69

NORA

In true PI fashion, the guy—Carl—lived as far away from human contact as possible. He owned a huge lot of farmland that Liam told me was merely a front for his much larger on-the-low operations.

Carl knew everything about everyone. And if you ever wanted some info or intel, he was the guy to call.

He didn't look like much, to be honest. He was a short balding man with shiny teeth and a single gold tooth. He was dressed in sweatpants and a compression shirt. Nothing like the movies.

When he led us through his foyer and into the living room, I couldn't help but notice how fresh his house smelled. Like flowers.

“Your home is lovely,” I complimented, earning a glare from my companion and a smile from Carl.

“Thank you. "Not many people are asking to point it out,” Carl gave Liam a pointed look before walking off to pull some files from a nearby shelf.

His home was truly lovely. It was large and the smell of flowers was sweet but also a little too overpowering. Almost like someone was trying to mask something with the scent. He had bookshelves in every corner of the room, all of them filled with books that I knew not to touch.

Liam was standing next to me, hands in his pockets as his eyes trailed Carl’s every movement. I frowned, whispering, “I thought you liked the guy,”

He almost scoffed, “I respect the man. They're two very different things.”

Our conversation was hushed, but somehow, Carl still heard it. “He’s right, you know,” he returned to the living area, brandishing a stack of files.

“Never trust anyone just because they smell nice,” the smile on his face faded when he transferred the files into Liam’s awaiting hands. “Remember that before you trust another dark-haired siren,”

I frowned, trying to get a peek of the files over Liam’s shoulder. I knew they were talking about Gemma. She was dark-haired and beautiful. Almost like a siren, she lured people in with her dark eyes, sweet-talking them until she had them right where she wanted. And then she struck.

Liam flipped through the files, a pensive look on his face as he pondered on the words I could barely see. He flipped a page that clearly had Gemma’s face slapped on it.

“That’s Gemma,” I declared, watching as Carl went to make himself a cup of coffee. He lifted a mug for me and I nodded. I looked away from him, settling my eyes on the pages Liam was still pondering.

They were all generic words about what she did, her age, and what she almost went to jail for. I was about to say this info was useless when my eyes trailed down to an unfamiliar name slapped right next to a photo of Gemma in a blonde wig.

Then I gasped.

“Why does it say her name is Lucy Buchanan?”

“Because it is,” Carl answered, making his way toward me with a sweet-smelling cup of coffee. I took it from him with thanks, but I was still confused. I glanced at Liam for answers, but he looked to be lost between the pages.

“Eight years ago, Liam called me about a stalker he had. "She was following him everywhere and harassing the women he chose to have relations with,” he sipped his coffee. “Naturally, I thought this was the typical case of a jilted ex-lover, but to my surprise, it wasn't,” his brows shot up to his head theatrically.

Mine drew together in confusion. “So just a weird stalker?”

“That's where things get tricky. She might not have been a jilted ex, but she was the roommate of one.”

Liam sighed, finally snapping back to life. He closed the files and let out another sigh. “Lucy was Emily’s roommate back in college. I never really noticed her even though she was around Emily a lot.”

I tamped down the wave of jealousy that threatened its way up my inside. Liam continued. “She liked the idea of me, I guess,”

He shrugged. “Stalked me, the women I slept with; she'd chase them down with knives. Then she would leave raunchy photos of herself and beg me to get off to them. She was fucking everywhere. So I got Carl to scope her out for me,”

Carl nodded, almost enthusiastically. Like he was proud to have been the one Liam Carter called for help. “I did just that. Figured out who it was and had her threatened so badly that she switched towns and schools.”

“Wow,” I muttered in amazement. “So what does she want now?”

Both men glanced at each other before turning their attention towards me. I blinked, eyes flitting between them. I shrugged my shoulders with my palms open.

“Carl has reason to believe she sees you as her next target,”

Both my brows shot into my hairline in confusion and surprise. I was a target? For what?

“Me? What the hell did I do?”

Carl shrugged, pointing a finger at Liam. “You spent Christmas with Mr. Arrogant.”

~

“I didn't get it. Liam and I didn't even know each other until we got thrown into the same room,”

“She must've believed you came in together,”

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. “That's fucked up,”

A whole goddamn stalker on my tail? What was this, a movie? I paced frantically around Carl’s living room, hoping to heaven that I wasn't drilling a hole into his wooden floorboards with my heels.

If this was true, then it all made sense. Pushing me at the slopes, hanging around Liam like he was the air she breathed, or so discreetly warning me off of him.

“But I don't get it. "What does this have to do with the idiot that groped me at the bar?”

Liam’s lips were clamped short, but Carl was willing to let me in on the details. “He’s inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Lucy—Gemma hired him to rough you up a little. Scare you,”

My blood ran cold for the second time tonight. The revelations were just too much for me to handle. First, Gemma was a certified stalker who had it out for me. Second, she'd been the one to hire a random man to shake me up a little. I needed a drink.

I staggered, falling into someone's waiting strong arms. Liam’s familiar scent enveloped me. The look on his face was both sympathetic and worried.

“Nora, it's going to be okay. Gemma can't hurt you,”

But I was unconvinced. After all, she'd hurt me once before.