Chapter 29: Alaina

Oh, my God, it was Brian. There was no mistaking it, and I pull the picture closer to me to make sure I’m not seeing things.

I shake my head disbelievingly. ‘Brian was quiet and shy; he didn’t seem to have an aggressive bone in his body; there must be some mistake,’ I say to the Detective but he shakes his head.

‘He has previous harassment charges in other states, Miss Winters,’ he informs me. ‘It seems that he gets infatuated with a woman very quickly,’ he finishes, shaking his head with ill-concealed disgust.

‘But I danced in the club for years. I never had a problem with Brian; he was never inappropriate.’

‘This has been most likely triggered when your relationship with Mr Frost became public knowledge. He appears to have been happy watching you from afar until that point.’

I sit, completely stunned and appalled.

‘So, have you arrested him?’ Lucas asks, breaking the tense silence, and I look towards the Detective for his answer.

‘Unfortunately no,’ he says regretfully.

‘Why the hell not?’ Lucas asks angrily, and I put my hand on his arm to calm him. He’s close to losing it, I can tell.

‘He’s not at his job or apartment, none of his family have heard from him…he’s in the wind,’ the detective turns to me directly.

‘Miss Winters, please be assured that every cop in this city has his picture as does every train and bus station and every airport security. He won’t get out of the city, and we will find him,’ he says sincerely.

‘What do I do in the meantime?’ I ask, and Lucas reaches out to take my hand.

‘I would remain living here, if that’s possible for the time being, so you’re not on your own in the evening. I understand that Miss Symmons is staying with her family?’ he enquires, and I nod my agreement, so he continues, ‘You should be OK going into work, as long as you travel with someone and you stay in the building until the end of the day,’ he instructs.

‘Please be assured, Miss Winters, that all these measures are just precautionary, better to be safe than sorry.’

I swallow hard. ‘Do you think he would hurt me?’ I ask, for the first time feeling afraid by what’s happening. I feel Lucas grip my hand tightly almost to the point of pain.

‘It’s always hard to say how these situations will play out, Miss Winters, but, generally, people like this tend to devolve as more time passes, so it’s not impossible,’ he says and I can see the sympathy in his eyes.

I feel panic rising in my chest and the hot sting of tears in my eyes. I dash them away angrily as they begin to fall. Lucas puts his arm around me and pulls me close to him, kissing my hair.

‘Just be watchful and careful, Miss Winters, and let us take care of the rest. We’ll have him off the streets as fast as we can, and I’ll keep you updated,’ he advises me as he stands. He shakes both my hand and Lucas’s, and Lucas shows him to the door. I sit where I am, stunned. How can this be happening?

Lucas comes back into the kitchen and pulls me straight into his arms.

‘Everything will be OK, sweetheart, I promise. At least the police know who they are looking for now, and we know who to look out for,’ he says soothingly, rubbing my back.

‘I’m going to get Stephan to take us and pick us up from work every day from now on, so that if I have a late meeting, I know that you will get home safely,’ he tells me as he draws away from me and pulls his phone out of the pocket of his pants.

‘OK,’ I shrug. ‘I’m going to text Carley and call my dad’, I tell him then head into the living room for my phone. I type out a quick text to Carley,

Hey, so turns out the guy harassing me is Brian from the club. U know, quiet one with a stammer. He’s MIA, cops are looking for him. Stay with your parents for now. I’m going to stay here at Lucas’s until they catch him. Be careful. xx

Once that’s sent, I look up my dad’s number and press dial. He answers after a few rings.

‘Hey, Lainey, how you doing kid?’ he asks. Just hearing his voice cracks my resolve and before I know it I’m crying again. Damn it.

‘Whoa, what’s happened?’ he asks, sounding concerned.

All the worry, stress and fear I’ve been bottling comes pouring out as I tell him everything about Detective Edwards’ visit and about Brian, finishing with where I’m going to be staying, and the things Lucas is putting in place for work. My dad doesn’t say a word; he just listens until I get it all out my system. It’s cathartic, and by the time I’m finished I feel better somehow.

‘Listen Lainey, just stay put, OK? I’ll follow up with Detective Edwards and get any other details from him. Sounds like Lucas is taking good care of you?’ he asks, and I smile.

‘Yes, dad. He’s taking good care of me. We’ll see you Friday OK?’ I ask, and he laughs.

‘Yeh, I’ll see you Friday. Call me if you hear anything OK?’

‘Will do, love you, dad.’

‘Love you too, Lainey. Be safe.’

We hang up, and I turn to see Lucas leaning against the wall, watching me with a smile on his face. I get up and walk towards him, wrapping my arms around his middle and snuggling into his chest. His arms wrap around me and he rests his chin on the top of my head.

‘So I’m taking good care of you, am I?’ he asks, and I can feel his smile.

‘You’re doing OK, so far,’ I tell him, and he laughs outright. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind me staying a bit longer? This was only meant to be for a couple of days,’ I ask him, feeling hesitant; everything was moving so fast.

‘Sweetheart, I love having you here; you can stay as long as you like,’ he reassures me, and I relax in his arms.

‘I’ve spoken with Stephan. He knows to pick us up and drop us home every night. He’ll use the SUV, so we’ll have the tinted windows too. Is that alright?’ he asks, and I nod, reaching up and kissing his lips gently.

‘It’s perfect, thank you. Thank you for taking care of everything.’

‘Anytime, anything.’