Take a Risk

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

Someone took her hand. As Lyssa turned to see who, her hair was swept from her shoulder. Trapper. Right there, brushing the back of his fingers down her cheek.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

The bar was at her back, stools boxed her in, so she couldn’t remove herself from him.

“We’re going back to my office.”

“No! No way. I didn’t come here for that kind of deal.”

He smiled, like he was enamored. “I don’t conduct business out here in public. I also protect the anonymity of my clients. Watching eyes need to think we have a personal connection.”

Something in his countenance measured her. This was a test. Just like their conversation. Was everything a test?

“Okay then,” she said, never one to pass up a challenge.

Wearing a smile, she drenched his body with hers, pressing herself up against him. He didn’t recoil, even after her arm curved around to squeeze his a*s.

“Nice,” he said, splaying his hands on her back. “Ready to go?”

“After you.”

Taking her hand, Trapper led her from the bar towards the stage. The whole way she watched his a*s. Man, it had felt good, toned, hard and so much nicer than she’d expected. It had been a long time since she’d been that close to a male. Usually, they were opposite her on the patient’s couch.

Weaving through tables and bodies, he took her past a security guard and through a door by the stage. In a corridor, they went upstairs to a long hallway with three doors. The middle one was their target. He unlocked it and flicked on a light while guiding her inside.

“Come in,” he said, dropping her hand and closing the door.

A desk with a table and a couple of filers behind it. Reasonable office setup. No red flags. Beside the door was a three-seat sofa and love seat aimed at a widescreen TV.

“Sit down,” he said, pointing at the guest chair of the desk while going around it to take his own.

“This is an odd set up, Trapper,” she said, seating herself.

“Colt Warner,” he said, leaning over to offer his hand. “Chavez always was a sucker for beautiful women.”

“Lyssa Cutler,” she said, shaking his hand, struck by the formal introduction in such an informal setting. “Why the alias?”

“I protect my anonymity too.”

“What are we doing up here?”

“You want to know who this guy is,” he said on an inhale. “Is that all?”

“I want him to stop. I assume once we know who he is, the cops can do their thing.”

“So you don’t know what you’re talking about? Good to know… What you need is his identity and an evidence portfolio.”

Clearly, he did know what he was talking about.

“Okay,” she said.

“That will be a minimum of four to eight weeks, possibly longer depending on his frequency and severity.”

“Okay.”

“I have most of what I need to complete—”

“Wait, tell me what you do. You think you can identify this guy?”

“There are a number of candidates to consider. We’ll look at the usual, boyfriends, ex-husband, neighbors, disgruntled colleagues, in your case your patients.”

“You’re going to investigate my clients? You can’t do that. There’s confidentiality and—”

“I don’t investigate them, I investigate you.” Her jaw fell. “Stalkers can be complete strangers or your best friend. I keep an open mind. Fixating on one person at a time takes too long, especially in a case like yours. You’ve seen hundreds of patients over the years, in education and practice. Any of them could be our candidate.”

“You’re going to investigate me? How do you plan to do that?”

Leaning over his desk, he smiled. “I’m going to stalk you.”

“Excuse me?”

“This guy watches you sometimes, right? He comes to your house and calls you. Traditional stalkers enjoy watching their victim, monitoring them. If he’s watching you, then I want to catch him at it.”

“You’re going to watch me like he does? I’m getting two stalkers for the price of one.”

“I’m not really watching you. Think of it like a stakeout. I’ll be further away than him. Taking in the bigger picture. It’s my goal to stalk him. As soon as I identify him, I’ll start monitoring his movements, that’s how we compile the evidence portfolio. I’ll assemble a file of evidence showing his activity in relation to you.”

She smiled. “Then we turn it all over to the police.”

“You’ve got it. It gets him off the street and out of your life, legitimately.”

“Sounds like a perfect deal, what’s the catch?”

“You have to follow my rules,” he said. “There are four things I make clear to my clients. They are the main points of my contract which we’ll sign before I start.”

“Four? Which are?”

“Let’s do them in descending order. Number four, my services aren’t free. You will pay for all services and expenses as laid out in the contract. I don’t care how attractive you are, I don’t take barter.”

“Okay, that’s fair and expected. Three?”

“I’m not security or a hit man. I won’t take this guy out for you and I’m not there to intervene if things get physical. If you’re alone, or scared, or need reassurance, call a friend or boyfriend, that’s not my job.”

“I understand, number two?”

“My methods might not be what you expect, but they’ve proven effective. Through this, I could ask you to do a bunch of things, to participate in activities or take specific actions. No questions. You do it or I walk.”

Suspicion flared. “What kind of activities or actions?”

“I don’t need to see you n***d,” he said as though he could read her mind. “There will be a purpose to my request and if there’s time and opportunity, I’ll explain it.”

“And if there’s not?”

“You’ll have to trust me,” he said and must have seen her bristle. “Look, I’m going to be watching you day and night until we ID this guy. So I’m about to get to know you intimately. Chavez is my cousin; he’s a good kid and wouldn’t have sent you here if he didn’t think I could solve this. He knows to give out my information in exceptional circumstances.”

“What’s the first rule?” she asked.

“Don’t mention me to anyone. Ever. I understand why you brought your friend tonight; it was smart not to come alone. But when Suzette asks, you tell her it didn’t work out. That we couldn’t agree on a price, or I was a sleaze, whatever. I don’t care. Do not relay our conversation.”

“You’re trusting me to keep your identity a secret?”

“Trust has to go both ways. I can give you your life back; it’s up to you if you want to screw up your best chance for that.”

“Why is your anonymity so important?”

“Because I can’t do what I do if everyone knows what I do. I don’t need anyone looking for me.”

For months, she’d lived in torment, wondering if the perpetrator was watching. Jumping at every creak in her house, convinced that shadows were monsters. This guy, Colt, was offering her a chance. At the very least, if he could ID the stalker, she’d have vindication.

“Okay,” she said. “Do you have a card? A number where I can reach you?”

“No,” he said. “We come to an arrangement tonight. Next time you see me, I’ll be on the job.”

Flummoxed, it took a moment to process. “I need time to think about this,” she said, shaking her head. “You can’t railroad me into handing you a check when we just met.”

“Good, because I don’t take checks. I deal in cash. You can give me the retainer next time we see each other. Soon. Once I have a better handle on things. I’ll contact you when I’m ready.”

Rolling his chair backward, he opened a filing cabinet to pull out a contract. He retrieved a pen from his desk drawer and pushed both toward her. “If you want my help, sign it.”

Picking up the stack of sheets, she skim read all three pages. “I think I do want your help,” she said, eyeing the signature page. “You’re unconventional, but conventional hasn’t worked for me. We hired a PI two months ago. All he came back with was my ex-husband’s bio and pictures of patients coming in and out of my office.”

A huff of a laugh accompanied his smile. “You’ll get your money’s worth from me. I will keep going until I figure out who this guy is. I’m a sucker for a mystery.”

She pondered aloud. “You were referred by a police officer, that’s a point in your favor. You’re related to said cop, so I know something personal about you, which puts me more at ease…” There were also points against. “That your base is a seedy s*x club—”

“We don’t sell s*x,” he said. Her eyes narrowed on him. “What I mean is, our girls aren’t hookers, though what they do on their own time is their business. But we don’t let any of them deal out of here.”

“We?”

“I have a financial stake in the club. I’m nothing to do with running it. The club belongs to my brother, Blaser. The bartender you met downstairs.”

“Your folks liked guns, didn’t they?”

“My little brother’s name is Ruger,” he said. “My father’s former military.”

“And you? How did you get into this line of work?”

“My skills lend themselves to this kind of work.”

“From the military?”

“No, not me,” he said, laying on amusement. “I’d say that’s enough personal information for now, Doctor Cutler.”

“What’s the retainer?”

“Five grand,” he said. “Paid in cash, it will be deducted from your final bill.”

“Okay,” she said, rising from the chair with the contract. “We have a deal.”

He stood too. “Sign the papers and we’ll shake on it.”

“Good,” she said and held out a hand, which he took his time to shake. “We have a deal. I’ll sign the papers after I read them thoroughly. Providing there’s nothing out of line, expect them to be ready when you get in touch for your retainer.”

“That doesn’t work for me,” he said, frowning. “That contract shouldn’t leave this room.”

She smiled. “I don’t like bullies, Mr. Warner. I won’t put my name on something without reading it.”

“You think I’m bullying you?”

“I think you’re used to getting your way, but I’m not easily intimidated. These past few months I’ve learned that giving in to fear is what the bully wants.”

“He hasn’t broken you yet,” Colt said as she tucked away the pen and contract in her purse. “Without me, he will break you eventually.”

“Then it’s a good thing we shook hands, Mr. Warner. Now we have a deal, I’m not without you, am I?”

Exuding as much confidence as possible, Lyssa whirled around and strode out of the office hoping the adrenaline shaking her limbs wasn’t noticeable. She’d stood up to him, proving he didn’t intimidate her. She was committed and hoped Colt was too.