank you.”

I take it and drink. Noah sits in front of me on the ottoman.

“What do you need, kitten?” He runs his hand through his hair and I can see this isn’t the first time he’s done that. We’ve been in this suite for a while now. It was light when we arrived and now it’s dark outside, but I’ve been numb.

After the police took my statement and a picture of the red marks on my arm, Coop and Noah handled me. They got me in a car and drove me to the hotel. Coop led me to the shower, bathed me, and then bundled me in a terry cloth robe. They set food in front of me and I ate without tasting it.

I’m sure they talked to me or around me, but it’s like my brain just shut down and I gave my care into the hands of the men I love.

The cool droplets on the side of the glass run along my fingers. Noah’s concerned brown eyes lock with mine.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper and take another drink before setting the glass down. “I guess I checked out for a while.”

“We were worried.” He tugs on my robe, gently. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

I give him a small smile. “I’m good.”