| |
––––––––
MARK LEANED AGAINST the railing later that evening, arms crossed, watching as they wrapped up the photoshoot. Tyler had seen him kiss Everly earlier, but his friend hadn’t commented yet. Mark had seen him deep in discussion with his sister though. As long as she was happy, he had a feeling Tyler would be cool with it. Maybe he wasn’t thrilled that Mark was interested in her, but he wasn’t telling him to stay away anymore either.
She’d seemed calmer with him around. When one of the other women had spilled something on her dress, she’d started to get upset. Mark had lightly touched her arm, murmuring in a low voice, and she’d instantly settled. He knew she was worried about her potential stalker as well, but he’d kept her mind off of it, assuring her she was safe with him there watching.
His chest swelled at the way he could soothe her. It was nice to feel needed. Yes, she could stand on her own two feet and solve things herself, but if he was close by, he liked how his gentle touches and quiet words seemed to keep her grounded.
The sunset behind Everly and the other bloggers on the pier was amazing—golden orange and pink reflecting off the water. Everly glowed as she posed for the final photos, clearly in her element. Although a couple of local guys had been overly interested in trying to get on set at one point earlier, Mark didn’t think either of them were the man stalking her. They’d seemed young and dumb, wanting to meet the “supermodels” at the beach. One of the security guys had escorted them away, and Mark and Tyler had kept an eye out as well.
“Ace said he hasn’t gotten any texts on Everly’s phone all day,” Tyler said.
Mark scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Hell. We’ve been monitoring the area the entire time. I haven’t seen anyone suspicious—those dumb college kids notwithstanding. It bugs me.”
“Same. He sent a ton of texts yesterday. Why stop now?”
He clenched his jaw, scanning the area again. “It doesn’t make sense given that she’d been posting about her photoshoot. Even though she stopped updating where exactly she’d be, the other bloggers were posting updates. Ace has been monitoring their social media feeds. They were tagging locations, documenting their every move.”
“Hell,” Tyler muttered. “I mentioned to them something about Everly’s stalker, but they didn’t seem concerned in the least.”
“Everly said she’ll be on location in a warehouse tomorrow. A secure building would be much harder to get access to. If her stalker was going to try and watch her again, you’d think he’d pick today when we’re out in the open.”
“Unless he saw us,” Tyler said.
“It’s a possibility. If he was there on the beach and at your apartment complex, he could’ve recognized us both. He seems obsessed with her though, and I’ve got a gut feeling he wouldn’t actually give up that easily. If it’s the same guy who’d been commenting on her public photos, it started weeks before she even flew out to San Diego.”
“I wonder if its someone from Maryland or the DC area. How the hell would they find out her cell number otherwise?”
Mark frowned. “It could always be the friend of a friend. Or someone she’s worked with.” He scanned the area again. It was surprising that no one had shown up and caused trouble today. That didn’t mean this asshole wasn’t watching from a distance though. A crowd had gathered far away to see what was going on. The tents they’d put up for the makeshift dressing rooms and food area had kept them from being able to see much.
“Looks like they’re almost done,” Tyler said.
“Do you and Rachel have plans later?”
“Just dinner. She was doing stuff with Keira today since I was stuck down here. Not that I mind watching out for Everly, but hell. Like I said before, I worry about them, too.”
Mark’s lips quirked. “Everly told me that Keira asked to call her ‘Aunt Everly,’” he said with a chuckle. “Think you’ll pop the question someday?”
Tyler grinned. “No doubt. I’m not going to let a good thing get away from me. Rachel and Keira are amazing. Neither of us want to rush into marriage though—well, maybe Keira does. I think she’s in it for the wedding cake.”
“Hell. I have a feeling Ace will be proposing to Addison before long. We’re going to be like Raptor’s team before you know it,” he joked, referring to Blake “Raptor” Reynolds, the leader of another SEAL team on base. All of the guys on his team now had girlfriends or wives. Some of them even had babies. It was a far cry from how things had been a few short years ago.
“Well, they can go first,” Tyler joked. “I think we’ll keep it small when we do decide to get married.”
Mark smiled. Hell. He liked seeing his friends happy. The guys on Raptor’s team sure were happy as hell in relationships now. And while he and Everly weren’t exactly about to rush off and get hitched, he’d nearly convinced her to stay in San Diego a while longer. He knew Ace would be fine with her staying at his place, but after letting Everly sleep in his bed last night? Mark wanted her in his apartment. He’d keep her safe, but it was more. He wanted to hear her laugh and make her smile. Make breakfast with her in his small kitchen. Come home after work and relax together. And yes, he wanted to eventually strip her bare and sink inside her welcoming body when they finally made love. Her reactions to him so far let him know they’d eventually be burning up the sheets together. He was a patient man though, and Everly would be more than worth the wait.
The women finished posing for their final photos, and Tyler said he’d walk out with them after Everly was done changing. He stayed by the pier while Mark walked her across the closed set. She went into the tented area to change but immediately came back out, frowning. “That’s weird. Some of my stuff is missing.”
“What stuff?” Mark asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at her.
“Well, my bra and panties for one.”
He nearly choked. “You’re not wearing underwear?”
Everly looked up at his shocked face and burst into laughter. “If you must know, I’ve got a thong on. I had multiple undergarments, so yeah, I changed and left some of them on a chair. Plus, one of the dresses I had on earlier is gone. I’m not sure what else.”
“Maybe they got moved or misplaced.”
“I guess. I don’t think anyone else was in there though. The clothes I was trying on were hanging up on a rack, but I’d left that one dress on the chair. Oh, speaking of dresses, can you unzip this?” she asked, turning around. Mark muttered a curse as he stared at the zipper on the back of her dress. Everly was so damn tempting, and she wanted him to unzip her dress right here in public?
She pulled her hair up and out of the way, her long, slender neck exposed. She still smelled of her faint floral scent, mixed in with the salty ocean breeze. He lifted his fingers to the zipper, unzipping the top of it just a few inches. His skin heated, and he gently let his fingers brush over her bare skin. He’d love to touch and caress her everywhere, but not here. Not right now.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, flushing. Mark loved that she was equally affected by his touch. “I’ll be right back out,” she said, her voice catching.
He nodded, looking around the area again. This was not the time to imagine Everly naked inside that tent as she changed. Or wearing nothing but a thong. His cock twitched. The other women were giggling together as they walked over, making plans for going out that evening. Two of the security guys were talking to one another over by the pier. One of the men’s gazes flicked toward the tent, but he saw Mark watching him. He quickly looked away and pulled out his phone, showing the other guy something on it.
“Mark, can you come in here?” Everly asked.
He quickly moved to the tent flap. “Are you dressed?” Not that it mattered. If she was in danger, he’d go right in. She hadn’t yelled for help though.
“Yes, I’m dressed.” Her head poked out of the tent, looking up at him. She’d changed into a tank top and joggers, her blonde hair pulled back in a messy twist. “Someone went through my stuff.”
Cursing, he strode into the tent behind her, his gaze scanning the area. Everly’s purse was on the ground, some of the contents spilled out. “Did they steal something?” he asked, his voice gruff. Anger was churning through him. He’d kept eyes on Everly all afternoon, but weren’t the damn security guys supposed to be posted by the dressing area? Why hadn’t they been doing their job?
“No, I don’t think so,” she said, picking it up. “Here’s my wallet and keys. My lipstick. That’s so weird though.” She opened her wallet, riffling through. “I don’t think they took any money or credit cards either.”
“Maybe you should freeze them just in case. They could’ve copied the numbers down.”
“Damn, you’re right.”
“I’m going to go talk to the security guys,” Mark said. “They were supposed to be watching this area. Maybe they noticed something out of the ordinary. We can call your bank now or on the way back to my apartment if you want.”
She nodded, looking slightly upset. “Hey,” he soothed, stepping closer. “We’ll figure it out. If your wallet wasn’t stolen, is it possible that your purse just fell over? Where’d you leave it?”
“Yeah, that’s a good point,” she said, biting her lip and looking around. “I actually left it over on the chair with my things. Damn. I probably should’ve just left it at home. Or Ace’s house. Anyway. It was on the chair that had my missing dress and underwear.”
Mark clenched his jaw, his gaze sweeping the area. Most of the clothes were indeed hanging up, like Everly had said. Maybe someone had come in and grabbed the pile of things on the chair? He couldn’t imagine what they’d want from her purse if her wallet was still there. It would be a hassle for her to cancel all her credit cards on the off-chance someone had copied the numbers down. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said. “I want to talk to those security guys. Will you be alright?” He wouldn’t leave if she was upset. Maybe she was worried she wouldn’t have any money if she had to get replacement cards. Most people didn’t carry much cash around these days. Not that he had a problem with paying for anything she needed.
“Yeah, I’m just—flustered, I guess. You go talk to them, and I’ll pack up my stuff. We’ve got the warehouse session tomorrow, and I want to make sure nothing else is missing before we leave. I’ll have to let them know if some things were stolen.”
“Good point. I’ll shoot Trigger a text too if I don’t see him outside.”
Mark exited the tent and crossed back over toward the pier. The security guys he’d seen earlier weren’t around, but most people were rushing around packing up things to wrap up for the day. They could’ve been helping somewhere, he supposed. Mark’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket, frowning as he saw it was Ace.
“This is Mayhem.”
“It’s Ace, and we have an issue. Everly’s old phone finally got a text. That asshole was there somewhere today. He sent a picture of Everly posing in a dress.”
“Shit,” Mark muttered.
“Yeah, well, it gets worse. He also sent a photo of him holding a pair of woman’s underwear. I thought it could’ve been staged, just him being a dick, but he was somewhere near her. He had a glove on and took a picture of her panties alongside her driver’s license.”
Anger burst through him. “Fuck. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“He wanted us to know he was there touching her things. And now he’s got her home address if he didn’t before.”
“God damn it. She just told me someone was rummaging through her belongings in the tent. A couple of things were missing, including her damn panties. I’ll call you back. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
He turned and ran back toward the tent where he’d left Everly, praying the asshole who’d taken the photo was nowhere around.
