Firsts And Forever 04 - Gathering Storm by Alexa Land

Author:Alexa Land [Land, Alexa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-05-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The next couple weeks passed quietly. Brian and I kept living with Christopher and Kieran since I couldn’t quite make myself return to my apartment, and he and I continued to grow closer. We moved slowly, spending our days talking and our nights wrapped in each other’s arms. He was reluctant to jump into a sexual relationship though, so all we did was make out like teenagers. There was no hurry. We were both getting to know each other, and Brian was working through a lot of personal issues. I knew that when the time was right, we’d take that next step.

He’d begun twice-weekly therapy sessions with Doctor Natalie Holbrook, the woman who’d helped him when he first returned stateside, and had also started physical therapy. “I want to give us a fighting chance,” he’d said, and was really showing his commitment to getting better.

Since he took his bodyguard duties seriously, we were constantly together. I accompanied him to his appointments, reading People magazines from 2006 in the little waiting room at the V.A. while he met with the doctor. In turn, he went with me to the gym every day. We got him a membership and a personal trainer, and he built on what he was doing in physical therapy. Also, three afternoons a week, I met Kaia at a yoga studio in the lower Haight and took self-defense classes while Brian watched and learned along with me.

My stalker was absent during this time. There were no calls, no spray-painted messages, and according to my manager (who had texted me with an apology and was really making an effort to smooth things over – and not lose his most profitable client), no more letters had shown up at his office. It almost seemed like this person had lost interest, and that made me let my guard down a little, while at the same time worrying that he was going to disappear before the police could catch him.

But maybe things were about to change. Brad had pulled together a short-notice public appearance at an adult store in the Castro, where I would be signing autographs. I’d pitched the idea of making this event a fund-raiser for a local charity that brought meals to people living with advanced HIV, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. I figured some good should come out of this evening, whether or not the stalker showed up and was arrested.

The S.F.P.D. had assigned three officers to work undercover. Detective Sanchez wasn’t all that convinced the stalker would show, not in this kind of public, chaotic environment, so he’d been reluctant to pull a lot of personnel for this event. But the three cops would be placed strategically at every exit, so if the stalker came into the shop, his only way out would be through them.

I was nervous, especially about messing up and blowing the whole operation. If I saw him before any of the police officers did, it was vital that I didn’t react. The stalker had no idea that I knew what he looked like.

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