Tease Me (Private Listing #4)

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Peter pushes his hands into his hair and pulls. “It wasn’t my idea. It was those bitches.”

“Bitches?” I ask, as in more than one.

“Courtney and Andrea. They have this whole plan to take you guys down. If they weren’t so hot, it wouldn’t have been worth it. Fuck, it wasn’t worth it. They keep saying you guys are morally corrupt, but I don’t want to go to jail because these bitches didn’t get the job they wanted. They wanted me to pretend to be the stalker so Madison would leave.”

“Alex.” I motion to the other security officer.

“Come on. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Just don’t charge me. I can’t make it in prison.” Peter looks as panicked as he sounds. “Yvonne. Fuck, Yvonne is in on it. She tells us your schedule so we can go after new clients after doing research. She gave me the key card to get up into your apartment. Fuck, she had the black outfit all ready?—‍”

“That’s enough.” Patrick stands and gestures to Alex. “Save it for the police.”

Alex looks to me and I nod, wondering what the hell was wrong with Patrick. When the door closes behind them, Patrick sits.

“He’s obviously making shit up to save his own ass.” Patrick straightens the stack of papers in front of him. “He probably took that card himself. But none of this interview is admissible in court, so better to save it for the police.”

Maybe. But Peter was talking. We could have gotten more from him. Even if they were lies, it’s information to look into.

“The assault charge will stick while we gather more evidence to support our other claims.” Patrick sighs. “You’ll tell your assistant that we’ve got the guy?”

“Yes. It will take a load off her mind to know at least this guy’s been caught.” My eyes never leave Patrick. But Peter’s not the stalker. I had Cross look into him. He didn’t ever have contact with Madison before she started working here. There’s no intersection. Why did Patrick cut him off? What more did Peter know?

Coop clears his throat. “We should probably head back upstairs.”

When my gaze meets his, he gives me a subtle nod to come on. “Right. Thank you, Theo, for all your work.”

He dips his head at the praise as he grabs his stuff. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. That was fun.”

“Thank you, Patrick. Do you want me to walk you out?”

Patrick looks down at his phone. “No, I can find my own way out. I’ll head to the police station to give them the evidence. As always, if you need me, you know how to reach me.”

Patrick packs up his things and follows Theo. The door shuts, leaving Coop and I alone.

“Let’s review that tape again.” Coop stands. The tape of the security footage from yesterday at the receptionist station. We were trying to figure out who got the card and when. But now that we know who to watch out for, we might have better luck.

It doesn’t take us long to find Peter at the receptionist desk as Yvonne passes him the card, so subtly that had I not known that’s what was happening, I would have never realized it.

My phone has been going off, but we were too intent on the video.

Finally, I pick it up and look at the texts. Oh, shit.

“Coop, we have a problem.”

The door opens and Noah steps through the doorway. His hair is messier than usual. His eyes are wild and panicked. My heart plummets into my stomach.

“He’s got her.”

Coop

We head down to Yvonne’s desk. The elevator is so fucking slow, I think I’m going to lose my mind. My heart feels suspended, waiting to see what the fuck is up and what’s down.

We don’t know he’s got her, but she’s gone, and Blake said her phone is at her apartment. There’s no reason for her to leave us. We love her and she loves us. I can’t let my fear take over. I can’t let myself believe she left us willingly.

But if the stalker has her, that means Peter and Patrick are off the hook. They were both with us.

The doors open, and Yvonne sits there like all is right with the world. I should have guessed she was in on this. She always flirts with me like I’m her ticket out from behind that desk.

I stop the other two. “Let me talk to her.”