The Protector (Game of Chance, #1)(63)

She felt all warm and fuzzy inside that he wanted to upgrade his internet system because of her. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. “Let me get my coat, and I’ll go with you,” Carlise said, turning toward the door.

Riggs caught her hand in his before she could take a step. “I’m thinking you should stay here. I’ll take my Jeep down the road, stop by your car while I’m out. I’ll check out the notifications, then come back.”

Carlise knew she should protest. Should insist this was her problem, and he shouldn’t have to deal with it. But a bigger part of her was relieved. It felt good—really good—to have someone looking out for her. The bottom line was, she didn’t know how she’d react if a flood of notifications came in the second she turned on her phone.

“Please? Let me do this for you, honey,” he said.

She nodded.

The relief that came over his face made her realize he needed to do this. She had a feeling if she’d insisted, he would’ve let her come with him, but the fact that he wanted to shield her from a possible onslaught of vitriol when he turned her phone on felt good.

“Stay here with Baxter. I won’t be long,” he promised.

“Okay.”

He studied her for a moment before nodding. She was glad he wasn’t hesitating, was going to get this done right now, even as a small part of her still wanted to postpone it for a little while longer. But she was a grown woman. And she needed to know one way or another.

She walked with him to the door and kissed him hard before he walked out with her phone and his keys. She watched through the window as he went to the small detached garage that obviously held his vehicle. He exited a moment later in a Jeep, waved at the cabin as if he knew she’d be watching, then powered down the path Bob’s truck had plowed when his friends had been here.

Taking a deep breath, Carlise turned, only to see Baxter standing three feet from her, studying her with a tilt of his head, as if he knew she was stressed.

“Hey, Bax,” she said softly. “He’ll be back soon.”

He didn’t move, just continued to stare at her with that all-knowing gaze of his.

Carlise walked around the dog, giving him plenty of space, and headed for the couch. She sat, not really wanting to read, and she didn’t bother to reach for her laptop. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate right now anyway.

To her surprise, Baxter walked around the couch and jumped up onto the cushion next to her.

He turned in a circle, then sat, his butt against her thigh.

Shocked and delighted, as she’d only been able to touch him once so far, Carlise very slowly ran her hand down his back. His spine wasn’t protruding nearly as much as it had when she’d first met him, and satisfaction swam through her veins.

Amazingly, she found herself relaxing. Whatever Riggs found when he turned on her phone, they’d deal with it. She was more excited that Baxter finally seemed to fully trust her. Either that, or he was trying to comfort her. She had a feeling it was a combination of both.

Whatever the dog’s reason for jumping up next to her, he’d taken Carlise’s thoughts away from the messages that might be on her phone. She couldn’t wait for Riggs to get back so he could see Baxter. As she continued to pet him, she smiled, which was the last thing she thought she’d be doing right now.



Chappy frowned at the phone in his hand. He’d expected to find some messages and texts, but he hadn’t expected to see hundreds of them. Carlise’s escape from Cleveland had not only not made her stalker back off, but it had also apparently escalated the situation.

His entire body tense, Chappy scrolled through the messages. They’d gotten more and more angry as the days went by. Whoever Carlise’s stalker was, he was pissed that he couldn’t find her. That she wasn’t responding to his messages. That she was apparently beyond his reach.

His stomach rolled. Carlise definitely needed to go into Newton and talk to the chief of police.

Alfred Rutkey had lived in Maine his entire life, was somewhat of a good ol’ boy, but Chappy respected him. He didn’t put up with shenanigans in his town, and he never hesitated to send help when someone was hurt or lost on the AT. Some small-town chiefs didn’t like to spend their hard-earned, somewhat-scarce budgets on what many assumed were wild goose chases, but Chief Rutkey wasn’t one of them.

Chappy was more relieved than he could say that Carlise wasn’t currently dealing with all these awful messages. As he scrolled through the texts, his anger continued to rise. How dare someone treat another human being this way? How dare he feel as if Carlise owed him something?

The latest texts were the most concerning.

Unknown: Where are you, bitch?

Unknown: You think you can hide from me? There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t find you.

Unknown: Eventually you’ll have to come back, and when you do, I’ll still be here. Waiting. Watching.

Unknown: How’s your mom doing? She looked pretty relaxed at the library. Too bad about that flat tire she got the other day.

Unknown: Women were made to obey. To be subservient to men. The problem with the world is people like YOU. You haven’t gotten it through your thick skull that you’re nothing without a man telling you what to do.

Unknown: Where the fuck are you?! You’re going to pay big time when I find you!