Page 34 of Stalked By Raiden

“They adore you.”

A faint blush colors her cheeks. “I adore them too.”

I know. I’ve watched enough school pickups to see it for myself. Children wave excitedly whenever they spot her. Parents stop her every afternoon to thank her. The neighborhood has changed over the past several months. Drake’s disappearance created a ripple effect none of us anticipated.

Without him controlling the area through fear and intimidation, other criminals scattered. It isn’t perfect. Not even close. But people walk the streets a little easier now. Businesses stay open later. Children play longer outside after school.

Progress.

Teddy Krane finished the year in this room. His mother sat in the front row at the spring concert and cried through all four songs. Afterward, she found Elodie by the door and held onto her hand a long time without saying anything at all. She didn’t need to. The boy starts first grade in the fall, right down the hall, and somewhere in the last few months he started talking loudly enough that Elodie has to remind him about indoor voices.

We gave him his mother back. Elodie’s the reason he’s noisy.

And no one bothers Elodie anymore. Partly because she’s loved. Partly because people have learned that being married to Raiden Sharpe isn’t something to test.

She slips her hand into mine. “Ready?”

“I’m always ready.”

She smiles knowingly. “No, you’re not.”

Before I can ask what she means, she kisses my cheek. “I’ll meet you at home.”

“You’ll what?”

“I need to stop somewhere.”

“I’ll come.”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“I’ll still come.”

She reaches up and straightens my collar. “I’ll be fine.”

She knows I’m still protective. She also knows I’ve never really stopped following her. The only difference now is that she knows I do it. Occasionally, she even turns around halfway home just to wave at me from across the street.

I pretend it annoys me. It doesn’t. Not even a little.

“See you soon.” She heads toward the front entrance.

I wait exactly thirty seconds before following. She’s my obsession, and I’m her stalker. Some habits don’t deserve breaking. She walks at her usual pace, humming softly to herself. I keep enough distance that anyone watching would assume we’re strangers.

She turns onto the next block, then disappears into a small sandwich shop. I stop across the street. She’ll probably be five minutes. Ten minutes pass, and she doesn’t come back out. That’s odd. I never saw a rear entrance. I pull out my phone and open the tracking app. Nothing.

I frown and refresh. Still nothing. Her location has disappeared. I stop walking and chuckle, knowing she’s turned it off. The little menace. She’s done something similar before. Once, she hid in the supply closet at the tattoo shop just to surprise me.

River laughed for a week. I was less amused. She’s probably slipped out another exit. Planning to surprise me at home. I shake my head. My wife is becoming entirely too clever. I pocket my phone and head toward the shop.

Halfway there, I pass a narrow alley. Hands suddenly grab me from both sides.

“What the—”

Someone throws a hood over my head. Another pair of hands catches my wrists. Instinct takes over. I drive an elbow backward, connecting with something solid. Someone curses before my arms are wrenched together, a zip tie secured around my wrists.

A familiar voice laughs. “Still fast.”

River.