MONDAY EVENING
DECEMBER 8
Stuart sat at the table with three of his fellow agents. He didn’t particularly like the smoky atmosphere, but the bar provided obscurity. Something he and his buddies needed right now. He knew to anyone from the outside, they looked like any other partiers on a Monday night. They didn’t look like cops, they didn’t look like agents, they looked like four guys hanging out, living it up. Which fit in with their plans.
“Was it you last night?”
The low whisper caught him by surprise and he turned to see a familiar face. One he’d seen on his phone. “What?”
“You’re Stuart Harding, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Adam Buchanan.”
Stuart stared at the man. Adam’s narrowed green eyes glittered with suspicion and Stuart’s guard went up. “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?” The name didn’t, but the face did. Stuart trembled with the desire to plant his fist on Adam’s arrogant nose.
“No, not right now.” Adam stepped back and Stuart stood. They shared the same height.
Ignoring the questions on the other three faces, he followed Adam, intrigued by the man’s boldness.
And by the fact that Adam seemed to have the ability to see beneath the surface. He didn’t like that he was suddenly uneasy. Fresh anger rushed through him. He squinted. “What about last night?”
“Did you break into Dani’s house? Did you kill the woman who was there?”
Stuart drew in a hissing breath. “Of course not, are you crazy? Why would I do that?”
“Because you can’t seem to stay away from her. Because every time she turns around, you’re there. Because you have some sort of sick obsession with her. It’s called stalking.”
Stuart went cold. His friends read his body language. Hands covered their hidden weapons, ready to draw them on his behalf. He kept his voice low. “I knew someone broke in, obviously. I went over last night to see if I could help, but she said there wasn’t anything I could do and we’d talk later. So you tell me, pretty boy, if she has a state-of-the-art alarm system, how did her intruder get past it?” Stuart let his skepticism show.
“We haven’t figured that out yet. But I’m willing to bet you have the code to that alarm system.”
Stuart gave a soft snort. Of course he had the code. “So what if I do? I didn’t use it to break in and scare Dani. I don’t have to.” He stared at this new threat. “I just ring the bell and walk in when she opens the door. So don’t try to intimidate me. I know where I stand with Dani.”
Adam didn’t drop his gaze. A fact that made Stuart frown.
“You see,” Adam said, “that’s it. I don’t think you do get it. She doesn’t want you around. Stay away from her and stop harassing her or I’ll have to make a report to the OPR.”
Stuart flinched and hated himself for it. Office of Professional Responsibility and the FBI equivalent of Internal Affairs.
Adam leaned in. “And then I’ll go over your boss’s head. Might even name your boss as having excused prior unlawful acts. Want me to do that?”
Stuart felt the flush of rage begin at the base of his neck. But a twinge of fear had him hesitating. “Who are you and what makes you think you have the right to tell me to stay away from my dead brother’s wife?”
“Dani gave me that right when you tried to chase her down and attack her.”
Stuart blinked. “That was an accident. I wasn’t going to hurt her. I wanted to stop her from running.”
Adam looked surprised at his admission. “So you weren’t interested in the contents of the safe?”
“The what? No.” Stuart breathed a small laugh. “Why would I be interested in that?”
“Because Dani said you came over the day Kurt was killed to get something from the safe. She’d cleaned it out by the time you got there.”
Stuart frowned. “Kurt asked me to stop by and pick up something for him. I don’t even know what it was he wanted. Said he needed a small locked box and to just bring him the whole thing.”
“From what I understand, you and Kurt weren’t exactly best friends.”
“Couldn’t stand each other.”
“And yet you were willing to do his bidding?”
Stuart shrugged. “Sure. It gave me a reason to see Dani.” He saw no reason to keep his attraction for his sister-in-law a secret anymore.
Adam’s brow lifted. “I see.”
Stuart offered the man a small smirk. “I’m sure you do.” He let the smile slide from his lips. “So I suggest you just keep your distance from Dani and Simon. They’re mine.”
“I mean it, Harding, leave Dani and Simon alone. They have help now.”
Stuart curled his fingers into a fist, his anger still roiling within as he watched Adam turn and leave without a backward glance.
The man had no right to tell him what Dani wanted or didn’t want. Dani didn’t know what she wanted or needed. That’s why it was up to Stuart to take care of her.
His phone rang and he let out a slow breath as he realized who was calling. He kept his voice low and controlled. “What do you have?”
“I almost lost them, but managed to keep up.”
“And?”
“They’re at a safe house. One of them left. Adam, I think. I don’t know where he went, but everyone else is inside.”
“I know where Adam went,” Stuart muttered. “Don’t worry about him.”
“Fine. As soon as I dismantle the security system we’ll be in.”
Stuart thought for a few moments. “Don’t do anything yet. Just watch them. Tell me how many people are there besides Dani and Simon.”
“Just watch them?”
“Yes.”
“I can do that.” A pause.
“What is it?”
“Do you have someone watching me?”
“What?” Stuart frowned. “What kind of question is that?”
“So you don’t.”
“No,” Stuart said. “I don’t.”
“Okay, but I could have sworn while I was following Dani and the others, someone was following me.”
Stuart snorted. “Who would be following you? Don’t get paranoid on me. Just stay on Dani and wait for further instructions.”
“Right.”