Chapter Forty-Four

Logan popped off a shot and managed to hit the back tire as the car peeled away. It didn’t slow as shredded pieces of rubber sailed through the air and littered the street. He didn't want it to crash. Jade wouldn't have had time to fasten a seat belt.

He whipped out his cell phone and got Luke on the line. He quickly explained what happened and then hung up to wait. Dammit, why couldn’t Jade have listened to him? He turned his back for one minute to talk to Detective Hurley and she slipped away. He knew exactly where she went—the nursery. She'd been bugging him to take a trip up there all night. While he did want to see the newest Dianetti, he just couldn’t leave until Lauren was out of surgery. She risked her life for his daughter and he owed her his for her sacrifice.

He'd raced upstairs to the maternity ward and when he didn’t find Jade there, he panicked. She was in trouble. He felt it in his bones.

Somehow the stalker managed to infiltrate the hospital without anyone knowing. Michael Kint. They knew his name now. He was a stuntman who had worked on several slasher-type films, but never on a project with Jade, or rather, Juliet LaRue.

Once they discovered his identity, the police in California made a visit to his apartment. Inside they found a shrine to Jade, his walls covered with movie posters and pictures cut from magazines. He even had snapshots of her taken when she wasn’t aware. And most disturbing, he'd mounted a life-size picture of her in a bikini on cardboard.

Detective Hurley relayed all of this to him as Jade stole away to peek at the babies.

Re-holstering his gun, he turned just as Luke screeched to a stop. Logan dove inside and Luke shot away from the curb before he even shut the door. He righted himself in the seat and jerked the belt into place as Luke rounded the corner.

There wasn’t a car in sight.

“Damn,” Luke spat, his palm connecting with the steering wheel.

“I planted a GPS chip in all Jade’s shoes but my tracker is in my car.” Logan had been so upset when Bella disappeared, he hadn’t even thought to grab the device. Too distraught to drive, he rode with Luke to the hospital and now his car sat at an odd angle in front of Mrs. Harper’s house.

Pulling out his phone, Luke told him, “I sent Dan to get some supplies we might need. I’ll have him meet us at your car.”

“We're losing valuable time,” Logan complained as they navigated the streets. He was mad at himself for neglecting his duties and not keeping the tracker with him at all times. He'd made too many mistakes with this case, let his personal feelings cloud his ability to do the job correctly.

After what seemed like forever, Luke pulled up in front of Mrs. Harper’s house. Dan was waiting with a large backpack of supplies slung over his shoulder, the tracking device in hand. He yanked open the back door and jumped inside.

“He’s taken her to the marina.”

#

Michael was confused. Why did Juliet put up a fight? Why wasn’t she excited about their wedding? He thought every woman looked forward to the day they married the person they were destined to walk hand in hand with through eternity.

Was it because of his involvement with Vanessa Van Gogh? That must be it. She thought he seriously cared for her slutty friend. She was jealous.

Well, when she came to, he would set her straight, tell her that nothing happened between him and Vanessa. How could it? He loved Juliet. Only Juliet. Always Juliet. Forever.

Once she realized that, she would forgive him, just as he'd forgiven her for marrying that loser Kyle Ashton. He still felt the satisfaction of killing him the most of any of the people who had mistreated his beloved Juliet.

He reached in the passenger seat and withdrew his latest gift for his love. He couldn’t wait to give it to her. Would she put it with the other souvenirs he sent to her? The tokens of his undying love and devotion.

Excitement raced through Michael’s veins. The day had finally come—his wedding day.