Free Someone To Watch Over Me by Taylor Michaels Page B

sake, he
thought.
    Shawn closed the door, stepped around the
front of the SUV and cautiously approached the driver’s side. He
recognized it, a dead rabbit. The son-of-a-bitch had placed road
kill on his vehicle. The blood was still wet and the few organs
that peeped through the fur were still moist. Taking the note off
the windshield, he read it. “You’re next.”
    Shawn folded the note and placed it in his
jacket pocket before he went to the back of the SUV and opened up
the tailgate. He reached into the metal box in the back, pulled out
a pair of disposable vinyl gloves, and donned them. He’d seen much
worse in his days on the LAPD but his stomach still tightened and
churned as he gently lifted the rabbit from the windshield. He set
it in a trash receptacle a few feet down from his vehicle, removed
the gloves carefully so as to not touch the external surface, and
dropped them inside.
    By the time he returned to the driver’s door,
Morgan sat in silence and stared at the mountains in the distance.
“This has got to stop.”
    “It will,” he replied.
    “When?” Morgan snapped. “I have a fundraiser
at the end of the week. I can’t go into hiding. Too much depends on
this. Do you have any idea what this is like? Have you ever been in
my shoes?”
    Shawn looked at her. Her cheeks were flushed
with anger and her eyes had a fierce edge to them. Textbook
response, he thought grimly. First shock, next denial, now
anger.
    “No Morgan, I haven’t.”
    She glared at him as she took deep rapid
breaths and looked like an Amazon warrior ready for battle.
    Shawn looked down and studied his keys in
stoic silence. She was right. He had handled situations like this
several times, but he had never been in her place. He’d never been
the object of a stalker.
    “I don’t know what it is like to be in your
shoes. I’m sorry if I’ve come across as unsympathetic, but-”
    Before he could finish Morgan interrupted
him. “Shawn, no, I’m sorry.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I
shouldn’t have lost my temper with you.”
    “Whoa.” Shawn’s head snapped up. In all the
years he had been in the security business, he could count on one
hand the number of times a client had apologized after dumping all
over the security team. Miss Morgan Kennedy had managed to do what
rock stars and movie idols had never done, seriously impress
him.
    “No problem,” he replied quietly as he
slipped the key in the ignition and started the engine. “Now, let’s
go to my office and get a look at the security footage,” he
growled.
    ***

Chapter 7
    How could I have snapped at him? Morgan slumped into the seat and stared out the front window. In
all the years she’d worked at the store, she'd never lost her cool
with a customer or employee, but this whole situation with the
stalker had rattled her so badly she had practically bitten Shawn's
head off.
    Morgan studied Shawn as he drove. At first
glance, you’d think he was calm but she picked up little details
that told a different story. He sat ramrod straight, and his grip
on the steering wheel was firm, so much so that his knuckles were
white, literally. His head moved in small precise movements, and
his eyes searched the review and side mirrors more often than if
this had been a casual drive. He was on full scale alert.
    “What did the note say?” She asked.
    Shawn glanced over to her and then returned
his gaze to the road. “You're next.”
    “You’re next?”
    “Yeah.”
    The meaning sank in, and she swallowed as her
throat and chest tightened. Now he’s in danger too because of
me. The overwhelming urge to move, run and get away from all of
this hit her. She raked her fingers through her hair, closed her
eyes and laid her head against the back of the seat. She uttered a
silent prayer . Come on Shawn, say something. Tell me that things
are going to turn out fine. Say you’ve seen this before and we’ll
catch the stalker and my life will return to normal.
    “I think