Lovers' Revenge 1d632h

Lovers' Revenge

Erin Dixon

Copyright © 2021 Erin Dixon All rights reserved First Edition Fulton Books, Inc. Meadville, PA Published by Fulton Books 2021 ISBN 978-1-64952-805-6 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-64952-806-3 (digital) Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18

Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank God for giving me the opportunity to write this novel and follow my dreams. I would also like to thank my family and friends for all their encouragement and . Lastly, I would like to thank the K-pop group, BTS. Their success story and upbeat music inspired me to work hard, to succeed, and to make my own dreams come true.

Chapter 1

What does this woman think she is doing? Emily Winters, who is it exactly that you are talking to? I have been sitting in the dusty-ass closet in this nasty, cluttered spare bedroom waiting for you to go to bed. But no, you are still on the phone. Oh no, you must have gotten some bad news. It is good to see you drop to your knees. You bitch, you think you can get away with what you have done to me. Here I am sitting in this closet, just waiting for you to get off your phone, watching everything you’re doing on my small screen. I can hear everything through the open doorway. You never even come into this room, yet you leave the door standing open. Emily’s house was a ranch style with four bedrooms and a wraparound porch. There was no ing for her taste as a woman, even her clothes looked like a man’s. You must die though.

*****

“What do you mean by telling me to watch my back? I have not received any fan mail. Did you forget that I am a ghostwriter? My name and face are nowhere to be found with relation to my books. As far as the public knows, Tara Shawls is the writer of these stories, and she gets all the fan mail, gifts, etc.” “Look, as your editor, I feel you should know this. You will be finding this out soon enough anyway. Tara Shawls was found dead in her apartment this morning. Police say it was definitely a homicide. Thing is—recently, she has been receiving not only hate mail but extremely odd packages in the mail. They were not sent to the company but to her actual apartment. She filed a police report, but there was no way to track where the packages came from. There was evidence that her apartment was ransacked, and the information about the novels

you wrote was taken along with all the packages that were sent to her. The police want to speak to you as soon as possible.”

*****

Get off the phone already. What is taking you so long? This closet is hot. I will bet that I could just sit inside this open doorway and never be seen or heard. Her office was just across the short hallway. If you’d look down on the house, it looked like an exaggerated H.

*****

“Oh my god, are you serious? Why would someone kill Tara? She never did anything. She would not even complain if her food was wrong at a restaurant. You are telling me she was murdered last night? Why didn’t anyone tell me about the hate mail and strange packages? What kind of strange packages did she receive?” “Yes, I am serious, and I am not exactly sure what the contents of the packages were. Only the police know about the contents since she reported them. The company is cooperating with the police to help resolve this quickly. The police seem to be baffled as well since there was money and credit cards left on the nightstand. Jewelry and electronics were also left. The only thing taken was a trunk in which she kept all the information pertaining to your identity, our contracts with her, your books, and whatever was sent to her. Look, the police will be coming by soon. We have given them your address and information. So be on the lookout for a Detective Li Jie. He said he would be swinging by your place tonight.” Knock, knock, knock.

“Hey, I will let you go now. There’s someone at my door.” “That’s probably him now. Be sure to check before you open the door.” “I will. Thanks for giving me a heads-up.” “Look, just be careful and watch your back, please. I’m only telling you this because I am worried about you.” “I will be careful. Trust me. Bye.” Emily hung up the phone and lifted herself from the floor where she had collapsed upon getting the news about Tara. “I wonder why no one told me about the strange gifts and hate mail she was getting.” Knock, knock, knock. “I’m coming!” She walked through her office toward the foyer and front door. Suddenly, a chill ran down her arms, and the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end. Something did not feel right. “Who is it?” “Police department. Detective Li.” Finally, you hung up the phone. Now where are you going? It is a good thing he installed hidden cameras throughout your whole house. Ha ha, now I can see your every move on my cell phone screen. Technology is so handy and so easily disposed of now. Looks like you’re heading to the front door. Well, no matter, I will take care of you before you can open it. Wait, was that a knock on her door? The intruder needed to move quickly and get to her before Emily could open the door. Quietly slipping out of the closet and through the spare bedroom to the door, the intruder, who was clad in all black to blend in with the shadows, slid along the wall in the dark and kept a close eye on Emily. Silently slipping a knife with a six-inch blade from beneath their black jacket, the intruder began to close

in on her. Meanwhile, Emily walked out of her office through the short hallway, stopping before ing into the living room. Was that movement in my spare bedroom or— “No, I’m just being paranoid.” She continued walking on into the living room toward the front door. Something is off, I feel it. As she was nearing the front door, she looked into the small circular mirror hanging on the wall. What is that? Why is there a black mass coming toward me? “Shit!” “Damn, you saw me before I could kill you. But no matter, you won’t escape me now!” “Who are you, and what do you want from me? How did you get in my house?” “You have so many questions, but I have a few of my own. Mine will be answered first, and for every wrong answer, I will—well, why give away all the fun we’re about to have.” Bang, bang, bang! “Ms. Winters, are you all right? What’s going on? Open the door!” “Oh, you called the cops? How cute. But he cannot help you. I must kill you.” “Detective, hurry up! Just break a window or something and help me!” The darkened figure reached out in a wild swinging motion. Emily jumped backward as the dark arm came at her face, causing her to tumble backward and fall on the floor. She crawled backward as fast as she could to get away; the dark figure was quickly approaching. What is going on? Why is this person coming after me? What have I done? All I have ever done was write stories my entire life! While scrambling to try to get away, she felt a burning sensation across the back of her left leg, pain radiating from the same spot, and a warmth sliding down her leg. The pain was becoming more than she could bear. Darkness began to take

over her consciousness, but before it took over completely, she heard glass shattering. Trying to fight the darkness, Emily looked around the room to see two figures in the dark, then black.

Chapter 2

Looking around the room, everything she could see was white. There was a vase of orange lilies on a small table beside the bed. Her head was aching, and she noticed tubes running from her arm to a bag hung on a metal pole. A hospital— I’m in a hospital, but why? She tried to sit up in the bed to get a better look; to her right was a pane of windows with the curtains drawn. She slowly turned to the left to see a man propped up in a chair with a blanket covering him from his shoulders down to his feet. Who is this man, and why is he here in my room? He is handsome and looks to be of an Asian descent. His dark-brown hair is a little long, hanging down to his eyes. He has a sharp jawline and small nose that reminds me of someone, but whom? Why is he here? Who is he? She tried to sit up a bit more to see if she could get a better look at him without disturbing him. She still could not place his face, but a familiar feeling came to her. She had seen him before maybe on television or maybe walking down the street. She laid back down, feeling a searing pain in her left leg. She looked down to see her leg wrapped with gauze from her knee down to her ankle. What the hell happened to me? She tried to endure the pain as she laid back down, shifting her weight back and forth to wiggle back down under the blankets. Her head slowly hit the pillow as the pain became horrendous; machines began beeping loudly, signaling the pain she was feeling. The man jumped to his feet and ran to her side as she quickly closed her eyes, faking sleep. She cautiously slid one eye open just a bit and noticed the man was gone. A clock on the wall was showing two o’clock. Was it morning or afternoon? She was not exactly sure. It was dark outside the windows, or was it dark because the curtains were drawn? As the minutes ticked by, the machines began to silence themselves as the door to her room opened, and a man clad in a long white coat entered her room; behind the doctor was the same man she had seen sleeping in the chair in her room previously. “Ma’am, do you know where you are?” the doctor asked as he pulled a penlight from his coat pocket.

“I’m guessing I am in a hospital.” “Good guess. You are at Golden Bay Hospital. I am Dr. George Matthews. I’ve been taking care of you since you were brought in.” “Do you what happened before you were brought here? Anything about the events leading up to you being in this bed?” This was asked by the man whom she found in the chair by her hospital bed. “Let me see… I was at home working on my next book when my editor called to inform me that a friend of mine was murdered. He also told me that he gave the police my information and that they should be getting in with me soon. After hanging up the phone, I heard a knock on my door. When I went to answer it, I noticed a dark figure rushing toward me in my home. I don’t much after that.” The man standing behind the doctor had a small notebook out and was writing things down as she spoke, occasionally glancing in her direction. He was very handsome indeed, but she still could not place where she had seen him before. “If I may ask, who are you, and why were you sleeping in my hospital room? Do I know you?” Putting away his notebook and walking to the side of her bed, a smile softened his sharp features. “I am Detective Li Jie. I was the man knocking on your door when I heard you yell and heard a struggle from inside your home. Unfortunately, the culprit got away but not before slicing you up rather good on the leg. I am terribly sorry for not getting to you sooner. I brought you to this hospital.” “You had perfect timing, Detective. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would have happened to me.” She could feel a smile spreading across her face, or was it more of a grimace as pain shot up through her leg. “Doctor, why does this hurt so much?” “Well, the wound was not only deep, but it nicked your tibia and cut through part of your calf muscle. It is going to take some time for this injury to fully heal.” After making a few notes on her chart, the doctor walked out of the room,

leaving her with the handsome detective, and she could feel heat creeping up her neck to her ears. What in the world am I thinking? He just did his job and brought me here, after trying to protect me. Maybe I am just embarrassed for getting beat up in my own home. “Well, Ms. Winters, do you have any family who can help you out during this time? It will be really difficult for a while. We also want to move you to a safer place. Do you have any idea why you are being targeted?” “I have an older brother. He’s a Navy SEAL, so I have no idea where he is right now. I will find a way to manage. Honestly, I have no idea why anyone would come after Tara or myself. I am a ghostwriter. I have always wanted to be an author my whole life, but I never wanted to be in the spotlight. So Tara and I came up with an agreement. She wanted fame. I wanted to write, and we both needed the money. We had been friends since high school, and we were always together until she got married. Her husband did not like me hanging around. In his opinion, I was holding her back from gaining all the fame and fortune she had ever wanted. So she and I came up with a plan for us both to make money, and she could get all the attention she ever wanted. Of course, immediately after she became the face of my books, she garnered a lot of fame and attention. Somehow her husband figured out our agreement and turned on her, saying she was nothing and I was the only reason she got what she wanted and divorced her. Then he came after me, saying he was stupid for falling for her looks when the real sexy thing in a woman is brains. I have never liked the guy. I could always tell something was off about him, like he was a total fake and there was a darker side he was hiding. I had him arrested for stalking me a while back after he ignored a restraining order I had placed against him. I haven’t heard anything from him since, thankfully.” “That is good to hear. I will look into it for you, just to be on the safe side. Other than that, do you anything specific about your attacker from last night? Height, hair color, eyes, build? Anything you can think of would be useful.” “Honestly, all I saw was a black shadow coming at me. Whoever it was, was covered in black from head to toe. The only useful thing I could probably give you is the attacker was using a voice-changing device and the attacker is just a bit taller than me. I stand at five feet four inches tall, and the attacker was about a head taller than me. I’m not sure if that will help you or not, and I can’t really

tell you about the build because, like I said, the attacker was wearing all black.” “Anything is better than nothing. Any ideas on how this person got into your house?” “Not really, but that is what really bothers me. I am home most of the time, sitting in front of my computer. The only times I leave my house are to go to the gym for about two hours every other day or to go get groceries, but the times I go get groceries are never on the same day. I just go when my list hits about ten items or more. So sometimes I will go right after I leave the gym.” “I have men at your house now investigating to see if they can find anything.” “Please have them leave my computer alone. I have information on my computer for my next novel, and it took me almost two months to find all the information. If you must do anything with it, please save it to a flash drive first. There is a brand-new one in the top left-hand drawer. I cannot afford to lose such information. I have a deadline to keep with my publishing company. Although I have no idea what I am going to do now. Not only is my friend dead, but she is the face of my books. Have you gotten in touch with her family yet?” “No not yet. It looks like when she began to receive hate mail and threats, she sent her parents and sister on a monthlong cruise. So we are in the process of tracking them down right now. I will let my guys know to save your data before taking your computer since we have to take it for investigation purposes.” Suddenly, a phone began to ring, startling Emily and causing her to jump a bit. Taking a few steps away from the hospital bed to dig in his coat pocket lying across the chair, Detective Li answered. “Detective Li here. Did you find something? What are you talking about? No one should have been there between the time I brought her to the hospital and the time you got there. Hey, do me a favor and go into her office and save all the data on her computer to a flash drive before taking the unit. She said there is a new flash drive in the top left-hand desk drawer. There is a what? Have you already been through that room? How is that possible?” He turned and looked at Emily, who looked a little dumbfounded. “What is it? What did they find? Did they find the culprit?” she asked.

His face had looked soft and relaxed earlier, but now he was staring at her with concern and what other emotion was this? His face was now profoundly serious, and she could see his strong jawline flexing as he hung up the phone. “While my guys were there, they made a sweep of your house first to be sure there was no one else there. They had gone through all rooms clearing them one by one, then they took pictures of everything as it was before they started their investigation. One of the forensics team told me they found a note addressed to you personally. It was taped to your computer monitor. They have looked through all the photos they had taken of that room, but it was not there when they had come into that room the first time. My men went to save your data like you asked, and that is when they found it. That means the culprit was still hanging around and was able to not only slip past my guys to tape it to the computer screen, but he was able to get in and out of a house that was surrounded by cops and filled with investigators and forensic technicians. Whoever this is, is stealthy, fearless, and very bold.” He watched as her face paled, and she began to shake. For whatever reason, he started to feel something strange. Shaking his head, he took the few steps back over to her bedside and grabbed her hand. Her hand was pale, cold, and small compared to his. “Don’t worry, Emily. I will look after you and make sure nothing happens to you. You have my word. We will catch this guy for sure.”

Chapter 3

I have to find them. They have to be okay. They are both fighters. I know they are. I taught them both how to fight before I left. Why can I not get in touch with them? I will find them because I know something is not right. I will protect them with my life. That is what I vowed before leaving them both behind. I will face the consequences alone, but I will find them first to be sure they are okay. Although I cannot tell them my location, I am always updated on their whereabouts, so I know they are safe. Now I am especially worried about Tara and Emily since I found out Emily has a stalker. Tara is receiving hate mails, threats, and her husband divorced her. The divorce is fine with me. Now I can let her know how I feel about her. I have loved her for years, but then she married that dickhead while I was deployed in the SEALs. My sister found a way to inform me through my superiors that Tara had divorced that idiot, and I was so happy I danced a little. I have a bad feeling about this. I have not heard from either of them in a while, and it is not normal. “Winters!” “Yes, sir!” “We just got word from a Detective Li Jie. We are sending you home early.” Samuel Winters jumped to his feet with such force the chair he was sitting on went tumbling backward. “Sir, what happened? Is it my sister? Is she okay?” “Son, you are going to want to sit down for this news. You need to get ready and pack your things. We are shipping you back first thing tomorrow morning.” Samuel picked up the chair he sent tumbling over and righted it to sit down. He watched as his commander walked to his side and gave him a piece of paper. He felt his stomach drop as he took the paper and unfolded it in a hurry.

Samuel Winters,

It is unfortunate I must send you this news, but your sister, Emily Winters, has been hospitalized and will need medical care for a while. If possible, she will always need someone with her to help her out with everyday tasks when she is released from hospital care. I have communicated with your command unit to arrange for you to come home to be with your sister in her time of need since she has no other family. I will brief you on recent events when you return. Hopefully, it will not take long for this message to reach you. Until you return, I will be by your sister’s side, or I will have my best friend with her as he is not only military-trained but also trained and excelled in mixed martial arts. Your sister will be safe with us until your return.

Sincerely, Detective Li Jie

With note in hand, Samuel jumped up and rushed to his bunk within the barracks and began to hurriedly pack his things. His hands were shaking while he was packing. Several of his comrades, seeing the state he was in, rushed over to find out what was going on. “My sister was attacked and put in the hospital. This bastard better pray I never find him.” “Hey, man, several of us are going to be sent home soon. We will you when we get home, and we will help you protect your sister. Once you become a SEAL, you become a family, and you know we will help you in any way we can.” “Yeah, I really appreciate it.” “Why was your sister attacked? Any ideas?”

“No, all I know is that she was attacked and put in the hospital. This Detective Li Jie sent me the letter and said he and his best friend will be with her constantly until I get home.” “Did you say Li Jie? I have heard of this guy before. He is known as one of the best detectives in the country. He came from China years ago to help capture a serial killer on the loose in the States. He caught the guy and found his last victim before it was too late. I believe your sister is in good hands until you get back.” “Well, I won’t be satisfied until I see my sister myself. I have to be sure she is okay. You guys know she is my only blood-related family left, right? Our parents died in a car accident several years ago while we were still in high school, and it has just been the two of us since then. Plus, I need to find out all the details of what is going on before I can call you guys. Depending on the situation, I may definitely need your help. I’ll send word to you when I get home and get a grasp of the situation.” Samuel continued to pack until he was sure he had everything he would need to go home then went to find his commanding officer.

*****

Detective Li pulled out his cell phone and dialed his most trusted friend, Jin Kang, as he stood in the hallway just outside of Emily’s room. Jin was in the Korean military for many years before he completed his service. His combat and self-defense skills were second to none. He was the only man Li knew he could trust implicitly with protecting someone. This man was almost supernatural in of stealth and protection; his eyes see everything. Right now, he was exactly the person he needed to look after Emily. “What’s up, Li? I haven’t heard from you in while. What’s going on, buddy?” “Hey, man, are you busy?” “No, I’ve just been in the gym and laying low for a while. Why, do you have

something interesting for me?” “Yeah, come meet me at the station, and I will fill you in on the situation. It will be protection duty. Are you game?” “Sure, I can do anything for you, bud. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Li turned in the hospital hallway to open the door to Emily’s room to inform her that he would be stepping away for a moment when again he heard the monitors going crazy and people began rushing toward her room. He flung open the door and ran to her bedside. She was sweating profusely, and you could see her eyes moving constantly underneath her eyelids, shifting from side to side rapidly. She looked as if she was sleeping, but something was wrong. Something was happening to her. Many nurses came rushing in, checking the monitors and her vital signs. “What’s happening to her? Why are her eyes doing that?” “According to her charts, she should be on morphine at a semi-low dosage, but it looks like someone has given her something else. Has anyone been in this room recently besides you?” “Not that I have seen, but I just stepped outside into the hallway to use my phone. Do you think this was a direct attack against her or just a medical mistake?” “Honestly, sir, I can’t say for sure. We are changing out all her IVs and drawing blood to run tests to figure out what is going on, but I can tell you something isn’t right. Her chart is all messed up, and it was not before. I have been the nurse in charge of her since I came on duty, and this doesn’t look like her original chart.” “Can I see the chart that was left in here?” “Sure.” The nurse reached over to the foot of the bed and removed the chart to hand over to Detective Li. This chart had many additional medications she was supposedly on, and her physical statistics had been changed as well. As he was looking through the chart, the nurse informed him of the new tests they were performing

and what she would be given to counter whatever drug was given to her. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Jin back immediately. “Hey, Jin, change of plans. I need you to meet me here at the Golden Bay Hospital. Something strange is going on. Be sure you are inconspicuous when you come. I need your eyes.” “I’ll be right there. I’m close by.” He clicked off the phone and asked the nurse what the security office number was, then glanced over at the bed where Emily lay. The beeping of the monitors had subsided, and Li checked the monitors to see her vitals had returned to normal. He picked up the telephone in Emily’s room and dialed the security office and demanded to see the security team in charge of the CCTV footage of the hospital immediately. Within five minutes, four men in black suits with white button-up shirts came filing into the room. “Sir, you requested to see the CCTV footage of the hospital, correct? Don’t you need a warrant to do this?” Detective Li pulled out his credentials to show the security officers. After looking them over carefully, the security team’s head officer, Lieutenant Johns, nodded and asked what the problem was. “Normally, yes, I would need a warrant unless you are willing to help me right now. This woman was attacked in her house last night, and now we have reason to believe that she has been attacked inside this hospital room as well. After speaking to the head nurse, she believes the chart for this patient has been altered, and she has been given a different medication causing her heart rate and blood pressure to skyrocket. They are running multiple tests now to find out what she was given and are trying to steady her vitals. Are you willing to help, or do I need to rush a warrant?” “No, sir, a warrant isn’t needed. We are here to protect everyone in this hospital, and the fact that something happened to her in our hospital on our watch, means we will help in any way we can. Sam, give me the tablet.” Another man stepped forward producing a tablet from inside his coat pocket and handing it to Lieutenant Johns. After putting in his security code, Detective Li and Lieutenant Johns stood over in a corner of the room and began to scan the

footage of the floor they were on as well as the hallway of Emily’s room. “Sam, you and the others go do your rounds in the rest of the hospital. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” As the security officers started filing out of the room, another man walked in. Tall and imposing at a height of six feet, six inches, Jin Kang towered over both Detective Li and Lieutenant Johns. “Hey, Li, I’m here.” Suddenly, the beeping and screaming of monitors pierced the quiet of the room. Li and Jin rushed over to the bed when Emily began to speak quietly at first, “Tara—” then screamed, “Tara, don’t go!”

Chapter 4

In the darkness, Emily could feel eyes on her. She spun around, trying to pinpoint from where she was being watched from, but all she saw was darkness. She stopped spinning and stood still, closing her eyes. She could feel her heart racing, her legs trembling, and sweat running down her face. “Emily! Emily!” She heard Tara’s voice calling her name. Was she imagining things? She must be. Tara was dead. “Emily, run! They are after you now. You have to get away! They aren’t who you think they are.” Emily opened her eyes suddenly to see Tara surrounded by a brilliant light from above. Tara was pointing at Emily’s direction. Her face was contorted in fear; her voice was now just a whisper. “Tara!” Emily screamed as she ran toward Tara’s image. She was running as fast as she could toward her, but she never seemed to get any closer. “Tara, what do you mean? Don’t go!” Tara was still standing in the bright light, pointing toward Emily, looking as if she were yelling at the top of her lungs when suddenly the light began to fade. No, it was not fading. The darkness was moving. First, it was on her left side then on her right. The darkness moved around her, forming the silhouettes of two people. The one to her right raised its hand to cover Tara’s mouth. Tara’s expression distorted into that of fear and pain. “Leave her alone, you assholes! You’re so dead when I find you!” Deep laughter surrounded Emily, seemingly coming from everywhere. “Emily, how dare you steal my line? I told you many times and warned you many times that if you refuse to love me, I will not allow you to love anyone.

You know that time-honored line ‘If I can’t have you, then no one can.’” “Why are you doing this to me? Who are you, and why did you kill Tara?” By this time, she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks when a digital voice answered. “Unfortunately, this Tara you are so fond of was just collateral damage. She should not have been taking credit for what does not belong to her. I just put her where she belongs, out with the rest of the trash.” With those words, Tara’s image faded away, leaving only the two silhouettes remaining in the light. She could not see their faces, and she did not recognize the first voice, but the digital voice—this one she did recognize. Her legs began to tremble again as she ed where this digital voice came from. Fear crept up her spine as vivid flashes of her memory returned, playing out the attack in her house like a movie. Fear and desperation settling in the pit of her stomach made her feel nauseous when, finally, her legs just totally gave out, dropping her hard on the ground with a thud. Pain radiated up her left leg, and she looked down unable to see anything, blinking her tears away as the light suddenly disappeared plunging her into total blackness. Her nausea was getting worse as the pain in her leg worsened and now, she felt a warmth on the nape of her neck as if someone were breathing on her. She opened her eyes again to see that she was now surrounded in the light. “I can’t believe you just won’t take me seriously. My love for you is so strong I would do anything for you. Even if you wanted me to kill someone, I would without a moment’s hesitation. That is why Tara had to die. She was taking all the credit for work that was not hers. You belong to me, Emily. I am the only one who will love you for all eternity.” The voice sounded so close; it was not the digital voice but a man’s voice. She could not place it, but it seemed like she had heard it somewhere before. Was she just projecting this voice onto a criminal, or was this really the criminal? She could not help but shiver where she sat on the ground. Now, she was beginning to get angry. “I am not a possession, and I belong to no one. This is more of an obsession, and I want neither your fake love nor your possessiveness. I just want you to leave me alone and disappear from my life forever!”

“You will regret this, Emily Winters. You are the one who will disappear forever. All you have to do is accept my love and love me in return, but you absolutely refuse. Well, no matter, I will make this short and sweet.” There was a sudden glint of light off what looked like a metallic object and a ticking sound. What was that? The realization hit her; it was the sound of a gun being cocked.

*****

“No!” she screamed and bolted upright in the bed, eyes wide, hospital electronics screaming and beeping, alerting the nurses and hospital staff of her accelerated heart rate and raised blood pressure. Nurses rushed in from different directions as she glanced around nervously. She saw the detective from before and another man standing by her bedside. “Ms. Winters, are you all right? Take a few deep breaths and calm down, then tell us what happened.” She hastily glanced around the room again, looking for any dark shadows. She felt her heart pounding and her legs trembling. She looked at the detective, and she could feel tears welling up, getting ready to fall down her cheeks. Suddenly and abruptly, the door to her room was shoved open so hard it banged against the wall. She jumped at the ferocity of it, terrified of what was going to come in the door when she heard a booming voice coming from right outside the room. “Get the hell off me! What did you punks do to my sister?” Her brother walked proudly into the room with two security guards standing behind his back. “Who are you two, and why are you so close to my sister?” It was then that her tears began to fall in earnest. Her brother was home. She had not seen him in years, but she always found ways to let him know how she was doing. After seeing the tears falling down her cheeks, you could see the anger

growing on his face while looking at the two men beside his sister’s bed. Quickly, she wiped the tears away while both men stood up straight and began introductions with her brother. “Hello, you must be Samuel Winters. I am Detective Li Jie, and this is my associate, Jin Kang.” Both men extended a hand to shake her brother’s. Her brother eyed them suspiciously but shook their hands in turn. He then pushed past both men to come sit on her bed and give her the biggest hug. Without warning, her tears started again, streaming nonstop down her face. She looked at her brother straight in the eyes and told him, “Samuel, there’s something you should know.” “What is it, Em? Why are you crying like this? Did you miss me that much?” A smile spread across her brother’s handsome face until he saw the look on her face. “Samuel… Tara was murdered. They think the same person who killed her is after me now. I’m so sorry, Samuel. I know you loved Tara.” Her brother silently stood from her bed and turned around to face the two men. “We need to talk right now.” Detective Li took a few steps toward Samuel and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You and I will step outside the room and speak for a moment, but Jin will stay in the room with your sister. I will explain everything I know about both cases so far.” Samuel turned to look at the man the detective called Jin. “I don’t know you yet, but don’t take your eyes off my sister for even a second until I get back. Do you understand?” “Although I am Korean, I do understand English perfectly. Your sister is safe with me.” With that, both her brother and Li Jie walked outside her room and slid the door closed. Thinking quietly, she looked at the man by her bedside. He, too, was very handsome. He was tall, taller than her brother and Li, with semi-long messy black hair. His eyes looked gray from her angle. He looked like he just walked out of an outdoors sports magazine.

A nurse walked in, holding a set of papers. “Emily Winters?” “Yes, that is me.” “We have your test results back. It looks like you were given an overdose of morphine. I am so sorry this happened to you in our care. We will be keeping a closer eye on you to be sure there are no lasting side effects.” Jin looked at the nurse. “Thank you for letting us know, ma’am.” She turned and walked back out the door. “So how should I address you, Mr.—” she asked him. “You can call me Jin.” He walked to the chair at her bedside and sat down. “Do you want to give me a short version of what happened? I haven’t gotten all the details from Li yet, but usually when I get a call from him, it’s a potentially difficult case.” “Well, I can only tell you what I know.” She began reciting what she could that happened—from the time she was on the phone with her editor to waking up in the hospital. “After that, the only thing I is a nurse coming in and giving me something she said was for the pain.” “Was anyone else in the room when the nurse came in?” “No, not that I can .” “Do you what the nurse looked like or her name?” “She didn’t really introduce herself, and I didn’t see a name tag. She just told me she was giving me something for the pain and looked at my chart after putting whatever it was in my IV. She had long dark hair pulled into a bun, and she was wearing a mask, so I did not see any of her features except her eyes. She had hazel eyes, and her face was slender. She seemed a bit taller than me too. Oh, her nurse outfit was a different color from the rest of the nurses I’ve seen in my room too.” “What do you mean it was a different color?”

“All the other nurses who have come in my room were wearing dark-teal scrubs, but hers were navy blue. After that, I felt a warm, fuzzy feeling move from my head down my body to my toes, and I was out like a light.” “Do you having a conversation about Tara?” “No, not a conversation about Tara. I had a nightmare I think.” “A nightmare?” “Yes, it’s beginning to fade now, but I Tara was there. She was trying to warn me about something. She told me to run, that they were coming for me.” “They?” “Yes, I clearly her saying they. She also said, ‘They aren’t who you think they are.’” Jin sat back in the chair for a moment and seemed to be going over things in his head when the door to her room slid open. In walked her brother with his head hung low and Detective Li right behind him. Jin stood up and walked to Detective Li, stopping him by the doorway as her brother came over to sit in the chair Jin had just vacated and looked at her with red eyes. “We need to talk, Li.”

Chapter 5

“Emily, I didn’t know you and Tara were going through such hardships. Why didn’t you find a way to let me know about all this?” “Samuel, Tara never told me she was getting any threats or hate mail. I found out about all this when my editor called yesterday afternoon to tell me about her death. Luckily for me, Detective Li was at my front door when the attack happened. I have no idea how they got into my house or how long they were there. All I saw was a shadow in the mirror by my door. If I hadn’t seen the movement, I could have been dead along with Tara.” “I taught you how to defend yourself. What happened to all that training I instilled in you before I left?” “I’m sorry, Samuel. It was just so sudden I really had no time to react. I will train harder once I’m better.” “Well, I’m here for you, and my whole unit will be getting sent home soon. They all want to come check on you as well. I am going to have a high-tech security system installed in your house, and I’m moving in for the foreseeable future.” “You don’t have to install a security system. You staying there with me should be enough.” “No, and I don’t want any arguments either. I will go to your house tonight and supervise the installation of the system and make sure your house is cleaned up, and the window Detective Li broke is boarded up until tomorrow when I can have that fixed properly. He has explained to me all about who Jin Kang is and why he is here. I spoke to him briefly about Jin’s background, and with his qualifications, I believe I can trust him with your safety. As soon as they come back in, I am heading out to your house with Detective Li. He wants to look around and will help with the security system since this guy is seriously after you. Did he tell you a letter was left on your computer monitor while the investigation team was still investigating?”

“Yes, he told me about it briefly, but I have no idea what was written on it. Just that there was a letter left on my monitor while the house was surrounded by cops and the investigators filled the inside. Did he tell you what was written on the letter?” “No, we are going to stop by the station on the way to your place and take a look at it. Since Jin and I will be your protection for the duration of this investigation, we need to have an idea of what we are dealing with.”

*****

After walking out of the room and closing the door again, Jin immediately turned to Li. “This woman is smart.” “What do you mean?” “Have you spoken to her since the incident in the hospital happened or asked her anything about it before you called security?” “No, I called security while the nurses were working to stabilize her condition. Why, have you asked her about it?” “A nurse just informed us she had been given an overdose of morphine.” “Really? Morphine…okay, continue.” “Yes, I asked her if there was anything different that she noticed before the incident happened. She said that the nurse walked in after everyone else had left the room, and while all the nurses she had seen since she was itted in this hospital were wearing dark-teal scrubs, this particular nurse was wearing navyblue scrubs. She also said the nurse never introduced herself, that she just told her she was giving her something for the pain in her leg after looking at her chart. I asked her if she had any more details about the woman. All she could come up with was the woman was probably a little taller than she is. She had long dark hair, a slender face, and she had beautiful hazel eyes. I then asked her if she ed what happened while she was a bit out of it, asking if she was

speaking to Tara. She said it was a nightmare she was having, and the only part she could about the nightmare was that Tara was indeed there, and she was trying to warn Emily of something, telling her to run, that they were coming for her. She emphasized over and over that Tara was saying ‘they,’ as in more than one person.” “Is that right? Hmm… I wonder if we should be looking for two people. Well, for right now, I will inform security about the fake nurse and hand over the false chart for fingerprint testing at the station. I am going to leave you here to keep an eye on Emily while I take her brother and head to the station first then head to her house to take a look around and be sure it is secure. Her brother is having a super high-tech security system installed before she comes home.” “Why go to the station first?” Li filled Jin in on how the letter was left on her computer monitor while the house was occupied by investigators and surrounded by cops. “All this happened while she was being itted to the hospital?” “Yes.” Jin’s face lit up a bit, thinking about how this was going to get interesting. “I think we might be in for a good fight this time. I have not been brought in on a case like this in years. I’m so glad you called me, buddy.” Jin slapped his good friend on the back and began to smile. These were the types of cases Jin lived for—anything that could make use of all his skills—and Li knew it. Both men smiled as they reentered Emily’s room. Their smiles dropped as soon as they saw the sorry state Emily and her brother were in. For her brother to be such a big man, he was crying in his sister’s arms like a baby. It was understandable though. Detective Li had learned that Samuel had been in love with Tara and had planned to tell her when he was discharged from the Navy. He had broken down in the hallway while Li was talking to him. Emily looked so small holding her hulking brother, just letting him cry; she, too, was crying. Detective Li felt something strange pull in his chest and began thinking of his own little sister. He needed to call her when he got a second, just to check in on her. With his sister being an actress, he was positive she was safe. He had

personally handpicked her protection team and knew they were all some of the best. The only reason Jin Kang was with him and not with his sister was because there were just some cases where he needed an expert, and that expert was Jin Kang, his best friend. Before either of the men could make a sound, Emily looked up and whispered something in her brother’s ear. He immediately sat up and wiped his face. “Sorry, guys, it’s been a rough day.” Samuel stood and walked over to Jin. He looked him square in the eye and said, “Do not let my sister out of your sight for even a second. If anything happens to her while I am not here, I will personally hold you responsible. Do you understand what I am saying?” “Completely, but there’s no need to worry.” “Come on, Samuel. We need to head to the station and check out that letter.” Li shook hands with Jin on his way out. “Keep a close eye on her. I am not sure who or why they are targeting Emily, but I have a bad feeling about this letter. I will call you later with details about the letter and anything else you might need to know.” With that, Detective Li and Samuel walked out of the room and pulled the door closed. “Listen, Samuel, I know you just got back, but I promise that you can trust Jin with your sister. He will protect her with his own life. That is just the way he is. Once we get to the station, I am going to take a look at the letter while you go ahead and call for a security system. I’ll call you in if there is something you need to see, all right?” “Sure, sounds good. Just promise me we are going to get this guy. He already killed the love of my life, and now he is after my only remaining family. I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to Emily.” “Don’t worry. We are going to catch this guy.” They walked out of Golden Bay Hospital, around the side of the building to the parking garage where Detective Li’s car was parked. They sat in silence the whole three-block drive to the police station. Li pulled into the station’s parking lot, and both men exited the vehicle rather quickly. Samuel followed the detective through the front doors of the station down a short hallway and made a left into Detective Li’s office. Samuel sat in a chair across from Detective Li’s

desk and began looking through his phone for a good security system. The letter had been dusted for fingerprints already and bagged separately along with the envelope and a photograph. Detective Li picked up the letter first and began to read it aloud.

My dear Emily,

I have taken care of your parasite problem for you. Never again will anyone take the credit you wholeheartedly deserve. When will you realize that you and I are destined to be together? Call it fate if you will. I can give you the best, most comfortable life; you will never want for anything.

If you still refuse to accept me, I can make your life a living hell. I can see your every move. I can sense your fear and frustration, and it excites me. I tried to warn that stupid slut to come clean about taking your glory, and she blatantly ignored me.

Until you realize that I am right, and we belong together, I shall become your waking nightmare. I will haunt your every move. Beware of the shadows around you, my dear; you never know from around what corner I will appear.

Lovingly yours, Nightmare

PS: To prove my point, I have included a little gift for you, a photo to me by. I had better not find you around any other men, or they, too, will suffer. I do mean any man—that includes that idiotic muscle-brained brother of yours,

Samuel Winters.

At the sound of his name, Samuel looked up across the desk and grabbed the bagged photo. “This bastard is going down, and I don’t care who gets him!” Rage was bubbling up in his chest, and his hands clenched into fists so tight the skin was turning bright white. The veins in his neck were beginning to tick, and the muscles in his jaw flexed. Detective Li took the photo from Samuel’s clenched fist and glanced at it. Trying not to stare at the photo, the audacity of the culprit was extreme. Even Li was disturbed by what he saw. The single photo was taken inside the master bathroom. It overlooked the shower stall door showing a top-down view of Emily soaping up her naked body. This bastard was absolutely crazy. “Samuel, I know this is a lot for you right now, but I need you to send a photo of both the letter and the photograph to Jin’s phone. I will call him on the way to Emily’s house to get his take on them. He needs to see how close this person has gotten to your sister. Jin can look at the photo and read the letter and gain knowledge about this person’s character. He will see things we may have missed. So go ahead and send those to him on our way out to the car. If my hunch is right, we are going to need more people tonight at your sister’s house.”

Chapter 6

“Yes, boss, I increased the amount of morphine she received. Given her body weight, that amount should give her hallucinations but not put her into respiratory failure.” “Were you seen by anyone?” “The only one who saw me was Emily, but I was wearing a mask and scrubs, so I don’t think she noticed anything different. If she did, she did not say anything. She didn’t even ask my name.” “Good. Hurry and get out of there and come to me so we can plan our next strategy.” “I’m on my way. Oh, by the way, now not only is that damn Detective Li by her side, there is another man who I assume was called in by Li, and that handsome brother of hers is back. I must say he has filled out well.” “Shit! That asshole brother of hers is going to be a pain in the ass. Who the hell is this new guy, and why is he near her now?” “The detective called him. So I assume he has some association with Li Jie. I will try to have it figured out by the time you and I meet up again. You don’t have to worry about her brother. I will gladly take care of him.” “Yeah, you do that. Meet me at the old place in twenty-four hours. Don’t be late!” With that, the phone disconnected. “Geez, if I did not have my own agenda in this, I definitely would not put up with his shit. Once and for all, Samuel will be mine, and now there is not anything getting in my way. That damn Tara, what did she have that I do not? Well, for one, I am still alive. That bitch did not deserve Samuel anyway. I am the only one he needs. Oh damn, now I am starting to sound like that

psychopath, but well, it is true that only I am a match for Samuel Winters—his broad shoulders, muscular body, bronzed from being out in the sun. Hmm… I how it feels to be picked up by those muscular arms and held against a wall, how it felt to feel his weight on top of me. Damn, I need to get it together and stop ing the past. It will be our future again for sure, but for now I must follow what that dumbass tells me to do. We are working toward the same goal anyway, so why not help each other.”

*****

Hanging up the phone, he put it in his pocket. If this woman were not as good as she was, he would not be teaming up with her, but he needed a scapegoat, and that is exactly what she was. A smile spread across his face just thinking of how he was going to throw her under the proverbial bus. This Ava chick had the hots for Samuel Winters and dated him for a bit when he dumped her ass trying to get with Tara. The bar was dimly lit with many half-clothed women there flaunting their goods. They rubbed up on men, trying to entice them, but they had nothing on his beloved. What is with all these women? Whores—all of them. They flock to you if you have muscles or money. Well, when you have both like I do, it works out well. I have the looks, the money, and the will to make things happen. But why is it that the one woman I want does not fall for my money, looks, or charms? This woman will be mine one way or another. She just does not know it yet. She will either be mine, or she will not belong to anyone. Sitting at the bar and pulling out his burner phone, he began his first assault. Thankfully, now people could buy smartphones as burner phones.

Ms. Tara Shawls,

When will you get a grip on your life and stop taking the credit for someone else’s work? If you want to be famous so badly, I will gladly help you. But I can no longer sit back and watch you take the credit for something that is not yours. If another book comes out with your name on it, you will not live to regret it. I suggest you heed my advice before it is too late. I would hate to mess up that pretty face of yours. The decision is yours.

Sincerely, Nightmare

Nightmare—that was a wonderful name for him. He thought it suited him very well. He would become her nightmare, but sadly it would be short-lived. It would be harder for that asshole detective to figure things out if he continued to send her hate mail while he knew for a fact, she would not be receiving it. He made sure of that. Well, actually Ava did. Her hatred of Tara was strong, but she seemed to hate Emily as well. Maybe because she was Samuel’s sister and they were close. He did know that if she ever injured Emily that badly again, he would take her out himself. She did not even know who he was, and he planned to keep it that way, but he was someone who could kill and leave absolutely no trace he was ever there. This was his specialty. He could track anyone, kill anyone, and no one even knew his name. He was so inconspicuous that he blended in with any crowd. He really was a nightmare. He had done his homework on this Ava Matthis. She had no family, was trained as a professional sniper and assassin by the military, and could hack into anything. She was dishonorably discharged from the military for shooting and killing a fellow soldier for insulting Samuel Winters. The only reason she was not already in prison was because she went AWOL. Unfortunately for her, she might have been well trained, but he was trained better. He was still able to trace her movements from the time she left the military base until now. That is why she was now working for him, because she wanted to get Samuel back and live happily ever after. What a joke. She would have neither happiness nor love. He, on the other hand, would have Emily eventually. He thought he had been patient

enough. He had been following her since high school and continued to follow her for the last twelve years. He watched her work hard on her novels, reading along as she wrote them, but then became disappointed when they came out under the name of Tara Shawls. He knew she was her best friend in school, but that is what made it so confusing. Tara was not a very smart girl, so there was no way she came up with this plan. That is why when he tracked her down in her apartment, it did not take very much to get all the information he needed out of her. All he had to do was show her his gun, and she spilled everything. Evidently, Emily did not want to be in the spotlight, but she wanted to be an author. Tara was an idiot who wanted fame but was too stupid to figure it out on her own. Emily came up with the arrangement for Tara to be the face of her books while she remained hidden in the background, writing to her heart’s content. Well, his girl would be in the spotlight where she belongs, and he was about to let her know that himself. He pulled out another burner phone and opened the email feature, typed in Emily’s personal email address, and began his new love letter to her. He made sure that a cell phone was placed on the table by her hospital bed earlier when her ‘nurse’ gave her more medicine. With his expertise in computers, he made it so that the email was bounced around the globe several times before reaching its final destination in her email inbox, basically untraceable. Now to convince her he was the one for her, he wrote this:

My dear Emily,

It was rather unfortunate you were injured because of me, and I do apologize for it. I will gladly take care of you, treating your wound, feeding you breakfast in bed, helping you bathe, and snuggle up close with you during the night. We will have to change those hideous sheets on your bed though. That pattern and color are just not my style. I have taken the liberty of going ahead and changing those for you. I know your favorite color is green, and since mine is blue, I found a happy medium with a beautiful aquamarine set. I think you will love it.

I also went ahead and filled your pantry and fridge in preparation of your homecoming. I hear the hospital is going to discharge you within the next two days. It is nice to be informed. I have also stocked the master bathroom with first-aid supplies to clean and rewrap your injuries to keep them sterile, so they will heal properly. I will be seeing you soon, my lovely.

Lovingly yours, Nightmare

He thought this email was perfect. So he sent it and waited for her response.

*****

Jin moved the chair in Emily’s room, away from the bed over to the window, and retrieved his phone from his blazer pocket. He looked at the photos sent from Samuel. First, he read the letter then swiped over to the photo. As a grown man, he hadn’t felt embarrassed or felt himself blush in a long time, yet upon seeing the photo of Emily in the shower, he felt a warmth creep up his neck to his cheeks, and finally, he felt his ears turning red. He quickly swiped back to the letter and read over it again, taking mental note of a few things that stood out to him in the letter. Right before he dialed Samuel’s number, he started to hear a strange vibrating noise coming from beside Emily’s bed. He stood and walked over to the bedside table and found it was a phone vibrating constantly. Phones were not normally set up to constantly vibrate for an email. Why was hers doing this? The noise it was making startled Emily from her sleep. “What is that?” Emily asked. Jin held out the smartphone. “Isn’t this your cell phone?”

“No, that isn’t mine. I have a smartphone, but it should be in my purse in that closet over there,” she said, pointing across the room to a small closet by the bathroom door. “So this isn’t your phone?” Jin looked at the screen where it had a greeting line for Emily up on the screen. “So you don’t mind if I open this email and read it then?” Emily looked at the phone in Jin’s outstretched hand again. “I told you it isn’t mine. My phone is a different brand, and it’s in a case with a photo of a popular Korean band on the back. I think that nurse in the navy scrubs left it in here. Do you mind looking in my purse and see if my phone is still in there, so I can my brother?” Jin walked over to the closet and grabbed Emily’s purse and brought it over, putting it on the bed next to her. Emily giggled to herself at the fact he brought her whole purse instead of just her phone. He acted just like her brother. Jin suddenly ed the photo in his own phone sent by Samuel that the culprit had taken and had to turn away fast. Jin swiped up on the phone screen, unlocking the phone and tapping on the email application. Immediately, the email opened, producing the letter written by Nightmare to Emily. He continued to read the email while simultaneously calling Detective Li. “Hey, Jin, did you get the photos Samuel sent you?” “Yeah, I did, but there is something you should know.” He walked a few steps away from Emily toward the door to her room. “You need to call in a team to sweep her house for hidden cameras and microphones. He has eyes on her everywhere, and he has access to the inside of her house whenever he wants. A cell phone was left in her hospital room on the bedside table, and just a few minutes ago, it started making noises. I asked her if it was her phone, and she said it was not, but she thought the nurse in navy scrubs left it here, so I opened the phone, and an email popped up. The email was addressed to Emily directly. He had been inside the house while no one was there. I will send you a copy of the email and ask the hospital staff for a plastic bag to put the phone in so I can hand it over to you when I see you again.” “Just call in Lieutenant Johns. He’s the head of hospital security. Ask him if they have found anything on the CCTV about the woman in the navy scrubs. I will

find out soon if there is anything to be found on the medical chart.” “This guy has more than an obsession with her. It’s obsession, stalking, assault, home invasion, invasion of privacy—I can list a few more, but this is profoundly serious. He is like her second skin.” “Send the email to Samuel’s phone, so he can read it to me as I drive. We should be getting to her house soon, maybe in the next fifteen to twenty minutes. I will call in a team to help us go over her house with a fine-toothed comb.” “Before you guys touch anything, take photographs of everything you find, even if it seems insignificant. Once you read this email, you will understand what I mean.” “This is more serious than I thought. You said the phone is not hers, but it just happened to show up on the bedside table, and she thinks that the nurse left it there? When you opened it, there was an email from the culprit to Emily? This guy is a professional.” “All right, I’m forwarding the email to you now. Try not to let Samuel get too pissed off and do something stupid. He seems like the type to lose his cool quick. I will keep a close eye on Emily, so do not worry. I will tell you now that I am going to take this phone apart with a pair of gloves to see if there is any tracking devices or spying equipment hidden inside. I will let you know what I find, if I find anything.” Once he hung up the phone, he turned back to Emily, who was a ghastly shade of white. He quickly closed the space between them and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Emily! What is the matter? What happened?” “What did I ever do to deserve this?” Tears streamed silently down her face. “What did Tara ever do to deserve what happened to her? Why is this happening?” “There is nothing you have done wrong, Tara either. This guy has a very unhealthy obsession with you, that is all. Is there anyone you can think of who would possibly go this far to get back at you for anything?”

“The only person that comes to mind would be Tara’s ex-husband. His name is Kirk Shawls. He stalked me for a bit after he and Tara divorced. He divorced her because he found out about our agreement and claimed he was blinded by her outer beauty, but he now believed that brains were a lot sexier. I had him arrested once for stalking after he ignored a restraining order I had placed against him. But I have not heard anything from him since then. I thought maybe with the restraining order and subsequent arrest he would leave me alone after that.” “You don’t have to worry because I am here now. I will be with you from here on out until we catch whoever this is. I will also look into Kirk’s whereabouts from his arrest until now.” He slid his hand down her arm until he was grasping both her hands in his. Her hands were tiny compared to his, and again, he felt his protective urges boiling up inside his chest. “Why don’t you go ahead and lie back and get some rest? I know how much that injury must hurt. They will be back in about an hour to change the dressing on that leg, so you had better get some rest while you can.”

Chapter 7

Jin sat in the chair by the window and did as he was asked. He called Lieutenant Johns from the hospital room phone to see if they had found anything. “We can follow the woman in from the front door of the building to the stairwell. She was clothed in dark scrubs and wore a surgical mask over her face from the time she entered the building to the time she left. After entering the stairwell, she popped out again on Emily’s floor. She seemed to hesitate and hang out by the staircase until she saw everyone had exited the room, then she entered. We have no cameras inside the rooms due to privacy reasons, but when she came back out, she was holding something up to her chest. It looked like a file. It could be the patient’s real medical chart. Within the time she was inside the building, she did not go anywhere else but to Emily’s room then left. We can’t really give you any more details about this woman’s appearance except for the fact that she’s a woman, about five feet, eight inches, in her mid to late twenties, Caucasian, and highly skilled.” “I see, but who is this woman, and why is she after Emily?” “We aren’t sure yet who she is, and we are speaking to anyone who may anything about her. We have a few employees who ing by her on the stairs and a few who took note of her when she entered the building. It is not very common for an employee to enter the building with a mask on already, so a few people thought it was odd. We are still talking to them though. I will let you know when we are done talking to them all.” Thinking to himself, Jin ed the dream Emily was telling him about. She said they, and she was sure of it. Could there really be two people working together against her? Why? “Okay, I will wait to hear from you. Let me know if she enters the building again.” “We will.”

After hanging up the phone, he looked over to the bed where she lay; she looked so frail and helpless. Samuel mentioned before that he taught both Tara and Emily self-defense. Emily even said she went to the gym. Then why didn’t she protect herself when she was attacked? Jin was certain they had both been caught off guard. Maybe that is why they had not been able to defend themselves. The door to her room opened again, and a man in a white lab coat walked in. He was carrying a tablet in his hand and took notice of Jin sitting by the window. Jin stood to greet the doctor. “Well, you are a new face. I’m Dr. George Matthews. I have been treating Ms. Winters since her arrival.” “Jin Kang. I’m here to watch over Ms. Winters while her brother is checking out her house.” “I was told there was an issue with her chart, so we have had another pulled up in the computer. We won’t be leaving this one here though.” “I understand.” Jin held out his hand to shake with the doctor. After shaking hands, Dr. Matthews went about checking all her vital signs and taking notes. “Unfortunately, we will have to wake her shortly to clean and re-dress the wound on her leg. We will be back in about ten minutes for this if you can just let her know.” “I will, Doctor. Thank you.” Dr. Matthews walked out of the room and closed the door. He sat back down in the chair. He had never been charged with watching a woman so closely, not even as bodyguard of Li’s sister. That was a total disaster. Li Xiu Ying was two years younger than them and came on to him. She was very forward about her feelings, but he just could not. Li knew his sister was after Jin. That is why he took him off her bodyguard detail. For that, Jin was eternally grateful and had no qualms with watching over this woman for Li.

*****

She could hear talking in her room by her bed. It was fuzzy, and she felt warm. She started to rouse from her sleep only to see the back of a man in a lab coat walking out the door. She looked over to this other man in her room. He said his name was Jin Kang, and he was Korean. He, too, was exceptionally goodlooking and tall. Oh man, did she love tall men, but this guy was more than tall. He had beautiful eyes, broad shoulders, and his lips were…oh gosh, how do you say this? They were very kissable. She must have died and gone to heaven; otherwise, there would be no way two extremely handsome men would be looking after her. Who was she kidding? She had not dated anyone since high school. She was troubled by her own body image. The one guy who dated her only did so as a bet he made with his friends. Once she found out about the bet, her brother had defended her and put that boy in the hospital. What was his name again? Oh well, that is why she preferred to stay in the background. She had been bullied all through her school years for being short and bigger than the other girls. Some even said she looked like a man because she was good at sports and would rather work on a car with her brother than go shopping. Jin looked over at her lying in the bed and caught her staring at him. He smiled warmly at her. Wow, that smile could melt every icy heart within a ten-mile radius. “You’re awake now?” “Yes, was that the doctor just now?” “Yeah, Dr. Matthews said he would be back in in about ten minutes to clean and change the dressing on your wound. When he comes back, we will talk about when you can be discharged from the hospital.” “This may be a stupid question, but with all the pain medicine I’ve been given, how long have I been in the hospital? I seem to have lost track of the time.” “That’s understandable. You have been here for two days.” “Hopefully, I won’t have to stay here much longer. I’m starving and don’t when I last had an actual meal.”

He laughed. Wow, even his teeth are nice. Why am I even thinking about this? This man and the detective are both out of my league. What is that old saying, “I can look but, I can’t touch.” There was a slight knock on the door, and in walked Dr. Matthews along with two other nurses. “Ms. Winters, you’re awake. Great, we are going to remove the old bandages, clean, and re-dress your wounds. While we are doing this, Nurse Barton will explain the handouts in her hand. It is an explanation of your wounds, the procedures that were performed on you, and detailed instructions on how to take care of your wounds until they are better.” “Okay, that sounds good to me.” “It will probably hurt a bit at first, but please bear with us.” “Sure, not a problem.” Jin’s cell phone rang in his hand. He looked down to see it was Li Jie. “Hello.” “Hey, do you have eyes on Emily right now?” “Yes, she’s talking with the doctor.” “You were absolutely right about bringing a team here to sweep her house for hidden cameras, microphones, and spy gear. We have been here for about three hours already, and they have found countless cameras and gear hidden. She has a large house, and they have only been through the kitchen and living room, and they have found enough to fill half a thirteen-gallon trash bag. They still have the two guest bedrooms, her office, the master bedroom, master bath, master walk-in closet, two bathrooms, the laundry room, and a few linen closets to go through, plus a half basement her brother said she hardly uses. Samuel and I went through and took photos of everything before we let the team in for the sweep, and everything that was written in his email was true—the sheets, the food, everything.”

“How did Samuel take that?” “He was royally pissed and rightfully so. This guy has infiltrated his sister’s private sanctuary. To say he is pissed is a drop in the ocean. He is out for blood.” “I believe it.” “We are staying all night and sweeping the house several times to be sure we get them all. This guy is certainly a professional. He’s got some of these hidden in places I would have never ever thought to hide them, like door hinges, air vents, and doorknob lock slots. You said you were going to take the phone you found apart to check for this kind of stuff, right? Do me a favor, and do the same to her phone and check the contents of her phone for any type of spyware you can put on a phone. Have they said anything about releasing her from the hospital yet?” “Not yet. They are finishing up with the wound re-dressing now. I’ll hang up and talk with the doctor about it.” “Jin, if she’s released in the next couple of days, I need you to do something you’ve never done before.” “Uh-oh, I have a bad feeling about this. What are you asking me to do?” “It’s going to take a while to get through this entire house, so I need you to take her to your place when she’s released.” Jin looked over to Emily and spoke in an incredibly low tone, “Li, do you know what you are asking me to do?” “Yes, I do, and unfortunately, her brother will be coming over too. You have extra rooms in your place, and I live in a studio apartment. Your place is the safest place she could possibly go right now. All the cameras you have there— you set up yourself, and you have your own CCTV. Her brother will bring her an overnight bag with the necessities, but you will need to help her with something before you go home. This part is easy.” Shaking his head and putting his palm over his face, he took a deep breath. “What is it?” “Take her to the nearest electronics store and buy her a laptop. She needs to

continue her work like normal. Her brother is bringing her flash drive with him when he comes, and he said this about his sister, if it will make you feel a bit more comfortable. He said that once she has a laptop in front of her, she will plug in headphones to listen to music while she works and will work nonstop until she practically finishes a whole manuscript. He said she gets so engrossed in her work that she will even forget to eat sometimes. She will only get up to go to the bathroom, or she will get up long enough to stretch her legs, then back at it she goes. So you won’t even realize she’s there.” “Great, you’re telling me she will forget to eat. Does that mean I will have to remind her to eat?” “No, her brother will take care of her when he gets there, so you will not even notice her.” “That’s easy for you to say.” “You’ll be fine. I have complete confidence in you. I just think it is going to take a few days to get through her entire house. It will be over before you know it.” Before hanging up the phone, he heard Li laughing. Oh man, that guy is going to get it. He knows I have never had a woman stay at my house. I hate how clingy women get. You let them stay over once, and they are already hearing wedding bells and planning out the rest of your life. That is the last thing I need in my life. I enjoy being free. He looked over at the bed where the doctor was just finishing up with her bandages. He came over to sit on the side of the bed and listen in while the doctor explained how to care for her wounds and how often to change the bandages. “We will be sending you home with enough bandages to cover at least a week of cleaning and re-dressings of your wound, some antibiotics, and a few other medications. You will need to follow the instructions on the bottles and be sure to take them completely. We have gone over all medications and how to clean and rewrap your leg, so I will get your discharge papers ready, and you may leave tomorrow morning once all these medications are filled.” “I get to go home tomorrow. That is fantastic. Thank you.”

Dr. Matthews shook Emily’s hand. “I hope I don’t have to see you for a while. Before you leave though, I need you to go ahead and set up another appointment for us to recheck and see how you are healing.” “Okay, Doctor, I will. Thank you again for everything.” The doctor and nurses filed out of the room, leaving just the two of them. Jin walked over to her bedside, his face a little red. “What’s the matter, Jin? Your face is all red.” He thought really hard about whether or not to show her the note, photo, and email then decided it would be better to explain her situation first. “Emily, instead of going to your house once you are discharged, you will be coming to my house. Your brother will be coming too. Right now, there is a team going through your house very carefully, and they are finding things that would most likely disturb you. I will explain everything to you along with Detective Li and your brother. That way, if you have any questions, we can all sit down and answer them together. Your brother will be bringing you an overnight bag with all the necessities along with your flash drive, and we will be stopping on the way to my place to get you a new laptop, so you can continue your work.” Emily sat there for a minute and looked to be a little lost in thought until Jin snapped his fingers. “Did you hear what I said, Emily?” “Oh yeah, I heard you. You do not look very happy to have me intruding on you, and I understand. Thank you for putting me up for a few nights. Maybe once this is over, I can buy you dinner as my way of saying thanks.” She grabbed her purse off the foot of the bed and commenced to dig through it as if she were looking for something. “What are you looking for?” “I just wanted to see if my headphones were in here. I should go ahead and get another pair when we stop for the laptop since they aren’t in here. I don’t want to disturb you with my music while I work.”

“I heard you listen to music while you write, to the point that you sometimes forget to eat. Is that right?” “Yeah.” “Mind if I ask why?” “Not at all, while I was in school, I could never find a quiet place to study, so I started to listen to music loud enough to drown out all other sounds. I got so used to it that once I had my own place and had absolute quiet, it creeped me out, and I would jump at every little sound because I was alone.” “What kind of music do you listen to so intently while you are writing that you can just keep going?” “You are going to laugh, but I listen to K-pop. My hands react to the upbeat music and just fly over the keys.” “I’m not laughing. Everyone has their own preferences. Okay, a new laptop and headphones are coming up once we leave here tomorrow. Go ahead and get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow. I do need your phone for a moment if you do not mind. I need to check it to make sure there are not any tracking devices in it. It’s just a safety precaution.” “Sure, not a problem.” She looked around for a moment, located her phone in the bed coverings, and handed it to him. “The to get in is 7287.”

Chapter 8

Sitting in a small white hatchback three doors down from Emily’s house, he began to fume. He bought this car because the neighbor who lives in this house owns one just like it, and he was out of town right now. Interesting, why are there so many people wondering in and out of her house? Pulling out his phone, he looked through all his cameras. Oh, so you have figured out that I have eyes and ears everywhere, huh? No matter, I can always replace them. Pulling out his small binoculars, he looked toward her house again. Damn it, Samuel, you always screw up my fun. I will have your sister, and there is not a damn thing you can do about it. He watched as men and women entered and exited the house with trash bags; one man in particular stood out. Hmm, who are you, and why are you in my lady’s house? He watched as a tall, good-looking Asian fellow stopped Samuel by the door. Well, that is going to be easy to figure out. He must be the detective who interrupted my associate. He followed the figure as he walked to an unmarked police car, opened the door, and climbed inside behind the wheel. What is this? Samuel is getting in the car too with her overnight bag. Where are you guys going? I will find out soon enough. He looked down at his phone again and tapped a few buttons, activating a tracking device placed inside the bag. It started a small blipping motion on his phone. Looks like they have not found this one yet. An evil smile spread across his face as he put the phone down in the cupholder and watched the car back out of the driveway.

*****

Samuel sat quietly in the enger seat; his fists clenched around the bag in his lap. “Hey, Detective, since he has cameras and microphones everywhere in her place, do you think he’s put them in things like this bag too?”

“It’s highly possible. Before I take you back to the hospital to be with your sister, I am stopping by the station to swap out the bag. While we were inside, I took a photo of the bag you were packing and texted one of my female colleagues to go get an identical bag along with several tracksuits since you said this is what your sister finds most comfortable to wear, undergarments, shoes, and everyday necessities for a woman to provide your sister until we find out all the places he’s hidden any type of devices. She texted back a few minutes ago saying everything was ready. We are going to the station to swap them out just in case.” They pulled into the station, quickly circling around to the back, where Li texted his colleague again. A few minutes later, a woman in uniform came out carrying two bags. “Here you go, Detective. The first bag is all her clothes, toiletries, etc., and the second bag is her new sneakers and a pair of house shoes.” Samuel traded bags with the officer through the car window. Detective Li leaned toward the open enger window. “Officer, be sure to have that bag thoroughly searched for tracking or listening devices. Let me know what you find.” “Understood, Detective, I will take it right away.” She took the bag and headed inside. “Samuel, give Jin a call to let him know we are on the way. Ask him if he found anything in either phone.” “All right.” He dialed Jin and put his phone on speaker so they could both hear.

*****

Jin’s phone rang on the table. He hurriedly answered it so it wouldn’t wake Emily, then he continued dissecting her phone. “Yeah, Samuel. I’m working on it now. I have already found several spy apps and gotten rid of them on her phone. I am checking out the inside now. The other

phone that was left here had no apps on it, but it did have a tracking apparatus inside. If I had my equipment, I could reverse the piece to trace the originating phone. It’s some pretty high-tech equipment.” “So he’s been able to get close enough to take her phone.” “Ooh, look what I’ve found. Okay, so I’ve just found a tracer and a mic in her phone.” “Just how high tech is this equipment?” “Government grade devices, so whether or not she is using the phone, he can hear everything that is going on. I am removing them from her phone now and setting up a few surprises of my own. Any phone call that comes from a not saved in her phone will automatically record and send the recordings to our phones, and once it reaches my phone, it will automatically begin tracing the number calling even if it’s a blocked number.” “So he’s been listening to everything that we’ve been saying until now?” Li asked. “Yes, unfortunately, that’s exactly what it means. I have gotten it disabled, so he cannot hear anything now, but that might upset him.” “That is just great. We are on the way to you now. I am going to leave Samuel with you and head back to Emily’s house. Let me know if you find anything else.” “Hey, man, be careful. This guy is obviously smart, and I think he is working with someone, that woman disguised as a nurse perhaps. I’m not exactly sure why a woman is working with him unless she has something against Emily too.” “All right, Samuel is on his way up now. I just dropped him off at the door. It’s going to take a while to finish going through her house. You know how to find me if anything happens.” “I doubt anything will happen now that I’m here.” “Ah, don’t be so full of yourself, Jin Kang. There is always someone bigger, badder, and crazier than you.”

“We’ll see.” He must have been on the phone with Detective Li; seeing him laugh made her smile. Even with all the bad things happening to her, his laugh was like a melody. The door to her room opened, and her brother came in, snapping her back to the reality that her best friend was dead, and someone was out to get her. “Hey, Jin, I was talking to Detective Li in the car on the ride over, and he said you were good with security systems. Is that right?” “I’m good with a lot of things, but security is my main priority.” “He said you have your own CCTV system set up at your place. Do you think you could do the same at Emily’s? I will buy all the hardware you need.” “Hardware isn’t a problem. I will need at least a day to get it set up, but she isn’t leaving my sight.” He looked over to the bed, where he thought she was asleep, and saw her staring at him. Her big brown eyes connected with his for a split second before she looked away. He turned and continued to put her phone back together, smiling to himself. Samuel looked from Emily to Jin and shook his head. “Hey, man, if you want to get with my sister, you have another thing coming. She hasn’t dated anyone in forever. The last guy she did date, I put in the hospital.” Jin laughed again. “It isn’t anything like that. Li Jie called me in for protection detail. For me, that means the person I am protecting does not leave my sight. I never even thought about dating your sister.” This time it was Samuel who was laughing. Emily sent a heated look to her brother, willing him to shut up. She did not need him throwing her love life into the mix. She already knew Jin Kang was too good for her. He was tall, handsome, and muscular. Hell, with his looks alone, he could be a model or an actor. She had learned a long time ago that she was not the type of woman whom men would go for; she was the type people would bet others to date as a joke. It hurt a little yes, but she had learned to get over it and move on. Keeping herself busy with her novels, going to the gym, and basically anything to take her mind off her past problem with men. It still bothered her when she thought of how the last man she dated acted all

lovingly toward her when it was all a gimmick. He had made a bet with his friends that he could get the chunky bookworm into bed within a two-week period. Too bad for him, she found out about the bet and made a big deal of breaking it off with him. When he continued to bother her, she told her brother the whole situation. Her brother was furious and beat him bad enough to be sent to the hospital. After that, she never heard from him again. She tried hard to his name; it was on the edge of her tongue but would not come out. She shook her head as if to toss away all the negative thoughts and turned once again to look at Jin. “Hey, are you almost done with my phone? It would really make me feel better if I could listen to some music and tune out all the bullshit,” her tone dripping in hatred toward her brother. “Aw, Em, you don’t have to get so mad. I gave him a good enough beating for you.” Anger and embarrassment took turns showing on her face. “Samuel, please just shut up. I do not want to talk about or hear about this anymore. It was a long time ago.” Samuel looked over to Jin, who was now looking at Emily with a different type of expression. What was that—sympathy? Pity? Either way, if Emily saw it, she would totally snap. He tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Jin, don’t let her see that look on your face. The thing she hates most in this world is being pitied. She will lose her mind on you. I promise.” Jin smiled again as he snapped her phone back together. “Didn’t you say you didn’t have your headphones with you? How will you listen to the music?” Emily quickly looked at Jin, almost pouting. “I will just turn it on low and place my phone by my ear until I get some headphones.” Samuel grabbed her phone from his hand and walked it over to his sister. “Hey, don’t be mad, okay? I am sorry I poked you where I knew it would hurt the most. I won’t do it again.”

Emily snatched her phone away from her brother, turned her music on low, and placed the phone on her pillow before turning around once more. “What time can we leave in the morning? I’m getting further behind schedule.” Samuel looked to Jin, who was sitting quietly observing the quarrel between siblings. “Your discharge paperwork will be ready around ten a.m. Afterward, we will stop by a few places on the way to my house. Then you can get back to work.” Looking embarrassed, Samuel looked over to his sister. She had laid back down in the bed, facing the window, her phone by her head, listening to her K-pop music. She was pouting; he was in for trouble when they got to Jin’s house. When she pouts, it is hard to get her back into a good mood. Once they were sure she was asleep, Jin called Samuel over to the doorway of her room, trying to stay out of her earshot. “Hey, Samuel, when we get to my house, once you get her settled in, I want you to tell me more about that relationship you were just talking about.” “Are you kidding me? If she finds out I told you everything, she will kill me.” “It’s for investigation purposes, all right.” “Investigation? Why are you investigating my sister? You are supposed to be helping her.” “I need to know all about her friends, family, family friends, ex-boyfriends, anyone and everyone close to the two of you.” “Ah, I get it. Sure, I will tell you while she’s working.” They agreed. Samuel went to sit by his sister’s bedside. Since she was asleep, he grabbed her phone, turning off the music and scrolling through her pictures. There were photos of places and random people. “Must be part of her research for her new book,” he said to himself and continued to scroll through. He happened upon a picture of a woman staring at her through a window at what looked like the gym. Startled, he stopped scrolling. Was that Ava in the picture? He zoomed in on the picture to confirm

his suspicions. It sure looked like her. Why did she have a picture of Ava, and why was Ava staring at Emily? He pulled out his own phone and found Ava’s name in his list. That could not be her, could it? He thought about it and decided he would ask Emily about it in the morning. It had been a long day, and he wanted to get some sleep.

Chapter 9

This could not be happening again, could it? She ed falling asleep to the sound of the music, and now she was in the woods. “Hello, is anyone there? Help me, please!” A voice came from the shadows. “I will gladly help you, honey.” She spun around quickly trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly opening her eyes again. Tara was standing in front of her. She stood so close Emily could swear she could smell Tara’s shampoo. She had a pleading look in her eyes as she leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Emily, you have to run. They are after you now, and they will not stop until they get you. He will not stop until you belong to him. I am sorry I failed to protect you. I never told you about the hate mail and terrifying gifts I was getting.” Emily took a step back. Looking at her best friend’s face, tears fell down her face. “Emily, I’m so sorry.” “Tara, it’s all right. I should have kept a better eye on you. You were in the spotlight for all my novels, and I never once thought I would encounter crazy fans. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have done everything in my power to help you.” She reached out to give her friend a hug but couldn’t as Tara’s image slowly began to fade. “, Emily, they aren’t who you think they are. One wants you, and the other wants you dead. You have to run. You have to get away. Don’t let him catch you.” Her image faded away into darkness. “She can’t help you now. She is already dead. There is nothing you can do about that, but just so that you know, her death could have been avoided. If you would

just stop hiding,” the voice said. “I wasn’t hiding!” She looked around again, trying to find the source of the voice. She was surrounded by trees in a dense forest with little light shining through the canopy. She started running toward a ray of light, hoping it was the exit, when suddenly, it was blocked by a shadow figure. She spun around running in the opposite direction deeper and deeper into the forest. Her legs began to feel like wet noodles, her chest burning from the exertion of running over the uneven terrain, and sweat dripping down her neck. “Where are you running to, my love?” Startled, she tripped over an exposed tree root; she was getting ready to brace for impact when a pair of strong arms caught her mid fall. “You don’t have to be frightened. I’m here now.” This voice was not the same one from before. This was not mechanical either. She had heard this voice recently. Looking up into the face of the man holding her, he began to laugh. Jin Kang was even handsome in her dreams. Yes, dream —that is what was happening; she was dreaming. It was definitely a dream because Jin would never be holding her like this. His face was beginning to fade into darkness, and the grip on her arms began getting tighter. “Jin, let go. You are hurting me! Let go!” “So this man Jin is your new boy toy, huh? I’ll be sure you watch him die.” She wrestled her way out of his grip, standing tall to face him. This was not Jin anymore; it was the masked man. “You don’t frighten me. You’re just an insecure, immature asshole who gets his rocks off torturing women. You can’t hurt me. This is just a dream.” “Oh, my dear, that’s where you are very wrong. I don’t get off torturing just anyone. It has to be you. This is no dream. I’m your nightmare.” The man in front of her dissipated into nothing; in the distance, Jin reappeared.

She ran at full speed to the safety she knew he would provide, but just as she was about to reach him, the masked figure materialized between them. Still running, now toward the masked figure, she could not stop, losing her footing on the rugged terrain and falling hard to the ground. The shadowy figure brandished a gun, pointing it directly at his chest. “Jin, watch out!” There was a loud sound, and smoke erupted from the muzzle. “Jin! Jin! Jin! Answer me, damn it!” Jin stood still, staring at Emily as his chest began turning red with blood. “I will protect you with my life. That’s why I am here.” “No, Jin! Jin!” she screamed, waking herself from the terrible nightmare. Jin and Samuel were both on their feet at the sound of her scream. Both men stared at her as she struggled to compose herself. “Why were you screaming my name? Did you have another nightmare?” “Yes, the masked man called himself my nightmare, and then he shot you in the chest right in front of me.” Her hands were trembling, and she was pale again. “You see this guy in your dreams?” asked Samuel. “What does he look like?” “I never see a face. I just hear his voice. Last time, it was two shadow people and Tara. This time it was Tara, one masked man, and Jin.” Emily took her hands and rubbed her face, trying to rid herself of the effects of the nightmare. Jin looked at her, a little disturbed. “Did you say he called himself your nightmare?” “Yes, that’s exactly what I said. I don’t really know what that means.” Jin stepped back, thinking about what she had just said. He looked at the time on his phone—9:30 a.m. “Well, since everyone is awake now, let us start getting

ready to leave. Your discharge papers should be ready in half an hour. Once we get to my place, there are a few things we need to discuss.” He texted Li to let him know they would be getting ready to leave the hospital soon, and he would text him again once they reached his house. Samuel stood and stretched then recalled the photo in Emily’s phone. “Hey, Em, can I ask you something?” “Sure, ask me anything.” “I was looking through the pictures in your phone, and I found one that was interesting.” “I should have known my brother would have no respect for my privacy but okay. Which photo did you find so interesting you had to ask about it?” He picked up her phone from the table in front of him and handed it to her. “I need you to unlock it first.” “If you don’t know my , then how did you see the photos in the first place?” “It was still unlocked when you fell asleep listening to your music, so I took it to turn it off.” “Oh.” She took the phone and typed in her then handed it back to him. He scrolled through several pictures before stopping on one. He turned the phone around, showing her the screen. “Who is this? After scrolling through your pictures, I have found several of her. I mean, do you know her? Hearing this, Jin walked over to the bedside to see the pictures. She had the same build as the woman in the navy scrubs. Too bad the security footage was in gray and white, so you could not see the color of her hair or eyes. Both men paused, waiting for her answer.

“I don’t know her actually. I only snapped the photos because I thought it was strange. Every time I went to the gym within the last two months, she was there. It made me a bit uncomfortable because she was never working out. She always stood just around in a corner watching me use the machines. A few times, I caught her staring at me from the upper floor of the gym while I was in the pool doing laps.” “You mean, this woman has been appearing around you a lot recently?” asked Jin. “Yes. I have no clue who she is. I just thought to snap a photo just in case.” “Good thinking. Send me those photos of her please. I will look further into this woman.” Samuel looked at Jin and shook his head. “You don’t have to investigate her. I know who she is. Her name is Ava Matthis. She is my ex-girlfriend.” Emily looked at her brother. “Why is your ex-girlfriend hanging around me? I didn’t even know you had an ex.” “I don’t know. I broke up with her after you informed me of Tara’s divorce. I thought it was finally my chance to tell Tara how I really felt about her, but I could not do that with a clean conscience if I confessed to her while I had a girlfriend. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of them.” He hung his head down in shame. Jin walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Samuel, how well did you know this Ava Matthis? You don’t think she would harm your sister, do you?” “I knew her pretty well. We dated for a few years. She is highly trained military personnel, but I do not know why she would come after Emily. I never introduced her to my family. I met her while we were stationed away from the US, and we hit it off well. After a while, she started talking about marriage and kids. You know, the family life. I was not interested in having a family with her. Then I got your message and found it the perfect time to break it off with her. I

haven’t seen her since.” There was a slight knock at the door. They all spun around to look at the door. Dr. Matthews walked in holding a folder and a small bag. The intensity in the room was palpable. He looked a little uncomfortable walking over to the bed, saying hi to Samuel and Jin as he ed by them. “All right, Emily, here is your discharge paperwork, and inside this bag are clean bandages, wrap, antibiotic ointment, and the rest of your medications. If you would like to go through them, a nurse will be in shortly to clean and rebandage your wound once more before you leave. If you have any questions about the medications, you can ask her then.” He hurried out of the room, stopping at the nurse’s station and chatting for a moment and grabbing a stack of medical charts, then he was gone. Jin took the bag to look through the medications she was given—oral steroids, antibiotics, and pain medicine. He checked each bottle carefully looking at all the information listed on the bottles, such as prescribing doctor, her name, dosage, how often she had to take each pill, and whether she had to take it with food or not. After looking carefully, he handed the bag to Samuel. “Once we leave here, you are in charge of making sure she takes all her medicine correctly.” Samuel nodded, and within a few minutes, a nurse walked in, pushing a wheelchair. “Ms. Winters, once I finish changing your dressing, you may leave, but you must use the wheelchair at least to the front door. Medical personnel will exchange the wheelchair for crutches on your way out the door to help you get around better.” “Yes, ma’am.” The nurse went about her duties and asked if Emily had any questions about her medications. “No, ma’am, I don’t. Thank you for your hard work and for taking care of me while I was here.” “That is no problem at all, sweetie. That is why we are here,” the nurse said as

she walked out of the room. “Samuel, can you help me gather my things from the closet over there?” He walked to the wheelchair first, placing it by the bed before getting her things from the closet. “Do we have everything now?” asked Jin as he walked over behind the wheelchair to hold it steady while she hopped on one foot a few steps to drop into the seat. “Yes, let’s get out of here.” She grabbed her purse off the foot of the bed and placed it on her lap then wheeled herself out the door.

Chapter 10

They neared the front entrance rather quickly, where hospital staff came over to exchange a set of crutches for the wheelchair just as the nurse had said. Pulling Samuel to the side, Jin covertly pointed out the camera at the hospital entrance. Samuel nodded his understanding. “Samuel, I’ll go get the car. You guys stay here.” They watched as he headed to the attached parking garage. “Samuel, I’m glad you’re back. I am so sorry about Tara. I know how much you loved her.” Samuel towered over his sister and pulled her into a big hug. “I know, Em. I should have told her sooner, but I lost my chance. I won’t let anything happen to you.” She had a firm grip on him when he suddenly felt her tense up. With his arms still wrapped around her, he asked, “What’s wrong?” “Please just hide me.” He heard the panic in her voice and quickly released her to stare into her eyes. He searched her eyes and saw how scared she was. “What is it? Why do you need me to hide you?” “Kirk is coming this way from across the street.” “Kirk? As in Tara’s ex-husband Kirk?” She nodded vehemently.

*****

That is her. He knew it. He locked eyes with her and knew it in an instant. It is her, but what happened? She was using crutches with some big guy hugging her. Who the hell is he? Kirk began to walk faster toward Emily. The big guy turned around, looking straight at him. He stopped in his tracks for just a moment, feeling just a bit intimidated by the man. He was a big guy, built like a damn bodybuilder. He took a deep breath and continued forward. He wanted to be sure this man was not bothering Emily. She was so small compared to him. There would be no way she could fend him off, especially while she was on crutches. As he got closer, a large black SUV appeared between them, blocking his view. He kept going toward the SUV when another man came around the rear of the vehicle and looked straight at him while he placed her crutches and a few small bags in the trunk. He stood there, staring at him for a moment, while the trunk was closing before disappearing around the driver’s side. He stopped in his tracks as the big guy came around to the enger side and slid into the front seat. The SUV pulled off, going down the street, and Emily was gone. What should I do? I must see her again. Who are those guys with her?

*****

As Jin turned the corner, he pulled over and put on his emergency flashers. Emily was in the back seat and looked shaken while Samuel was sitting in his enger seat, looking ready to kill. “I’m guessing by the looks on your faces that the man heading toward you was Kirk Shawls.” Emily responded first, “Yes, that’s him. I do not know how he knew where I was. How did you know that was him?” “You told me about him once when we first met. I did my research on him while you were sleeping. I know all about what you went through with him, including

all the charges you filed against him.” Samuel was angry, turning in his seat to stare at Emily. “Why didn’t you tell me about him?” he exclaimed. Emily seemed to shrink in her seat from the gravity of his voice. “I didn’t tell you because I had it handled with the police. I can do some things by myself.” “Well, now that we have seen him personally and he was heading your way, we can be sure to be on the lookout for him. My research on him led me to believe he had gone on an extended vacation once he was released from prison. It seems like he has some skills we didn’t know about. You will be all right. My house is like a fortified castle. You will be safe there, and once they finish at your house, I will do the same to your place.” “What do you mean when they finish at my place?” “We will explain everything to you once we are all in my house. Samuel, send Detective Li a message letting him know we have left the hospital, and we will be arriving at my place in about an hour. Emily, do you think you can look at the stores online and show Samuel everything you need? I will stop and let him out to get everything you need while you and I sit in the car.” “Yes, that would be fine.” Emily retrieved her phone from her purse and showed her brother the laptop, flash drives, and headphones to get. “Can you send me pictures of all these items so I can be sure I am getting the correct ones?” “Yes,” she said as she pulled her card from her wallet and handed it to her brother. “Here, use this to buy everything. If you need anything while you are in there, get it too. Only buy necessities please, no splurging.” Jin looked at Samuel and gave him a half smile. “I have a gaming system at home if you want. You can get a few games for it. All I have are racing and sports games.” A huge smile spread across Samuel’s face, and he turned to look in the back seat,

“Can I, please?” “Fine, but only a couple. Don’t go overboard.” Samuel excitedly got out of the car and walked into the store. He grabbed a shopping cart and started with her list first, getting the laptop, headphones, and flash drives shown in the photos she sent. As he was walking to the games section of the store, he had the feeling of being watched. He picked up an RPG (role-playing game) and was skimming over the description while sneaking looks around him. In his peripheral vision, he saw a woman. She was not even hiding the fact that she was staring at him. He put the game down and picked up another, watching her movements. It was Ava. She had let her hair grow out, and it was dyed black instead of its original auburn color, and she was wearing blue s, hiding her true eye color. Once again, he put the game back down, trying to decide if he should confront her or not. Instead, he chose to play it cool, acting as if it were a coincidence they had run into each other. Turning quickly to face her, he asked, “Ava? Ava Matthis, is that you?” She tried to play dumb, looking round as if he was talking to someone else, then pointed at herself. “Yes, you. I know that’s you, Ava. You cannot hide from me. You can try any disguise in the world, and I would still recognize you.” She started laughing and sauntered her way over to him. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Samuel Winters. I thought you were still deployed overseas. Why are you here?” “I was sent home early. Did I tell you I have a younger sister? Well, she got into some trouble, and they called me home.” “Did you tell me about having a sister? If you did, I totally forgot. I sure hope she’s okay.” He ed the pictures in his sister’s phone. Ava may have been trained by the best in the military, but one reason they did not use her abilities much was because she was a terrible liar. The military had only used her on the type of

missions for stealth and assassinations because of this. “She is, now that I’m home. Thanks for asking. What have you been up to lately?” She knew he was just asking to be polite. “Oh, a little of this and a little of that. Old habits die hard, you know.” She kept looking at him as if she were evaluating a prize bull, and he just did not care. He already caught her in a lie, and he could tell from her changed appearance that she was up to something. “All right, well, it was nice seeing you again, but my sister is waiting for me.” He watched her closely to assess her reaction, but this time, she gave away nothing. He walked toward the cash when suddenly he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder to see her biting her lip sensually. She came up behind him and gave him a hug from behind. He felt it when she placed something on his belt buckle, and he knew exactly what it was. “Won’t you have a cup of coffee with me, for old time’s sake?” She was so close that he could feel her warm breath on his nape. He reached up and removed her arms. “I’m sorry, Ava, but I’d rather not.” He continued to the , paying for the items. Before removing the bag and laptop from the cart, he managed to pull the tracker off his belt. He was halfway to the car before, under the guise of checking his phone for the time, he sent a quick message to Jin, telling him to pick him up down the street. Emily watched as her brother walked right past the car. “What is he doing? He ed right by us.” “He sent me a message to pick him up at a different location. Something must have happened in the store. Hold on, we are going to get him.” Jin pulled the SUV around the lot, driving in the opposite direction of Samuel. He nosed his way into traffic, taking small side roads until they were coming in Samuel’s direction. Emily watched through the tinted windows as her brother purposely bumped into someone and apologized profusely before getting into the

car. “What was that all about, Samuel?” “I’ll explain when we get somewhere safe.” Jin looked over to Samuel and nodded then continued to drive for another thirty minutes before pulling up to a big metal gate. It looked more like a construction site than a home, but then he reached out his window to enter a code on a hidden keypad before the large gate opened, allowing them to enter. The gate closed automatically once the SUV was through. He drove down a short gravel road before it turned into a small tunnel going underground. Is this a house, or is it literally just a hole in the ground? Emily wondered. A few seconds later, her question was answered as he pulled into an empty parking space in what looked like an underground parking garage. There were several other cars there, including a sports car, a quad cab truck, a sedan, and a motorcycle. “I don’t say this much, but welcome to my abode. The only people who have ever been inside my house are Li and his sister.” While Emily struggled to unbuckle and open her door, Samuel was out and opening the trunk to get out their bags and newly purchased items. Jin exited the car and helped her to get out. “Since your brother is carrying all the bags, it would be quicker for me to carry you since there is a staircase to climb.” She turned to her brother with a pleading look on her face. “You don’t have to carry me. I can walk with the crutches.” Her brother burst into laughter, walking closer to them. “In other words, Jin, she doesn’t want you to carry her because she thinks she’s too heavy.” Her face turned a bright red, and she elbowed him in the ribs. He continued to laugh as he walked away, and once at the bottom of the staircase, he lifted the

crutches above his head and shook them. “Well, Em, you have no choice. Either let him carry you or hop. It’s your decision. I’ll wait.” He was so going to get it. It was like his goal in life to embarrass her. “Ugh, you’re a terrible bother, and you had better watch yourself. You know how I am.” “Yeah, yeah, Jin, your doors have locks on them, right?” he continued to laugh as he waited by the staircase. Emily grabbed her purse from the seat and draped it over her shoulder. When she looked back at Jin, he had squatted down in front of her with his arms reaching backward. “I figure this would be a little less embarrassing than the princess carry, but I could also just throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, if you prefer that instead?” Glad that he was not facing her, she wobbled up to his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood with no effort at all, locking his hands together under her rear, so she would not fall. She felt a little disappointed and thrilled at the same time. Disappointed that he did not carry her like a princess, yet thrilled when he stood and walked with absolutely no effort at all. This was the first time a man other than her brother had carried her, and he was not complaining about her weight. They made their way up the stairs to a large wooden door. It looked like a dungeon door straight out of the movies. He held her on his back with one hand while he fished the keys from his pocket. “Li will be here shortly, and we can all go over the case thus far.”

Chapter 11

Stepping through the threshold, Emily felt her jaw drop in awe. The inside was absolutely amazing. It was extremely spacious with high ceilings, an open living room with a large coffee table in the center, and a large open kitchen. Jin carried her over to the couch and let her down. She looked around the room, taking in all the paintings, sculptures, and bookshelves filled with books. There was a staircase against the wall to the far right, leading to a second level that looked almost like a balcony. “Emily, since you are injured and your brother will be helping care for you, both of you will be staying in the two rooms on the main floor.” “If you don’t mind my asking, how many rooms do you have?” “There are five in total—two bedrooms with a shared bathroom between them on this level and three bedrooms upstairs. Two rooms share a bathroom, and the master bedroom has its own attached bathroom. Once you both get settled in, we will convene in the kitchen to go over your case. Hopefully, by then, Li will be here.” Samuel put the bags down beside the coffee table and followed Jin underneath the staircase and down a short hallway to the two bedrooms. While Emily was sitting in amazement on the couch, she heard the text message tone from her phone. Pulling her phone from her purse, she could see a text was waiting to be read. It was from an unknown number. Normally, she did not open or answer anything that came from unknown numbers, but with everything that was happening in her life right now, it could be something important. Tapping on the text message, several photos appeared immediately. “Samuel! Samuel, come quick!” Samuel and Jin both came running around the corner over to the couch. “What is it? What’s the matter with you?”

She held out her phone where they could see the screen. Samuel snatched the phone from her hand, holding it between Jin and himself, slowly scrolling through the pictures. There were five in total, all of them leaving the hospital. There was her speaking to her brother, Jin and Samuel speaking to each other, Jin walking to the parking garage, Emily hugging her brother, and Jin standing at the rear of his SUV with the trunk open, seeming to stare directly at the camera. Underneath the last photo was the message “Who are they?” “Who are these from and how did they get your number?” “I don’t know, Samuel. After the whole stalking incident, I changed my number, and neither my address nor phone number is listed.” “Wait a minute. Didn’t the two of you see Kirk Shawls across the street at the hospital?” Emily stared at her brother. “You think it’s Kirk?” “Great, just something else to add to your case. Let us get settled in first and meet back in the kitchen so we can go over everything. I will help you get your computer set up after we get something to eat, all right, Em?” “Sure.” She looked at Jin with a sympathetic look on her face before reaching for her crutches and following Samuel to the rooms they would be occupying for the time being. Jin pulled his own phone from his pants pocket and dialed Li. “Hey, Li, how long until you get here? We have more to talk about now. Oh, can you stop and pick up some food on your way here? I only buy enough food to make dinner for myself each night. It isn’t enough to feed three people.” “Yeah, I’ll stop and grab something. Does it matter what?” “Nah, I don’t think so, but I’ll ask”—he walked into the small hallway leading to the two bedrooms—“Hey, you guys eat Chinese food?” Samuel poked his head out of the room on the right. “Heck, yeah. I haven’t eaten Chinese food since I’ve been deployed.”

Jin was standing between both rooms with his hand covering the receiver on his phone. There was no response from Emily’s room, so he lightly knocked on the door, and it slowly opened. She had laid down on the bed and fallen asleep within such a short amount of time. He looked back to Samuel. “Does she eat Chinese food?” “Oh yeah, she does. She especially likes the steamed vegetables.” “Okay, that’s all I need to know.” He uncovered the phone. “Yeah, Chinese is fine, just be sure to order some steamed vegetables.” “Will do. I will be pulling up to the Chinese restaurant soon. It will probably take them about twenty to thirty minutes to get our order ready, and it’ll take me about ten minutes to get to your place. We will say I will be there in about fortyfive minutes, just to be safe. Be sure to be on the lookout for me, so I don’t set off any alarms.” “Okay, I will.” Jin hung up and put his phone back into his pocket while walking over to the coffee table. He lifted the laptop box out of the floor and went about getting it all set up for Emily. It was the least he could do since he had to hook it up to his secure network anyway. It took him about thirty minutes to get everything set up for her, and while he was setting up her computer, Samuel came walking in, sitting in a chair across from him. “I was going to set that up for her.” “It’s not a problem. I had to connect it to my network anyway.” “You said you wanted the story of Emily and that guy she dated, right? If I do not tell you now, I probably will not get the chance to. His name was Paul Gregory, and this all started because of me. He hated my guts our sophomore year of high school, saying that I stole his girlfriend from him. In all reality, his girlfriend and I were simply good friends. She and her younger brother lived a few houses down from us growing up. We were at each other’s houses all the time playing. Anyway, he saw me give her a hug in the hallway at school once and made a huge deal out of it. To get back at me, he made a bet with his buddies

that he could get my sister to not only date him but sleep with him too. What he wasn’t expecting was that my sister was smarter than he was.” “She figured everything out, huh?” “Not before she had agreed to go on a date with him. Once she figured it out, they had been at the movies, and she asked him to take her home. When he did not take her home, she knew something was up. Instead, he took her to the high school hangout spot to prove to the guys that they were dating. She made a huge scene about her figuring out his plan and dumped him right then and there.” “Smart girl.” “I agreed at the time, but he lost his cool-guy facade in front of all his buddies and was utterly humiliated.” “So what happened after that?” “Well, after that, I found out from a buddy of mine he had raised his hand to hit her before he could recompose himself. From then on, he believed that my sister and I were out to get him. Since I was bigger than him and he’s a coward, he decided to start stalking my sister. She came to me and explained what happened between them when the stalking began, so I started to keep an eye on him. He began leaving things in her locker, destroying her books, stalking her at her parttime job, and even went as far as to poison our family dog. One day, I caught him putting something in her water bottle while she was on the sports field. One of my buddies went to get the teacher and turned out he had put a large enough amount of rohypnol [more commonly known as the date-rape drug] in her water that if she had drunk it, it would have killed her. So the next time I saw him, I put him in the hospital.” “Have either of you seen or heard from him since then?” “I know I haven’t. He ended up transferring schools that same week. I am not sure about Emily, but after that incident, I started teaching her self-defense. Don’t let her short stature fool you. She can throw me over her shoulder like a pillow.” “I’ll take your word for it. So you don’t know if she’s had any with him since that happened back in high school?”

“No, I don’t. I enlisted in the Navy right out of school. Our parents died in a car accident when we were younger, so it has just been the two of us. I have to it I have not been there for her over the years and did not even realize she was an author until she told me a few years after she had published a few already. I only learned about the contract between her and Tara when Tara wrote to me. She only wrote to me once, and it was telling me about how she and Emily had made a contract about the publicity and shit with her books. I thought it was great, at the time.” He looked down. “I’m ashamed of myself for leaving her alone, but I never thought something bad could happen to her.” Jin’s phone made an alarming sound. “Go wake up your sister. Li is here with food.” Samuel stood, walking to Emily’s room and knocking on the door. When he did not hear her answer, he opened the door and walked inside. She was still sound asleep on the bed with her leg propped up on a pillow. He sat on the bed beside her and touched her hand, gently shaking it. “Emily, hey, Emily. It is time to get up. Li is here with food, and you need to eat so you can take your medicine.” He went to shake her again and noticed the headphones in her ears. Of course, she was listening to her music. He gently removed the headphones and called out to her again. “Emily, Emily.” Hearing her name called, she slowly opened her eyes. She saw her brother sitting on the edge of the bed, looking upset. “What’s the matter, Samuel?” “Nothing. Jin set up your laptop, and Detective Li is here with some Chinese food. You have to eat before you can take your medicine. We are going to go over everything in your case to get everyone on the same page.” “Okay, I’m getting up. Will you hand me the crutches, please?”

“Yeah, Em. I’m so sorry for leaving you by yourself for so long.” “That’s all right, Samuel. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving.” He handed her the crutches and helped her into the kitchen, where the smell of the food was alluring. Several files were laid out across the table. When everyone was seated and had a plate of food in front of them, Detective Li started off the conversation. They went around the table one by one, explaining what they knew apart from the most recent event with the photos being sent to her phone until finally they came to Emily. “I’m not sure if I should feel embarrassed that you all saw me naked or furious that all of you kept it from me. You mean to tell me you have found cameras, microphones, and recording devices all throughout my house and in my phone, and not one of you thought it necessary to let me know?” All three men looked down at the table, not sure of what to say next. “You are all assholes! Samuel, bring my computer, flash drives, and medicine to my room now.” She stood abruptly from the table, taking a few steps before the agonizing pain shot up her leg. She abruptly turned and snatched her crutches from beside the table and hobbled her way back to her room. “Oh, guys, she’s mad. Try not to get too close to her until she calms down.” Samuel looked down and saw a small trail of blood leading through the house back toward Emily’s room. “Shit!” “What is it, Samuel?” Jin asked as he stood and walked around the table, stopping as he spied the trail of blood. “Jin, can you grab the computer? I’ll grab her medicine and flash drives.” Li stood from the table. “I’ll grab a mop to clean this up.” Samuel and Jin both headed to the living room before making their way to

Emily’s room. When they tried to open her door, it was blocked by something. Placing her stuff on the floor outside the door, they pushed slowly together until Samuel could see in the room. “Damn it! It’s Emily. She’s ed out in the floor in front of the door.” Jin stopped pushing on the door and instead turned around and walked through Samuel’s room, through the connecting bathroom, grabbing a towel on his way through, and into Emily’s room. He picked her up from the floor and placed her on the bed, placing her leg on the towel. Samuel pushed the door open, making his way to the bed and began working on her leg. “When she gets this angry, she forgets everything including pain. When the pain does hit her, it is already too late, and it overwhelms her, making her out. Sorry about your floor, man. I will clean it up when I finish cleaning her up.” “Don’t worry about the floor. I can understand why she is angry. Everything she thought was private and safe has been invaded, and now she feels vulnerable.” Jin walked out the door, grabbed the computer, and set it up on a desk in her room, placing the flash drives beside it. He then walked out of the room, back to the kitchen to tell Li about the most recent pictures sent to her phone and their near run in with Kirk Shawls.

Chapter 12

Kirk opened the front door to his apartment and slowly walked through the threshold. The cool air from the air-conditioner washed over him, and yet something wasn’t right. Something was different, out of place, but what was it? His arms broke out into goose bumps. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. Slowly, quietly, he snuck into the kitchen, sliding open a drawer and removing a large knife. He moved through his apartment, slowly checking each and every room, looking for anything out of place. It was not a very big apartment; it was a classic two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, with a connected kitchen and living room. After thoroughly checking his kitchen, living room, both bathrooms, and his bedroom, he found nothing amiss. Opening the door to his guest room turned office, he flipped on the light, immediately finding what was disturbed in his space. This was his special room, where he kept everything related to Emily Winters. He had a timeline pinned to the wall, beginning at her house and had step-by-step movements of her day, every day for the last year almost. He kept up to date on everything that had anything to do with Emily. All his timeline was missing. The once-covered walls were completely bare apart from six words painted across his wall:

Stay away from Emily or else…

What the fuck is this? Enraged, he searched his apartment again—this time, searching for his timeline. To outsiders, his actions would seem like an obsessive stalker or something, but that is all wrong. He needed the timeline if he were going to warn Emily. The problem now was not only his missing timeline, but recently, there were two men hanging around her, and both of them looked very formidable. Why hasn’t she answered my text yet? Does she not know about what happened to Tara? He

just wanted to protect Emily; she was his perfect woman. She was intelligent, honest, sexy (although not as sexy as Tara), and she had plenty of money. She was famous in her own right. Why she had made that stupid deal with Tara he would never understand. When he found out Tara had tricked him, he was pissed, and yeah, he lost his temper a few times and beat her up pretty good a time or two, but it was all her fault. She lied about being famous and about being well-off financially. She never told him about the contract and led him to believe she was the one actually writing those novels, especially when she started talking about the movie deal that was just struck from the last novel she promoted. If not for him stumbling upon that damned contract in her trunk while he was looking for her bankbook, he would be none the wiser. You could say he was just with her for the sex because trying to have an intellectual conversation with Tara was impossible. As long as Emily was around, Tara would ignore him completely and focus on Emily, going on and on about the books, g events, etc. until he finally had enough. He banned Emily from their house so he could try to have a conversation with his wife. Thinking back now, that should have been a red flag. She could not only have a conversation but carry on a conversation with Emily. Oh well, Emily helped her to make a fool out of him, so she needed to pay. He wanted to be the one to make her pay. She even put him in jail for a while, accusing him of being a stalker. Enough with all that, he needed to find out who had been in his apartment and what they had done with his stuff. This was not the first time he had found things out of place at his home. If he did not know any better, he would believe that he was not the only one after Emily. Then why was he being told to stay away from her when they could team up and work together?

*****

Gross, both these guys have an unhealthy obsession with this woman. I mean, is she just that great in bed or what? It doesn’t matter. I have a few surprises in store for her, and when she’s dead, my partner can go jump off a bridge for all I

care, and I will be the lone person to comfort Samuel. Oh, baby, I will comfort you over and over and over, as much as you want. Just thinking of it gets me hot all over and weak in the knees. I am all for following someone, but these guys are sick. She bundled up all the papers, strings, and everything else she found related to Emily, cramming it in a garbage bag in the back seat of her car. After leaving the apartment complex, she drove by the police station, grabbing the bag from her rear seat and hurling it at the front doors. It landed directly in front of the station’s double doors, leaving officers scrambling. This ought to stir them up just a bit. Driving away, she began to laugh. These guys are idiots—both the police and the two after Emily. There is nothing special about her. Hearing her phone ringing, she answered her Bluetooth. “Have you done as I asked?” “Yes, I just dropped all of it off at the police station as requested.” “Good, he had better heed my warning, or it will be trouble for him too. That cocky piece of shit thinks he can get near my woman? Ha! I will make sure he is arrested again so he cannot come near her. My revenge will only be complete when she’s my wife.” “If you hate her so much, then why marry her?” “You’re wrong. I do not hate her. I know why she did what she did back then, and after I thought about it, I have to say I ire her audacity. I fell in love with her for real that day so many years ago. Nothing can keep me from her now, not even the big oaf of a brother.” Gritting her teeth together, Ava angrily beat her steering wheel. “You’d better watch what you say about Samuel. I will not hesitate to kill you.” “Ooh, I’m scared. I’m shaking in my boots,” he said sarcastically. “You can try to kill me, but you won’t succeed. Sorry, sweetie.” As she opened her mouth to refute his sarcasm, the phone went silent. Grabbing her phone and staring at the screen, she saw he had ended the call. She screamed as she threw her phone across the car.

“You bastard, you are just lighting the competitive spirit in me by saying I can’t kill you. You smug asshole, I should just wait until you get that stupid woman and kill you both. That would make my day.” Realizing then that she was yelling and swearing inside her car while driving through town, she decided to stop and get some food. Not just any food though, she was getting some of Samuel’s favorites. She would call him later, saying she could not eat it all and try to sneak her way to his place. Where was he staying right now anyway? His sister’s place was swarmed with cops, trying to find all the toys they hid in there. Well, they may have gotten them all by now. They had been there for at least two days. She would try all the lame stereotypical ways to get him to come to her before she broke out the big guns. Ava drove around the city for about an hour before locating a Chinese restaurant. She parked her car. In the lot, she retrieved her phone from the enger floorboard and calmly walked inside. Looking at her watch, she saw it was almost 9:00 p.m., a little late for dinner in her opinion, but she figured, with everything she had caused at the hospital, Samuel would probably be eating quite late. She noticed there was only one person in front of her. He was at the counter ordering and was speaking in Chinese. Impressive, she thought, I wonder if he is from China. He was tall and goodlooking. Judging from his profile, he could have been an actor or a model. When he reached into his back pocket for his wallet, she noticed the badge clipped to his belt. Oh shit, he is a cop. He paid for his food and walked over to a small bar filled with condiments to wait on his order. Stepping up to the counter, she was about to start her order when she heard the cop answer his phone. “Oh, I forgot. She wanted mixed vegetables. I already ordered, but I will ask them to add it to my order.” Oh, okay, he ordered a larger order too. She was looking at the menu hanging from the wall above the , waiting for the gentleman to come back from giving his kitchen staff the order when she began to think of what she needed to do next. Next on her list of things to do was to find Samuel Winters. She continued to listen in on the man’s conversation. “Yes, I’ve got all the files we spoke about, and I will be heading over to you

shortly. Let me just add the mixed vegetables to my order for Emily, and I will be heading in that direction. Yeah, I will call when I get there. All right, bye.” Thinking quickly, as he walked back up to stand behind her in line, she turned to look at him. “Sir, if you needed to add something else, feel free to step in front of me. I am still trying to decide what I want to eat.” “Are you sure you don’t mind?” “Not at all, plus it seems you may be in a bit of a hurry.” Li looked at this woman skeptically. Has she been listening to my phone conversation? Thanking her, he stepped in front of her and yelled to the man giving his order to the staff to add a large order of mixed vegetables. Again, he was speaking in Chinese, so she was just guessing that was what he yelled to the man. He turned and thanked her again before returning to the small condiment bar. Knowing that she had been eavesdropping on his conversation, he had that feeling that this woman was somehow involved. He covertly pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a few pictures of the woman stepping up to order, pretending that he was scrolling through his phone. He did not really care if she saw him or not as he had an app on his phone that he could tap on, changing his screen immediately to something else and locking his camera and photos. He stood waiting for about thirty minutes before they called him up to retrieve his order. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bucks in cash to pay for the order of veggies, grabbed his order, thanked the gentleman at the counter, thanked the woman again for letting him add to his order, and walked out to his car. I wonder if it’s the same Emily, that guy is a cop. Damn, I need to catch up to him if I want to find out. She quickly placed a small order just for herself, waited the fifteen minutes it took for them to make it, grabbed her food, and rushed out the door. He had anticipated her trying to rush after him and moved to the next parking lot over, waiting for her to come out. He had waited in his car quietly, where he could see the entire lot of the Chinese restaurant. He watched her rush out to a black Jeep Wrangler and hopped inside, tearing out of the parking lot. Thankfully, she was going in the opposite direction he was going, and he was able to jot down her license plate number. He pulled out of the lot and began his

short journey to Jin’s house. Along the way, he called into the station to have them run the license plate from the black Jeep. He would need to ask Samuel and Jin if they had ever seen this woman when he gets there. He was sure they would say yes, just because of the way she was acting in the restaurant. She had jumped into her car and tried to go after him, but without knowing what kind of vehicle he was driving, it was nearly impossible. She sat there for a moment before watching a car pull out of the rear of the Chinese restaurant parking lot. She decided that she would take the chance to follow that car. Stepping on the gas pedal a little too much, she squealed tires as she pulled out of the lot. She wanted to find Samuel, but now she wanted to find Emily even more. She wanted to get rid of the woman causing all the trouble in her life. She started thinking about the good-looking cop from the restaurant; she had seen him before. Yes, she had watched that man walk out of Emily’s hospital room before she had gone in and changed her chart and given her a little extra morphine. She should have killed her right then and there, but Samuel had not gotten here yet. She had to wait for Samuel to come before she could kill her. It had to look like an accident, a mistake made by the hospital, and she believed she had done her job. Now that Samuel was back, all she had to do was win him over again or give him a little cocktail to make him responsible for what was bound to happen sooner or later. She wanted a family, but it had to be with Samuel. Meanwhile, Li kept thinking about the woman from the food place. He was sure he had seen her before. That is when it hit him. She looked remarkably similar to the woman in the hospital CCTV footage, the one Emily called the nurse in the navy scrubs.

Chapter 13

Sitting in silence at the kitchen table, Jin and Li just stared at each other. A few minutes later, Samuel came waltzing into the kitchen, coming to a halt behind a kitchen chair beside Jin. “I don’t understand why these guys are after my sister.” Jin pulled his phone from his pocket and began scrolling through his photos before stopping on an image. It was a still image from the hospital security footage of the nurse in the navy scrubs. He ed the phone to Samuel. “Is this the same woman you ran into in the electronics store?” Samuel looked at the image carefully before giving the phone back to Jin. ing the woman in the Chinese restaurant, Detective Li pulled his phone out, found the picture of the woman, and ed his phone to Jin. “Does this look like the same woman to you?” Jin ed the phone to Samuel, who looked dumbfounded. “Yes, that’s Ava. That is footage from the CCTV at Golden Bay Hospital, right?” Jin answered, “Yes, she snuck in and gave your sister an overdose of morphine.” “Where did you get this picture from, Detective?” Li explained, “This woman was in the same Chinese restaurant I had gone to for our dinner before coming here. I realized she was acting strange and had been eavesdropping on my telephone conversation with Jin. I stayed put long enough to watch her get into a black Jeep Wrangler, and I jotted down the license plate number. I called it into the station, and the car came back uned.” “Is there any reason she would want to harm your sister?” “Honestly, no. When she and I were dating, I do not if I ever

mentioned I had a sister. I want to know why Kirk is after her though.” “That’s where I come in,” Li said as he slid one of the files across the table. Samuel sat down, pulling the file in front of himself. He flipped it open and skimmed through its contents, finding the contract between Emily and Tara, a life insurance policy Tara had purchased for herself the day after they signed the contract, a copy of Tara’s divorce agreement, a restraining order against Kirk, and several pages of Kirk’s finances. This man was beyond being in debt; he was totally penniless. He took his time to read through the contract and the insurance policy and noticed something unusual. The contract stated that Emily would receive 45 percent of the profit while Tara would get 40 percent. The remaining 15 percent would be placed into an under Samuel’s name. The life insurance policy was unusual too; it stated that Emily was the primary beneficiary set to receive 80 percent, yet 10 percent would be placed in the same in his name, and the remaining 10 percent would be sent to her parents. “Wait a minute…wouldn’t this make my sister and me suspects?” Samuel looked from Jin to Li, astonished. “Normally, yes,” Li stated. “What do you mean?” “I have already established that you were deployed overseas not only when both documents were created but also when her death occurred. The was created by your sister and has both of your names on it, so she could legally receive the statements for it. She has been managing the for you, making sure the deposits were made on time and were the correct amount.” Samuel felt like crying. “I can’t believe they would do something like that.” Detective Li slid another file across the table to Samuel. He flipped open the file. “What’s this?” “That, my friend, is a copy of your . It seems like Tara and your sister wanted to be sure you could live in comfort when you came home.” He took a closer look, seeing that not once since the was created was

there a debit against it. It was all deposits. They were made on the same day every month like clockwork with extra deposits being made on his birthday, New Year’s Day, and Christmas. When he saw the current balance of the , he started crying. “I really feel like a shitty brother now. I’ve never given her anything but grief, but between the two of them, they have given me a little over three hundred thousand dollars.” He covered his face and laughed. “To think, I was just begging her to let me buy a few video games. I didn’t even get the chance to buy any because I ran into Ava.” Jin sat silently in his chair at the table, looking at all the documents. His mind ticking away. He picked up the restraining order Tara had placed against Kirk, reading through it carefully. “Tara had a restraining order against Kirk for domestic abuse. Li, did you find any police reports filed against him?” Lifting a box that normally held copy paper onto the table, he replied, “Well, that would be an understatement.” Samuel jumped up from the table, in amazement, slamming his down on the table. “Are you serious? All those are police reports involving Kirk Shawls?” “Yes, every report in this box has to do with Kirk Shawls. Everything from embezzlement from previous jobs and traffic violations to stalking and domestic violence.” “If the police have this much against him, why is he still walking around as a free man?” Samuel exclaimed. “We have been keeping an eye on him ever since all this came to light. We did not realize this many complaints were filed against him due to the unfortunate status of our understaffed department. He has been keeping a low profile since he was released from jail.”

Jin sat back and listened to the conversation between them, thinking quietly to himself about what his next move was going to be.

*****

Feeling a little groggy with pain shooting down her leg, Emily sat up in the bed. How dare they not tell her what was going on. Not only did they all have a naked photo of her, but they said there were so many cameras and listening devices throughout her entire house that they filled multiple garbage bags with them. Who the hell was in her house and why? What did she ever do to anyone? She led an incredibly quiet life, no dating life to speak of. By this time, she could hear yelling from the kitchen area of the house and ed she needed her medicine. She looked around the room and found a note from her brother with a small cup of water and a few pills sitting on a Kleenex. She picked up the pills, washing them down with some of the water before getting up and hobbling over to the desk with her computer setup. There, she found her computer had been set up already. Her flash drives had been left beside the computer, and her phone and headphones sat beside a Bluetooth mouse on a mousepad with a picture of a golden retriever on it. She decided to ignore all the yelling coming from the kitchen and begin her writing again. She plugged her headphones into her cell phone, scrolled into her music to find her writing playlist. Plugging in her flash drive to retrieve her research and refresh her train of thought, she opened a blank sheet and began her writing.

*****

It was not hard to find out who the man with Samuel was. He seemed to be famous for catching the most difficult of criminals. Detective Li Jie was a very respected investigator with an accuracy rate of over 87 percent. Oh, look what else he found. Mr. Respected Detective had a famous sister. Let’s see what he

could do… He would just have to send Li’s sister a welcome-to-the-game gift. After doing a little more digging on his computer, he came up with an address and telephone number for Li Xiu Ying. Now, what could he send to her to prompt her to pull her brother away from his woman? Thinking really hard, he decided something simple was best. First off, a simple text saying hello should work. Pulling out a burner phone from his stash of phones, he typed in the phone number…

Hello, Ms. Li Xiu Ying,

Get your brother away from my woman, or he will die.

I have no issues with killing a detective or an actress.

If I do not get what I want, there will be consequences.

I will give you two days to comply or things will get very messy.

—Nightmare

This should be good enough to scare her into telling her big brother. With an evil smile on his face, he pressed send.

*****

Within a few minutes of listening to Samuel angrily yelling, Li’s phone rang. “I have to take this. It’s the station.” He answered the phone and walked into the living room to speak. While he was on the phone, Samuel asked Jin, “What do you think of this guy? As far as I know, my sister has no known enemies except maybe Kirk. Do you think Kirk and Nightmare are the same man?” As he mulled it over in his mind, his phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he saw that it was Li’s sister. He held a hand up to Samuel to answer his phone. “Hello, little sister, what can I do for you?” “Jin, I just got a strange message on my cell phone. It says to get my brother away from some woman, or he will not hesitate to kill me or my brother. What the hell are you guys into now, and why are we being threatened?” Jin jumped to his feet, ignoring Samuel, and walked into the living room to stand beside Li. He turned his phone to Li. The screen of his phone showed Li Xiu Ying’s name. Li quickly got off with the station, motioning for Jin to put it on speakerphone. “Hey, little sis, why are you calling Jin’s phone?” “I tried calling you first, but yours was busy. What the hell are you guys into this time? Why did I get a threatening text message?” Li and Jin looked at each other for a moment before they said, “Send us the message,” in unison. Simultaneously, both their phones dinged, alerting them to an incoming message. Both men opened the message and took a look at it. The growing concern on Li’s face made Samuel come out of the kitchen to stand with them in the living room. “What’s going on, guys?”

“Who is that? Did you recruit someone else to your detective party?” “Not sure who that is, but she sounds angry. I’m going to go check on my sister. See if she’s awake and check that she took her medicine.” “Sister? Where are you, guys? Are you at Jin’s place? Jin, do you have a woman in your place? You said you would never allow a woman in your place. I can’t believe you!” Jin was still staring at the message on the screen, shaking his head. “Hey, can you calm down for a moment? It is none of your business what Jin does or who he has over. He’s already told you he isn’t interested in you in that way.” “Yeah, sorry, brother, but I don’t believe that for one minute. I know he loves me. I will keep you informed if I get any more messages, but who is this creep? Who is he after that you would take them to Jin’s place?” “Sorry, sis, I’ll let you know when the time comes. You let me know if you get anything else from this guy. He’s extremely dangerous.”

*****

Samuel knocked lightly on his sister’s door. When there was no response, he knocked again. Again, no response. He pressed his ear to the door and heard faint clicking sound. He pushed the door open slowly to spy his sister sitting at the desk, headphones in ears, typing away. He sat on the edge of the bed and just watched her. He had not been there for her during her rough times, and he felt badly about it. He made a vow to her back that he would definitely protect her from the wrath of Ava and whomever this Nightmare person is. He noticed her left leg was shaking. She needed to have it elevated instead of having it down on the floor. He stood from the bed to find Jin to borrow a stool or something so she could prop it up. Despite not being around his sister in many years, he suddenly felt very overprotective of her, and he knew exactly why. Ava

was a trained killer, and for whatever reason, she had her sights on his sister. This was an awfully bad situation; one he would have to find a way to remedy before anyone else gets hurt. Jin was on his way upstairs to his bedroom when Samuel caught his attention. “Hey, do you have a stool or small chair I can use to prop my sister’s leg up with? She’s awake but completely absorbed in her writing already, forgetting to keep her leg elevated to keep it from throbbing.” “Oh yeah, I have one in my room. I’ll bring it right down.” He continued up the stairs to his bedroom. A few minutes later, he came walking back down the stairs carrying a metal folding chair with a cushion. “Samuel, does your sister really get that absorbed in her writing that she tunes everything else out and will even forget to eat sometimes?” “Oh sure, come see for yourself. You can walk right in sit on her bed and have a whole one-sided conversation with yourself. All the while, she will not respond at all.” They both walked into her bedroom. Jin put the folding chair against the desk right beside her, asked her a silly question, and got absolutely no response. He stood beside her, watching for any type of recognition in her gestures saying that she knew he was there. Nothing. He could see her profile lit up by the computer screen, and he watched in amazement as her hands glided over the keyboard. Still standing beside her at the desk, he gestured to Samuel to come stand by him. “Have you ever seen your sister this immersed in her work before?” “I didn’t know about it until Tara told me. Apparently, Tara had not only come over to her place one day, but she had an entire conversation with her, not realizing she was wearing her headphones. When she finally realized it, she pulled them from her ears and forced her to stop working on her novel to go get dinner together.” “So she wears her headphones at home too? She doesn’t use a Bluetooth speaker to listen to her music or anything like that?”

“Nope, just headphones.” “Okay. Well, now we know how someone was able to go drilling holes in her walls and ceilings to hide gadgets in crevices everywhere.”

Chapter 14

Emily had been working steadily on her new novel for several hours when her leg began to throb badly. She ed the doctor telling her to prop up her leg when she was sitting, and she needed to move it to keep from getting blood clots. She spun around in her chair and realized that someone had brought a chair in her room for her to prop up her leg. She paused her music to slowly stand and move her leg around. She moved over to the bed where she bent down to get her crutches. She then worked her way to the bathroom. She walked inside and flipped on the light, walking to the adjacent door connecting to her brother’s room. After flipping the lock on her brother’s door, she walked over to the large garden tub, turned the water on, and let it run until it was warm. She reached down and plugged the bottom of the tub and sat on the edge and watched as the water began to rise. When it was at a proper level, she turned it off and walked back into her bedroom to retrieve a fresh set of clothing and a bag to cover her leg with. Making her way back to the bathroom, she put her clothes down on the counter and used the edge of it to balance herself while she removed her clothing and pulled on the bag the hospital provided. Once the bag was secured over her wound, she pushed slightly off the counter to get over to the tub. As she gently lowered herself into the tub, the warm water slowly covered her bare skin. The water began to warm her body while she let her mind wander. She thought back to the night she received the call from her editor informing her of Tara’s death. She felt the warm tears sliding down her cheeks as she thought about her best friend and the fear she must have felt. She let out all the stress and anguish she had built up over the past few days. She cried for her lost friend; she cried thinking about how terrified she must have felt when she realized someone had gotten into her apartment and how scared she must have been to be there all alone at that moment. “Why?” she cried aloud. “Why didn’t you tell me you were being threatened? Why didn’t you say anything at all?” She sat in the tub with her head in her hands and just bawled.

Lost in her own thoughts, wiping away her tears, she was startled by a knock on the bathroom door. “Who is it?” “It’s me, sis. I need to use the bathroom. How long are you going to be?” “Oh, I’m sorry, Samuel. I just got in the tub. Let me finish bathing, but it will take me a minute to get out.” “It’s fine. Do you need my help?” “No, Samuel, I’m a grown woman. I’m pretty sure I can handle myself.” “Look, don’t overexert yourself. I will help you if you need help. You’re my sister. Plus, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen you without your clothes on.” He instantly regretted saying that, thinking back to the photograph. He silently wondered if Jin and Detective Li had erased that photo from their phones. He would have to make sure of that later. He listened at the door for a moment and was about to knock again when he heard a loud thud, then his sister cursing loudly. Not caring if she got angry with him or not, he reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet. Pulling out a credit card and slipping it in the crack of the door, he popped it open with no problem. There inside, he found his sister lying in the floor beside the large tub and holding her leg. “Damn it, Emily! I said I’d help you,” Samuel exclaimed. “I said I didn’t need your help, Samuel.” She looked up to see a concerned look come across his face as he rushed to her side, grabbing a big plush towel off the countertop to cover her. Good thing he covered her when he did because by the time the towel hit the ground covering her completely, Jin walked through the open doorway. “I heard a thud and loud cursing. Is everybody all right in here?” “What is it with you guys, huh? Do you all have ears like dogs or what?” Jin started laughing, a sound that was deep and melodic, one that she could feel

deep down in her chest. He was absolutely one of the most handsome men she had ever set eyes on. His laughter showed off straight, pearly white teeth and very sensual lips. Oh, for crying out loud! She felt heat ri her neck all the way to her ears. She was blushing while lying on the bathroom floor naked, all because this man walked in. It was embarrassing enough that he carried her into his house, had seen a photo of her naked, and now she was lying in the bathroom floor in nothing but a towel. He just kept seeing her at her worst. “You know what, I’ve been alone for so long that I have always depended solely on myself. I am not sure I know how to depend on others for help.” She looked up at Jin from the floor, and in the most sarcastic voice she could muster, she said, “Mr. Jin, if you don’t want to burn your retinas by seeing me naked again, I suggest you walk away. My brother can help me from here.” He laughed again, this time slightly covering his mouth as if to hide his smile. He knelt beside her, getting so close to her face she could feel his breath on her earlobe, as he whispered in her ear, “Look, sweetheart, seeing you naked only piqued my interest even more than seeing you fully clothed. You’ve had my full attention since I received the call from Li.” He stood back up and walked out the door but not before turning around and flashing her a smile that could melt icebergs. Emily felt herself blushing again then ed her brother was still kneeling next to her. “Look, Em, I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you in the past, but I’m here now. I will do everything I can to make sure you stay safe. If it means helping you out in the bathroom, I will.” “Samuel, it would be different if I didn’t understand why you weren’t here. But you enlisted in the military right out of high school. It was what you had always wanted to do since you were a little boy. After our parents ed away in that car accident, I wasn’t going to try to make you stay. Neither of us knew what to do after that, so you went ahead with the military while I worked several jobs until I found what I wanted to do in life. I have always wanted to write and did some writing in high school, but I am too timid to put anything in my own name. It’s my fault Tara is dead. My lack of self-confidence killed my best friend.” Samuel patted her on the back gently. “Emily, it isn’t your fault. She never told you about the threats, and she didn’t tell the police either.”

“No, I should have been a better friend. I should have called and checked on her more often.” Samuel wrapped his sister in the towel and helped her to her feet. He set her against the counter. “Stay here and let me dry the floor and get you a chair. That will make it easier for you to get dressed.” Emily stood against the counter, waiting patiently on her brother as he disappeared into her room. There, he retrieved the chair that was left for her to prop her leg up on while working on her novel and brought it into the bathroom. “Here, sit here to make it easier for you to dress yourself. I’ll grab another towel to dry the floor so the crutch won’t slip.” “I really appreciate it, Samuel.” “Nah, it’s the least I can do. What did Jin tell you earlier?” “Nothing. He just called my bluff is all.” “I wasn’t sure whether to get mad or not. I mean, I am still your brother after all, and he was standing right next to you while you were practically naked.” “Oh, come on, Samuel. I know you’ve seen the picture too. All of you have seen me naked in my own shower. Although it is unnerving to know there were so many gadgets in my house, I still miss home.” “I know. Well, hopefully within the next day or so, we can get the new security system set up in your house, and we can guard you there.” He finished drying the floor and stepped out of the bathroom. She used the chair to help balance herself to put her clothes on. She had grabbed a black and green sports suit with a matching green T-shirt to put on after the bath. Knowing she was going to be working on her novel for a while, she decided to forgo wearing pajamas. Samuel was right; sitting down did make it a lot easier to get ready. She finished pulling on her clothes, and grabbing her crutch, she got up and walked into her room. She sat down at the desk and stared at her computer screen for a moment before calling out to Samuel.

“Hey, Samuel.” “Yeah,” he hollered back. “Can you bring the chair back in here so I can prop my leg up while I work?” “Yeah, I’ll be right there. Let me use the bathroom first.” “Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry.” “It’s all right. I will bring it in shortly.” Emily sat at the desk and waited for her brother to bring the chair to her so she could get comfortable before getting back to her writing. While she was waiting, she began to think about Jin and how her body was responding to him. She would have to keep her distance from him from now on. She knew he was just doing his job to protect her, and she did not want to fool herself into thinking otherwise. She knew he could have any woman he wanted. He was handsome, muscular, intelligent, and for Detective Li to depend on him meant he was a very dependable person. Jin stood by her bedroom door, watching her sitting at the desk. He watched as her brother brought the chair back into her room and helped raise her leg and get her comfortable before he sat in the floor beside her. “Emily, I know you don’t have much experience in dating, but I saw how you reacted to Jin.” Hearing this, Jin became a little fascinated and moved out of the doorway to lean on the wall outside her room so he could hear the conversation. He was not one to eavesdrop normally, but he really wanted to hear her answers this time. This was a first for him too. He never teased anyone like he teased her, yet she seemed so indifferent about it when he teased her. Maybe he had been out of the dating game for too long too. He stood there listening quietly. “I know what you’re going to say, Samuel, and I already know. You’re going to say Jin is too good for me and that I should not get my hopes up. That is why I am sitting here at my desk. I need to stay away from him so I will not make a fool of myself. Once I put my headphones in, I will get back to my writing and forget everything else until I am finished.”

“No, Emily, that’s not what I was going to say. Despite being your brother, I am rooting for you to find someone special. I do not want you to find yourself in a position where you are alone all the time. There is nothing wrong with you. You are an incredibly special woman, and anyone who does not see that is totally blind. What happened to you in high school was all my fault, and I am sorry. I should have paid more attention to you and done more to protect you. My first impression of Jin is that he is a great guy. He wouldn’t let anything happen to you, and the fact is, the mysterious woman from the hospital and the electronics store is my ex-girlfriend.” Her attention snapped to her brother. “If she’s your ex-girlfriend, then why is she after me? I don’t even know her.” “Again, this is my fault. I really do not telling her about having a sister or where you were or anything, but she was in the military same as me. So even if I did not tell her about you, it would not be hard for her to find out. She is an extremely dangerous woman. I need you to stay as far from her as you can and stick close to myself or Jin.” “No, I’ve already told myself to keep my distance from him so I don’t make any embarrassing mistakes.” Jin was still quietly listening to their conversation when his phone began to vibrate. It was Li’s sister again; she had started sending him messages one after another, questioning his reasons for allowing another woman into his house when she was not even allowed to come there. It was rather annoying, yet he could not be overly mean to her, but she just would not stop. He was about to walk away when he heard the question he was waiting for. “Emily, do you like Jin Kang?” Emily started rubbing her hands together, looking almost as if she was ashamed of herself. “Honestly, Samuel, I know he’s just doing his job, but I can’t help but begin to like him.” “Really? Usually you are very picky about men. What about Jin do you like?”

“Brother, don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear the answers to.” She reached over to put her headphones in when Samuel stopped her hands. “No really, Emily, I want to know. What about him makes you say that you like him?” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, still looking downtrodden. “Even in high school, no one ever looked at me like I was a woman. I was ignored by the entirety of the male population because I was chunky but still played athletics. I wore clothes that were comfortable to me, such as jeans and T-shirts instead of skirts and dresses. I mean, look at me now. Yeah, I may have slimmed down a little, but I still wear what is comfortable to me like these tracksuits. I grew my hair out, dyed it, and styled it and had not once gotten a second glance. When I first met Jin in that hospital room, I thought, ‘Wow, this man is handsome.’ Superficial, I know, but then he started talking, and I found that he actually cares about the people he is guarding. He is intelligent, dependable, tall, and exotic. The main reason I like to stay in the background of my writings is because I lack self-confidence in my looks and personality. I want to find someone who likes me for me and not because I have a ton of money or became famous. I am comfortable with the way I look, and I love myself. That’s something I learned from the K-pop group I listen to.” “How did you learn that from a K-pop group?” “I just happened to come across their success story online and learned how they have worked hard to become what they are today. They had to learn to love and believe in themselves first before they could make anyone else happy. Their music is inspiring to me and many others all around the world, but I took some of their story personally. I was made fun of in school and did not have many friends growing up, so I secluded myself to places I knew nobody would go to look for me. Bullies are no joke, and I have been in my fair share of fights, but I had finally decided to love myself for who I am and not to care what others think. I write what I want and place myself into each story, whether I am a side character or someone close to the main character. I have my own part to play in each story. This is also how I keep myself down to earth. My character is not always a good one. I’ve made myself into the bad guy a time or two to get all my harsh feelings toward the male population out.”

“I think I understand what you’re saying. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” “You asked a sensitive question, but you don’t want me to get hurt. I know very well myself that I am not the type of woman Jin would fall for. You do not have to warn me not to get hurt. I’m always hurt. I just don’t show anyone my wounds.”

Chapter 15

Jin had heard enough. He needed to think about what his own feelings were first before saying anything to her. She sounded like she had been hurt quite a bit in her life by men. He didn’t want to add to her pain. First of all, he needed to deal with Li’s sister. Still holding his phone, he started to read all the messages she had sent. Within ten minutes’ time, she had sent him thirty text messages.

Why aren’t you answering me? How could you bring another woman to your house? Is my brother with you? Who was that message from, and why send one to me? I need your protection. I feel safer when I’m with you. Answer me, Jin Kang!

So many messages, and all of them just absolute nonsense. He did not like her that way, and he had told her several times, but his feelings for Emily were changing. He didn’t just feel like he was doing a job. He was starting to feel like he needed to protect her; he had to. When her brother found the blood trail leading to her room, he felt his heart drop to his feet. A feeling of desperation came over him until he saw that she was somewhat all right. Standing there deep in thought, his phone vibrated again. Looking at the screen, it was another message from Li’s sister. This one was different, it said this:

Since you refuse to answer me, I’m coming to you, and you nor my brother can stop me. I will be at your house soon. Be ready.

Oh, for heaven’s sake, why does she have to come here of all places? He immediately dialed Li; he answered on the first ring. “I already know what you’re going to say, Jin. Your house is being overrun with people, and you like your privacy. I completely understand the dilemma, but she’s my sister, and she is receiving threats from that bastard Nightmare.” “If you know what’s happening, why did you not say anything before you snuck out of here, or did you sneak out because you knew what was about to happen?” “Look, you know as well as I do, that once my sister sets her mind to something, nothing and nobody can stop her. She called me a few minutes ago to let me know she took some time off from work because she was feeling threatened by Nightmare. Since we already have an idea about how Nightmare works, she feels she would be safer with us. You have enough rooms at your place. What is the problem?” Jin ran his hand over his face. “Look, if your sister is going to stay here, you are too, so while you’re out, you had better pack a bag and bring your ass back here.” He heard laughter from the other end of the line. “Jin, you aren’t afraid of my sister, are you?” “Just bring your ass back here.” He put his phone in his pocket and made his way back to Emily’s room. He still heard them talking, but he needed to let them know about Li’s sister coming to stay too. He knocked lightly on the doorframe before taking a few steps into the room. The siblings stopped their conversation and looked to the door before Emily quickly averted her gaze to her computer. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that Detective Li’s sister is going to be

staying for a few days. She, too, has just gotten a threatening message from this Nightmare guy. So she is on her way here now. I wanted to make sure you knew about this because she likes to act like a diva because she’s an actress, so don’t let her behavior bother you.” Samuel looked at his sister. “Now you’ll have another woman to talk to. Isn’t that great?” “Once I put my headphones in, it won’t matter who’s here. Sorry, guys, but I really should get back to work now.” Without thinking twice, Jin stepped forward. “Not yet, don’t get back to work yet. You need to eat some food so you can take your medications.” Surprised, Samuel glanced at his watch and gasped. “Dang, Emily, you aren’t hungry yet? We ate dinner late last night, but it’s almost one o’clock in the afternoon.” Although she was going to deny it, her stomach betrayed her and started making noise. Both Jin and Samuel looked at each other then back to Emily before they started laughing. Embarrassed enough, she turned back to her computer about to grab her headphones again when her brother stopped her. “He’s right. You do need to eat so you can take your medicine at least. What sounds good for lunch?” Getting aggravated now, she spun around. “It really doesn’t matter to me about what kind of food there is. I would be good with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as long as you two leave me alone and let me work.” Samuel stood up and walked to the doorway and put his hand on Jin’s shoulder. “It’s no use when she gets like this. Do you want me to go grab some food and bring it back here?” “It doesn’t matter. I’ll go since I know how to get back in. I keep my security tight, and any disturbances will be sent to my phone immediately. What do you want to eat?” “I think I know something that will lighten my sister’s mood. Is there a place

around here to get some bibimbap, bossam, or gogigui?” “Are you asking because I’m Korean or because that’s what you want to get your sister to eat?” Jin gave Samuel a questioning look before Samuel started laughing. “No, it’s not because you are Korean. One thing I about my sister is that she likes Korean food. She developed a taste for it in high school and even thought about going to Korea for short time. Our parents were against it though, and then they died in an accident, and I never heard another word from her about going anywhere.” He looked down to his feet. “I’m ashamed of myself because when our parents died, I left everything on her and just took off to the military. I did not even stay here long enough to go to their funeral. I’ve been a terrible brother to her.” “Well, you are here now, and she needs you now more than ever. That’s what counts.” “You said Li’s sister is coming here, too, right?” “Yes, I will apologize to you in advance for her attitude. She likes me and will be the epitome of jealousy when she gets here because I have not let any woman come to my house before. Emily has special circumstances. I will allow her to stay here, and you are her brother, so I really don’t mind you staying either. The fact that Emily is super quiet and sticks to her work and does not go probing through my house as if she owns it is one of the main reasons that I do not mind her staying. Li Xiu Ying is on a totally different level from Emily. Once she’s here, there will be no peace and quiet. That’s why I’m warning you in advance.” “When will she be arriving?” “She will probably be getting here as I am coming back with food. If I leave now, I should beat her here. So I’ll go now to pick up some Korean food.” Jin turned around to leave, thinking about how Emily’s tastes and his were matching up more and more. She was a quiet workaholic, who did not stick her nose into anything that did not concern her, and she had a great attitude except for the constant belittling of herself. She should have more confidence in herself, but he could already see that she was developing feelings for him. For the first

time in his life, he was actually happy and smiling as he walked out the door. His smile held as he was thinking of Emily and her attempt at a bluff in the bathroom earlier. Then he started to laugh to himself, something he had not done in many, many years. He chose the sports car when he entered the garage and pulled the keys from the lock box by the door. He got in the car and began pulling out of his driveway when suddenly a black hummer limousine blocked his path. His smile disappeared in an instant and was immediately replaced by annoyance. Damn, she is here already and is nowhere close to being inconspicuous about it. The rear window of the hulking limousine rolled down, and there she was. Without waiting for him to even roll his window down, she pushed the door open and ran toward his car. Reluctantly, Jin got out of his car to greet her. She dashed over to him and threw her arms around his waist, slowly moving her hands down to his rear. He grabbed her arms and untangled himself from her embrace and looked her straight in the face. “Look, you can’t act like that in front of my guests.” “Guests? Aren’t they clients? Anyway, why can’t I act like myself? Do you like this woman or something?” “No, you shouldn’t be acting like this at all. I have already explained to you how I feel about you. You are like a little sister to me. I have no romantic interest in you at all.” “Tough, before I leave here, you will be begging me not only to stay but to marry you as well.” Jin rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m on my way out to get food. I thought you would be getting here later. Just get in the car, and you can ride with me.” “Ooh, it’s almost like we’re going on a date. I love it!” “We aren’t going on a date. We are going to pick up some Korean food and bring it back here.” “Korean food. I thought you said you didn’t like me that way, but you

what I like. It just goes to show we were made for each other.” “Have your driver drop off your bags with your brother because he’s coming to stay too.” With that, her smile dropped from her face and turned into a pout. She would have to find a way to get rid of her brother when they returned.

Chapter 16

Li was on his way home to pack his bag when he got a text from Jin.

Your sister is with me already. I am picking up some lunch so Emily can take her medicine. Give Samuel a call and have him move to one of the empty upstairs bedrooms, and you take the other. The women can stay downstairs.

“Wow, she couldn’t wait to pounce on Jin. I feel bad for the man since my sister has had a crush on him since she met him. She’s going to put up a fight.” He flipped through his phone, locating Samuel’s number, and hit dial. Once he answered the phone, Li relayed the message to Samuel. “You don’t think it’s a bad idea to have two women on the same level without supervision?” Samuel joked. “You know, it probably isn’t the best idea, but if my sister gets a room upstairs, she will stop at nothing to get into Jin’s bed. She’s very forward and doesn’t care who knows about it. She decided the second day she met him that he was her future husband.” “Oh, wow. Well, if my sister were not injured, I would say she would give her a good run for her money, but right now, as it stands, my sister will probably just ignore her and work on her novel. All right, I will get my stuff moved to an upstairs room. I’ll text Jin and ask him where some clean sheets are so I can change them.” “How is your sister doing right now? She hasn’t gotten any more messages from Kirk or anyone else?” “No, no more messages. Not that she has told me about anyway. Well, let me get to this, and I’ll see you in a little while.”

*****

Emily was concentrating on her novel, listening to her K-pop music, when the music suddenly stopped. Her phone was not dead, so why did the music stop? She turned away from the computer to pick up her phone. It had not made any other sounds to alert her for messages or emails. “Samuel!” “Yeah?” “Can you come here for a minute? My phone has stopped working, and I think there’s something wrong with it.” Emily was holding her phone out to hand to Samuel when suddenly the screen had a picture again. Samuel hurried up. Something was happening; there were pictures coming up on the screen. He ran down the last few steps, turned the corner, and ran down the short hallway into her room. He grabbed the cell phone just as a series of pictures started playing across the screen. There were pictures of them leaving the hospital, stopping at the electronics store, Detective Li stopping to get Chinese food, Samuel and Detective Li leaving her house with her overnight bag, and so many more photos. Samuel and Emily both noticed there were pictures of the three of them, but Jin was not in any of the photos she had received. That meant these photos were not sent from Kirk Shawls. Kirk sent pictures of the three of them leaving the hospital, so he had pictures of Jin, but evidently, this was someone else. “Samuel, call Jin and Detective Li. Let them know about the photos on my phone. Let them know that someone other than Kirk Shawls is watching them.” “Yeah, I’m on it.” He was still holding Emily’s phone in his hand while dialing Jin with his own. “This is Jin.”

“Hey, Jin. It’s Samuel.” “Yeah, what’s up?” “Look, man, Emily just called me in her room to show me her phone. There are a bunch of photos playing across the screen of Emily, me, and Detective Li. Someone other than Kirk Shawls is watching us. The only person not in any of the photos is you.” “What makes you say it isn’t Kirk?” “Because the photos Kirk sent Emily had the three of us from the hospital. None of the photos scrolling across her phone now have you in them. Whoever this is has not seen you yet. I’m about to call Detective Li to let him know so he can be cautious about coming here.” “No, I’ll call Li. Use your phone to record what hers is doing in case it stops before we get back.” “Okay, I’ll do that now.” Once they hung up with each other, Samuel got right to work. He set up her phone on the desk, propping it up, then used his phone to record the photos that were on a repetitive loop flashing across her phone. “Who is this guy, and what does he want from me?” “I’m not sure, sis, but we will find out. Don’t worry.”

*****

Jin stepped on the gas while simultaneously calling Li. “Yeah, Jin? I’m already on my way to your place.” “Stop where you are and go find a parking garage. Call me when you find one.”

“Why, what’s going on?” “Emily just received a bunch of photos on her phone, and I’m having Samuel record them so we can see them when we get back, but according to Samuel, someone other than Kirk is following you around. We are going to try to keep me out of the picture, so once you get to the parking garage, go inside the next closest building and wait.” “All right. I am going to the parking garage on Seventh Street. I will park on the fifth level and walk down to the street out the rear of the parking garage. Is someone coming to get my bags?” “My windows are tinted very dark, so I will stop at your car first and let your sister put the bags in the trunk. Then I will meet you at the rear of the building.” “My sister is with you already?” “Yes, she pulled up in her limo as I was leaving to get food, so I told her to get in the car. We are going to make one more stop on the way back to the house. We are going to stop at the electronics store, and I will go in and get Emily a new phone.” “Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll be waiting for you.” “We should be there in about fifteen minutes.” Li Xiu Ying looked over to Jin and saw the serious expression on his face before she asked, “What’s going on, Jin? This is beginning to scare me. I’ve never seen you so serious before.” “Everything will be explained to you when we get back home. Let’s get your brother and food first, then we can talk about everything.” “Who is this Emily person, and why does she need protection at your place?” “I just told you everything will be explained when we get back to my place. I’m not in the mood to play your jealousy games right now.” Jin looks so sexy when he is serious, although I have not seen him this serious in a long time. He cannot possibly have feelings for this Emily character, can he?

Nah, he has never had feelings for any woman before. Well, except for me. I know he loves me. He is just playing hard to get. I will find out about her soon. She had better watch herself because Jin will be my husband. He pulled into the parking garage off Seventh Street and drove up to the fifth level behind Li’s unmarked police car. “Look, I’m going to pop the trunk, and I need you to get both your bags and put them in the trunk without making a fuss. Then we are going to get your brother. Do you understand?” “But my bag is so heavy. Why can’t you get out and get it? I can’t pick it up by myself.” She put on a little pouty face and tried her best to convince him to get the bag for her. “Because this guy is following your brother, Emily, and Samuel. He has seen all their faces and has photographs of them. I am the only one he hasn’t seen, and I’d like to keep it that way. So just get out and get the bags and get back in the car, got it?” “It’s that serious?” Jin exhaled heavily before looking her straight in the eyes. “Yes, it is that serious. Just do what I tell you to do, and you will find out everything when we get home.” “You had better tell me everything when we get there. No exceptions.” “You’re going to hear everything, so just get the bags so we can get your brother and some food.” “All right, fine.” She got out of the car and walked over to Li’s undercover car. She pulled a spare key from under the fender and popped the trunk open. She removed first her brother’s bag then her own and struggled to place them both in the trunk of Jin’s car. She closed her brother’s car and kept the spare key. She then returned to the car.

“Get in the back seat so Li can just get in the car.” “The back seat? I do not do back seats. I’m at a higher level than that.” “You were sitting in the back seat of the limo you rode up in.” She opened her mouth to protest then immediately closed it, crawling into the back seat. “Let’s just go get my brother and the food then go home. I am tired from lifting those heavy bags, and I want to rest. Plus, after lifting those bags, I need a shower. Care to me in the shower?” Jin ignored her commentary and pulled out of the parking garage and around to the back where he spotted Li. He pulled up next to Li and reached across the car to push open the enger door. “Hop in. We have to go get the food and get home so Emily can take her medicine.” Li slid into the enger seat. “What kind of food are you getting and is there enough for all of us?” “We are getting Korean food, and yes, I ordered enough for everyone.” Detective Li and his sister both just stared at Jin. “Are you feeling all right, Jin? I mean, I know you are Korean, but didn’t you get angry the last time I asked you for Korean food? You kind of took it personally.” “Let’s just say, it’s an apology. I kind of ticked Emily off before I left, and her brother said she likes Korean food, so that’s what we are eating.” Li looked back at his sister, who was staring at Jin, her mouth hung open in amazement. He never did anything like this when he upset her. She didn’t know who this Emily was or how she had Jin wrapped around her finger, but it was all about to change because she was here now.

Chapter 17

They had stopped at the Korean restaurant to pick up the food Jin had ordered and were on the way home when he ed he wanted to get Emily another phone. That was okay; he would order one for her and put it in his name so this bastard would not be able to get the number. Strange enough though, he had put in a backdoor to her phone, so when this guy sent her anything else, it would not only alert him but also start a trace. It should have sent the information to his phone. Something went wrong, and he needed to look at her phone again. He pulled into his driveway and made his way to the parking garage and pulled his sports car into its spot. Once out of the car, Jin took the food and headed for the stairs. “Hey! You aren’t even going to help a lady get her bags?” Li Xiu Ying exclaimed. “Nope, get your brother to help you.” He did not even turn around but headed straight into the house to the kitchen to put the food down. Samuel met him in the kitchen. “Her phone has been doing this for about an hour and a half now, and she’s pissed. She can’t listen to her music, and it’s keeping her from concentrating.” “Well, isn’t it time for her to take her medicine now? The food is here. Go get her and bring her to eat. Bring me her phone too. I need to take a look at that.” “All right, but she’s mad as a hornet, just a fair warning.” As soon as the sentence left his mouth, they heard a loud bang. “Jin Kang! Get your ass in here and help me carry my bag. My brother refuses to help.” Samuel and Jin stared at each other for a moment before Jin leaned in. “How about this, Samuel? I’ll get the hornet, and you go help the diva.”

Before Samuel could even reply, Jin was out of the kitchen and headed to Emily’s room. Thinking, Samuel moved out of the kitchen to see who was making the fuss. When he turned the corner to the living room, there she was. She was like a little fairy until she opened her mouth, then she sounded like a banshee. “I think I prefer the hornet too,” he mumbled under his breath as he walked over to the little diva. “Hello,” he said with his hand outstretched. Li walked in the door behind his sister. “Don’t waste your time, Samuel. This is my sister, Li Xiu Ying. Everyone calls her the little diva. Do not mind her or her crappy attitude. If you are not Jin, then she will not pay you any mind. Where did Jin go anyway?” “Oh, he put the food in the kitchen and went to go get the hornet.” “The hornet? You mean Emily?” “Yes, of course, they are one and the same. She is mad right now because she cannot concentrate without her music, and her phone will not do anything but continuously play those photos. She’s very irate.” “Oh, all right. Well, I’m going to take my bag upstairs if you will tell me what room you chose. I will take the other one.” “Excuse me…where is my room?” “You are staying on the main floor with Emily.” “Where is this Emily, and why is her name all I keep hearing from all of you? Get her out here. I want to meet her right now.” “Jesus, you are a loud one!” Everyone looked over to the hallway where Jin was acting as a crutch, helping Emily come to the kitchen. Xiu Ying walked over to Emily and circled around her, looking her up and down. “So you are the Emily I’ve heard a lot about? You aren’t that great, and just so you know, Jin is mine.”

“Well, I guess that would be up to him, wouldn’t it? I have no interest in fighting over a guy. I have better things to do.” Emily stopped talking when she smelled the food. Her face lit up with a huge smile. She looked up to Jin. “You got Korean food?” “Yeah, your brother told me it was something you enjoyed, so I got it as an apology for the bathroom incident earlier.” Her face turned red, and she tried to struggle away from Jin. “You’re hungry, right? Let’s head to the kitchen then.” He started walking with her to the kitchen, but not before Xiu Ying tried nonchalantly to trip her. Unfortunately for her, it backfired, and as Emily began to lose her balance, Jin scooped her up in a princess carry without missing a step and walked with her into the kitchen to put her in one of the chairs. Samuel was furious. “Hey, little diva, I don’t care whose sibling you are, but my sister is already injured, so you had better leave her be.” He walked past her into the kitchen to sit with his sister. Stomping her foot and glaring at her brother, she angrily walked over to him. “Li, why is he acting like this to a woman he just met, and why are they calling me little diva? That’s Jin’s nickname for me. Only he can call me that!” “Listen, sis, I have never seen him act like this to a woman either, but you need to back off before you hurt her even more than she already is. Just come to the kitchen, and we will explain everything about what’s going on.” He dropped his bag by the couch and escorted his sister by the arm into the kitchen. By the time they had gotten to the kitchen, Jin, Emily, and Samuel were already digging into the food. Jin was watching Emily serenely as she was devouring the food like she had never seen food before. “Well, I had better sit down and eat something before piggy over there eats it all.” Emily stopped eating long enough to look at her and wipe her mouth with a

napkin. “Look, I don’t care who you are. I have been through enough shit in the last few days and do not feel like putting up with petty jealousy. Yes, I eat a lot when my favorite food is placed in front of me. Who doesn’t? I have a lot of work ahead of me, and I need the energy to finish it. There is plenty of food here, but if watching me eat bothers you, either you can wait until I’m done or you can pay attention to yourself.” She then continued to eat what was on her plate while Jin sat back in his chair and smirked to himself. He was really beginning to like this woman; she didn’t take shit from anyone. After a few minutes, Emily was finished eating and was getting up from the table. “If you all will excuse me, I need to get back to work. Samuel, do you mind if I borrow your phone since mine is doing that stupid picture thing?” “Nah, that’s fine. You can use it. Are you going to all that music on it?” “Yes, I’ll pay you for it, but it helps me to concentrate, and you can erase it when I get my phone back.” Jin sat forward in his chair, putting his elbows on the table’s edge. “You aren’t getting that phone back. I am getting you a new phone with a new number and everything. I will order it when I finish dinner. You can whatever you want on it.” She turned around and looked straight at Jin; he was sitting there, smiling. He could melt the iciest heart with that smile. “Well, I appreciate it, Jin. Just stop by my room later and get my card, or have Samuel get it for you. We are already intruding on you staying here. I can’t have you paying for my things too.” He lifted his hand and, with a shooing motion, sent her off to her room. Samuel burst out laughing as soon as she was out of eyesight. Li, too, began to laugh out loud, and when Jin ed in, Xiu Ying was the only one just sitting there with an astonished look on her face. “I have never heard my sister go off on someone over food before, but she was

so calm as she did it. She must have been really hungry.” “Yeah, thanks for the tip about what food she likes. I think I’ve been forgiven now.” They were all still laughing when Xiu Ying had finally had enough and slammed her hand down on the table. “Okay, are you going to tell me what’s going on now or what? Why are all of you acting like this for one woman?” “That woman is the only family I have left. She’s my sister, and I will protect her with everything I have.” Astonished at his tone of voice, she placed her hands in her lap. “Okay, I understand you, but what about you guys?” The three of them went around explaining the situation to her, and when it came back around to Li, he dropped his head for a moment before lifting his head again to face Samuel. “Look, I feel responsible for what happened to your sister. I was standing at her front door when she was attacked.” “Detective Li, if it weren’t for you breaking the window and jumping through, my sister could have been hurt a lot more than she was. You saved my sister and got her to a hospital quickly. I really need to thank you for that. Thank you.” “I was just doing my job, but they even got to her at the hospital. The one time I walked out of the room to take a call someone was able to slip in and harm your sister. I am ashamed.” Just then Emily slowly made her way back into the kitchen, stopping in the doorway and leaning on her crutch. “Look, can you guys stop having a pity party for yourselves? Detective Li, my brother is right. You saved me. I could not handle the situation I was in, and you were able to scare off the perpetrator and get me to a hospital. For that, I really appreciate it, and I do not care about the window being broken. I told you to break it because I needed help. What happened at the hospital was security’s

fault. They should have noticed that someone had come in wearing scrubs of the wrong color and should have been more attentive.” Jin was sitting back, watching as she was letting them both off the hook. It was irable. “So now that I know the situation, why is this guy sending me messages and threatening my brother? Why drag me into this?” This time it was Jin who answered. “He sent you a message as a message to your brother to prove he can get to anyone close to him to make him drop the case. He knows your brother has a remarkably high percentage of solved cases, and he doesn’t want to get caught. He wants Emily.” “Why not just let him have her then?” Every gaze in the room landed on Xiu Ying.

Chapter 18

I wonder if she got my gift. I know someone has messed with her phone because the tracking device inside is no longer active. Who does she know that could get that out? I placed it deep within her phone. I guess I am going to have to send Ava back to get her phone. Where are you, my pretty? I will find you again. I saw that detective’s sister come running to him, so she must be close to my Emily. That idiot Kirk is going to be a problem. I need him to stay away from her, but how do I get him away? Maybe I should bring him closer to her. Yeah, that is a good idea. Her restraining order is still in effect, meaning if he comes within fifty feet of her, he will go back to prison. Maybe I should be a good guy and let him know when I find her. I think I will since I’m such a great guy, right? He began typing in the computer, searching for Kirk Shawls’s phone number. It did not take long to find. He pulled a phone from his bag of phones and dialed in the number and hit the call button. “Hello?” “Hello, Kirk. It’s been a long time.” “Who is this?” “I’m just a friend who thinks you’ve been wrongly accused.” “No seriously, who the hell is this?” “I just told you. Let’s just say I’m a friend with similar interests.” “Similar interests? What do you mean?” “Emily Winters.” “Are you the asshole that put her in the hospital?” “Maybe. What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to find your ass. That’s what I’m going to do! You stay away from her!” “I’m sorry. I can’t do that. She belongs to me.” “That’s where you’re wrong, dude.” “Am I? You only want her because she has money, and you feel wronged because you married that idiot Tara instead of her. You feel like you were played the fool because Emily was really the mastermind behind the novels and your wife was just a pretty face.” “How do you know all this? Who are you?” “I’m no one special. I am just her biggest fan—the one who will bring her into the light and stop her from hiding her talents from the world. I’m going to make her my wife as I should have done long ago.” “Wife! Are you insane? What gives you the right to be her husband when you injured her enough to bring that big guy to her side?” “Yeah, yeah, I know about him—her brother, the Navy SEAL. He was an asshole back then too. Let’s just say the hospital visit was payback. She and I are even now. I was thinking we could help each other out.” “Brother! I didn’t know she had a brother. Why the hell would I help you? I genuinely love Emily, and you are just some psychopath trying to own her.” “I’m no psychopath! Go ahead and get that through your head. I will have her no matter what, and you definitely aren’t going to be the one to stop me. No one can stop me. I have watched her from the shadows for years, watched her write her novels, eat, and shower. I have seen everything. I have even sat on the bed beside her and watched her sleep. What have you done besides scare her? Her friend is dead, and it’s your fault.” “How the hell is that my fault? I did not kill her. All I did was divorce the lying bitch.” “Well, let’s see. You found their contract and got angry that she lied to you. It set you off, and you still have a spare key to the apartment. So you took the

initiative to kill her so she would not tell Emily that you liked her instead. You didn’t want Tara to tell her about the beatings you gave her or how you verbally abused her for being stupid. All she talked about was Emily’s books as if they were her own, and it pissed you off.” “Shut the fuck up! I didn’t kill Tara!” “From what I just said, you had plenty of motive.” Click. “Aww, he hung up on me. Let’s see if that was enough of a push for him to find Emily. I’ll bet it was. Just in case, let me send him a message to remind him just how close I am to him.”

I am always watching. Stay away from Emily, or you will not live to regret it.

Kirk’s phone buzzed, alerting him to a text message. He opened the message, and his blood turned cold, and he began sweating. He needed to get in touch with Emily. There was someone even crazier than himself after her. Even if he felt wronged, there was a limit to what he would do, but this guy had killed Tara. Even if she did not answer, she needed to know. The only thing he could do was try to call her. He scrolled through his phone until he came upon her number and hit dial. It was ringing…

*****

The phone started ringing in Jin’s pocket, and the stares moved from Xiu Ying to him. He dug into his pocket and found that it was Emily’s phone that was

ringing. The screen read “Don’t Answer.” He looked to Emily and showed her the screen. “Who is Don’t Answer?” “Kirk Shawls.” “Interesting. Let’s see what he has to say.” Jin pressed the answer button and put him on speakerphone. “——” “Hello? Emily? Answer me if you are there.” “Emily is unavailable right now,” Jin stated. “Damn it, where is Emily, you bastard?” “Why do you need to speak to her?” “Look, if you’re there Emily, just say something. This is important!” Jin nodded at Emily. “What do you want, Kirk?” “Emily! Thank God, you are all right. Is the man who answered your phone one of the men from the hospital?” “It doesn’t matter who he is. What do you want?” “Look, I’m trying to warn you.” “Warn me of what?” “Some random number called me a few minutes ago and threatened to pin Tara’s murder on me if I didn’t stay away from you. He said he has been watching you for years and even sat on your bed with you while you were sleeping. He claimed he is going to bring you out of hiding and into the light. He also said he’s going to make you his wife like he should have years ago.”

“What!” Samuel exclaimed. “Damn, just how many men are around you?” Samuel jumped up from the table so fast he sent his chair flying. “I’m her brother, you son of a bitch! Stay away from my sister. You are no better than this other guy you claim called you! I had better not catch you within eyesight of my sister, or I’ll kill you myself!” Detective Li grabbed Samuel by the shoulder and pulled him away from the table into the living room. “You need to calm down. We can get information out of him. He is saying it was not him that put all the cameras in your sister’s house. That means there is a possibility of there being a third person after your sister.” Samuel went pale. “Just go back and sit down and listen to what the guy is spouting. We could possibly extract a clue from him as to who the real bad guy is.” They walked back in the kitchen. Samuel righted the fallen chair and sat down. Jin had tightened his fists under the table so tight his knuckles had turned white. “Emily,” Kirk continued, “this guy is a real psychopath. He was saying all sorts of stuff, like how he has been there for you all along, watched your every move —eating, sleeping, writing your novels, showering, everything. He even knows about your brother, saying something about him being a Navy SEAL.” They all looked around the table. Jin finally fought back his anger enough to ask the most important question. “What’s his name?” “That’s just it. He would never say his name. I asked him several times, but he would never say. I got so angry that I hung up on him. Then a few seconds later, I got a text letting me know he was always watching. Emily, I know there is

some bad blood between the two of us, and yes, I wanted to get back at you for making me feel like a fool, but this guy is no joke.” “How do we know you aren’t just making this up to misdirect our investigation?” “Us? You know what? I don’t even care anymore. This guy has scared the hell out of me, and you can trust me when I say that I will stay as far away from you as possible. I do not want to end up like Tara. You will never hear from me again. I promise. I just hope those guys around you can protect you.” With that being said, he disconnected the phone.

Chapter 19

Still sitting at the kitchen table, they all turned to stare at Emily. Xiu Ling was the first to break the silence as she sat primly in her chair with her legs crossed. “Oh, so basically this is all your fault because you can’t handle yourself as a woman. Well, I should have known after seeing you. But what does he mean about bring you into the light?” “Well, I might as well tell you since you will find out sooner or later anyway. Ms. Diva, the role you are playing now is for a movie called Scorned Lover, right?” “Yes, but you can get that information off the internet.” She lifted her chin, trying to look intimidating. “It’s being made based on the book of an incredibly famous author. I’ve read all her books and even got an autograph from the author. It’s framed and hanging on my wall.” Samuel started laughing before he could stop himself and looked directly to Jin, who was smiling from ear to ear. “So then you know the author is writing a sequel to Scorned Lover, correct?” “Yes, I have already been cast in the sequel as well. What are you getting at? I do not have time for this drivel. I need to practice my lines.” “Getting to the point. Tara Shawls is the author you are thinking of. She is dead, murdered a few days ago in her apartment. She was my best friend and the face of my books.” “You are lying. You didn’t write any books. You are trying to get the credit for her work.” Jin stood up and walked over to Emily’s side. “This is why she’s here. Whoever this guy is wants her to take the credit for her own work and killed Tara because he felt she was taking too much credit for the work.”

Her eyes went wide. “You’re being serious? You are really the one writing these stories?” Emily smiled and nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I am. I am in the middle of writing the sequel right now. I’m sorry for dragging all of you into this mess.” She looked down, then to her brother, she said, “Samuel, can you help me back to my room, please?” “Sure, no problem.” He walked to his sister, taking the crutch from her, and used his shoulder as a crutch to help her back to her room. She sat down at the desk and looked Samuel straight in the eye. “I’m sorry, Samuel. I should have been able to handle this myself like you taught me.” “No, this is more than what I can teach you. This guy is sick and very advanced with his assault against you. This is not something you can handle on your own, and you should not have to. You have me back now, and I am not going to reenlist later either. I’m going to stay right here with my loving sister forever.” Emily started to laugh. “You better find your own place to live. I’m not having you bringing random women to my house.” They both started to laugh when there was a sudden knock on the door. Detective Li walked in. “Jin showed us your phone. It seems he is correct in his assessment that this guy knows about all of us except for him. Tomorrow, he will go to your house and set up the new security system under the guise of an installation worker. “He will set up a closed-circuit television system that only we have access to and will alert us to anything and everything. All windows and doors will have sensors on them as well as any possible entry points. The only way to access the inside of your house is if your fingerprint has been entered into the system. Once this system is set up, you can go back home, and we can monitor you from here. There will not be any obtrusive cameras in bedrooms or bathrooms, and there will be cameras set up all around the outside of the house. Some of the cameras and lights around the house will be motion-censored, and the rest will record constantly.” He shifted on his feet. “Your house will be just as safe as we are

now, but you will get to be at home and a bit more comfortable. Honestly, you won’t have to put up with my sister either.” “I’m not bothered by your sister. I just need to get back to work. Samuel, go get my purse from the floor beside the bed, please.” Samuel stood and did as he was asked. Emily retrieved her debit card and handed it to Li. “Please give this to Jin so he can order my new phone. I don’t care what phone he orders, just tell him to be sure I can large amounts of music onto it.” “Okay, I’ll get this to him now and be sure to let him know about the music.” He turned around and walked out of the room and headed upstairs to Jin’s bedroom. Knocking on the door, Li heard movement in Jin’s room. “Hey, Jin, open up, man.” “What do you mean open up?” Li turned around, spotting Jin walking up the stairs. “If you aren’t in your bedroom, ugh…where is my sister?” “I don’t know. I told her to go get settled in her room while I cleaned up the kitchen after lunch. Why are you at my bedroom?” “Here”—Li handed off the debit card to Jin—“she said she didn’t care what phone you got her as long as it could hold a lot of music.” “I’m buying her the phone and putting it in my name so that it can’t be traced back to her. I will just hold on to this and give it back later… Now let’s get your sister out of my room and back downstairs, shall we?” Jin opened the door to his bedroom and stepped back, allowing Li to walk in first. Astonished by his sister’s forwardness, Li found his sister lying in Jin’s bed, covered only by a sheer nightgown. When Xiu Ying looked up to see her brother standing there and Jin nowhere in sight, she poked out her bottom lip and began to pout.

“Li, what are you doing in here?” “I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you naked in Jin’s bed?” She reached over to grab the robe she had brought with her and covered herself up before getting out of the bed. “Look, what happened earlier terrified me, so I wanted Jin to make me feel safe.” “That’s not what this looks like. It looks like you are trying to seduce him, and you need to stop. You are my sister, and I love you, but you are going too far trying to seduce Jin. He’s obviously not interested in you in the same way you are interested in him.” “You know, brother, for you to be a man, you know nothing. Any man who sees a beautiful, naked woman in their bed can’t resist but make love to them.” “Put your clothes on and let’s go. You are either staying in the other room downstairs or staying with me in my room. Take your pick, but you aren’t coming back in this room.” With a huff, she grabbed her clothes in her arms and walked out of the room. She descended the staircase and walked directly into Emily’s room, where she found Jin standing behind the computer chair. Seeing this as her opportunity to catch him off guard, she quickly dropped all her clothes on Emily’s bed, yanked off the robe, throwing it aside, and walked up behind Jin. Silently slipping up behind him, she slid her bare arms around his waist and attempted to lock her fingers together so he couldn’t escape. He stood still as a statue, yet she could feel the muscles in his back tense up as she pressed her breast against his back. He stood without moving or attempting to get away as she unlocked her fingers and tried to move her hands to his belt buckle. Elated that he had not moved and she was progressing, she suddenly felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She froze. Damn, has her brother come in here too? Why is everyone sticking to this woman? So she can write a story, if that were even true. “Excuse me. What the hell are you doing in my room?” Exhaling and removing her arms from Jin’s waist, she turned around. She stood

about half a foot taller than Emily and looked down her nose straight into Emily’s face. Emily did not even bat an eye at the fact that this woman was standing practically naked in front of her in her room. “Is there something I can help you with? Is that why you are in my room?” “Yeah, you can help me by leaving and allowing me to enjoy my alone time with Jin. You shouldn’t be here anyway. It’s all your fault this shit has gotten started. You even had the nerve to drag my family into your mess.” Emily stood her ground, staring Xiu Ying right in the eye. “Look, you don’t want me here. I don’t care if you’re here. Honestly, I don’t want to be here either. I’m not trying to stand between you and Jin. You can have him.” “See, Jin? She doesn’t care—” Emily interrupted her midsentence, “Just take your ass to a different room, somewhere other than where I am staying, please. I have a lot of work to do, and you are keeping me from it.” Laughter erupted from behind Xiu Ying, causing her to spin around. Malice in her eyes, she could hear the laughter of two distinct tones. Jin stepped aside to reveal Samuel sitting at Emily’s computer doubled over in laughter while Jin was still standing, trying his best to smother his laughter with his hand. Emily stooped down to pick up her robe and tossed it at her. “All of you, get out. I have work to do.”

Chapter 20

They were exiting the room when Li walked up, seeing the state his sister was in and where she was coming from. He looked down and shook his head. “Hey, Detective, your sister is beautiful, but she’s no match for my sister in the attitude department,” Samuel said, still laughing. Xiu Ying had her clothes in her arms and rushed into the room Samuel had vacated, slamming the door behind her. Li looked at Jin. “I’m sorry, man. I really don’t even know what to say at this point.” “It’s all right, Li. Samuel and I just got a free preview of what happens when you put two women in the same room.” “By the way, what were you two doing in there?” “Samuel was showing me some of the equipment he bought to set up at Emily’s house on her computer.” Bam! “Samuel! Get your ass back in here now!” “Uh-oh, what happened now?” They slowly turned around to see Emily was not only standing in front of her computer, but she was furious. “What did you do to my computer, Samuel?” “I was just showing Jin what I bought to use at your house. Why?” “Come here for a moment.”

He had heard this tone only once before when they were younger, and he had ripped her favorite stuffed animal. He had done it to get back at her for beating him in a footrace in front of the girl he liked. He barely lived to regret it; she had beaten the shit out of him. She wouldn’t be able to do that now. He had been trained rigorously by the Navy and built up so much muscle he was sure she would hurt herself if she tried to beat him this time. He took a deep breath then turned to his new buddies. “You guys may want to look away for a moment. This tone means she’s seriously mad.” Reluctantly he walked back into the room to stand beside his sister. “What is it, sis?” “Did you close all the windows on this computer?” “Yeah, I did. What’s the problem with that?” “Did you save my work before you closed them all?” “No. Why? Don’t you have this set up to automatically save your spot ever so often?” “No, Samuel, I don’t have that set up yet, and even if I did, the flash drive is no longer plugged in. Do you know what happened to it?” “Yeah, I unplugged it because it was getting in the way of my hand moving the mouse.” The realization of what he had done finally dawned on him. “Uh, that means everything you had written up to now—” “Yes, Samuel, that’s exactly what that means. You have just erased all the work that I had completed.” He turned to look at her face and quickly realized that was the worst thing he could have ever done. As soon as he turned, her left hook hit him directly on the jaw, knocking him down on his butt. Stunned and still standing in the doorway to her room, both Li’s and Jin’s mouths dropped open. Jin stepped forward in an attempt to help Samuel. “Hey, Emily, let’s just calm down a bit.” Samuel started to wave his hand at Jin in a shooing motion while holding his jaw with his other. Jin continued to walk forward, ignoring Samuel. “Let me check to

see if it saved to my network first before you lose it.” Samuel was finally able to talk. “Jin, get away from her. When it comes to stuff like this, she just has to get the anger out of her system.” “Maybe that’s why she can’t find a boyfriend” came a sultry female voice from the door. Startled by the sudden entrance of Xiu Ying, they turned to look at her. “For someone so small and chubby, she packs a pretty mean punch.” With that remark, Emily’s attention changed targets to Xiu Ying. Emily took a deep breath and exhaled slowly; all the anger seemed to melt out of her body. “You are a bitch! You really need to learn to let things go. Look at me, I’m beautiful and talented, and I let your lies about being the author of my favorite books go.” Emily stepped forward toward the door, causing Xiu Ying to jump back. “He knows better than to mess with my work, and he just erased everything I had without saving it, and now I have to start all over.” Emily started to wobble as she took a few more steps toward the door before crumpling down to the ground. “Thank God, she ed out from the pain.” Samuel bent down, throwing his sister over his shoulder. He carried her to the bed. Jin helped him to lay her down gently before noticing the blood staining the bedsheets under her leg. She had reopened the wound, causing it to ooze blood once again, soaking through the pants of her jogging suit. “What the hell is her problem?” Samuel turned to look at her directly. “Look, Xiu Ying, I know you don’t believe my sister, and you want to poke at her in any way you can, but as you can see, she can knock my big ass down. What exactly do you think she can do to you? Tomorrow, Jin and I will not be here to stop her, so you had better watch yourself. I am giving you a fair warning. I taught my sister how to fight and protect herself from big guys like us. You aren’t even a threat to her. Just stay away from her.” “I must say that’s the first time I’ve seen a woman put someone your size down

with one hit. She is a lot stronger than she looks,” Jin said. Samuel looked at his sister lying on the bed. “Jin, while I change her dressing and doctor her up a bit, can you please look to see if you can retrieve her work? She should be out for a while.” As soon as Jin sat down in the chair, Emily sat straight up on the bed, startling her brother. “Just get out, all of you. I will rewrite everything while it’s still fresh in my mind.” “Emily, we need to doctor up your leg.” “My leg is fine, Samuel. Just get out.” “No, you’ve always been like this. You never ask for help when you need it and always end up trying to do everything by yourself.” Jin continued to mess with the computer while her brother was distracting her, setting it up to save everything she writes to his personal server every five minutes. He continued while Samuel was distracting her, but he was unable to get her work back. It was gone. He felt terrible even though he was not the one to close everything out. She must have been working on this since she had woken up on the first day he brought her here. He finished working on the computer’s settings, got up, and walked over to the bed. He bent down until he was face to face with her. “I’m terribly sorry we erased everything. We will leave and let you get back to work as soon as we fix your leg. We aren’t leaving until you allow us to rebandage it.” Just when Samuel thought she was going to go crazy again, she took another deep breath and let it out, itting defeat. “Fine, if I let you two doctor up my leg, will you leave me alone to redo my work?” “Yes,” Jin said in a soft tone. The softness and care in the tone he used completely diffused her anger, finally allowing her to feel the pain. Li walked into the room carrying a first-aid kit and a bag of ice. Jin took the ice and placed it carefully on her left hand as Samuel

cut her pants up around her knee, giving him access to the bleeding wound on her leg. Jin sat beside her on the edge of the bed, carefully holding the ice pack as she laid back down on the bed and turned her face away from him. She stole a glance at Jin; he was watching intently as Samuel worked on her leg. She turned away again as tears slid across her face to fall on the pillow. She was crying not just because of the pain but more out of embarrassment. She knew that Jin would never fall for her now because he just saw what she could be like. “You shouldn’t be so nice to me. You’ve seen how I can be.” Jin looked at her for a moment and smiled. “I’m not sure if I should be more worried for you or your brother. That was a mean left hook. I mean, look, his jaw is swelling up and turning purple.” She sat up looking at her brother’s face as he continued to fix her bandages on her leg. When he finished, he looked at her. “There we go, all fixed up.” “I’m sorry, Samuel, I lost my head and ended up hurting you.” “Look, sis, it was my fault for erasing everything you had done. I should have thought twice and double-checked with you before closing everything out. Although I must say, I’m glad you kept up with your training.” He laughed a bit before placing a hand on his jaw. A moment later, Li was back with yet another ice pack, this time handing it to Samuel. “I think you’re going to need this. Now I understand.” “Understand what?” Xiu Ying exclaimed. “That she’s absolutely crazy. She even hit her brother. Just look at his face!” “I understand what Samuel was saying when he said someone had to catch her off guard to hurt her like this. From what I have just seen, physically she can protect herself, but we have a case to solve.” “Jin! Why are you sitting that close to her? She’s crazy!” Emily looked over to the doorway where she stood. “Xiu Ying, I am terribly sorry you saw that side of me. If you could please refrain talking about me and

men, I would really appreciate it. Relationships are kind of a sore spot for me.” “You don’t have to worry about that, you psycho. I’m leaving in a few days anyway. I have to get back to work.” With a flick of her hair, she was gone, retreating into her own room. Jin started to stand from the bed when he felt a hand on his upper arm. He sat back down for a moment. “Is there something you need?” She looked so small and ashamed. “I am embarrassed to ask you this, but can you please look at Samuel’s face for me?” “Here I thought you were actually going to ask me for help. Yes, I will look at his face. Is there anything else?” “Can you help me over to the desk?” That heartwarming smile broke out across his face once again; he didn’t hesitate to ease her off the bed and lift her up in his arms to carry her over to the desk and gently place her in the desk chair. He brought the spare chair over, helped her prop up her leg, and handed her Samuel’s phone along with her headphones. She watched his back as he headed for the door when he suddenly turned. Looking at her over his shoulder, he gave her a wink before walking out.

Chapter 21

Jin was thinking about the scene that had played out before him downstairs as he walked up stairs to his bedroom. After checking his room thoroughly for uninvited guests, he closed his door and locked it. He walked over to sit at his desk, where he logged in to his network. He was able to see everything on Emily’s computer screen in real time. She was back to writing her story. He opened another screen and ordered her a phone, putting it in his name and getting a new number. He was curious about her books, so while he was online, he ordered all her books and set everything to be express delivered so he would receive it the next day. He closed out the second window and began to read everything she was currently typing. She was good; that was for sure. Just reading the first two chapters she had rewritten, he was hooked. Not many books could catch his attention and hold it, but her story was doing just that. He was still sitting there reading as she typed when there was a knock on his door. “Who is it?” “It’s Li. Can I talk to you for a minute?” “Yeah, give me just a second.” Jin minimized the screen and turned off his computer monitor before getting up to open the door. Li stood in the doorway. “Hey, it’s getting late. Did you want anything for dinner?” “Getting late?” Jin looked down at his watch, seeing the digital face light up; it read 8:45 p.m. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was this late already.” “Have you talked to everyone else already? Are they all hungry too?” “Everyone except Emily. Nobody wants to interrupt her while she’s writing.” Jin laughed and smiled at Li. “You mean, everyone is afraid of her after seeing

what she can do. I will go ask her what she wants for dinner.” “Everyone else decided sandwiches would be fine.” “All right.” Jin laughed again as he walked out of his room, pulling the door closed behind him. He made his way down the stairs and through the hallway to Emily’s open bedroom door. He knocked on the doorframe before peeking inside, spotting Emily wearing her headphones and typing away on the keyboard. He walked up behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, turning her head around so quickly one of the headphones popped right out of her ear. “Damn it, Jin, you scared the hell out of me!” “Hey, sorry, I wasn’t sure of the best way to get your attention.” “It’s okay. What did you need?” “The rest of us are getting hungry, and we’re going to go out for sandwiches. Do you want anything?” She looked at the time at the bottom of her computer screen then rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. He noticed her left hand was purple and blue and a little swollen from the events that had transpired earlier. He grabbed her hand and ran his thumb gently over her discolored knuckles; he felt a tingling sensation in his lower abdomen just from the slight touch. He looked at her face and watched it turn red before she snatched her hand away from him. “I should stay off my leg for now. If I keep reopening it, it will never heal, but I do need food so I can take my medicine.” “Sandwich, okay?” “Yes.” “What kind do you want?” “Ham and turkey with pickles, mayonnaise, lettuce, and onions, please.” “Not a problem. I will let them know.”

“You aren’t going with them?” “No, I am going to stay here. Your brother wanted to pick up a few things when he goes out, and Li has to swing by the station for a minute.” “What about Xiu Ying? Is she staying or leaving?” “I’m not quite sure about her yet, but I wanted to try to give you some quiet time to get back what you lost.” “I wanted to apologize for my outburst earlier. I’m sure you were quite shocked by my behavior.” “It isn’t a problem. I understand. We had erased all your work, and you have had a lot of things happen to you recently. You are under a lot of stress. Why not take this time to relax a little, soak in a warm bath, give your body time to recharge?” “I would really like to, but I have a lot of work to make up. I appreciate your concern though.” She smiled up at him; he felt warm inside just seeing her smile. “Just for future knowledge, why don’t you tell me the best way to get your attention so I don’t scare you when your sandwich gets here?” “If you just flash the lights, it will get my attention without scaring me. That’s what I always had Tara do when she came to my place.” “Tara had a key to your house?” “Well, of course. She would come by before she would do interviews, bringing by a list of questions the interviewer prepared so I could answer them, and she could memorize the answers.” “Okay, we will need to get all new locks for your house too.” He turned around and was almost out of the door when he turned back around. “You should smile more often. You are beautiful when you smile.” Emily did not know what to say; she was at a loss that he complimented her. He

was probably just being nice, but she felt warmth spreading through her body. She turned back around and pinched her right cheek. “Ouch!” She was not dreaming; this was real. “Get over yourself, Emily. He was just kidding around. Don’t get your hopes up,” she said quietly to herself and got back to her writing. She put her headphones back in and continued writing. This time, she could not focus. What Jin said kept replaying in her mind repeatedly. Since she was not getting any work done, she decided to take a warm bath. She got a fresh set of clothes ready, took them into the bathroom with her, put them on the counter, and walked to the ading bathroom door, knocking and asking if Xiu Ying was in there. She announced that she was going to take a bath, so if she were in the room, she could hear her. She began to fill the tub with warm water and made her way back into her room to retrieve the bag for her leg. She pulled the spare chair into the bathroom to help balance herself, then she sat to disrobe. She had gotten completely disrobed and pulled the bag up on her leg when there was a knock on her door. She had gotten her clothes in the bathroom but had forgotten the robe they had provided on the bed. “Hang on a minute!” she yelled. She used the crutch to help her back into her bedroom and had just grabbed the robe when she heard her door opening. Shocked, she looked up and quickly tried to cover herself with the robe, dropping the crutch. As she started to fall, she felt a strong arm catch her right before she hit the ground. She looked up, praying the arm was connected to anyone other than Jin Kang. “Are you all right?” Jin grabbed the robe that she had dropped on the floor and wrapped it around her nude body. She spun around in his hold, bringing them face to face. Looking up into his eyes, she quickly pulled the front of the robe shut. “Yes, I’m okay. Thank you for catching me, but what are you doing in here? I yelled to hold on a minute.” “I couldn’t hear you through the door and was afraid you had fallen again.” His face was so close, before she knew it, she realized she was holding her

breath. He was holding her body against his, and she could feel his muscles underneath his shirt. Not sure of what to do, she looked away from his face to the bathroom door behind them. He saw her eyes going wide, so he turned to look at the doorway, spotting a shocked Xiu Ying. “Are you guys serious right now? What do you think you’re doing?” She ran a few steps at them, grabbing both their arms and yanking them apart. Emily fell to the ground, her robe falling open as she fell. She quickly tried to wrap her robe around herself as Xiu Ying dropped down on top of her, grabbing her hair and pulling, screaming obscenities at her. Although it seemed like minutes, Jin bent down and grabbed her, pulling her from Emily. “Xiu Ying, what are you doing?” She looked straight in his eyes, tears welling up. “I should be asking you that! What are you doing in her room holding her while she’s only wearing a robe?” Emily looked up at her. “Did you not hear me knock on your door from inside the bathroom to inform you I was going to take a bath?” “Yes, I did. I did not answer you on purpose. I was waiting for you to get in the bath—” Jin looked at her while holding her by the upper arms. “What were you going to do while she was in the bath?” A stern look came across his face. “Let me guess. You were going to come looking for me while she was in the bath to try to corner me. This is the last time I am going to tell you this, so listen carefully. I look at you like a sister. I have no romantic feelings for you at all.” The tears started to fall from her lashes. “So what, you like her instead?” “What if I do?” “Are you crazy, Jin? You do not even know her! How could you fall for someone like her?” “Enough!” Emily struggled to her feet, using the corner of the bed to help her stand. “I don’t want to hear your hissy fit. He was just concerned I may have hurt myself and was trying to help me. Now that I know you are here and I know you heard me say I am taking a bath, then I am going to do just that. You can

both leave.” She pulled the robe closed, cinched the belt tight, and limped her way to the bathroom.

Chapter 22

She closed the bathroom door behind her, slowly made her way to the vanity, and used some tissue to dab at the blood coming from her freshly busted lip. That stupid actress… She undid the belt on her robe and placed it on the counter, limped the few steps to the bathtub, and slowly lowered her body into the nowlukewarm water. She sat in the bath with tears streaming down her face, not because of the busted lip, not because she fell, but because it seemed like everything was coming down around her. Why was it that she was always crying? It seemed like that was all she knew how to do recently. Jin had to be joking. There was no way he could be falling for her, especially after seeing her attitude. Maybe he was just using her to make Xiu Ying back off. He clearly told Xiu Ying he had no romantic feelings for her. With her leg propped up, Emily slid down in the tub, allowing the water to cover her up to her neck while she thought about what had just transpired. There is just no way he can be falling for me. No way. She decided to ignore it for now and let all her worries and stress melt away. Before she realized it, she could hear Tara’s voice yet again. “Emily, I am so sorry for getting so caught up in the fame of your novels. I seriously began to think I was the one writing them.” “Tara, I don’t understand. How is it that I keep hearing you in my dreams? How can I sit here and have a conversation with you?” “I don’t know, Emily. What I do know is this—I am here to warn you. Kirk is not the one after you. I have seen the man after you, and it’s not Kirk, but it is someone from your past. I do not his name, yet you will. I’m afraid that once you realize who he is, it will be too late.” “What do you mean, Tara? Why can’t I see you this time?” “You need to wake up now, Emily.”

“Wait, Tara, no! I want to talk more.” Before she could hear Tara’s answer, Emily felt hands grasping her upper arms and lifting her up. “Emily, oh my god! Are you all right? Say something, anything—” She heard a man’s voice but couldn’t pinpoint who it was. She felt her body being lifted out of the water and felt the instant chill all over as the cool air engulfed her body. Emily awoke in her bed. She was wearing a nightgown and was covered by several blankets. Looking around the room, she found her brother sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed on her right side. He was sound asleep and was snoring softly. She tried to sit up only to realize she couldn’t. Her body felt heavy; she attempted to move her left hand and was successful. It brushed against something warm and startled her as she struggled to adjust herself in an attempt to see what she had brushed against. Jin shifted his position. He was sitting in a chair with his head laid back, arms crossed, and feet propped on the bedside. The feeling of something warm brushing against his feet caused him to snap to attention, dropping both feet to the ground and leaning forward. “You’re awake?” The sound of his voice woke Samuel up on the opposite side of the bed. Samuel stretched then swiftly flipped over to sit on his knees so that he could look into his sister’s face. “Emily, I know things have been very hard for you, but if you don’t stop scaring me, you’re going to shave even more years off my life.” “I’m sorry, Samuel. I’m not really sure what happened. I talking to Jin and Xiu Ying then getting into the bath, but once I was in the water, I closed my eyes and heard Tara talking to me again.” “Tara? Emily, you ed out in the tub and almost drowned. Jin came to get you when Li and I returned with the sandwiches, and you did not answer. We heard him banging on the door from the kitchen, and when you still did not answer, we all started to get worried. We forced our way in only to find you ed out in the tub. Luckily, you weren’t under the water’s surface for very long. You spit up

a little water once we got you out, then we dried you off, put you in a nightgown, and put you in bed.” “You keep saying we. I take it we is you two?” Jin was still leaning forward with his arms balanced on his thighs. “Yes, ma’am, you would be correct. I told your brother about the confrontation between the three of us before you went to get in the bath when he asked about the busted lip.” “Jin got his personal doctor to come by and take a look at you. He said you more than likely ed out due to stress. You have a slight fever, and a small infection is starting in your leg. Since you obviously are not taking your medicine properly, Jin and I will be taking turns keeping an eye on you and making sure you take your medicine properly.” “Is this really necessary? Samuel, now that I am thinking about it, how can you be so calm about a guy seeing me without my clothes on?” “We have had a long talk already, and yes, it is necessary because you should be getting better, and you aren’t. Why is it that when something happens to you, you claim to talk to Tara?” “Honestly, I don’t know. It seems like every time I close my eyes, she is there. This time, I could not see her, but I could hear her.” She went on to explain to them what Tara had said. Jin leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms once again. “Why did she say you know who this guy is, but it isn’t Kirk?” Samuel looked across the bed at Jin. “I think we need to have a little chat with Kirk Shawls.” “Agreed. We need to know more about the conversation that scared him so badly.” “Well, since you are awake now, how about some breakfast?” “Breakfast? What time is it?”

Samuel looked at his watch. “It is now ten thirty in the morning, and Detective Li is making breakfast. Eggs, toast, fruit, and orange juice. Think you can eat any of it?” “Yeah, it sounds delicious.” Samuel stood up and stretched again before turning to Emily. “Well, just stay right there. I’ll bring you some breakfast.” “Thanks, Samuel, I appreciate it, and I’ll try not to scare you anymore.” Samuel walked out of the room. “Am I allowed to work on my novel again?” “Yes,” Jin said lightly, “but there are going to be some modifications to how you can work on it.” He stood from the chair and brought over a tray that straddled her legs and had a large flat surface. “You can use this to put your laptop on to work from the bed. You need to stay off your leg as much as possible so it can heal faster. You are going to be treated just as if you were in the hospital. The only time you are getting up is when you go to the bathroom and to shower, and when you need to get up, you will have to call for me or Samuel to help you.” “Really? So I’m on bed restriction?” “Yes, in a manner of speaking, you are. You tend to get hurt when you are up and wandering around. I will be leaving after breakfast to install the new security system in your house. Li is going with me to put on a ruse that he is supervising me as a technician. Before I go though, here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a new smartphone and handed it to her. “All the albums from that K-pop band you like are ed on it, and the only phone numbers that have been programmed in are the people inside this house right now and your editor. This phone has been set up to record phone calls from any number not programmed into it.”

Samuel walked back in carrying a plate of food and a glass of orange juice. “Eat up, my dear sister. It is going to be just the two of us today. Detective Li and Jin are securing your house, and Xiu Ying is going back to work, so it will just be us. What do you feel like doing?” “I feel like getting back to work really, but just for today, how about we watch some television?” “Sounds like a plan. You can get back to work tomorrow when we move back to your house.” “We are going back to my house tomorrow? Really? That is great”—she stole a glance at Jin—“not saying your place isn’t great, but I miss my house.” “I understand. It is not a problem. I will try to make your house just as safe as mine. We are going to change all the locks, put up outdoor cameras, some cameras inside the house but not in personal places, mostly in places where you don’t go very often, like the basement, inside the front door, and back door, etc. We want you to feel safe.” “Thank you.” “If you need anything, give us a call or shoot us a text message.” “I will.” He turned and left the room while her brother just stared at her. “What have you done to the poor man?” “What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything to him.” He threw his head back and laughed.

Chapter 23

Jin pulled out a big set of magnets that adhere to his truck to emphasize his role as security installation personnel. They arrived at Emily’s house and got right to work. Soon after, Jin was finishing packing up his tools while Li was going on and on about what kind of food sounded good for dinner. The more he talked about food, the hungrier Jin became. He pulled out his phone and doublechecked all the cameras before sending a quick text to Emily:

Are you hungry? What sounds good for dinner?

Just before he could pocket his phone, it made a ding sound, alerting him to an incoming message. He smiled looking at the screen, seeing it was a response from her. He was really falling for her and hard. He read the message saying that she and her brother had split her sandwich from the night before. He decided he would stop at the market on his way home to pick up fresh ingredients to make her dinner. “Jin, are you listening to me?” “Huh? No, I’m sorry, what were you saying?” “I said, I need to leave. I am not sure what happened among the three of you when Samuel and I went to get sandwiches last night, but now my sister is staying with me for tonight. She’s leaving tomorrow to go back to work, as she says, ‘Hollywood waits for no one.’” “Okay, I’m almost done packing my tools up. We should walk out together. Not many cops would escort a security installation man in and leave him in the house alone for the rest of the night.” “I left earlier to get the motion sensor floodlights.”

“Yes, you did, but you also returned within about thirty minutes.” He threw the last of his tools in his bag, zipped it up, and threw it over his shoulder. He and Li walked out the front door together. Jin held two keys in his hand—one to the old locks and one to the new locks—and locked the front door after they exited the house. He turned to Li and shook his hand, dropping the old key in his hand so anyone watching would see him giving Li a key. They walked to their vehicles. Li pulled out first while Jin had noticed a white car sitting on the street, seeming to watch the house. Using the various mirrors in his truck, he acted as if he was answering an incoming call while secretly taking a photograph of the car. He mounted his phone in a suction phone holder before cranking his truck. When he backed out of the driveway, he made it a point to drive past the car using his phone to take a photo under the guise of using his phone as a GPS. He took a photo from the front of the car and another of the rear of the car by flipping the camera screen around, making sure he could see the license plate. With the pictures taken, he continued down the street to the supermarket. He would have to check that car out when he got home, especially since it pulled up around fifteen minutes after both he and Li arrived at Emily’s home and stayed parked there even after they left. This was very suspicious to him and very noticeable.

*****

Emily and her brother were both sitting on her bed, watching TV, which was mounted on the wall. They were watching a forensic show when she heard her phone ding. She looked at the screen to see a message from Jin:

Stopping at the supermarket to pick up fresh groceries. Any suggestions?

She giggled, making her brother turn and look at her.

“What has you giggling like a schoolgirl?” “Jin sent me a message asking for suggestions for food, that he is stopping by the supermarket. Is there anything that sounds good for dinner?” “Well, if he is buying, I will suggest steak and baked potatoes with a salad on the side.” “Samuel, I think you read my mind. That sounds delicious.” She typed in the request and sent her reply then put the phone down. “Are you going to get behind on your work? You have not worked on your novel all day. You have been lazing around in bed all day watching forensic and ghost shows with me. You aren’t getting behind, are you?” “No, I’m actually ahead of schedule. I have already rewritten everything you lost and added several more chapters. I am more than halfway done with my novel now, and hopefully, I can finish it at home. I can’t wait to sleep in my bed again.” “I believe you. You are not bothered by the fact that someone had so many cameras hidden in your house? How did you not even notice?” “I am bothered by it, but what am I supposed to do? Burn the house down? From now on, I will listen to my music using a wireless speaker instead of wearing headphones in my own home. That was my fault. I had gotten used to wearing my headphones when I went out in public for everything. I would just not take them out when I got home.” “So Jin going into your house and putting up cameras doesn’t bother you at all?” “Not at all. He also said he wouldn’t put them in personal places, like showers. I trust him.” “You don’t really know him. What makes you trust him?” “Well, one reason is you haven’t put him in the hospital. Detective Li trusts him enough to bring him in on my case and deal with his sister. Why shouldn’t I trust him?”

He shook his head for a moment. “Are you sure you aren’t following your heart instead of your head?” She took a deep breath, then looking him straight in the face, she said, “Look, Samuel, even I know he was probably just saying what he said to make Xiu Ying give up on him. Haven’t you ever felt annoyed by someone who keeps coming after you even after you tell them you aren’t interested, or have you not experienced that yet?” “Actually, I am experiencing that right now. That woman Ava—she wants to get back together, and I’m not interested.” “Oh, you mean the woman who put me in the hospital then tried to give me an overdose? I have no idea why you don’t like her,” she said with a laugh. “You laugh, but now you know how dangerous she is. I just can’t figure out why she’s after you though.” “Maybe she’s in cahoots with the bad guy. She wants you, and he wants me, so maybe they made a deal or something,” she said, still laughing. Suddenly the laughter stopped, and it got quiet. They looked at each other as if they just solved part of the master equation. “You know what, Emily? You may be on to something. That actually makes sense.” “What makes sense?” Hearing the question out loud scared both of them. They had been so deep in thought they did not hear Jin enter the house. “Jin, you scared the hell out of us. What are you—a damn ninja?” Samuel asked. “I forgot I had other people here. I am used to being alone.” Emily changed the subject. “So my house is safe to return to now?” “Yes, it is. We added some motion sensor floodlights on the corners of the house, too, as a precaution. We can pack all your stuff tonight, and I can take you there

in the morning if you like. First, of all”—he held up grocery bags—“how about we eat?” Samuel jumped up from the bed. “I like the sound of that,” he said excitedly. “Well, since I can’t jump up like that, how about I work on my book while you guys are in the kitchen? If one of you gentlemen does not mind, could I get my laptop brought over here so I can continue my work?” Samuel looked at Jin, still holding the bags. “Fine, I guess I’ll do it. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes.” Jin smiled at Emily as he walked out of her room. He smiled the entire way to the kitchen, placing the bags on the counter and hoping she would like his cooking. “I mean, can you really mess up steak, baked potatoes, and salad?” he asked himself aloud. “Yes, sir, you actually can,” Samuel proudly stated. “I have messed them up quite a few times in my cooking days. Emily likes her steak medium well and her baked potatoes well done so they are quite easy to mush with a fork.” “Thanks for the insight, but why are you telling me? You know I am beginning to like your sister.” “Yeah, I can see that, but she can’t. She is in denial about it. She thinks you were just saying stuff in front of Xiu Ying to make her give up on you. My sister is someone not very experienced in love. Her biggest love is her work and her anonymity. She values privacy, but when she falls for someone, she will be loyal like no other. So if you are not wanting to stick around for an awfully long time, then you should just keep your interests to yourself. You’ve seen the type of attitude she can have. What in the world do you like about her?” “I like everything about her. She is independent, intelligent, humble, strong, and not just physically strong but mentally and emotionally strong too. Whether you believe me or not, I was mesmerized by your sister the first time I laid eyes on her in the hospital.” “Do you need your eyes checked? She has done nothing but cry since you have been around. She’s even ed out from the pain of her injuries a few times because she’s too hardheaded to ask for help when she needs it.”

“Who exactly was she supposed to be asking for help? Do you think she would have written all this in a letter and sent it to you in the Navy? If it weren’t for Li doing background research on her, would you have ever found out about what’s going on?” “Wow, you really know how to poke someone where it hurts.” “Think about it, Samuel. By no means am I trying to poke you where it hurts, but who has she had to lean on when things got tough for her?” “You think she would believe you right now if you told her you like her? She will probably think you are joking or that you want her for her money since you’ve seen all her s.” “There is no reason for me to be interested in her just for her money. To be honest, I have more. I just do not go around announcing it to everyone. How do you think I have this place and all those cars in the garage?” “I never really thought about it. I didn’t really care about it honestly. I’m glad you guys came to her rescue.” He held out this hand and shook hands with Jin. “If it weren’t for you and Detective Li, my sister could have already been dead. I am being sincere, but now I’m going to sincerely marinade these steaks.” They both began to laugh while preparing dinner.

*****

Emily was silently working on her novel in her bed, getting closer and closer to the conclusion, when her concentration was broken by the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. She began to wonder what was going to happen once she was able to move back into her own place. Is Jin going to stay with her, or is he going to monitor her from afar? All she could think about right now was the food that was making her mouth water. A little while later, a small foldable table was brought into her room and set up beside her bed, along with two foldout chairs. Dinner was brought into her

bedroom, where the three of them could eat together and discuss the surveillance system Jin had installed in her house and what was going to happen after she and her brother went home. “So, Jin, are you just going to monitor my house from here, or how does this work?” “I was talking to your brother while we were making dinner, and he asked me to stay over at your house with you.” Emily nearly choked on a bite of steak while her brother laughed at her. “Yes, I asked him to come stay with us for a bit until this case is resolved. I will not be home all the time as I will be helping with the investigation in any way I can, and I do not want you home alone. I would feel safer with somebody else being there when I am not home.” He grinned from ear to ear, knowing what was going through his sister’s head. If she could, she would kick him under the table. “Eat up, Emily. Tomorrow we get to go home.” After dinner was finished and the table and chairs were removed from her room, she took her medicine and tried to go back to sleep, although it was evading her. Now that she knew Jin was going to be sleeping in her house tomorrow night, she closed her eyes tight and started counting slowly to one hundred. Meanwhile, Jin crawled in his bed and pulled his laptop onto his lap. He pulled up the story where he had left off and continued to read what she had written after and was blown away by how she could suck someone into a story. It was almost as if he himself were in the story. He read up to where she had stopped. Before putting his computer down, he thought of what it was going to be like to stay at her place. I will protect her no matter what, he thought, smiling to himself as he fell asleep.

Chapter 24

When Emily awoke in the morning, she found her bag was already packed with the exception of a single outfit, undergarments, socks, and a pair of tennis shoes that had been left out for her to put on. Samuel walked into the room. “Ah, you’re awake now?” “Yes,” she said as she stretched in bed. “We are getting ready to head over to the house now. I left earlier to get groceries and whatever else we would need at home. When I came back, I packed your bag, and we were waiting for you to wake up.” She slowly and carefully moved her legs over the edge of the bed. “Where do you think you’re going?” “I am going to the bathroom. Is that all right with you?” “I guess if you must. Hold on a second.” Samuel walked around the bed, bringing her the crutch that had been moved over by the door. “Can you carry my clothes into the bathroom for me? I can change in the bathroom before coming out. Are we having breakfast here or getting something on the way?” “Jin made breakfast while you were asleep. I’ll go let him know you are awake now.” He carried her clothes into the bathroom and retreated to the kitchen. Emily used the crutch to get into the bathroom where she did her business and changed her clothes, washed her hands, and carried her nightclothes to her bag. She placed them in her bag and zipped it back up, then slowly made her way to the kitchen to sit at the table. “Well, good morning, Ms. Winters. How did you sleep last night?”

She laughed at Jin’s formal language. “Well, sir, I slept very well,” she lied. He was laughing as he placed a plate filled with scrambled eggs, buttered toast, fruit, and two slices of ham in front of her. “Wow, this looks delicious.” “Thank you. Once you finish eating, we will head over to your house.” Samuel walked out the door to the garage carrying her bag and a backpack. “Samuel, what’s in the backpack?” “Oh, I bought this for you to put your computer, notes, flash drives, etc. in so it would be easier to transport. I stuck your purse in here too for right now, but I left your phone on your bed. Once I put this in the car, your phone is the only thing you need to get.” “Okay, thanks.” She finished her breakfast and handed her plate to Jin and got up from the table, heading to her room to retrieve her phone from the bed. She made the bed as best as she could using the crutch for then walked back to the living room to sit on the couch. She was excited to be going home but nervous at the same time knowing that he would be coming to stay with her. “We will just have to see what happens,” she said silently to herself.

*****

Finally, I am home. My brother is here with me. It feels just like old times, although now there is another man here, Jin. I am not exactly sure why, but I feel safer with Jin being here than just my brother. I know I should take a step back. I am drifting off into a dreamworld—one in which I get to date a man with real

feelings toward me. That is just a dream though. Jin would never have feelings for me. He is just doing his job, and once it is over, he will leave. I feel like things have been going too well for me lately—no phone calls, no random things popping up around me, no cars following me. That gives me the feeling something bad is about to happen. She walked back through her house, stopping at both Samuel’s and Jin’s rooms to ask if they would like to watch a movie. Neither of them answered, so she went into the kitchen to make some popcorn. Once it was done, she brought it with her to the living room. Once she was on the couch, she put it down on the coffee table and noticed a blank DVD case sitting on the table corner. She figured it was a movie Samuel had picked up as she had mentioned wanting to watch a movie on their way home from her checkup. She picked it up and put it in the DVD player underneath her large sixty-inch wide-screen TV. Her one splurge moment was to buy a big TV. Jin heard her at his door asking about watching a movie, but he did not answer. He was busy going over the security footage from her home security system from the night before. Watching closely, he saw movement by the front door. It looked as if something was slipped into the old mail slot on her door. After that, one could not see anything. “We definitely need to check the motion-censored lights around the house,” he said aloud to himself and made a mental note to do so the next day. He had a bad feeling about this. Then realizing he could smell himself after the workout he finished just before viewing the footage, he decided it would be best to shower. He could take his work into the living room; he realized he just wanted to be near her. Luckily, Emily was letting him stay in the guest room with an attached bathroom. He walked into the bathroom and pulled the door almost closed, leaving it cracked about an inch and started the water. Emily could hear the shower running in the guest room and felt heat climb up her neck. She could imagine the water sliding down over his hard, fit body, especially after she accidentally caught a glimpse of him shirtless while staying at his place. “Oh, I think wine would go great with popcorn and a movie. Good thinking, Emily, that could totally explain why my face is so red if anyone comes in,” she

said to herself. She quickly hopped off the couch, walking straight to the small wine cabinet in the kitchen and taking a room temperature bottle of her favorite plum wine with a small glass. Before leaving the room, she opened the bottle and poured herself a glass. Emptying the glass swiftly and pouring herself another, this time taking the bottle and glass with her back to the couch. She picked up the TV remote, switching on the TV, swapping it over to DVD, and hitting play. From the shower, he heard a shrill scream. He leaped from the shower, leaving the water running, grabbed the towel he left on the counter, and wrapped it around his waist on his way out the bedroom door. He dashed down the hallway into the living room. There on the couch was Emily, mouth open, tears brimming ready to fall, and a glass lying on the carpet by her feet. This woman does nothing but cry, he thought. Then he noticed how pale she was turning, and he quickly knelt by her side. “Emily, what’s wrong? Why did you scream like that?” She just shook her head; he noticed her gaze transfixed on the TV screen where a DVD had ended. “What the hell, man! What are you doing to my sister?” “Samuel, take your sister to a different room for a minute and try to calm her down.” Samuel stormed over to the couch, angry as a hornet until he saw his sister’s face. “Come on, Em, let’s go to your office for a bit, okay?” She said nothing as he helped her up from the couch. She quickly grabbed the bottle of wine before her brother ushered her toward her office. “I want to know what happened when I come back,” Samuel ground out. “You got it.” Samuel walked his sister out of the living room around the corner to the doorway of her office. She stopped in the doorway, turned around, and walked listlessly

down the hallway to her bedroom, where she crawled into her California kingsized bed and turned the bottle up. Her hands were shaking, and she drew her knees up to her chest. Placing her forehead on her knees, she began to sob. What the hell happened? She was fine a little while ago. He was in his room taking a nap when her scream woke him. As soon as Emily was out of the room, Jin grabbed the DVD remote and restarted the video. He immediately understood why she was so pale. The video depicted a masked person using a voice changer videotaping themselves beating a bound and sobbing Tara. In the video, Tara was questioned as to why she was taking the credit for Emily’s novels and why she was close to Emily and her brother. When Tara answered telling them about the contract and the long friendship between Emily, Samuel, and herself, the culprit got even angrier, pistol whipping Tara across the temple. From there, the culprit was seen digging through a trunk in the corner of the room. Finding the contract, the culprit walked back to Tara and shook her awake. The contract was held up in front of her face and ripped before the culprit’s final words, “Your contract has been canceled.” The pistol was placed on her forehead, and the trigger pulled. The video wasn’t over yet. Next, the culprit came on screen and not only kicked Tara’s lifeless body a few times but looked directly at the camera and stated, “You’re next, Emily… I will be seeing you around.” He turned off the TV and removed the DVD, putting it back in the blank case and taking it with him back to his bedroom. He turned off the shower and called Detective Li as he was pulling on his clothes. “What’s up, Jin? Something must have happened otherwise you wouldn’t have called me so late.” “Li, you need to come to Emily’s house right now and bring a K9 team with you.” “I’ll call them on my way. What happened?” “I was reviewing the footage from the security system last night, and you can see little movement by the front door. Emily decided to watch a movie and found a blank DVD case on the table. Thinking it was a movie to watch, she put it in. It’s evidence of the murder of Tara Shawls.”

“Damn, I’m on my way now.” Jin hung up and walked across the hallway to the master bedroom and knocked lightly on the door. “Emily, are you all right?” Samuel opened the door and walked out holding an empty wine bottle. “No, she isn’t all right. She is not a drinker, but she emptied the entire bottle in less than ten minutes. What the hell happened?” “First, come with me.” They walked across the hall to Jin’s room where he picked up the DVD case and held it up to Samuel. “Did you bring this here?” “I didn’t bring it. When I walked in the front door, it was lying on the floor. I picked it up and put it on the coffee table. I thought Emily had dropped it since she had wanted to watch a movie.” Samuel shrugged his shoulders, then it dawned on him. “Is that DVD what caused her to scream and be like this?” Jin looked down and put it on the bed. “Yes, it is.” “What’s on it, Jin?” worry crossing Samuel’s face. “It’s the murder of Tara Shawls. Li is on his way here now with a K9 team. He is going to go around the house with the dogs just to be safe. Samuel’s face turned ashen, and he fell to his knees. Jin helped him get up and helped him to the edge of the bed to sit. He leaned forward, placing his face in his hands. “So I inadvertently hurt my sister bringing that movie in.” “Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know what was on it. Neither did she.” There was a banging on the front door. Jin stood and walked through the house to the front door. He looked through the small window at the top of the front door spying Li. He threw open the door to let him in. “All right, where’s this mysterious DVD?”

Jin motioned for him to follow him back to his bedroom. He turned the corner expecting to see Samuel sitting on the edge of his bed, but he was gone. He bent down and grabbed the disc off the bed walked around the bed and put it in the DVD player in his room, turned on the TV, and hit play. Li stood by the bed and watched the gruesome crime replay. “You have to be kidding me. This is getting ridiculous. Why did you have me bring the dogs?” Jin grabbed his laptop from the small bedside table, sending the security footage to the TV screen. Li watched it carefully, catching the same movement Jin did. “All right, I’ll go with the dogs around the house. You stay here with them and try to calm them down if possible.” As Li went to walk out the door, Samuel stood in front of him. “I’m going with you to search around the house.” Before the detective could say anything, Samuel held up his hand to stop him. “I promise to stay behind you and stay out of the way. If I do not do something to help right now, even if it’s meaningless, I won’t be able to face my sister tomorrow.” “Understood, but follow your promise and don’t get in our way.” Samuel and the detective headed for the door. Jin ejected the disc and placed it back in its case then gave it to Li before he walked out of the room. Jin was not quite sure what to do now. He had never comforted anyone before. He walked across the hall back to the master bedroom, knocking lightly as he opened the door. She looked so small sitting in that huge bed. She was sitting with her back against the headboard, her knees pulled up to her chest, a blanket covering her legs. Her expression was blank. She was still a little pale, but now a hint of red flushed her cheeks. She did just empty a whole bottle of wine by herself, and she was a light drinker too. He was surprised she was still sitting up and not ed out. “Emily.” She heard her name being called, but it sounded so far away. She felt warmth coming from her shoulder and slowly turned to see Jin sitting on the edge of her bed, his large hand on her shoulder. Not able to fight the tears anymore, they ran

down her cheeks. Unable to help himself at the sight of her tears, Jin pulled her to his chest, wrapped his arms around her, and let her cry. The sound of her sobs was heart-wrenching and deep-down-soul-devastating. This was all he could do for her right now. From deep within his chest, he felt a strong urge to protect her rising. I will not let this bastard have her. I will protect her with my life if I have to. She does not deserve this.

Chapter 25

After going around the house for a minute or so, the dogs caught on to a scent. Samuel followed the officers to the back of the house, following the dogs from one corner of the yard to another, then through the woods to what looked like an old logging road. There, the dogs stopped and started sniffing around the area. “Looks like we had a trail but lost it here on this old road. They must have gotten into a vehicle.” “Look for fresh tire tracks,” Samuel said. “Over here! I think I found something!” yelled one of the officers. Detective Li came running up behind Samuel, his flashlight in hand pointing the beam at the fresh tire impressions. “Bring casting material out here now. We need to find out what kind of vehicle uses these tires,” Li ordered. Samuel looked at the detective. “I will bet you they came from a Jeep Wrangler.” “What makes you say that?” “Because that is what Ava always drives. It’s her vehicle of choice.” He looked down at the officers as they made a plaster mold of the tire impressions. “I am going to go check on my sister,” he said warily. As he was walking back to the house through the woods, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out to stare at the screen, it was a restricted number. Before answering the call, he activated an app that would record all incoming phone calls and pressed the answer button, holding the phone to his ear. “Hello?” “Hello, Samuel. It has been a long time. Did you get my gift?”

“Gift? What gift? Who is this, and how did you get my number?” “Oh, Samuel, the DVD was my gift to you. I know how much you loved Tara. I made sure to dispatch her first since she was your favorite.” “You sick bastard! Who are you, and why are you tormenting my family?” “I’m hurt you don’t me. I thought we were friends.” “If we were friends, I would have ed. I am warning you right now. Leave my sister alone.” “Or what? What are you going to do if I don’t? I love your sister, and I have been ing her writing career. I even got rid of that dumbass Kirk Shawls. I have all her books even the few she wrote at the end of high school that were never published.” “What the hell? How would you have books she wrote if they weren’t published?” “Aw, it wouldn’t be fair if I told you that. Tell my sweet Emily I will be seeing her soon.” Before Samuel could respond, the call had ended. He sprinted back to the house while digging in his pants pocket for his key. He retrieved his key just as he approached the front door, and after fumbling with the locks for what seemed like an eternity, he unlocked the door, stepped inside, and slammed the door shut. He ran through the kitchen, living room, and down the hallway to the master bedroom. The bedroom door was standing open. When he ran through the doorway, he was shocked to see Jin lying in the bed with his sister. He was on top of the comforter, and his sister was wrapped in a blanket with her head resting on his chest. Before he could start yelling, Jin held a finger up to stop him. He slowly and gently slid out from underneath Emily’s head, placing her head on a pillow before turning and grabbing Samuel by the elbow and escorting him out of the room, pulling the bedroom door closed. As soon as the door clicked shut, Samuel grabbed Jin by the collar with both hands and slammed him up against the wall. “What the hell were you doing to my drunk sister!”

In two swift movements, Jin had reversed their positions. “Emily obviously doesn’t handle alcohol well, so when she started to get sick, she tried to get to the bathroom. On her way to the bathroom, she tripped and fell. I carried her in the rest of the way and held her hair out of the way while she got sick. Once she finished, she told me she was cold, so I wrapped her up in a blanket and stayed with her until she cried herself to sleep.” Samuel seemed to deflate, and when Jin let go of his shirt collar, Samuel slid all the way down to the floor. “What is wrong with you, Samuel?” Samuel held his phone out to Jin and pressed the play button, replaying his conversation with the unknown caller. “We need to find Kirk Shawls.” “Why?” Samuel asked. “We need him to hear this man’s voice to see if it’s the same guy who called him. If it is, then we can eliminate Kirk for good and focus solely on this guy.” “How do we know that Kirk is not lying about the phone call he received? How do we know he wasn’t the one who just called me, saying stuff like that to throw off our investigation?” “Mainly because when he called Emily’s phone that time, you could hear the fear in his voice. Something had to be said or done to him to scare him that badly. He knew we were looking at him as a suspect, yet he called her phone anyway. That does not make sense. He is afraid of something or someone. That’s why we need to find him.” Jin helped Samuel off the floor and stuck his head back in the master bedroom to check once again on Emily before walking with Samuel into the living room. They sat there chatting on the couch about what their next move should be. “So the DVD was for you and not Emily. She just happened to watch it without you. This guy talks as if you two know each other. You still cannot think of anyone that would hold a grudge against you or your sister? He mentioned high

school in your phone call, so he must have known you two since then.” “Yeah, but I didn’t know Emily had written any stories in high school.” “We will have to ask her when she wakes up.” Samuel looked at his watch. “How long do you think Detective Li and the other officers will be here? It is already nearly one in the morning. I feel like I should offer them some coffee or something.” “You stay here with Emily. I will go ask them if they need anything.” “Okay.” Jin walked out the front door, closing and locking it behind him. He walked through the woods until he found Li still standing at the tire tracks. “Hey, Li, how’s it going?” “Slowly, we have made plaster casts of the tire tracks, and I have other officers looking around to see if they can find anything else. It seems like this is going to be it for tonight though.” “Well, Samuel received a phone call from the culprit on his way back up to the house.” Li turned around to stare at Jin in surprise. “Are you serious? This guy called Samuel too?” “Yeah, luckily Samuel had the foresight to record the call. I think we need to find Kirk Shawls and bring him in.” “Why?” “We can have him listen to the voice on the recorded call to see if it’s the same guy who called him. If that is the case, then we can eliminate Kirk Shawls and focus on finding this guy and that woman Ava Matthis.” “That’s true. I will have my guys look for him. Meanwhile, let’s do our best to keep Emily under close surveillance to ensure her safety. I just thought about

this. Why is that guy calling Samuel?” “Apparently, Emily and Samuel are both supposed to him. If my line of thinking is right, I think we need to look for the guy she humiliated in high school. , she said Samuel put him in the hospital.” “Sounds like a good plan. It wouldn’t hurt to look into him.” They stood around watching the other officers as they searched for anything that could give even the slightest clue about who was at Emily’s house. “Okay, guys, let’s start wrapping this up. It’s getting late or early however you want to look at it.” Li and Jin walked back to the house so Li could listen to the recording on Samuel’s phone. The three of them sat around the kitchen table with Samuel’s phone sitting in the middle of the table playing the recorded call repeatedly. Without them realizing it, Emily had walked into the room and leaned against the wall. She listened to the entire recording before she finally spoke up, giving them all a start. “The only person that could possibly have those books I wrote in high school would be that asshole Paul Gregory.” She crossed her arms as she explained, “When I was in high school, I had a bag that specifically held my manuscripts. He offered me a ride to the public library, and I had that bag with me. When I got out of his car at the library, I accidentally left the bag in his car. While I was there, I overheard some girls talking and why he was going out with me. It was all to get back at Samuel for supposedly stealing away his girlfriend in school. Unfortunately for Paul, sometime after that, I made a scene of breaking up with him because I had found out the truth and told Samuel. The bag carrying my manuscripts was never seen again. I had tried to get them back from him, but he claimed he hadn’t seen them and tried to make it seem like I missed him so much that I was begging him to get back together.” “What happened after that?” “After that, I stayed quietly to myself for the rest of my high school career and only carried one bag at a time, keeping my manuscripts on a secret flash drive in my purse. I never worked on them in public, only at home, and if an idea came to me, I would save it in my phone.”

“Why did you become so paranoid about carrying around your manuscripts after that incident?” asked Samuel. “Because, Samuel, he didn’t just not give them back, but he took them as they were and had them published under his name. If he is saying he has those books, then he has my handwritten manuscripts that were in that bag. There was two or three in total, and surprisingly, those are the only books he has had published. He didn’t even bother to change the titles of the books.” “What! I never thought he would be so…vindictive.” “Whatever, those books have made millions, showing up on one bestseller list after another. I rented them from the library to see if he had changed anything in the books, but he did not. They’re my exact manuscripts.” “We need to come up with a plan to catch this guy.”

Chapter 26

“If you want to get in touch with Kirk Shawls, just use my old phone to call him. Just send him a text saying you have a proposition for him. I’m sure he will answer it.” Jin dug through his suitcase locating her old phone while Samuel, Emily, and Li sat at the kitchen table. Emily had a bowl of cereal in front of her while Samuel and Li were eating toast and fruit. Jin came back into the kitchen powering on the phone and waiting for it to boot up. As soon as the phone completed its booting-up process, the phone began receiving message after message, seventeen in total.

Emily, I am sorry. I said I would never bother you again, but I feel I am being followed. I do not know who that man was that called me, but I think he is trying to kill me. I wanted to tell you something he said to me. I hope it will help you find out who this is. He knows your brother is a SEAL. He said putting you in the hospital was payback for the past. He is trying to pin Tara’s murder on me too. Why aren’t you reading your messages? This is important! Answer me! I will tell you; I am trying to get out of town for a while.

I……………… Do not worry, Emily. He will not bother you ever again. He had to go and run his mouth to you, but it seems like you are not reading them anyway. I spoke to your brother recently. I hope he ed my message to you. If not, I will tell you. I will be seeing you soon, my love.

Emily almost choked on her cereal. The last message came through, and her phone went silent. “The last message is a photograph,” Jin said as he covered his mouth with his hand. She stared at Samuel before dropping her spoon. “Oh, don’t tell me he’s dead.” Jin ed the phone to Li, and even his face looked like he was going to be sick. “Samuel, it has to be him. It must be Paul Gregory. Why else would he say it was payback for the hospital visit? He’s the only person from our past I can ever being put in the hospital by you.” “We need to locate this Paul Gregory,” Li said. Samuel grabbed the phone, looking at the photo. “He didn’t do this,” he said, shaking his head. “Ava did. This is extreme torture methods, something she excels in.” “So he is giving the orders, and she is doing the dirty work?” Detective Li asked. “He may have been there, too, for the torture. If you look closely at the photo, there looks to be something written in the blood.”

Emily looked at the photograph on the phone, using her fingers to enlarge the bloody area. “It’s Hangul.” Li and Jin looked at each other before jumping up and running around the table to stand behind Emily. “Since when does Kirk know Korean?” “He learned from Tara that I knew it, and he thought it would impress me if he learned it too. That, and he liked to try to bouth Tara right in front of her in Korean. Little did he know she learned Korean with me in school.” Samuel looked at Emily and finally asked, “Well, what does it say?” Jin looked up from the picture. “It says, “EX.” “The only thing close to an ex I have ever had was Paul Gregory from high school.” Samuel looked at his sister with a look of pity on his face. “You haven’t dated anyone since high school? Em, you know how sad that is?” “Whose fault was it that I was traumatized in high school?” “Okay, point taken, but that’s still sad. You need to get out more.” “Don’t worry. Once this is all over, I plan to travel for a bit. Maybe take some time to myself, date around, stay in exotic places, eat exotic foods, attend a concert, and possibly write while I’m away. I’m not sure yet, but I do know I’m leaving and visiting South Korea at least.” Jin’s interest was piqued, but he had work to do. He had to keep her safe. “How are you and your editor going to fix the ghostwriter problem since Tara is gone?” Li asked. “Well, I guess you haven’t seen the newspaper from this morning then, huh? This guy has already taken care of that. He’s actually going above and beyond to

get under my skin actually.” Emily pulled the newspaper out from under the box of cereal. The headline read:

Secrets Revealed—Tara Shawls Used a Ghostwriter to Write Her Novels.

The article went on to name Emily as the actual writer of all the novels, going so far as to say they will be ing her soon to set up a book-g event. This would be no ordinary event; it also stated that the reclusive millionaire Paul Gregory would be making an appearance as he is such a huge fan of Winters. They all looked at Emily, yet her brother was the first to ask, “Does this not bother you at all?” “It does bother me. The fact that I was a ghostwriter and used Tara as the face of my books was not made public by me or by our publishing company but by Paul Gregory. Now there are a lot of anti-fans because of this. This is his plan to draw me out into the spotlight. You should keep reading the article there. There is more. He plans to host a party after the book g, where he will be revealing a huge secret to the world.” “A huge secret?” Li asked. “He is probably going to use this opportunity to back Emily into a corner she can’t get out of. We need to find out what he’s planning to announce,” Jin said with seriousness. “I can probably figure that out already.” They all looked at Emily again as she continued, “He keeps saying things like he loves me and has been following me, so he won’t announce that his books were written by me. That would cause him to lose all credibility, yet he wants me close to him, so he will probably propose a collaboration for a new book or something of the sort.” Samuel looked around the room. “I think he will do something bigger.”

Li and Jin both nodded. Detective Li read the article to the end, “He says this book g will be taking place in a few days. How was he able to schedule this without Emily’s knowledge or agreement?” “He must have called and spoke to Emily’s editor in person,” said Jin. “Wouldn’t this be something they have to talk to Emily about? She would have to agree to this,” Samuel asked. Samuel looked at Jin and nodded toward the living room. “I think the guys and I need to talk for a moment, Emily. Can you go back to working on your book?” “I could, but I have finished it already, and I spoke to my editor already. He claims he was coerced into agreeing to the book g before speaking to me about it. I could decline, but with everything he had printed in the paper, I do not want anyone to smear Tara’s name any further than they already have.” She stood from the table and slowly walked through the living room toward the hallway. “Wait a minute, Emily, where’s your crutch?” Samuel asked. She stopped and turned around. “Oh, my leg has been feeling better today, so I am just moving very slowly. I do not want the muscles in my leg to atrophy, so I am working it a little at a time.” “When we are done talking in here, I will come look at your leg. You do not want to work it too early, or you will do more damage,” Samuel said. “All right, fine. I guess I have to listen to my big brother.” She turned and walked into her office and pulled the door closed. Li, Jin, and Samuel all sat down in the living room. Jin started the discussion. “I think he’s going to do something much bigger. How about you, guys?” Samuel nodded. “I just didn’t want to scare Emily, but I think he’s going to do something he thinks we won’t see coming.” “I think that instead of having regular guards for her during this book g,

we should have a special unit. I know he’s going to try to get close to her, and there will be times we cannot step in, such as photographs and the like, but we need to find a way to keep at least one person close to her at all times,” Li said. “Jin, can I ask you for a huge favor?” “What is it, Samuel?” “I know the perfect way to keep someone near Emily at all times.” “We are all ears.” “Listen to the entire plan before you shoot it down, okay? The only people the guard will allow to stay close to the authors is their family. I am not saying for me to stand up there with her because I still must contend with Ava and find out why she is after Emily. Yet we need someone to be close enough to help her while she is still recovering from her leg injury. Why don’t you play the part of my sister’s fiancée?” Li and Jin sat back for a moment. “Why does it have to be me?” “It has to be you, Jin. You are the only person that he does not know about. He already knows about Detective Li and his sister, so if he steps up, this guy will go after his sister. You are a complete mystery to him. Plus, I know that you can protect yourself and my sister if he tries anything.” “This is true, Jin. You can protect her, and I don’t want him coming after my sister again.” “Okay, so are we agreed that Jin will play the role of my sister’s fiancée while at the book g? Detective Li will oversee security, and I will be in charge of finding and containing Ava.” Without their knowledge, Emily had heard everything. Her brother never understood how she could know all his secrets. She had told him before. “Samuel, no matter how hard you try, you can’t talk quietly.” Yes, she had heard it all, even the dismay in Jin’s voice when he was asked to play as her fiancée. She knew he was just doing his job; there were no feelings between the two of them. Once his job was done, she would thank him and Detective Li. Maybe treat them to a meal and say goodbye.

Chapter 27

“Ah, I love being the bearer of bad news. Now Emily will not only be in the light, but she will finally who I am. I’ve made it very clear that she will be mine. As for my secret announcement, I’m sure she will be pleasantly surprised. The whole country is surprised that the reclusive millionaire Paul Gregory will not only be making an appearance at a book-g event but is also throwing an after party. The biggest surprise is yet to come.” He walked over to the glass trophy case in his bedroom to look at his treasures— a two-inch piece of brake line, Emily Winters’s original handwritten manuscripts, the original bag she carried around in school containing those manuscripts, several framed photographs taken secretly in various rooms of her home, and a copy of her personal medical record. These were all items she would treasure too if she had them. Well, maybe with the exception of the twoinch piece of brake line that came from her parents’ car. They weren’t supposed to get hurt in that accident; Samuel was, but instead, it killed them. If she found out about that, she would definitely not be his woman; he would hide that treasure when she comes over. While looking at his treasures, he became excited. He imagined she was with him. She would come to him in bed begging to be taken, and he would make her scream out his name in ecstasy. Bang! Bang! Bang! His eyes snapped open at the obnoxiously loud sounds coming from his door. “Stop banging on my door! Who is it?” “It’s me Ava. Get your ass over here and open the door. You have some explaining to do.” “I owe you nothing,” he said in a booming voice as he flung the door open wide. “Really? How about why you are stepping into the spotlight and throwing this

ridiculous party?” “That, my dear, is simple. I will bring her out in public, giving you an opportunity to get to her brother because you know for a fact that he will be there. While you have her brother distracted, I will take her right from under his nose. We will both have what we want—you, a devastated Samuel Winters, and I will have my beloved Emily.” “Exactly how do you plan to smuggle her away from this book g without getting caught?” “Well, that is my secret now, isn’t it? Either way, once I have her, we will never have any reason to each other again.” “Right.” “Good, now that you know, you can get lost and never return here ever again. Do you understand?” She nodded in understanding, turned around, and walked out the door. Once the door was firmly closed behind her, she smiled an evil smile. “You think it will be over after this. I will let you continue to think that way, and we will just see how this plays out.” She continued to smirk to herself all the way to her Jeep. “I will make sure that neither of you survive after the book g. That is the only way I will have Samuel all to myself.” She got into her Jeep and pulled out of the mansion’s driveway, peering into her rearview mirror as she drove away. He had walked out onto his balcony and began stroking himself, not giving a damn who saw him. This guy was a total pervert. She had to it that she was glad she wasn’t on his radar and he was only after Emily. He was a psychopath with no remorse for any of his actions. “I almost feel sorry for Emily. Almost.”

*****

Ava, that twit. He knew exactly why she had come to his house. She wanted to know his plan. How he was going to get Emily away from her guard Detective Li. That wasn’t a problem. The problem was Samuel Winters and whoever that new prick hanging around Emily was. That Kirk Shawls was good enough to provide him with the photos he took at the hospital the day Emily was discharged. Although no amount of searching could come up with even a guess at who that man was. It was like he didn’t exist. He was able to find anyone on earth, and yet he could not find out anything about this man. “No matter, if I can’t figure out who he is, that only means one of two things. One, he is a very high-ranking government official, or two, he is a professional like me. If he is the latter of the two, then he may pose a problem. He could have just been a paid driver or a friend of Samuel’s from the Navy. Their records are sealed tight.” He walked back inside his mansion and walked through his bedroom and into the bathroom to clean himself up. He washed up and washed his hands before walking into his bedroom-sized closet, picking out a nice three-piece suit, nice shirt, pair of socks, and a new pair of shiny leather shoes to complete his ensemble. He needed to her editor to make sure she was informed of the time and day. He was going to make this the biggest book g ever. He already had the venue for the book g set up along with his plans to escort Ms. Winters to the party from there after the book g. He had ordered a limo filled with flowers (orange lilies, her favorite) and champagne. This is going to be the best day of her life. She will finally have all the credit for her work, and a strong, handsome, and financially stable man in her life. He was going to see her editor in person to make sure she was going to come to this event, maybe slip him some “” for his business. Everyone agreed to help him when money was involved, and he planned to make 100 percent sure he got all the help he needed to make his plans work. He walked out to his Audi R8, slid inside, and headed toward her editor’s office. There was nothing that could get in the way of his plans.

*****

Ava had to figure out his plans and fast. She knew what he was trying to do. He was going to separate Emily from her brother and take her away. The after party was going to be nothing but a smokescreen for his devious kidnapping. Unfortunately for him, she was going to get to Emily first; she was going to kill Emily, making it look like Paul Gregory did it and bring to light what she already knew about the man. He was a total fake. He didn’t write the books that have made him millions of dollars, nor did he own the rights that he signed away for the books to be made into films, and the main thing that would infuriate Samuel to the point of murder was Paul Gregory being the cause of the accident that killed Emily and Samuel’s parents back in high school. He had clipped the brake line of the car he thought belonged to Samuel when in fact it was the family car. Only after the accident occurred did he learn of this truth—the truth that he could have killed Emily as well. From then on he was infatuated with Emily, keeping tabs on her while her brother was away and chasing away any possible suitors who came her way. It was his fault that Emily had been alone all this time. “I wonder what will happen when Emily finds out the truth? I will bet she’ll break down and cry like a baby. That is just the type of girl she is. From my perspective, that is all she does—cry and have handsome men help her out, but how does she get so many handsome men to gather around her? I will bet it is all because of Samuel. They are probably his buddies from the Navy coming to save the damsel in distress. Gross, that type of woman disgusts me. She isn’t even pretty. How did she and Samuel come from the same parents?” Never mind, she thought as she drove along. She would have to find a way to bring all this information out into the light. She had thought ahead of time and snapped a photo of his trophy case knowing it would come in handy one day. It’s about time I get my plan in order. I will have to think on my feet to compensate for whatever Paul’s plan is, but he won’t touch her. I’ll kill her first.

Chapter 28

Emily sat at her desk, rubbing her temples with her thumbs when there was a knock on her door. “Yes, come in.” “I’m surprised you aren’t listening to your favorite K-pop music. What is wrong? Why are you rubbing your temples?” her brother asked as he walked in the room. “I’m still a bit hungover. That’s all.” “I will bring you some Tylenol in a minute. I have come to tell you our plan for your safety at this book-g event. Detective Li has called your editor to arrange the security. You will have your own security for this, and your editor knows it. Jin will be acting as your fiancée and escort you throughout the entire thing. He will not leave your side until you get back in the car with Detective Li. Meanwhile, I will be looking out for Ava in the crowd because I know she will be there. If you see her, stay as far away from her as possible. I know I’ve said this before, but she is extremely dangerous.” “I understand. Will you show me a few pictures of her, so I can study them? I have seen her a few times, but not close enough that I would be able to recognize her.” “Yes, I will get you a few photos to look at.” “That is great. I really appreciate it. Now can you please get me something for this terrible headache?” “Yes, I will be right back with some painkillers and some water.” He walked out of her office allowing her time to start writing her living will. It was not that she did not trust her brother, Jin, or Detective Li; she just wanted everything in order just in case something went wrong. She was finishing up the

paperwork when there was another knock at her door. She pushed the paperwork under her keyboard and moved the mouse to wake her monitor. “Come on in.” Jin walked through the door, putting his hands in his pockets. “So Samuel has explained the details to you about our plan of security?” “Yes, he did,” she said as she began to rub her temples once again. “He explained everything I would need to know. I will just let you know I will make sure to play my part just the same as you. I will not overdo things and make you uncomfortable in any way.” “What is that supposed to mean?” “It means exactly how it sounds. It means I will not go overboard with my acting, and I will not take anything you say to heart.” He knew then she had overheard them talking in the living room. What she did not hear was Jin confessing to Detective Li and her brother that he actually did have strong feelings for her and would rather not play a role since he did not want her to misunderstand his intentions. He turned to walk out but stopped short, peering over his shoulder. “I’ll let you decide once this is all over if you will return my feelings or not.” “Huh? Did you say something?” “Who, me? Not at all,” he said with a grin and walked out. No matter how much she wished for it to be false, the truth was, she had already fallen for Jin Kang. He was one of those men who looked like they walked straight out of a manga novel. He had no flaws that she could see and was always elegantly dressed. His hair was a bit long and had the messy look to it, but it suited him well. Any woman would be lucky to date him, yet he was still single. That meant one of two things—he was looking for the one and was ready to settle down, or he had someone that he could not forget. She rubbed her temples again and pulled the paperwork out from under her keyboard to review it and noticed her brother still had not brought her anything

for her hangover. Aggravated, she got up slowly to go find her brother and got all the way to the door before running headfirst into her brother’s chest. “Where are you going? I was just bringing you something for your headache.” “You were taking such a long time, so I was going to get it myself.” “Oh, sorry. I was talking to Detective Li about something you said earlier.” “What did I say earlier?” “You said Paul became a millionaire after publishing the books you had written, and you knew about it because you borrowed them from the library, right?” “That’s right. What about it?” “Why haven’t you done anything about it? File a lawsuit or something? How can he be getting rich off my sister?” “You think I didn’t want to? I have wanted to get back at him for stealing my work and calling it his own, but I would have to have proof that it is my work. Back then, I did not use a computer like I do today, so there were no backup copies, just my handwritten manuscripts in my bag—the same bag that was left in his car. I thought he had thrown them away, but while I was browsing through the bookstore, I saw his name, and it looked familiar, so I picked up one of the books and flipped through it. Once I did that, I realized it was my work from my high school days. Then I went to the library and checked them out and read them, and it is word for word my work, but I have no proof, so no one will believe me even if I did try to say they were mine. Now he has sold the right to at least two of the stories to make full-length feature films.” “Are you just going to let him get away with it?” “I just told you. Weren’t you listening to a word I said? I have no way to prove to anyone the books he published are mine without my manuscripts. I do not have those anymore. They were in the bag I left in his car back in high school. Ugh, you are making my headache worse.” “I’m sorry. I will look into finding a way to prove they belong to you. Go ahead and take the medicine and go lie down for a while. The three of us are going to

have a chat for a bit and discuss things in more detail, so you go rest. We will let you know if there are any changes.” “Okay, I am going to rest then. While you are discussing things, why don’t you figure something out for lunch and let me know later?” “Okay, sure thing,” he said, giving her a big hug. He let her and watched her go into her bedroom before he returned to the living room and sat with the others. “I just got off the phone with my supervisor down at the station. I have informed him of the situation with the newspaper, the DVD, and why we had to bring out the dogs. He said he received the tire impressions and was already in talks with the manufacturer of the tire to find out the types of vehicles that use this brand. He told me about a bag of things thrown at the front doors of the police station. Once they determined that it was not dangerous, they opened the bag and found a timeline of Emily’s movements going back several months. It looked to be Kirk Shawls’s handwriting on the photos and notes taken about her movements. The last thing that was noted on the timeline was her discharge from the hospital. Along with her discharge date were notes and pictures of you two outside the hospital with her.” “Damn, that man was annoying until the very end. What was his problem with her? Why does everyone seem to have a problem with my sister?” “I have a feeling he was upset when he found their contract, and he realized the woman he married wasn’t his ideal type, but her quiet best friend was. He probably felt cheated.” “That was his own fault though, not my sister’s. He should have really gotten to know who Tara was before marrying her. Plus, my sister would never give a guy like that the time of day. He was a jerk.” Jin smiled to himself. “What did your supervisor say about loaning us a few guys for the book-g event?” “He said he would see what he could do, but right now, we are short-staffed as it is.”

“Not sure if you would be interested, but a few of my buddies from the SEALs are coming home tomorrow. They called about thirty minutes ago to let me know they were getting on the plane now and should be getting here by tomorrow morning. They were surprised to hear about all the events going on around my sister and want to help. They are not police officers, but they are all highly trained, highly skilled men.” “I’m not a police officer either,” Jin said. “I only come when Li calls me. If your SEAL buddies can help us, that would be fine. You should send them all a message letting them know this address and tell them we will meet, have a meal, and go over the situation. If that’s okay with you, Li?” “That will be fine. I will call and let my supervisor know what’s going on in a little bit. Maybe I should have him come meet them too, then maybe he can get a better grasp of what is going on.” “I will go ahead and text them. They will get the messages as soon as the plane lands, and they turn their phones back on. There are five of them together. How about we do this then? Why don’t we have a cookout? We can all meet, sit, eat, and discuss everything. Plus my friends have never met my sister. We can introduce everyone, so we know who is with us and who is not in relation to our security team.” “Li, are you sure your superior will be all right with this?” “We are about to find out. I am going to step aside and call him right now.”

Chapter 29

“Attention, engers, Flight 259 will be landing safely at Paratrans International Airport in twenty minutes. Please place your trays and seats in the upright position and fasten your seatbelts. We will begin our descent shortly.” “Hey, Brandon, did you get a message from Samuel?” Kyle asked as the plane began lower to the runway. “Yeah, something about meeting up and helping protect his little sister from a psycho.” “Well, we did tell him that if he needed our help to give us a call,” Jason stated. Brandon, Jason, Marcus, Jake, and Kyle were all in the same unit with Samuel in the Navy SEALs. They had been together since they were all in their teens. They had all ed the service directly out of high school to escape from something back home. For Samuel, it was the death of his parents. Since then they had been like brothers and when they heard about the trouble with Samuel’s sister, they did not hesitate to step up. Marcus had a little sister back home, and he would not hesitate to ask them for help for her sake either. After they disembarked from the plane, they went to gather their luggage. Kyle’s phone buzzed in his pocket; he retrieved it and found another text from Samuel.

Call me when you get this message. A friend will be picking you up from the airport while I buy food for the cookout.

Kyle pressed the call button. “Hey, Kyle, have you guys landed already?”

“Yeah, man, we were just picking up our luggage and heading out the door. You said a friend of yours was picking us up, right?” “Yes, you will know him when you see him. He will be waiting for you right in front in a navy-blue Suburban. His name is Detective Li Jie, and he is the head detective on my sister’s case.” “I’ve heard of him. Doesn’t he work with another guy…something Kang?” “Yes, Jin Kang. He is my sister’s bodyguard. He is with her now at her house while Li and I are out. We are having the cookout there along with Li’s boss. We are going to discuss how everyone can help keep my sister safe at this bookg event.” “A book-g event. Why would you need us for a book g? Is your sister famous?” “Sort of, Detective Li will explain the details in the car on your way over as to why we will need all the help we can get.” “Okay, we are about to walk out now. We will see you when we get there.” “All right, guys, see you in a bit.” Kyle turned to his buddies. “Guys, we are looking for a navy-blue Suburban right out front.” “You mean like that one?” Jason asked as he pointed straight ahead. “That looks like a navy Suburban to me,” Jake said. Detective Li had been keeping an eye on the entrance of the airport for almost half an hour when he finally spotted Samuel’s comrades. He was right when he said he would immediately recognize them. All five men were at least six feet tall or taller, and all of them were built like professional linebackers. Li exited the SUV and walked toward the five men. He stopped a few feet away and called them over. “I take it you are Samuel Winters’s friends?”

They all nodded. One particularly large fellow stepped forward, extending his hand. “You must be Detective Li Jie. I am Kyle. These guys are Brandon, Jason, Marcus, and Jake.” Each man stepped forward and shook Detective Li’s hand as their names were called. “Samuel said you would explain why you needed our help in the car on the way,” Kyle stated. “That’s right, if you gentleman would follow me, please.” Detective Li clicked a button on his key fob, automatically opening the trunk for them to stow their bags. Once their bags were securely in the trunk, they all piled in the SUV. “No offense, Detective Li, but let’s get this party moving. I’m starving, and I know all of us could use a shower after that long plane ride,” Jason said impatiently. “I completely understand. We are headed there now. I will give you the short version on our way.” Li started the engine and headed toward Emily’s house. On the way there, Detective Li explained Emily’s situation—the attack on her at her home, the evidence found there, the attack on her at the hospital, the phone call from Kirk, the photos, and even the threat made to his own sister. Lastly, he told them about the DVD left at her residence the night before. As he finished his explanation of all the events up to now, he turned the big SUV into her driveway. Jin was standing at a large grill on the porch while Samuel came out the front door carrying a large platter of meat, and right behind him was a petite woman limping along with what looked like a tray of kebabs. Everyone exited the SUV, stretching themselves out since they had a long plane ride, followed by an immediate hour-long car ride. Jake elbowed Brandon on the side to get his attention. “Hey, is that his sister?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never met her before. Since she is limping, I am going to guess that is her. Why?” “Two reasons. First, she is totally hot. Second, she was able to survive not just one but two attacks from Ava. She is something else,” Jake said with iration in his voice. “That’s one woman who is off-limits. I’m sure Samuel will emphasize that.” They all followed Detective Li over to the porch where the introductions were made all around. “It looks like we are just missing your boss, Li,” Jin said as he flipped a piece of steak over. Brandon, Kyle, Jason, Marcus, and Jake all crowded around a table and sat down with Samuel. Emily brought them all a beer before taking one to Li and Jin, who were having their own conversation at the grill, then limped inside to sit down. “You trust them with your sister?” Jake asked. “Yes, as it happens, Jin seems to have developed feelings for my knuckleheaded sister. I think it’s great. Maybe he can bring her out of her shell a little bit.” “First of all, I didn’t know you had a sister, let alone a famous one.” “Well, Jake, that’s because my sister didn’t want to be famous. She just wanted to write her stories, find a boyfriend, and live a quiet life.” “Why didn’t you just hook her up with me?” “Because I know you have a woman waiting for you in every location we have been stationed. I’m not giving my sister away to a player like you.” “That’s hurtful man. I thought we were like brothers.” “All the more reason not to let my sister anywhere near you.” They all started laughing. Samuel looked over at his sister, who had now come back outside and was standing beside Detective Li deep in conversation. He was

immensely proud of his sister for being so strong, independent, and selfsufficient. He just wished she would come out of her shell and have more confidence in herself. “Your sister is amazing. She is so young yet financially stable. She owns her own home, car, and she is a stunner. Why didn’t she put herself on the rear jacket of her books instead of having Tara as a stand-in?” “Thanks, Jason, but my sister lacks confidence big time due to something that happened back in high school.” “Why, when she has accomplished so much by herself?” asked Brandon. Samuel explained to them the misunderstanding between Paul and himself and the consequences of it. “Paul sounds like a real piece of work. So then why does he want her now?” “I’m not sure, Kyle. That is part of the problem. That, and the fact that Ava is working with him, and they have murdered two people, and they harmed Emily multiple times. If it were not for Detective Li and Jin, my sister could have already been dead.” Marcus put his beer down on the table. “I may have a theory about Ava’s stake in this.” “Really,” they all said in unison. They were interrupted by a truck pulling in the driveway. Detective Li walked out to the truck, greeting his boss. They walked together back to the porch to make introductions.

Chapter 30

“Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my boss, Chief Jack Wiley. I’ve been keeping him up to speed on everything we have so far, apart from what I just learned about Paul stealing Emily’s first works from high school.” “You can all call me Jack.” He shook hands with everyone as they introduced themselves. Lastly, he shook hands with Emily. “My dear, I’m so sorry you are having to go through all this. The police department will do everything in our power to ensure your safety, get your work back, and catch this guy. As I am sure Li has told you, our department is severely understaffed, so we will utilize the help of these fine young soldiers, although there are some rules. We need to go over about what you can and cannot do. We will get to that shortly.” He turned to Jin, who was still manning the grill. “Jin Kang, it’s been a long time. It is nice to see you again. We can talk after we eat. You have this entire area smelling delicious.” They all laughed as they sat around a large table set out on the back porch. Emily walked into the kitchen and emerged with a twelve-pack beer while Jin placed a large tray of freshly grilled steaks and kebabs in the table’s center. “Oh, I guess we would need plates and silverware to eat with, huh,” Emily said sheepishly. She turned to walk back into the kitchen and noticed someone standing beside her truck. “Hey!” she yelled. “What are you doing to my truck?” Before she knew it, Samuel and his friends were up from the table and rushed down the driveway at full speed. Jin picked Emily up and carried her into the house and placed her down on the couch. Li and Jack followed them into the house. “Li, Jack, if you wouldn’t mind, keep an eye on Ms. Winters while I go

check out what is going on out there.” “Not a problem. Li, you go with him too. I will watch over Ms. Winters.” Li followed Jin out the door and down the driveway. They had only made it about halfway when Jin stopped in his tracks. He stopped so suddenly Li almost collided with him. Samuel was yelling something from the end of the driveway as they all raced back toward the house. The hair on the back of Jin’s neck stood on end; he knew then something was terribly wrong. “It’s a trap!” He heard Samuel yelling. Jin spun on his heel and heard gunshots erupting from inside the house.

*****

“I feel a little weird asking this of you especially since you didn’t want to be in the spotlight, but my wife has all your books. She thinks you are an amazing author. Would it be too out of line for me to ask for an autograph?” “Not at all. I’m glad she enjoyed the books.” Jack stood to hand her his police notebook and a pen when he suddenly dropped them both and quickly reached for his sidearm. “That won’t be necessary since you won’t be going home to your wife today.” The voice was coming from directly behind Emily. She tried to turn to see who it was, but gunshots began whizzing by her head. She dropped to the ground in horror as Jack dropped to the ground, holding his chest. There was blood oozing from a hole in his arm and spreading from under his chest into her carpet. He gave her a quick wink before closing his eyes and becoming still. Outside, Jin’s, Li’s, and Samuel’s phones began ringing. They answered simultaneously only to hear a conversation coming from inside the house. Emily

had hit a button on her phone calling all of them. “You know, I really despise you. I do not know how you got so many gorgeous men helping you, but I can tell, it is all from pity. They pity the poor little girl that cannot defend herself. Once I get rid of you, it will be my time to shine. I pity your brother for having such a shitty little sister. Don’t worry, I will make him forget you soon.” “Who are you, and what do you want with me? I don’t think we’ve ever met, but you seem a little enamored with me.” Emily stood and stared at the woman pointing a 9 mm handgun directly in her face. “Wow, since when did you grow a set? Don’t push your luck, little girl.” “Oh, I’m sorry, but I am going to ruin your plans. I do not like being made fun of. This time I can see you, so it won’t be so easy for you to hurt me like before.” “It doesn’t matter if you can see me or not. You don’t stand a chance.” “Let me take a guess and say you are Ava Matthis. As a writer, I have gotten surprisingly good at guessing plots. So let me take a stab at yours.” “I’d rather not. I’d rather just kill you and get this over with.” “I’m going to guess anyway—” Another gunshot into the ceiling was heard this time. “I told you I don’t want to play your stupid game. Just come with me, and no one gets hurt.” “Well, that’s a lie already since you shot Jack.” “Ugh, just shut up already. I don’t know why that bastard likes you.” Ava lunged for Emily in an attempt to subdue her, but Emily dodged it, grabbing Ava’s right hand and wrenching the gun from her grasp.

“Oh, you’re better than I thought, but not good enough. What are you going to do, shoot me?” “Hell, no! I’m getting rid of this thing.” Emily took the gun quickly, switched the safety on, and hurled it at the kitchen window, shattering the glass. “Now we can continue, and since those imbeciles are more worried about your truck than you, I would say I have a pretty good chance of taking you down.” “Think what you will, but they aren’t imbeciles by any means. In fact, I’m sure they already know you are here.” Ava rushed at Emily once again, throwing punch after punch and missing her every time. Emily caught her in the chin with a left uppercut, knocking her backward a few steps. She turned, spitting blood in the floor. “Bitch!” “Hey, that’s just gross. You just spit in my carpet.” “I’m going to fucking kill you!” Once again, she rushed toward Emily, this time grabbing her by the hair and throwing her to the ground. She dropped on top of her, sitting on her stomach, gripping her neck with both hands, and squeezing as tightly as she could, watching Emily’s face slowly turn from red to blue. Unexpectedly, Emily’s legs came straight up in the air, and she was able to cross her ankles around Ava’s neck, yanking her backward and slamming her head into the ground. While she was still a little stunned, Emily scooted away on her backside, gasping for air. “I told you I already know your motive. You have the hots for my brother, so you want to kill me—his only living relative—so that you can be there for him, to comfort him and, eventually, make him realize that you have been beside him the whole time,” Emily stated matter-of-factly. “What I don’t know is why you are working with Paul.” Ava had stars dancing in front of her eyes, and she struggled to get up. Even with the floor being carpeted, her head had hit the floor so hard she felt her teeth chatter in her head. She reached back and felt the back of her head; it was warm and sticky. She removed her hand and noticed it was covered in blood. This was

insane. How was this woman able to contend with her, a trained assassin, with the best combat skills around. “That asshole has the hots for you, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. I will be the one to comfort your brother when you disappear from the face of this earth. Since you know it all, did you know that your parents’ deaths were Paul’s doing?” “What?” Emily paled. “Yeah, he was trying to kill Samuel but didn’t realize it was the family car. He has a two-inch piece of their brake line in his little trophy case. His stupid ass didn’t realize he could have killed you too, but he would rather have you stay completely alone and isolated from everyone.” She was wasting time. She needed to kill her and now. She took a step toward Emily then stopped in her tracks. Samuel and his friends were headed back to the house after hearing gunshots. Li was on the phone calling for backup and an ambulance. Jin was rushing back to the house with the phone still in his ear when he heard an explosion. Emily’s truck had exploded into flames. Samuel and his friends fell to the ground, covering their heads. Jin heard everything, and luckily, his phone was recording everything, and so was Samuel’s. Jin burst through the door running up behind Emily just as Ava started toward her again. She stopped immediately at the sight of him. He came up behind Emily and helped her to her feet. Without warning, another gunshot rang out, and Ava grabbed her side and fell backward out the window behind her. They looked around for the source of the gunshot and noticed Jack sitting in an upright position, holding his firearm pointed in her direction. He looked over at Emily and gave her another wink. “Can I still get that autograph for my wife?” He chuckled.

Chapter 31

Samuel came running through the door just in time to see a figure fall backward through the living room window. “Was that who I think it was?” he asked, trying to catch his breath. “Your bitchy ex-girlfriend? Yes, that was her,” Emily squeaked out. “Emily, don’t try to talk right now. You need to let your throat rest,” Jin said as he examined the marks on her neck. “My god, Emily, are you all right?” Samuel rushed over to his sister’s side. There were very prominent blue and purple handprints surrounding her neck. Emily swatted away both their hands and pointed to Jack, who was now slumped over against the couch. At that moment, Li rushed in with the EMTs and a stretcher, followed by Brandon, Jason, Kyle, Jake, and Marcus. Emily was pointing fervently at Jack as the EMT came running her way, causing him to turn and look directly at Jack. “Shit, isn’t that Chief Wiley? Let’s get him on the stretcher first!” yelled the paramedic. Jin picked Emily up and carried her out to his truck before thinking twice. If someone blew up Emily’s truck, they could have tampered with any of their cars. He turned around and walked back to the ambulance and had them call for another. He stood there holding Emily until the second ambulance arrived. He climbed inside with Emily still in his arms and placed her on the stretcher. The paramedics went to work cleaning and sanitizing her cuts and used ice packs on her neck. Once they arrived at the hospital, the second ambulance pulled in right behind them. They waited in the ambulance until they had Jack inside the hospital, then exited through the back. He ed her through the doors and up the staircase to see the doctor.

As they waited in the waiting room, Detective Li walked in to ask if she was all right. Emily nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, then pointed out the door. “She wants to know how Jack is.” “Oh, they had him stable in the ambulance but took him into surgery as soon as we came through the door to remove the bullets. I called his wife. She is on the way. I am going to wait here for her and make sure he comes out of surgery okay.” “I am going to wait here with Emily. Keep us informed of Jack’s condition.” “Okay, I will. Emily, you make sure Jin keeps me updated on your condition as well, okay?” Emily nodded and gave a thumbs-up prior to Li leaving the room. She tried to climb the rest of the way into the bed. “Do you want to lie down?” She nodded. Jin stood up and helped put her legs under the covers. As he did, he noticed blood on her left pant leg. “Did your leg start bleeding again?” No answer. “Emily, did your—” He stopped short when he saw the deep purple and blue bruises around her neck against the stark white pillow, her auburn hair falling over her face and couldn’t help but move it away from her beautiful eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed waiting for the doctor to come in. A few minutes later, Dr. Matthews walked through the door holding a tablet. “Okay, Ms. Winters, you’re back again?” He looked up when there was no response. She was lying on the bed covered up except for her left leg, which a man was examining. “Excuse me, sir, what are you doing?”

Jin stopped looking at her leg and turned around to face the doctor. “Dr. Matthews, I believe we met the last time she was here. I’m Jin Kang.” He extended his hand to shake. Dr. Matthews shook his hand. “Ah yes, I you now. So what is she here for now? Is her leg not healing properly?” Jin waved a hand at him, asking him to follow. They walked over to the bedside, and Jin reached up to pull the covers down, just low enough to see the horrible bruising around her neck. “She was attacked in her home last night and had to defend herself. We brought her to the hospital to have her neck and throat checked out to be sure there will not be any lasting effects from this attack. If you wouldn’t mind checking on the progress of her leg while she’s here too, that would be great.” “What in the world is going on with this young lady?” “You will find out soon if you watch television. I am not at liberty to say right now.” “I understand.” He looked at the bruising around her neck. “Did she come in unconscious?” “No, she just fell asleep.” “Okay, in that case, I will take a look at her leg first.” He walked to the foot of the bed looking at her exposed leg. There was a small area that was currently bleeding. “No stitches are necessary. We just need to clean it up, use a few butterfly bandages, and wrap it with some sterile gauze. This seems to be the only place that has not healed, but this was also where she was cut the deepest. I need to wake her to check her neck and throat.” Jin nodded and gently shook Emily’s shoulder to rouse her from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear them before looking at Jin, then the doctor. “Ms. Winters, we meet again. Do you me from your last visit?”

She nodded slowly. “I need to sit you up so that I may examine your neck. Is that okay?” She nodded again to signify it was okay to do so. Dr. Matthews helped her to sit up a little and started doing an exam on her neck. “It will hurt a bit right now where I touch you, but I need you to let me know if it is extreme pain or not, okay? Then we are going to send you for an x-ray to be sure your hyoid bone is not fractured, okay?” Again, she nodded but pointed to Jin then back to herself. “You want him to stay with you?” Another nod. “Well, she seems to be quite taken with you, sir. If you would like, you can accompany her to the x-ray.” “If she wants me to go with her, I will.” She reached her hand out to Jin and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight. Her hand felt so little in his large hand; he could feel her shaking and gave her little hand a slight squeeze back. The doctor progressed with his exam, and as soon as he finished, he took a step away from her bed. “There doesn’t seem to be anything broken, just severely bruised. A nurse will come in, in just a moment to take you to get the x-ray, as a precaution.” He turned and walked out of the room, typing in his exam notes as he walked to the nurses’ station. He stood there for a moment talking to one of the nurses then pointed to Emily’s room. The nurse nodded and walked toward them, smiling the whole way. She entered the room looking at Emily. “Hello, Ms. Winters. My name is Brittany, and I will be escorting you to get your x-ray.” Emily nodded, still holding on to Jin. The nurse looked up at Jin, and her mouth dropped open just a little. Emily tugged on his hand like a small child getting their big brother’s attention. His gaze had never left her face; he stared at Emily

with such a caring look that the nurse glared at her. She tried to stand up, but Jin stopped her. She pointed to the nurse before he would turn to look at her. “Well, hello there. My name is Brittany, and I will be escorting her to her x-ray.” “Oh, I’m sorry. We will follow you then.” He bent down and quickly scooped Emily up in his arms and stood waiting to follow Brittany. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room; Jin followed right behind her. As they walked to the elevator, Emily noticed that every woman they ed stared openly at Jin with their mouths gaping. She giggled then looked up to see he was looking directly into her eyes. “You giggled? What is so funny?” She covertly pointed at all the women as they ed them. He smiled at her then stopped walking. Brittany had stopped and had turned around to stare at them. “We are here. If you would please deposit Ms. Winters on the exam table in there, we can get started.” He carried her into the room and placed her on the table then took two steps back. “Are you staying in the room for the x-ray, sir?” “Ask her. If she wants me to stay, I will stay.” She nodded. “Looks like I’m staying,” he said with a smile. “All right, but you will need to step around this corner here, please, and you, Ms. Winters, is there any possibility that you are or could be pregnant?” She looked down at her feet dangling off the table and shook her head no. She placed a thick blanket over her body on the table, just exposing her neck. “Okay, Ms. Winters, this will only take a second, okay? We are going to take two views, one from directly above, then we are going to have you turn on your side so we

can get a picture from the side, okay?” Emily nodded and laid completely still while they took the photos. Once done, Jin was back at her side in a flash, picking her back up and walking back to her room. “You can try to go back to sleep if you’re tired. I will be here.” She laid back on the pillow reaching out for his hand again. He grabbed a chair with one hand while holding her hand with his other and held it as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Detective Li walked in about an hour later, walking over to Jin’s chair and waking him. “They have removed the bullets from Jack, and he is stable in a recovery room. His wife is here seeing to him now.” While Detective Li was talking to Jin, Dr. Matthews walked in the room. “Hello again, gentlemen. I will let you know the results since she seems to be asleep again. Everything looks fine. There are no fractures or damage done to the vocal cords. She will just need to take things slowly and eat simple foods that are easy to swallow, such as soups, ice cream, etc., nothing that will scratch her throat going down. I would suggest eating those types of foods for at least a week and bring her back after a week so we can check her out again. The nurse will be in, in a few minutes with her discharge papers. Once the paperwork is filled out, you may take her home.” “Thank you, Doctor.”

Chapter 32

Damn it, I cannot believe that bitch. Where did she learn to fight like that? Now I have to change my plan. I am going to have to catch her off guard like I did last time. For now, I had better go patch myself up. She hurried to her Jeep, climbed inside, and sped off.

*****

“Yo, Samuel, your sister is a badass. She just held her own against Ava,” Brandon said with a look of disbelief. “I thought you said you had a security system installed. How did we not know she was here?” Jin overheard the conversation going on inside and chose that moment to walk back into the house with Emily by his side. “We had turned the system off because we had several windows open as well as the kitchen door. The system would have continuously alerted us unless we turned it off, but the camera system is still on, so we have that footage.” They gathered in the living room in front of the big screen TV avoiding the bloody spots in the carpet and on the couch. Jin pulled up the footage from the system and sent it to the TV. They watched as Ava climbed in through the window in the unused basement area. She cautiously worked her way up the stairs and through the hallway, checking her phone several times. She stood in the darkened hallway until it was just Chief Wiley and Emily in the room. They observed the footage of Jack standing to hand Emily a notebook then a look of surprise on his face before reaching for his sidearm. They kept their eyes glued to the screen, watching the exchange of bullets and watched in horror as Jack went down to the ground. Then the exciting part began playing—the exchange of blows between Ava and Emily.

Jin was sitting on the edge of the couch watching how Emily fought before looking over to Samuel. “Is this the self-defense you taught her?” “I wish I could take credit for this, but no, I didn’t teach her any of this.” Everyone turned back to Emily, who had fallen asleep curled up on the corner of the couch, her head resting on her crossed arms on the armrest of the couch. “Samuel, I need you and your buddies to go through this house with a finetoothed comb, close all the windows, check every possible place for entry into this house. I will reset the system. Li is still at the hospital with Jack and will swing back by here later in the day. I need one of you to go buy a replacement window for this living room window that was busted.” Marcus jumped off the chair he was sitting in. “How about I go buy food and a window?” Samuel stood up, beaming with pride. “I didn’t teach her that, but I’d like to know where she learned it. I will go check out her bedroom first so we can let her rest while we get to work on everything else.” Jin watched the rest of them get up and scatter throughout the house, closing and locking windows as they went. He then looked over to Emily still asleep on the edge of the couch. His chest hurt watching her fight Ava, but her moves were swift and precise. Now looking at the marks remaining on her neck, he felt his anger growing. He had never once lost his composure, but he was getting awfully close now. Never had he ever felt like this before. There was just something about this woman that spoke to his heart. He could not let anything else happen to her. Samuel walked back into the living room. “All right, Jin, I have gone through her room with a fine-toothed comb, and everything is closed up tight. I searched her room anyway, checking anywhere someone could hide and found nothing. Do you want to take her and put her in the bed?” Without a word, Jin stood up, scooping her in his arms, and carried her into her room, placing her gently in her bed. He pulled a blanket over her and made sure she was comfortable before leaving. He stood there staring at her while she slept, getting even angrier looking at the bruises around her throat. “I have to get this guy,” he said quietly to himself. He walked out of the bedroom, pulling the door

closed behind him, and walked back to the living room. After an hour, everyone gathered back in the kitchen, waiting for Marcus to come back with the new window and food. “Man, why did they have to interrupt a perfectly good cookout? All that meat went to waste,” Kyle said, looking down at his feet and rubbing his stomach. Brandon opened his mouth to say something, but his stomach spoke for him, growling extra loudly. The group laughed at him, but it seemed contagious as, at that moment, everyone’s stomachs began growling. “Say, Jin, you heard the conversation on the video surveillance, right? Ava claimed this guy had a trophy case filled with things related to Emily and Samuel Winters. You don’t think he kept her original manuscripts, do you?” questioned Jason. “It’s a possibility. She said he was responsible for the death of their parents too. I am sure he has a house around here somewhere, and once we find it, we can start surveillance on him. The book g is in two days”—he paused looking at his watch—“I take that back. It’s tomorrow now.” “How do you want this to play out then?” Samuel asked. Right as they were about to start going over what position everyone was going to be taking at the event, they heard footsteps on the porch. Brandon crept over to the window, sneaking a peek at the porch. He relaxed immediately. “It’s Marcus and Detective Li.” Everyone relaxed, and Kyle went to the door to open it. Marcus walked in with a piece of plywood and a bag of food while Detective Li carried two more bags of food. “How is Jack?” Jin asked before taking a bag of food from Li. “He is going to make a full recovery. One bullet hit the corner of his vest, which saved his life, and the other was in the shoulder. He said he really wants to speak to Emily if possible.” “She’s asleep right now. We should probably go wake her to try to eat something.”

“I figured I would get her something that would be easy on her throat, so I got her a few different types of soup and a pint of ice cream.” “How do you know she likes ice cream?” Samuel questioned. “What woman doesn’t like ice cream? I didn’t know what flavor, so I just got a basic one, vanilla.” “If she doesn’t eat it, I will,” Kyle said. Samuel got up to go wake his sister. When he reached her door, he heard her crying. He lightly knocked on the door, and without waiting for her to answer, he entered the room. She was sitting on the edge of the tub with her feet inside, staring in the mirror at the bruises around her neck and lightly running her hand over them before burying her face in her hands and crying. “Hey, little sis, food is here.” “I’m not hungry,” she squeaked out, wiping away her tears with the backs of her hands. “Look, you have to come eat. Marcus kept you in mind when he got food and bought you a few different kinds of soup to choose from.” She looked up at her brother with tears brimming. “Look at me. I am a mess. Who could possibly love someone like me? I’m hideous.” It was at that moment Jin, Brandon, Kyle, Jason, Marcus, Jake, and Detective Li walked in. “Who wouldn’t fall in love with you?” Jin asked. “Yeah, you are one kick-ass woman,” Kyle said. Brandon and Jason agreed. “Are you kidding me? I wish my little sister were more like you,” insisted Marcus. “You are gorgeous, smart, and can hold your own in a fight. I would love to have

a girlfriend like you,” Jake said, stepping away from Jin. Detective Li smiled. “I’m not going to lie. If I knew I could win against Jin, I would ask you out, but I know him all too well. I know I would lose.” “See, Em? You are a total catch. The bruises will heal, and so will your leg. You have quite a bit going for you. You even made a guy like Jin fall for you.” Emily looked at Jin who gave one of his heart-melting smiles. “Okay, guys, I really appreciate it.” She wiped away her tears and stood, stepping out of the tub. She linked arms with her brother and Jin as they all walked back to the kitchen to eat. They all sat down and looked at Emily. “Did I miss something? Why are you all staring at me?” Marcus stood, walking over to the counter. He came back with a tray containing four containers. “You have your choice of soups. There’s chicken noodle, wonton soup, broccoli and cheese, and tomato bisque. I got something that would be easy to swallow so it would not hurt your throat going down but was not sure of what type you liked. For dessert, I got you a pint of vanilla ice cream.” Emily smiled. “That was very thoughtful of you, Marcus. I’ll take the wonton soup.” “Yes! Ha-ha, pay up, fellas,” Samuel exclaimed. Emily stared at her brother. “You bet on which soup I would take?” “Yes, I did. You just made me fifty bucks.” “Fifty dollars. Who didn’t bet?” “Li didn’t bet, and Jin already knew which soup you would choose, so he didn’t bet either.” Emily looked at Jin. “How were you so sure which soup I would choose?”

“It was just a hunch.” He smiled as he lowered his head to eat. They all sat eating their food, no one really talking. Marcus spoke up first, “The window should be ready by tomorrow. They said they would call me when I could come get it. For now, I bought a piece of plywood to cover the broken window. I will fix it when we finish eating.” “I appreciate it, guys. Thank you so much for coming to help.” “It’s not a problem. Any family member of Samuel’s is a member of ours.” “Agreed.” Once dinner was over (well, it was not really dinner, but it was more like a super early breakfast as it was now around 6:30 a.m.), they began talking about their plan of attack. Samuel started off. “Jin is going to be playing the role of Emily’s fiancée and will be by her side constantly. He will escort her in and stand by her side while she does her g. There will be a short press conference before the book g, allowing Emily to explain why she had Tara as the face of her books. We know Paul will be there somewhere, but we are not sure where he will be. That is where you men come in. We are going to post you throughout the conference hall, then you will move to cover all the exits of the g room. Detective Li and a few officers will be taking care of the foot traffic coming and going from both places. I will be out mingling around the crowd, looking out for Ava. If any of you spot her, let me know. We will all be equipped with communication devices, including Emily. That way, we can warn her of any harm coming her way.”

Chapter 33

After everyone agreed to the plan, they decided to go shopping for clothes to wear at the event. “While you were at the hospital, we checked out the rest of the vehicles here. It seemed that only her truck was targeted,” Brandon said. “Before we leave, I need a shower. I feel like I’ve been at the gym. I haven’t run that hard or that fast in quite a while.” Jason shrugged, pulling at his shirt to smell it. They all did the same, smelling themselves and making twisted faces. “Well, I have three showers in this house. You can take your pick, just there are nine people here right now needing showers. That means I have limited hot water, and if I know my brother, and I do, you should all get your showers first because he takes forever in the bathroom.” They all laughed. “Well, she does know her brother, and we’ve been around him long enough to know that once he goes into the bathroom, you know he won’t be coming out for at least an hour, hour and a half.” They played rock, paper, scissors to determine who went first. “Why don’t you just go grab some of your clothes, and we can go back to my place for a shower. I have more than one bathroom, and I need to grab a few things from my house,” Jin stated, looking at Emily. “Are you asking me?” Emily asked, pointing at herself. “Yes, who else would I be speaking to? I’m looking directly at you. That way, you can take your time taking a bath instead of a rushed shower, and you can use extra caution on your leg. The doctor said it is healing nicely, but where you were cut the deepest is still partially open. You can relax for a little while I gather a few things I will need.”

“That actually sounds nice. I will go grab some clothes. I will be right back.” He watched her turn to walk down the hallway to her bedroom. He wanted her to relax even if it was for a short period because the next few days were going to be hard on her. Her voice still sounded hoarse, and you could tell by the look she made when talking that it hurt when she spoke. She returned a short time later carrying a backpack. She looked up into his eyes. “Okay, I am ready,” she said as enthusiastically as possible. They walked through the kitchen and out the door to his vehicle. She texted her brother to let him know where she was going so he would not worry and received an immediate reply. She opened the reply from her brother and saw nothing but a smiley face winking at her. She rolled her eyes and put her phone in her backpack.

*****

“Where the hell is she going with this guy? She is with that guy from the hospital again. Why can’t I find anything on him?” He sat in the car a few driveways down, looking through his binoculars. He watched as the car backed up in the turnaround to pull out of the driveway, putting the enger window facing his direction. “What the hell is that around her neck! Where did those marks come from!” He had started yelling and banging on his steering wheel upon seeing the bruises around her neck. He needed to calm down and think. “The book g is tomorrow. How will she be able to hide those? Covering them with makeup will be entirely too noticeable. With as deep of colors as her bruises are, it will take a lot of makeup to cover.” He observed the car as it was pulling out of the driveway, turning in his direction. He slid down in the seat waiting for them to . Thinking quickly, he decided to follow them. He had no information on this guy she was with and was not about to leave her with someone he did not have information on. He followed them, keeping two-car lengths in between them. He had gotten good at tailing someone, and after talking to her editor, he had gone home satisfied that she would absolutely be there tomorrow.

He already had his suit dry-cleaned and laid across his bed just waiting. He would show her tomorrow that he would be the only man in this world for her, and they would be happy together. “Damn it!” He had started talking to himself again and stopped paying attention to their car, and now they were gone. “Shit!”

*****

She was sitting in the enger seat beginning to fidget with her fingers before she said, “Hey, Jin, what will you do when my case is over?” “When your case is over, I plan to hang around for a long time. I like this area, and when Li needs my help, I will not be far away. What about you? What do you want to do when this is all over?” “I haven’t planned that far yet, but I want to do some traveling, maybe to Seoul, South Korea; China; Ireland; or maybe even Alaska. I have been secluding myself in my house, trying to stay out of the public eye because once people know you have some money, they start coming out of the woodworks. Suddenly you have forty cousins you did not know you had, believing that you owe them something just for being related to them. Not to mention it’s hard to find love since you don’t know if they really love you or if they love your money.” “That is your whole reason for being a ghostwriter, right? You are afraid of finding love, so you were hiding from it?” “Not really hiding from it. After what happened to me in high school, I felt really dejected, and since a big deal was made of the entire situation, I lost the few friends I had and became the school outcast. Everyone made fun of me or avoided me altogether. The only one who stayed by my side the entire time was Tara, and now because of me, she is dead. I’m back to having zero friends, and now the same psychopath from school is harassing me, stealing my work, and according to Ava, he killed my parents.” Jin pulled into his garage and stopped the car. “What do you mean he killed your

parents?” “What, was there no audio on the cameras from the security system in my house?” “There was, but I think we were all more amazed at how you handled the situation rather than listen to the audio.” “Go back and listen to it. She claimed that he has some kind of trophy case in his house, and it has proof that he stole my work, a piece of the brake line from my parents’ car, and a few other things.” “I will do that while I gather my things to go.” They slid out of the vehicle and walked up the staircase and entered his house. Jin was deep in thought as he walked up the stairs to his bedroom. Emily walked in and went straight to the bathroom, running the water until it was warm enough. She stripped out of her clothes and stepped in the tub, keeping her left leg out of the water propping it up on the side of the tub. She laid back in the tub and submerged herself in the warm water, letting it warm her body all over. She scrubbed her body with a loofah and let the soap suds slide down her arm. She laid back and tried to recall everything Ava said. Paul was angry with Samuel for putting him in the hospital and angry with her for making a big deal of breaking it off with him. He deserved it though; he was such a jerk. Did he not put on a show of trying to date me too just to try to spite my brother? My brother was not even messing with his girlfriend. We lived down the street from each other and played together all the time. She had told my brother that Paul often abused her, and she needed help breaking up with him. My brother had no problem helping, but it backfired because then Paul came to me. At the time, I had no idea he had abused her. She continued to soak in the tub and think about the past when her parents’ car accident came to mind. Instead of being upset and crying, she had now become angry. She clenched her fist, punching the water. She recoiled when the water hit her in the face and wiped it off with her hand. This man thinks he can take everything away from me and have me too. He must have lost his mind somewhere along the way. Meanwhile, Jin sat upstairs in his bedroom listening to the audio from the fight

with Ava at Emily’s house. She was right. Ava claimed many things, but it also seemed that Emily was right with her assumption of why Ava was involved in this. Ava wanted Samuel to lose everything and fall back into her arms for comfort. She got sloppy along the way, and Samuel figured this out. He could not be manipulated as Ava thought he could. Now he just wanted to catch her and have her prosecuted for the attacks on his beloved little sister. Jin listened to the audio over and over, listening as Emily taunted her. This was actually an incredibly good tactic. It caught her by surprise and put Ava off guard and made her talk to give herself an opening. He got back to work on the items he had sitting on his desk as he listened. He had purchased a necklace-and-earring set along with an anklet and a stylish pin. The earrings and necklace were beautiful silver crosses with several small diamonds inlaid. The anklet was more like a charm bracelet, a silver chain with several items dangling from it. He removed a diamond from the center of each of the crosses, placing a microscopic tracking device in one earring, a microphone in the other, and a camera in the necklace. He then replaced the diamonds and checked to see if one could detect any of the devices just by looking at them; one could not. He did the same with the anklet and pin. He placed them all back in the decorative box and sat them on his bed. He knew Emily was not going to wear a dress to the event especially now with the bruises around her neck. He was going to take her clothes shopping once they finished bathing. He grabbed a garment bag from his closet, putting in a few different colored slacks, a dark-colored pair of jeans, and a few different colored button-up dress shirts. He was not sure what she was going to wear to the event, but he wanted to compliment her. He packed them nicely and laid the garment bag across his bed next to the box, then grabbed a towel, and headed for his shower. Emily carefully got out of the tub, drying herself with a fluffy towel left on the counter. She made sure to check the bandage on her leg, and satisfied that it was okay and she could change it when she got home, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a navy-blue shirt. She walked out of the bathroom to sit on the bed so she could pull on her socks and put her tennis shoes on. “I wonder if Jin is waiting on me?” She folded all her dirty clothes and put them in the backpack, hoisted it up on

her shoulder then walked out to the living room. She did not see Jin, so she put her bag on the couch and walked into the kitchen. He was not there; the only place she did not look was upstairs. She cautiously walked up the stairs poking her head in each room, calling his name. There were only two doors left to open. “Jin, where are you? I need to ask you something.” She stood still listening but hearing nothing. As she opened the next door, she found a bedroom. There was a garment bag on the bed beside a box. She turned, mouth open to call his name once more, when another door from inside his room opened. Jin appeared with a towel wrapped around his waist and another one in hand drying his messy hair. “Oh, sorry,” she said, turning around quickly. Her face was burning red, and she knew she was blushing furiously. His bare chest glistened with droplets of water yet to be dried with his towel. She did not think she could blush a brighter shade of red, and yet with only one glance at his bare chest, she felt warm all over. She needed to sit down before she fell, as she could feel her knees feeling weak. “I’m so sorry. I just wanted to ask you a question but couldn’t find you.” She was attempting to avert her gaze from his very fit, very tone body when she stumbled trying to exit the room. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impending slam against the floor, then realized after a second, she was no longer falling. She opened her eyes and looked up straight into his eyes. He had an amused smile on his face, and a long muscular arm wrapped around her torso. “Ms. Winters, you act like you have never seen a half-dressed man before.” “I haven’t unless you count my brother.” She quickly covered her face with both hands, apologizing profusely. He lifted her up, placing her back on her feet. When she attempted to run from the room, he blocked her way. “Why don’t you take a seat while I finish getting dressed?” He escorted her by the arm to the chair located in front of his desk and sat her down. She watched as he pulled some clothes out of his closet and walked back in the bathroom, leaving the door cracked. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

She had to wipe the drool off her face before she could speak. The image of him walking away had been implanted in her mind. The movement of the muscles in his back as he walked—everything—was now embedded in her mind and would not leave. She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I wanted to ask you if we could swing by the hospital so I could check on Jack. I wanted to thank him.” “You have Li’s number in your phone. Give him a call and ask if Jack is up for visitors and let him know we will be coming by.” She hurriedly pulled her phone from her pocket and found Li’s number, pushing the dial button.

Chapter 34

He could hear her talking on the phone in his bedroom. That was quite a surprise; he did not expect her to come into his bedroom. He wiped the condensation off the mirror with his towel and had to stifle a smile. He placed his hand on his chest and could feel his heart racing. This had never happened to him. He was in love with her; he was not sure when it started, but it was the truth. She had captured his attention the moment he saw her in the hospital. He put both hands on the counter bracing himself while he took a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly. His bare arm was still tingling from where he grabbed her and stopped her from falling. She was so small compared to him, but she had so much strength and courage built up in that little body. He could not wait for this to be over with, so he could tell her the truth. He could not wipe the smile from his face as he pulled on his clothes. After he finished, he walked back into his bedroom only to find it empty. He sat on the bed pulling on his socks and shoes. He grabbed the garment bag and the box from the bed and walked downstairs to find Emily had planted herself on the couch. Her face was still fire-engine red, and she looked really embarrassed. “What did Li say visiting Jack? Is he up for visitors?” “Yes, he said to give them ten or fifteen minutes to call his wife so she can bring him a fresh shirt. Then he said it really had nothing to do with the shirt, but his wife really wanted to meet me, so he is buying time for her to get there.” “That sounds about right. How about we go clothes shopping first and stop to get Jack a get-well gift before we make a stop at the hospital?” “That sounds good. Have you ever been to a book g before Jin?” “Once, but I worked as security. Why do you ask?” “I have never been to one, so I am not sure what I am supposed to wear.”

“Do not worry. We can check out a few stores and only buy what you are comfortable wearing.” They grabbed their bags and headed out the door to the garage. “Pick a car, any car.” Emily looked at the collection of vehicles, opting for the sleek black Chevrolet Impala SS. He grabbed the key for the Impala out of the box of keys hanging on the wall and put their bags in the trunk. She slid into the enger seat looking all around the inside of the car, from the front all the way to the back. “It’s an amazing-looking car. No wonder my mom wanted one so badly. This is beautiful.” “Well, after this is over, if you like, I can take you car shopping since you will need a new one.” “I wonder if I can get one specially made in a dark-teal with gray interior. That sounds like my style.” He laughed. “I’m sure you can.” He pulled out of the garage and down the driveway heading to town. She leaned back in the leather seat enjoying the ride when suddenly he stopped the car. She opened her eyes and noticed they were parked in a parking lot at a shopping center. “We’re here. We can get your outfit, Jack’s get-well gift, and anything else we need.” They exited the car, walking into the shopping center. The first place she decided to go in had women’s work suits. After trying on a few and stepping out to show Jin, they both shook their heads. “I think we should look elsewhere,” she said from the changing room. “Okay, whatever you want.” They walked past a few more stores before Emily stopped in front of a window, staring at this sleek black turtleneck dress with long sleeves. On the mannequin,

the dress stopped just below its butt, yet since she was shorter than most mannequins, it should come down to her midthigh or just above her knees. She excitedly grabbed Jin’s arm and pulled him onto the store, asking the clerk recommendations for shoes to match the dress. She walked into the dressing room, allowing Jin a chance to sit in one of the chairs nearby to wait. After a moment, Emily walked out wearing the dress from the display window paired with a set of black wedge ankle boots. Jin was looking out the store’s front window when he heard the sales associate say, “Oh, that looks great on you. Wait just a moment. I have something that would help accent this dress with those boots.” The sales associate ran off and returned a moment later, holding a silver chain. She held one end of the chain and wrapped the other around Emily’s waist like a belt, hooking it back together loosely. It sat just above her hips and dangled to the bottom of the dress just above her knees. Jin could not help but stare; he was mesmerized by her beautiful figure outlined in black. “How does this look?” No answer. She turned to look at him. He was blatantly staring at her, his eyes wide. She walked toward him and watched his expression. Nothing changed. She poked him in the chest with her finger. “Hey, Jin, I’m talking to you. Does it look strange? It looks bad, right? I should have never tried this on. It was just wishful thinking on my part.” She turned to walk back into the dressing room but was stopped. Jin had reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going back to change. “It looks phenomenal on you.” He spun her around and pulled her against his chest, looking down into her beautiful brown eyes. He wanted to kiss her. He lowered his face close enough to hers that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “You are absolutely stunning.” He brushed his lips against her cheek as he lifted his head, smiling mischievously. She started to blush again and hurried to change back into her jeans. “He almost gave me a heart attack,” she said as she leaned against the fitting room door. “Did he just kiss me? On purpose?” She needed to calm down. Her heart was racing in her chest. She hastily changed her clothes, pulling on her

jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes before exiting the fitting room. Jin was already at the cash paying for the dress, boots, and belt. The sales associate spotted her coming out of the fitting room and went to collect the items to remove the security tags from them. “Jin, you don’t have to pay for this. I have money.” He just smiled and handed the woman cash and handed the bag to Emily. They were walking out of the store with bags in hand when suddenly she stopped. “You didn’t have to do this.” He stopped and turned to face her, walking up to her to the point where they were barely separated. He bent down to put his face at her face level and smiled before saying, “I know you have money, but sometimes you have to let someone do something nice for you.” “I’m not used to people doing nice things for me. I’m used to doing everything myself.” “Well, I am about to change that.” “Why? When you are done with my case, I won’t see you again.” “Are you sure about that? I’ll just let you ponder that while we go look for something to give Jack.” He took hold of her free hand and pulled her along, stopping in front of a bookstore and turning to face her. “I have an idea for something you can give Jack,” he said. “What?” “He and his wife are huge fans of yours. When he heard about your situation and who you really are, he complained that he and his wife had all your books except for your newest one. It was released today. Why don’t you get them a copy of your new book and sign it for them?” “Would that be okay as a get-well gift? That doesn’t seem too narcissistic of me

to do?” “Not at all. I think they would be thrilled.” They walked in the bookstore hand in hand walking straight up to the counter. “I called earlier about a hardcopy of the newest book by Tara Shawls.” “Oh yes, sir, we have it for you right here.” The clerk was a very peppy blonde possibly in her late teens or early twenties and all smiles. She batted her eyes at Jin completely ignoring Emily’s existence. This was something Emily was used to. Jin seemed to notice Emily shy away, so he handed the book to Emily. She looked at him, confused for a moment. “Honey, isn’t this the book you wanted?” He smiled and gave her a quick wink. She got what he was doing. “Oh yes, it is. How did you know?” The clerk rolled her eyes and took the cash Jin was handing her, putting it in the and giving him change. The clerk became more sarcastic. “Would you like a bag for that, or are you just going to carry it out?” Emily gave her the biggest smile. “I will carry it out, thank you.” She linked arms with Jin and walked out of the store, book in one hand and bags in the other. He stopped her in front of the store, taking the bags from her and letting her keep the book. “I will carry these for you. You can carry that.” “You had all this planned, didn’t you? The book, I mean.” He smiled sheepishly. “Li told me that after Jack woke up from his surgery, he started begging Li to go find that book so he could have you sign it. Li called around to several bookstores near the hospital and found that it had been sold out. I had preordered it already a few days ago from this bookstore.” “Why did you preorder it?” “After I met you, I wanted to see what your writing style was like, so I ordered

them all online and finished them within two days. I’m surprised you didn’t see them on the bookshelf in my room.” She blushed. “I wasn’t there to snoop around. I was trying to find you to ask you a question, ?” “Oh, I vividly.” “Why did you buy them all?” “There are very few books that can pull me into the story and keep my attention the entire duration of the book. I was surprised when I found out what Li wanted me for. I figured you wrote as a ghostwriter for other reasons and you were probably one of those spoiled and stuck-up writers who was just in it for the money. Then I met you and realized you are the most down-to-earth person I have ever met. You are very humble and like to hide yourself away.” She laughed. “We had better get to the hospital.” “Yes, ma’am.”

Chapter 35

They parked in the underground parking garage attached to the hospital, walking around to the front when Emily’s phone began to ring. She stopped for a second to retrieve her phone, noticing it was Detective Li. “Hello, Detective Li.” “Are you guys still coming by the hospital?” “Yes, we are here now, about to walk in the front door. Why?” “Jack is getting stir crazy, asking me every five minutes if you were still coming. His wife just arrived and is super excited.” “Yes, we are on our way up now. Room 1235, right?” “Yes, I will see you in a few.” She hung up, putting her phone back in her purse, and continued walking into the hospital to a bank of elevators. They exited the elevator on the fifth floor and, following the signs, came to room 1235. They knocked lightly, and Li flung the door open. “Finally, you’re here,” he said with an exasperated look on his face. “Yes, we are here.” A woman rushed up to Emily. “Oh, it so nice to meet you, my dear. Oh my, look at those bruises. That woman needs to be caught and punished for what she did.” “Honey, why don’t you let them come into the room and have a seat before losing your mind?” “Oh, I’m sorry. This way please.” She guided them into the room, walking over to a small couch and taking a seat

and pulling Emily down with her. “I’m so sorry you are going through all this, dear, but I am so excited to meet you. We have all your books at home. I was going to grab one to bring with me and ask you to sign it, but I was too excited and just grabbed my purse and ran out the door.” “Correction, dear, we have almost all your books. We tried to get your newest one, but they were sold out everywhere,” Jack said sadly from the bed. Emily looked over to Jin, who smiled happily. “Well, we brought you a get-well-soon gift. We hope you like it,” he said, ing the bag over to Jack. “Oh, thank you, but you didn’t have to get me anything,” he said, putting the bag on the bed beside him. “I was going to go over the rules for your brother and his Navy SEAL buddies, but at this point, I just want you to catch these two. That woman is just as dangerous as Paul, if not more dangerous.” “Honey, it’s only polite to open a gift when it’s given to you.” “Oh, I’m sorry. I got distracted.” He pulled open the bag and his heart monitor started beeping faster. “Oh my, honey, are you okay? Your heart rate just jumped sky-high.” He yanked the book from the bag. “Look, honey, now we have them all.” He hugged the book to his chest. “Wow, really? We tried really hard to find this book everywhere. Do you mind g it for us? We would really appreciate it.” Emily started laughing and stared at Jin. “What is so funny?” Jack asked with concern. Jin pointed to the book. “She has already signed it twice.” “What, really?” Jack looked confused, pulling the book away from his chest and

staring at the cover. There, at the bottom-right corner of the cover was Emily’s signature. He flipped the book open to the beginning, and there under the title of the book was another signature with a small “Thank you” underneath. “She really did sign it! Twice!” His wife jumped up from her seat, rushing over to see. “Just so you know, I haven’t seen my wife this excited in ten years,” he joked. “The same could be said about you, dear. He is just fooling around. Jack did say you are a really down-to-earth kind of woman, and he is so right.” “I said the same thing,” Jin said with a smile. “Well, thank you so much for this. Now I have something to do while I waste away here in the hospital.” “You are very welcome. I’m sorry you were injured in my house.” “I am just glad you weren’t hurt too badly before I could come to and help.” He looked over. “Jin, my boy, have all of you decided on a plan to keep this young lady safe?” He stepped up to the bedside. “Yes, sir, we have. We are taking every precaution to keep her safe.” “You had better.” “Trust me, sir, I don’t want anything to happen to Ms. Winters either, so we are going to do our utmost to keep her safe during this event.” Jin placed his arm around Emily’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Maybe once this is all over, we can try having that cookout again.” Jack’s wife turned to stare at him. “You went to a cookout with Emily without me?” She looked as if she was going to cry. Emily spoke up suddenly, “No, ma’am, it wasn’t like that. He was coming to meet my brother and his friends who are going to help with my case. Your

husband was going to go over what they can and cannot do. With so many people helping me, I figured I could at least let them all eat. So we changed it from a meeting to a cookout.” “How about this? Once this case is over and you are discharged from the hospital, we will have another cookout. This one is for friends and family. Both of you can come. We will invite everyone helping on the case, and Li can even invite his sister,” Jin said with a big grin on his face. Li was in the corner of the room standing against the window when everyone looked over at him; he was smiling. “I don’t think my sister will want to come, Jin.” “Why not, Li?” “Two reasons really. First, she doesn’t like to be outshone, and once this press conference and g event are over, I’m sure Emily will be more famous than she is. Secondly, she wants what’s already taken, apparently.” He looked at Jin and smiled again. “You know she isn’t going to be happy about this.” “Well, I’m sorry for that, but many other single guys will be there.” Emily looked confused for a moment and was surprised when Jack’s wife started jumping up and down, pointing back and forth from Emily to Jin. “Oh my god, are you two together?” Emily started shaking her head and denying it vehemently while Jin smiled and nodded yes. “She just doesn’t want to it it yet.” Emily elbowed him in the hip, causing Li to double over in laughter. Emily stood up walking to the door. “I will return in a moment.” Jin stood up straight as a ram rod. “Where are you going?” “To the ladies’ restroom. Why? Are you going to follow me?” “No,” he said.

Jack’s wife chipped in at that moment. “I need to go too. Do you mind if I tag along?” “Sure, you know, I do not recall catching your name.” “Oh, I’m so sorry. I was so excited to meet you I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Amelia Wiley.” She linked her arm with Emily, and together, they walked out the door. “Jin, I’m not so sure you are taken yet, buddy. She doesn’t seem to know that you actually mean it,” Li said, still laughing. Jack looked at Jin then at Li. “What exactly is going on here? Are you together or not?” Emily and Amelia were on their way back to the room when they heard Jack, Li, and Jin talking through the door. Instead of opening it, Amelia held the door closed and whispered to Emily, “Do you want to know what’s going on? Why Jin says you are together?” Emily nodded yes but added, “He is just acting. He is supposed to play my fiancée at the book-g event so he can stay by my side the entire time.” “Let’s just listen for a moment and see, shall we?” “Sure, but you will see he’s just playing.” They stood by the door listening. Li looked over to the door and noticed two sets of shoe shadows reflecting off the floor. “Yeah, Jin, why don’t you explain to Jack what’s going on?” “It isn’t easy to explain.” “You had better tell me. I’m old enough to be that girl’s father, and I will act as such.” Jin smiled. “Okay, here goes.” He took in a deep breath and began, “I was astonished when Samuel asked me to

play the role of her fiancée for the book g. He already knew I was falling for her. I did not want to play the role because I realized that I really do love her. It is a little awkward for me because I have never really been in love before, not like this. It kills me to see those bruises on her neck because I should have been there to protect her. When Li called me in to help with this case, I figured it was just another case. Yet when I walked in her hospital room and saw her lying in the bed, my chest began to hurt. I have never let any woman come to my house no matter what the situation was. I have always gotten them a room in a hotel and just stayed in the room directly across from them. But Emily just has something about her that makes me want to protect her. If I cannot see her, I worry about her. I think about her constantly, and she’s just amazing.” “Well, it does seem like you really love her. So then why does she deny it?” “I think I know why,” Li said. “Why?” Jack asked. “Emily had walked out of the living room when we started to go over the plan for her safety. I saw her shadow at the door after Samuel suggested Jin play the role of her fiancée. Jin reacted somewhat badly to being asked to play a role because he knew that once he started playing the role, she would not believe him when he tells her in all honesty that he loves her. Although she did not stay by the door long enough to hear Jin confess his feelings to everyone there and voice his concerns about it. She only heard ‘why me?’” Amelia looked at Emily. “Is that true?” Emily nodded. “I had a headache from a hangover the night before. I just wanted something for my headache, but I heard that, and it just upset me even more.” She put her hand on Emily’s arm. “Dear, you just heard the same thing I did. He really loves you, and you are his first love. Do you know how rare that is in this day and age? Plus, Jin is a wonderful man. You do not have to worry about him cheating or wanting your money. We have known Jin Kang and Li Jie for many years, and this is the first time I have seen him smile this much. You can trust him.” Emily nodded. Before they could open the door, Li asked another question.

“So, Jin, why haven’t you told her all this yet?” “Yeah, why haven’t you told her yet?” “I haven’t said anything to her for a few reasons, but the main one is, I’m afraid she won’t believe me.” “Why else?” “Well, I’m not exactly sure how to tell her.” By this time, Amelia had quietly opened the door and escorted Emily inside. They were standing just inside the door. “Well, son, if there was the slightest chance, she would believe you, how would you tell her?” “I would tell her that I think she’s a beautiful and amazing woman, and I would do anything for her if she would just give me a chance. I really want to spend my life with her. I don’t ever want to be apart from her.”

Chapter 36

“Well, now, what is so hard about saying all that to a young lady?” By this time, Jack and Li were both smiling from ear to ear and trying to cover it up. Jin had sat down in a chair by the bed with his back to the door, bent over, staring at his hands clasped in front of him. “I really want her to believe me, but I’m not sure how to do that. She already doesn’t have much self-confidence, but I want to change that.” “Well, I think you will get your chance,” Li said as he walked over to put his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. His head shot up. “Really, you think I can convince her to believe me? “Would you tell us what you just told us if you were joking about it?” “No, I would never joke about this.” “Well, then, son, I think she believes you now.” He looked up confused then followed their line of vision to the door. Emily and Amelia were standing inside the room against the wall. He jumped up from his chair. “Emily! You, uh, you heard all of that, huh?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Dear, don’t leave the poor boy hanging like this. Say something.” Emily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Jin, you are right. I never would have believed you if you had told me. My self-confidence is in the toilet, and, Li, you were right too. I did not stay for the whole conversation, not just because I felt hurt when I heard you asking ‘why me,’ but also because my head was pounding so hard I could barely stand. I do not know what you see in me, but I developed feelings for you too. I tried to convince myself not to, that you are too good for me, but I couldn’t convince my heart to stop falling for you.”

“Really?” She walked over to him, looking up at his face. “Will this convince you?” She reached up, putting her hands on his face, and gently pulled it down as she stood on her tiptoes until her lips connected with his. Her body felt like it was charged with electricity, heat filling her body. Then an excruciating pain shot down her leg, and she had to drop from her toes, breaking the kiss off unexpectedly. He did not closing his eyes, but when her warm, soft lips jerked away from his, his eyes flew open to see a painful expression on her face. “Shit, your leg.” He lifted her up in his arms and walked the few steps over to the couch and put her down. He squatted down in front of her, lifting her left leg slightly to see the back of it. There was a small bloodstain blossoming on the back of her pant leg. “You haven’t changed the bandages yet, have you?” She shook her head. “I’ll be right back,” he said, standing up and walking straight out the door. “Wow, Emily. I have known Jin for twenty years or so, and I have never seen him like this before.” “I agree, young lady. I haven’t known him as long, but this is truly a first.” Emily just sat there, lightly touching her lips in a daze. She couldn’t believe it; Jin actually liked her. This had to be a dream; there was no way it was real. He walked back through the door, carrying fresh gauze, and squatted down in front of her, re-dressing her wound. “I am not sure about you guys, but I have had enough excitement for one day. I need to go home and get some rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us,” Li said. “Yes, yes, you all need to go home and rest up for tomorrow. Emily, we really appreciate the book and you g it for us. We would be there if we could, but under the circumstances, it would be difficult.”

Emily returned to her senses, and once Jin finished wrapping up her leg, she stood, giving both Jack and Amelia a hug before looking back to Jin. “We should get going too. We still need to figure out the specifics of the plan for tomorrow.” Jin nodded then grabbed Emily by the hand, and they walked out heading toward the parking garage. They walked in silence until they reached the car, and he opened the door for her. She slid into the enger seat and waited for him to walk around and get in behind the wheel. “Jin, are you sure about this? About me? You have everything going for you and could have your pick of any woman out there. Why me?” “To be totally honest, I’m not exactly sure what about you that drew me to you first. All I know is the first time I saw you in the hospital, I knew you were different from all the others. Something about you as a person pulled me toward you, and there was no backing out. Just being in the same room with you made me feel like I was complete in a way I have never felt before.” “Wow, that’s pretty deep, but I’m full of flaws and insecurities. Are you sure you don’t want a little extra time to think this through?” “I’m sure. I have already told your brother how I feel about you, and he, of course, threatened me, but I will keep you safe, and I will protect you. You have my word.” They rode in silence the rest of the way to her house.

*****

“Hey, look who’s back!” Kyle shouted when they pulled in the driveway. Samuel watched carefully as Jin got out of the car and ran around to help Emily

out. He grabbed her hand once again and walked up to the house. Samuel stood up and blocked their way into the house with his big body. “Does this mean what I think it means?” Emily blushed and looked away from her brother. “You are correct. I am now dating your sister.” Samuel gave Jin a big bear hug, lifting him off the floor slightly. “You had better treat her right, or everyone in this room will be after your ass next.” “Wait, what! I missed my chance,” Kyle exclaimed. By this time, everyone had gotten up from their seats and bombarded the doorway. “I don’t think you have to warn him, Samuel. He can see everyone in this room, and he knows what will happen if he messes up. I don’t think he will,” Brandon said calmly. “I’ve known this man most of my life, and even though I don’t think he will do anything to hurt your sister, I don’t think any of you would stand a chance against him anyway. Just saying…” Jin and Emily turned around to see Li leaning against the porch railing with his arms crossed. “When did you get back, Detective Li?” Marcus asked from inside. “I got here about the time Samuel bear-hugged him and threatened him.” They all laughed and moved out of the way, allowing them to enter the house. “Have you guys eaten yet? We ordered more food and picked up more soup for Emily,” Jason said nonchalantly. “Is there another bet as to which soup I will choose?” “No, definitely not. We learned our lesson the last time.”

“Okay, then I want the broccoli and cheese soup if you still have it.” “Oh, ha ha, I told you guys,” Samuel exclaimed. “You jerk, you really did bet which soup I would pick.” “Uh yeah, we have to do something to liven it up around here.” “How about while they eat, we talk about our plan for her protection at this event?” Li said. They all sat around the table while Emily and Jin ate, talking about how they were going to all have earpieces. Jin was going to be beside Emily the entire time. Kyle would be dressed as someone working for the hotel, and the rest would be nicely dressed as fans. Samuel would go through the parking lots looking for Ava or her Jeep and alert everyone once he found it. “All right, guys, we all need to get a good night’s rest so we can be ready for tomorrow. I’m leaving. I will meet you at the hotel before this begins along with a few uniformed officers to go through the building and secure the area surrounding it.” They all said goodbye to Detective Li and locked the door after he left. “So how are we doing sleeping arrangements?” asked Jason. “Well, Emily, of course, gets her bed. Jin and I can sleep in the floor in her room. Brandon and Jake, you can take the room Jin was in. Jason and Marcus, you two can take the front bedroom across from her office, and, Kyle, you can either take the living room couch, or there is a pullout sofa in her office. You can take your pick from the two.” “I will take the couch in the living room, and Kyle can take the room with Jason,” Marcus said. “All right, yes! Jason, we are roomies again.” “Okay, guys, time to get some rest. We have to get up bright and early in the morning, so let’s hit the hay,” Samuel said.

The next morning, one by one they came out of the rooms dressed casually as fans would except Kyle who was wearing a hotel staff uniform. The last to come out were Samuel, Jin, and Emily. Samuel came out first dressed casually, in dark jeans, a polo shirt, and a bomber jacket, meeting up with everyone in the living room. “Where is Emily and Jin?” Jake asked. “They are finishing getting ready.”

*****

Jin pulled out the decorative box she had seen on his bed the day before and ed it to her. “I want you to wear these. I had them made especially for you.” Emily opened the box. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the sparkling crosses on the soft velvet backing; to the side was an anklet and a decorative pin. “When did you have the time to get all these?” “I have my ways. The pin and anklet are both equipped with tracking devices just in case something goes wrong.” She lifted the earrings out of the box and walked over to her bathroom mirror to put them in. He walked up behind her to assist putting the necklace on. She looked gorgeous. There were just no other words to describe her. He dropped down on one knee, slipping the anklet around her right ankle, so as not to draw attention to her injury on her left. Although it was almost healed, she still used a few butterfly bandages and an extra-large Band-Aid to cover the still open area. She had pulled on some pantyhose before putting on her dress that practically camouflaged the Band-Aid. Since her shoes were black wedge ankle boots, they did not put too much of a strain on her injured calf muscle. He stood up as she turned around, wrapping his long strong arms around her and pulling her close.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” She hugged him back. “You better not.” They smiled at each other before he brushed a quick kiss across her cheek, gripped her hand, and walked toward the door. As they emerged from the hallway into the living room, all you could hear were whistles and catcalls. “Dang, Samuel, your sister cleans up real nice,” Marcus said. “You think she could teach my sister how to dress?” “I don’t know, Marcus. This is the first time I’ve seen her dress like this.” “All right, guys, that’s enough. It’s time to go, or we may be late for the press conference before the g.” “Why did he want a press conference before the g? That does not make much sense,” Jake questioned. “He probably wants me to gain sympathy, make people feel sorry for me as if I am the victim instead of Tara. It does not matter. He will not get what he wants. Let’s go and get this over with.”

Chapter 37

Upon arriving at the hotel, each member of Emily’s team received an earpiece; each one was tested to be sure they could all send and receive messages. “Okay, guys, the show is about to begin. Everyone, get to your places. We are pulling up to the front door now.” Jin pulled his Impala right up to the front door, handing the keys to the valet. He came around the car, taking Emily by the hand and walking her into the hotel and toward the conference room where the press conference was to be held. “Are you sure I’m not overdressed for this? I mean, you are wearing nice slacks and a button-down dress shirt, and you look somewhat casual.” “Definitely not. His whole plan is based off you standing out in the crowd. Together, you and I stand out in a crowd.” He leaned down, whispering in her ear, “If at any point in time during this whole thing you feel uncomfortable, just let me know, and I will be right by your side.” He smiled at her again and ushered her toward a large conference room with a sign above the door stating the press conference would begin as soon as all its participants arrived. They walked inside, and almost immediately the room fell silent. A man standing at the podium in the front of the room tapped several of the microphones before saying, “Attention, everyone, now that the guest of honor has arrived, we can get started with this press conference.” People began to file in taking seats as close to the podium as they could. They were holding cameras, microphones, tape recorders, and notepads. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the press, we have called you here to correct a terrible injustice. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Paul Gregory.” Camera flashes began going off all around the room, and reporters hurled

questions at him. He held up his hand and motioned for them all to take their seats once again. “We will answer any questions you may have for us at the end, as some of your questions may be answered during the interview process. Now may I introduce you all to Ms. Emily Winters, the actual author of all your favorite novels.” Jin escorted her up on stage, kissing her cheek and whispering something in her ear before winking at her and taking a few steps back yet not leaving the stage. She smiled nervously as she walked the few steps up to the podium covered in microphones with cameras flashing all around her. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath then opened them again on her exhale. “Hello everyone, my name is Emily Winters. I was brought here today to clarify a misunderstanding made by an overzealous fan. I am being forced to get this out in the open and to tell everyone the truth about who I am. As you may have recently heard, Tara Shawls was murdered in her apartment last week. The reason I am bringing up Mrs. Shawls is because she was my best friend, and I would like to take a moment of silence in memory of her.” She bowed her head and silently sent up a prayer to God and Tara both that she was doing the right thing by coming to this press conference and apologizing to Tara for what happened to her. After a few minutes, she raised her head. “Tara Shawls had been my best friend since high school. She helped me through many of my life’s greatest hardships. When I first started writing back in school, she was my sole . I never wanted fame or to be interviewed or any of that. In all reality, I am an introvert. Tara was not like me. She was the most outgoing person I had ever known, just the opposite of me. When things were not going well for her and she had decided to give up on her dreams of fame, I came up with an idea. “It would give both of us what we really wanted. It would give me the chance to write my stories and get them published without being in the spotlight while she would get the fame she so desired. It was considered a win-win situation for both of us. We wrote up a contract saying I was her ghostwriter, and neither of us had any disagreements about the of the contract as we both benefited from it.” She paused, staring at all the reporters in the crowd, with tears rolling down her face. Jin stepped up from behind her, placing his arm around her shoulders and

wiping her tears away with a handkerchief from his pocket. “Don’t worry, honey, I am here with you.” She nodded. “My friend was murdered, and I feel it’s all my fault. Due to the misunderstanding of a troubled fan, my friend is now dead, and I am being pulled into the spotlight exactly where I do not want to be.” She began to tremble as Paul walked up next to her, sandwiching her between him and Jin. She leaned against Jin’s strong body, feeling the warmth from his arm and body and giving her the strength she needed to carry on. She looked around the room, spotting a couple standing in the back by the exit. It was Charles and Louise, Tara’s parents. They stood in the back listening to her speech. “Okay, we will now take any questions one at a time,” Paul said, leaning over the podium. A woman jumped up quickly, holding her press in the air. “Hannah from the Legend. This question is for Ms. Winters. At any point in time, did you change your mind and want to be in the spotlight?” “Never. Like I said before, I am a severe introvert, and the only reason I am standing right here today is because I was forced to. I prefer staying behind the scenes, and that decision has never changed.” “Stanley from the American News. My question is also for Ms. Winters. Tara has been publicly accused of falsely taking credit for all your novels while there is also a rumor circulating that she wanted to get even with you for seducing and stealing her husband, Kirk Shawls. Can you shed any light on these accusations?” “I can and very simply. Tara was supposed to act as if she were the one writing the books. That was the entire point of me being a ghostwriter. I wrote the stories, but no one was supposed to know that except me, my editor, and Tara. One day, her husband found our contract and got angry, believing she really was the one writing the stories. I certainly did not seduce or steal Kirk Shawls from

Tara. In fact, I had restraining orders against him for stalking.” She looked out over the crowd watching people jot down notes, waiting for the next person to jump up. It did not take long before a man jumped up, looking a little confused. “Britt from the Trailblazer Express. Ms. Winters, I do not understand the meaning of this press conference. If you and Tara had a contract, and she wasn’t stealing your work—then why are we here?” “That is a wonderful question, Britt. Why not ask that question to Mr. Gregory since he called this press conference. The only thing I came to say is this, I want to clear my friend Tara Shawls’ name from any false accusations of wrongdoing. I also needed to explain the situation because more books will be coming out soon, and I wanted to explain why both my name and Tara’s name will be on the next few books. I do not want to discredit anything Tara has done for me in the past, so my next few novels will include both our names in memoriam of her.” Paul gave Emily a disdainful look. Suddenly a woman jumped up giving Emily an evil look. “Lilly from the Aveo. This question is for both Paul and Emily. How do we know Emily is not lying about being the author of these novels? Maybe she is trying to fool you into thinking she is the real author so you will pay attention to her. I mean, you are the number 1 bachelor in the country right now. How do you know she isn’t after your wealth?” Emily burst out laughing, unable to control herself. “I’m sorry, Lilly, was it?” “Yes.” “Look, Lilly, there are some things in this world money cannot buy. Love and friendship are two of them. I do not care how much of a wanted bachelor he is. Who I care more about is my now-deceased friend Tara. I knew this would happen, so I brought a copy of our contract and will send a copy of it to every media outlet in this room.”

“There’s no need to do that, dear,” came a voice from the back of the room. Tara’s parents walked up to the stage from near the exit. Emily and Jin helped them to come up onto the stage to the podium. “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Charles and Louise, Tara’s parents.” They stepped in front of all the microphones on the podium. “It is true. Everything Emily has said is true. Our daughter could not even write an essay during school much less any books. She was so excited when Emily gave her this opportunity to shine. She loved being the center of attention all the time. She knew how Emily was, so she had no problem doing this for her. Not only were we present during the g of this contract but also our lawyer. He read through all the and conditions of this contract, and both parties agreed.” “Our daughter was murdered for no reason other than a simple misunderstanding from a crazed fan. We do not blame Emily at all for her death. In fact, we grieve with her for the loss of her best friend and our only daughter.” They turned away from the podium, and both gave Emily a big hug as the four of them, including Jin, turned to walk off the stage, leaving Paul alone to deal with the remaining questions. He was angry about being left alone to deal with this debacle, but he was the one who called it, so the only person he could be angry with was himself. He did not think this through all the way, and he still had no idea who the man escorting her around was. He finished up the press conference then stood off in a corner watching Emily talk to Tara’s parents. They stood there talking for a while. He decided now would be a good time to try to get ahold of Ava. That stupid bitch refused to answer her phone since yesterday. She had better get her ass here now and do what she had agreed to do, or she would deeply regret it.

Chapter 38

An announcement was made over the speaker system of the hotel letting everyone know the book g was about to begin to please form an orderly line in front of the sign of whom you want to sign your book. In a surprise turn of events, almost all the guests were standing in an orderly line in front of the sign reading Emily Winters. There were very few people standing in line to get Paul Gregory’s autograph, which upset him very much because he thought that he and Emily were on the same level of fame. Although it did not matter because after today, she would forever be with him. “Are you sure you are okay to sign books for everyone?” Emily was wiping her tears away after talking with Charles and Louise. She was so happy that they did not blame her for what happened to Tara; they realized she was really upset as well since she lost her best friend. “Yes, I will be fine. You are going to stay by my side, right?” “Yes, I won’t leave. I will be right here waiting for you.” Jin gave her a tight squeeze and helped her to sit down at the desk full of her books. At that moment, Paul made his way over to Emily’s table, directly walking up to Jin. “You know, I still haven’t introduced myself to you. My name is Paul Gregory, and you are?” Jin stretched out his hand, watching Emily out of the corner of his eye. He shook hands with Paul. “My name is Jin Kang, Emily’s fiancée.” Paul’s face paled a little, but he quickly composed himself, turning around to face Emily. “I didn’t know you had a fiancée.” “Why would you, Paul? We haven’t seen or heard from each other since high

school.” Another announcement sounded, “Would our two authors please take their seats? We are now beginning.” Paul walked over to his table, pulling out his chair and taking a seat. He was beyond aggravated now. Fiancée? Who the hell is this guy? He came up out of nowhere and has been hanging around her since her first hospital stay. Where did he get off taking her away? Where the hell is Ava? I called her before this event, and her phone went straight to voicemail. This was not going well; his plans had already been destroyed. First, the press conference had not gone the way he had wanted. He wanted people to blame Tara for stealing Emily’s work, hate her, praise Emily for being so strong, and eventually, he could stand up for her, showing his manly protective side. It had all gone wrong when Emily explained exactly what had transpired between her and Tara. Then Tara’s parents had shown up, and it had become a total shit show. The g began promptly at 2:30 p.m. and would last until the last book was sold or signed, whichever came first. Emily was smiling as she signed her name and had photographs taken with fans, both men and women. The more he watched her, the more he became possessive of her. This was a disaster. After sitting for more than two and a half hours g book after book, taking photo after photo, Emily had only made it about two-thirds of the way through her line. She leaned back in her chair, catching Jin’s attention. “Can I get a bottle of water, please?” Jin smiled back at her, whispered something, and gave her a wink. A moment later, Kyle walked up wearing a hotel staff uniform carrying a bottle of water. “Thank you, sir.” “You are very welcome, ma’am. Let me know if there is anything else I can get you.” He nodded and walked away. She could hear him laughing through her earpiece.

“You hear that, Samuel? Your sister just called me sir.” “Shut it, Kyle, just keep your eyes open. I have spotted Ava’s car in the parking lot across the street. I’ve put a tracking device on it just in case.” Jin watched Emily carefully for any signs of apprehension and was proud when he saw none. She continued to sign books until finally around 7:00 p.m., she signed the last one, thanked the fans, and excused herself. Jin stood walking over to her side. “Next is the after party. Are you up for it?” “Sure, after a much-needed bathroom break.” He escorted her down a long hallway to the women’s restroom. “I will be waiting for you right here.” After a few minutes, Paul walked up to Jin. “So your name is Jin Kang, is it? If you don’t mind my asking, how long have you known Ms. Winters?” “Not very long at all actually. I met her while she was in the hospital the first time.” He seemed shocked by this news. Fighting hard to keep his cool, Paul fixed his jacket collar. “Well, she always was a bit rambunctious in high school.” “Was she? I heard from her brother that she was a big introvert and didn’t hang around many people. Some guy tried to take revenge on her brother for supposedly messing with his girlfriend and traumatized her pretty badly.” Jin watched Paul’s face carefully and saw the exact moment he realized whom he was talking about; he acted as if he were checking his cufflinks then looked at Jin with an unsettling smile across his face and walked away. Just then, Samuel’s voice came over his earpiece. “Ava’s Jeep is gone. Who has eyes on Emily?” Jin looked at his watch noticing Emily had been in the restroom for almost ten minutes. That was very unusual for her. She did not answer when he called into the bathroom. Unnerved, he walked in the women’s bathroom, finding it completely empty. “Emily is gone!” he yelled over the earpiece. “She went into the women’s bathroom and hasn’t come out, so I went in, and it is completely empty.”

He looked around on the floor and found the earpiece Emily was wearing and her decorative pin. “Shit!” He reached for his phone, pulling up the devices he had on her and noting that the blip showing her location was moving. He continued through the bathroom only to find a separate entrance allowing people from another side of the building to use the same bathroom. This was something they had not prepared for. “I have Kyle, Jason, and Marcus with me, heading to the car. We will follow the tracker. Is everything recording?” “Yes, everything is recording,” Jin said, running to his car. “I’ll take care of the after party,” Brandon said. “I’m coming to you, Jin. I’ll meet you at the car,” Jake said, running toward his car. They followed the path of the red dots on screen until they finally stopped moving. They pulled into an apartment complex parking lot across from a large mansion. Jason was sitting in the backseat tapping away on a laptop, looking up the owner of the mansion while Marcus opened the trunk pulling out a long slender black case. Samuel watched through binoculars as the Jeep was parked directly in front of the front door. Within minutes, Jason had tapped into the security system of the mansion. There were cameras everywhere in this place, hundreds of them. Kyle hopped out of the car along with Samuel and silently worked their way around the left and right of the mansion. “Samuel, I can see Ava, and she’s carrying Emily over her shoulder,” Jason said through the earpiece. “Hold up, there is another car approaching the mansion. It is an Audi. Let’s see…ed to Paul Gregory. Shit, how did he get here so fast!” “Doesn’t matter. You have confirmed that Emily is inside this place?”

“Yes, I have confirmed it. I have her on several screens right now. It looks like she is being taken to an upstairs bedroom. She just threw her on the bed upstairs. Looks like it may be Paul’s bedroom. I think I see the trophy case she was talking about.” Just then another voice came through the earpiece; it was Jin. “Where is this son of a bitch, and where is Emily?” He came speeding up the street intentionally ing the mansion and spinning the car around. He let Jake out of the car, and they both walked to the trunk, pulling out various weapons. Jin opted for two 9mm handguns while Jake grabbed a double-barrel shotgun and slammed the trunk shut. “I’m going to patch you through to the inside audio from Emily’s jewelry, Jin. You let us know what’s going on.” “You got it,” he said, running covertly to the front of the mansion. Watching from the car as Jin scaled the front of the house to end on the balcony crouched by the door, Jason was fascinated. “Jin, when this is all over, you have got to show me how you did that.” They all stayed silent and listened in on the conversation going on between Ava and an incredibly angry Paul. “What the hell were you thinking? What did you do to her before bringing her here?” “I brought her here because you were obviously at your wit’s end trying to figure out your mistake. Plus, this is what you wanted, wasn’t it?” “Did you ever stop to think they had a tracking device on her? The whole point of taking her from the party was for her to be conscious and for nobody to notice. The way you made her disappear caused a huge uproar at the party, and I didn’t get the chance to make my big announcement.” “Yes, I checked every article of what she was wearing for any kind of tracking, audio or visual devices. I found one and discarded it in the bathroom. So what?

It was sad enough watching so few fans come to get your autograph. What do you think all her fans would do if they found out your success was based on the novels you stole from her in high school?” “Nothing because they will never find out.” He walked over to Emily eyeing the necklace and earrings. He moved so close to her to get a good look at them, and not seeing anything wrong or strange in them, he left them alone. Instead, he pulled the neckline of Emily’s dress down, showing off her bruised neck now sporting two small burn marks. “What is this? Why does she have bruises and burns around her neck?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. “I had to catch her off guard, so I snuck up on her in the bathroom and tased her. It was the only way I could get to her before she could make a sound. I am not sure if you noticed or not, but Samuel and a few of his friends were at the party, so I am sure they were all wearing the same earpieces she was to stay in . So do you have my reward or what?” “I do indeed. It is downstairs, follow me.” Ava followed closely behind Paul as he descended the staircase to the main floor. Samuel and his friends watched from afar as he walked into the kitchen and behind the counter opening a drawer. He plopped a fat envelope down on the counter and waited for her to take it. She reached for the envelope, ripping it open and counting her money. She reached behind her to put the money in her back pocket and grabbing hold of the handgun hidden there. She looked up to see Paul already had a gun drawn on her, and they were having a standoff. “I knew you wouldn’t just take the money and go, especially after how you tried to kill Emily before the event. She must have fought back since you left her alive.” “You’re lucky she’s alive right now. I owe that bitch one. I needed staples in my head. Do you know what shaving part of a woman’s head will do to her selfconfidence?” “Either you take the money and leave or you die, and I take my money back. Those are your choices. Pick one. You have until the count of five. One…two…

three…four…” Bam! “Sorry, I wasn’t really giving you a choice. I am a greedy son of a bitch,” he said, watching Ava fall to the ground. He had shot her in the center of her chest. He walked around the counter and collected his money, putting it back in the kitchen drawer and turning to walk back up the stairs.

Chapter 39

Emily was disgusted by what she heard, not only that, but he got so close to her face she could feel his breath on her cheek. It took everything she had inside her not to move and to continue to play unconscious. He even touched her neck. Ugh…she needed a shower now. As she heard them walk down the stairs, she sat up on the bed, bending down swiftly to take off her boots, and she quickly tiptoed over to his trophy case. She heard a tapping sound on the glass door coming from the balcony. She threw open the case and grabbed the bag from her high school days he had kept, swiped everything from the case into the bag. Again, she heard tapping on the glass. She looked over to see Jin tapping on the door with a gun. She quietly ran over to the balcony door, unlocking it and shoving the bag out the door. Jin quietly told someone to retrieve this bag when he dropped it and take it to his car. “Gotcha”—came a voice in his ear—“go ahead and drop it.” Jin tossed it over the balcony and snuck inside, closing and locking the door back. Bam! Emily jumped a little before looking Jin in the eyes. “What was that? Was that a gunshot? What should I do?” “Go put your shoes back on and sit on the bed. We need to get him to it to publishing your work, kidnapping you, and killing your parents. Do not worry. I will be in the room with you the entire time. I’ve got your back.” Jin snuck over to hide behind the bathroom door, where he could keep an eye on both of their movements while Emily snuck back over to the bed, pulling on her boots and sitting on the bed. Within minutes, the bedroom door slammed shut. “I see you are awake now, Emily. I do apologize for the harsh treatment you

have received from that stupid woman, but do not worry. I have taken care of her already. Now it is just the two of us, and we can be together forever.” He slowly walked over to the bed, sitting next to her and putting his hand on her thigh. She immediately removed his hand, giving him a stern look. “You started all this shit, didn’t you? You had me attacked more than once. You had Tara killed. You had Kirk killed, and you had that stupid press conference called to try to put all the blame on Tara, didn’t you?” “Well, yes, but I did it all for you, honey.” “I’m not your honey. Why are you coming after me now? What happened between us was back in high school. Why bring Tara into any of this? She did nothing wrong. You know my brother had nothing to do with your girlfriend in that way. She came to him for help because you were abusing her, and she was terrified of you. If I had known that back then, I wouldn’t have given you the time of day either, but I had kept our relationship secret until I found out your motive.” He shot up from the bed and began pacing back and forth in front of her, his face turning a deep shade of red. “That damn brother of yours. He should have died already.” “Oh, speaking of my brother. I heard something from your stupid accomplice. Something to the effect of you were the cause of my parents’ death because you messed with our car. Is that true?” “Yes, it’s true. I didn’t realize that the car your brother drove to school every day was the only car your family owned. I thought it was his, so yes, I sabotaged it hoping he would get hurt, or even better, he would die.” “You know I was supposed to be the one taking the car that night, but I came down with a stomach virus.” He turned to look at her coming just inches from her face. His face began to turn a sick shade of white. “You were supposed to take the car that night?”

“Yes, I had an interview for a part-time job.” “Why did you need a job that young?” “I had to work to earn my own money to buy my laptop to prove to my parents that writing was something I really wanted to do. If I had taken the car that night like I was supposed to, I would have died.” “No, the brake fluid shouldn’t have drained that fast. I made a mistake and cut too much. Please…is there any way you can forgive me? I was not trying to hurt your parents or you, just your asshole brother. He was always getting in my way and taking away all my friends and all the attention that should have been mine!” “You really did mess with our car! What the hell were you thinking? Did you think I would love you when I found out you tried to kill my brother?” “I only cut off a piece of the brake line. It was just supposed to make the car crash, not actually kill anyone, although if it killed your brother, I wouldn’t cry about it.” This time it was Emily who jumped from the bed so angry she was shaking. “Do you know how much of a living hell you have made my life for no reason? You took away my parents. My brother abandoned me to the service, leaving me all alone!” She was screaming at him now. “Then you had the audacity to have my only friend killed! You think I can possibly forgive you for all that you’ve done to me?” He dropped down on his knees in front of her, grabbing her around the waist. “Please, Emily, forgive me. I only paid Ava to kill Tara and Kirk. She was never supposed to harm you. I will do anything to make you happy again, to see your beautiful smile again.” “Have you lost your mind, Paul? For everything you have done, there is no way I could ever smile at you. Oh, and do not think I didn’t notice that you took the novels I wrote back in high school and had them published under your name. You even had the balls to sell the book rights to a movie company for them to make movies from it. Is there anything you have possibly done for me that didn’t cause me misery?”

“So you noticed that, huh?” He stood, keeping his arms around her and tightening them as he stood. “You know I have done a lot for you actually. I have run off all those bastards who came to you acting as if they wanted to date you. I published your early works and sold the rights for movies to be made to make some money to our lavish lifestyle.” “Stop it! You’re hurting me!” By this time, Jin could not take it anymore. He burst forth from the bathroom, gun drawn and pointed directly at Paul. “Take your hands off her, Paul.” Paul spun around, still holding Emily and placing her in between himself and Jin’s gun. “I knew there was something fishy about you. First, you show up out of nowhere. You stick to my woman like glue. You kissed her more than once. Do not think I didn’t notice that. You will put your gun down now, or you will watch me break her back. I’ll even go so far as to say the whole fiancée thing is a sham as well. You don’t have any feelings for her. You are just doing the job you were hired to do. I tell you what. I will pay you triple the amount the damn detective is paying you to go away and never turn back.” He squeezed her tighter. “You don’t know who you are messing with, Paul,” Emily ground out. He squeezed tighter again, causing Emily to scream in pain. He held up his gun, putting the safety on and placing it on the ground. “Kick it over here.” Jin kicked the gun over toward the bed. “Do not fuck with me, you jerk!” Emily screamed as she raised both arms up in the air and slammed her elbows down on his collarbone. A horrible cracking

sound ensued, shocking Paul just enough to let her go. Emily was dropped to the ground. She scrambled sideways toward Jin’s gun, but she was too slow. Paul was already on top of her, pulling at her legs, dragging her away from the gun. She started kicking at his hands as hard as she could, but he grabbed her left leg, squeezing her injury with as much force as he could. She cried out in pain then felt Paul was jerked away from her with such force even he was shocked. She turned to look with tears in her eyes as Jin lifted Paul off her and began tumbling around on the ground with him. She watched in horror as they exchanged punches to the face and abdomen. Emily scrambled to get the gun and pushed herself next to the bed. Jin was once again on his feet kicking Paul while he was on the ground until he stopped trying to attack him. He walked over to Emily, squatting down in front of her. She cupped his face in her hands, noting his busted bottom lip and a cut on his face. “Are you all right, Emily?” She nodded up and down. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. He could feel her trembling in his arms. Paul rolled over onto his stomach, pulling himself over to his dresser. He opened one of the bottom drawers and retrieved a 9mm handgun, pointing it directly at Jin’s back and pulling the trigger. Bam! Glass shattered and fell from the balcony doors as a shot came from the outside, hitting Paul in the neck. As blood spurted from the hole in his neck, he started to lose consciousness as he pulled the trigger. Bam! Jin watched mortified as blood oozed from Emily’s shoulder. She had seen Paul grab the gun from his dresser and pushed Jin sideways out of the line of fire. She looked at Jin, her brown eyes slowly closing. He felt her hand touching his. She slipped his gun into his hand before ing out. Samuel came barreling into the room, seeing his sister lying on the floor and

blood coming from her shoulder. He and Jin both trained their weapons on Paul and pulled the trigger at the same time. Kyle, Marcus, and Jason came running up the stairs and into the room. Jason walked over to Paul’s lifeless body lying on the floor, being careful not to step in the pool of blood. He checked for a pulse. “He’s definitely dead.” A moment later, sirens could be heard wailing from a distance and were getting closer. Police filed into the mansion along with paramedics. A stretcher was taken out of the house and placed in an ambulance, and off it went with sirens wailing again. Jake led the way up the stairs into Paul’s bedroom and pointed over to the bed where the paramedics found five large men huddled around a woman on the floor. She was picked up and placed on a stretcher and rushed out the door. Jin rushed out with her. “I found Ava in the kitchen floor downstairs, not dead. She’s lost a lot of blood, but she is stable,” Jake said. Detective Li walked in and looked at each of the men standing around. “You guys have all this on video and audio?” “Yep, we have everything, all thanks to his own security system and Emily’s jewelry. Jin planted audio and video recording devices in her jewelry as well so we have it more than once,” Jason said. “There is also a bag in Jin’s car containing evidence of Paul’s plagiarism of her early novels and a piece of brake line from their parents’ car. He itted to tampering with their car the night of the accident that caused their deaths. He itted everything—from paying Ava to kill two people to tampering with the car and even about taking her early work as his own to get money.” Detective Li laughed. “I must say you guys work really well together. Have you ever thought about forming a special unit after retiring from the Navy? I could really use some guys like you.” “We will think about it,” Samuel said, “but for now, I am going to the hospital to check on my sister.”

“Us too,” his friends said in unison. “Don’t worry about the scene here. I will take care of it.” “Thanks,” Samuel said as they all ran for the door.

Chapter 40

Emily awoke in the hospital yet again. She looked around the room, seeing it filled. Her brother, his five friends, Jack and his wife Amelia, Detective Li, and Jin were all in her room quietly talking with one another. “It’s a party. Where’s the beer and the food?” Everyone stopped talking to look over at Emily; she was grinning from ear to ear. “You’re awake! You had us all worried, sis.” “I can tell. How long was I out for?” She spotted Jin standing over by the door talking to Li. “You were out for three days. The doctors said you would be fine as long as you woke up, but couldn’t tell us when you would wake up.” “Well, I am awake now. Hey!” she yelled, causing Jin to turn around quickly. “What are you doing way over there?” He smiled at her and shook Li’s hand, walking over to her bedside. “You know I would have rather you let him shoot me.” “How could I let him shoot the first man to ever confess to me? That would just be bad judgment on my part. What were you talking to Li about so intently?” “Oh, Ava was brought to the same hospital for emergency treatment and is on the next floor. She is being kept under lock and key. Once she wakes up, she will be transported to our maximum-security prison where she will await her trial. Based on all the evidence we have, she will be in prison for the rest of her life, so you no longer have to worry about her. Paul Gregory is dead, and all the newspapers that were at the press conference for the event have all picked up his story. They are all printing a story about Paul being a phony, plagiarizing your work, the murder for hire, kidnapping, etc.”

“Now that you are awake, we are planning a get-well-soon party at your house for when you are discharged from the hospital. People from all over the country have been sending you flowers, get-well-soon cards, and urging you to continue writing books,” Jack said excitedly. “We also have people at your house right now cleaning and fixing everything that we may have messed up while waiting nervously for any word about your well-being. They couldn’t figure out why you were unconscious for so long until finally the doctor explained that it wasn’t from the gunshot or the leg wound but from total exhaustion. Today was the first day we were all allowed to come in here. Well, we all kind of tricked our way in since you aren’t supposed to have more than one visitor at a time,” Marcus said, looking as if he was ready to accept punishment. Kyle came running into the room. “Hey, everyone, we need to disperse. The doctors are coming.” Jin and Samuel both sat in the chairs beside her bed. Li escorted Amelia out the door alongside Jason, who pushed Jack in his wheelchair back to his room. Brandon, Marcus, and Kyle produced bags of food and drinks from a closet in the corner of the room acting as if they just arrived to deliver food. The doctor walked into her room, followed by a nurse, holding a tablet with Emily’s chart pulled up. He glanced over to the bedside to see Jin on one side and Samuel on the other both holding Emily’s hands while three more men were pulling out drinks and food and setting them down on the counter. “You know, gentlemen, if you all weren’t highly trained combat individuals, you could all go out for acting. We know who all is in this room.” He laughed as he turned the tablet around, showing them the footage of Kyle running in the room and the rest of them scattering. Emily laughed. “He’s got you guys there.” “It’s great that you are awake, Ms. Winters. Although I must say I am rather bothered by the sheer quantity of times I have seen you recently.” “Well, hopefully, since my dilemmas have all been solved now, you will not be seeing me anytime soon.”

“Let’s hope that is the case.” He walked over to the monitors, checking her vital signs. “Well, everything is looking incredibly good. I will come in and check on you in the morning. Get a good night’s rest, and I will discharge you in the morning.” “In the morning? What time is it now?” Jin looked at his watch. “It’s 10:45 p.m.” “Samuel, you said I was out for three days.” “Yup, in a few more hours, it would have made four whole days.” “You jerk.” “Are you hungry? We really did have the guys bring some food in case you woke up.” “Yes, I’m starving. Please tell me it isn’t more soup.” They both laughed. “Jin, I just can’t beat you, man, and I’m her brother.” Samuel handed Jin a wad of rolled-up bills. “You guys bet on me again? That’s it. Both of you, get out!” They both smiled and stood to leave. “Hey, I was only kidding. Plus, someone needs to at least give me the food you offered.” They sat back down. “You only get the food if you guess two things right. What food was ordered for you and who ordered it.” Emily frowned, gingerly crossing her arms. “Fine. I will guess that it is two items. One is pork fried rice with Korean short ribs, and the other is a hamburger and fries.” “Did you always have a nose like a dog when it comes to food?” Samuel questioned.

“No, not always, but when I am really hungry, I can smell anything food related.” “Who bought what?” Samuel challenged. “You probably tried to trick me, so Samuel bought the rice and short ribs, while you bought the burger,” she said, looking directly at Jin. “How do you guess all this? This isn’t right.” “No, what isn’t right is the fact that you bought my favorite food and had Jin buy your favorite food, hoping I would choose what you bought so you could eat the burger yourself.” Jin burst out laughing while Samuel just smiled. “You’re such a bad brother.” Emily shared her dinner with Jin while Samuel ate the burger, then they all fell asleep. The following morning, the doctor came in carrying her discharge papers. “All right, Ms. Winters, please don’t come back to me anytime soon, okay?” “I promise. I will try my best not to.” “Since you are still here though, my staff asked me to ask you for a favor if that would be okay?” Emily eyed him warily. “What is the favor?” “My staff heard about your entire situation via the news, and they think you are not only a strong woman for going through all this, but they are also your fans. They would like to take a photo with you before you leave the hospital if you do not mind.” “Not at all. Where do you want to take the photo?” “They have all gathered at the entrance to wish you a get well goodbye.” Samuel gathered all their things from the hospital room, and they all walked

down to the entrance. Upon seeing her, the nurses and doctors all ran toward her wishing her well. “So I heard you all wanted a photograph. I hope you don’t mind that I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt.” “We do not mind at all.” “I will go get the car and be right back,” Samuel said. One of the nurses ran up to him, grabbing his arm. “Don’t take too long. We want you and Mr. Jin in the photo too.” “Okay.” He laughed and went off to get the car. He returned a moment later in Jin’s Impala, pulling in front of the hospital. Emily stood in the center with her brother on one side and Jin on the other; the rest of the available hospital staff gathered around them while a erby took the photo for them. The hospital staff thanked them profusely and bid them farewell, watching as Jin helped Emily into the car then slid in himself. Samuel chose the backseat and crawled in. “Let’s go home.”

Epilogue

Jin pulled into the driveway going all the way up to the house. Emily opened her eyes and saw Jack, Amelia, Brandon, Jake, Jason, Marcus, Kyle, Detective Li, and a few other people all standing around in her yard. Someone walked out of her kitchen whom she recognized as Li Xiu Ying, Li Jie’s sister. They exited the car, and she immediately smelled Korean barbecue and tons of other delicious foods. They walked up on the porch and were immediately greeted by everyone. They ushered her to a chair in the back where it looked as if a small stage had been set up. Food was brought out and put on everyone’s tables as they talked about how crazy this case was. Jin walked up onto the stage and tapped the microphone. “I’d like to thank everyone for being here today and welcoming Emily back home. This was one of the most insane cases I have ever had the opportunity to work on. I must also say a word of thanks to Li Jie. Without your call, I would have never met the love of my life.” A collective “aww” came from the crowd. “I wanted everyone here to witness this special event.” He walked down from the stage to stand in front of Emily, her brother and his friends, all standing behind him with their arms crossed. Emily watched in amazement as he slowly dropped to one knee, reaching back to her brother with his hand open. She watched her brother dig around in his pocket for a moment then put something small in his hand. “Emily Winters, will you marry me?” Her mouth dropped open as the crowd began to chant, “Yes, yes, yes!” She jumped to her feet then bent down in front of him, holding out her left hand. “Yes, Jin Kang, I will marry you.”

He stood picking her up and twirling her around when music began to play. Emily laughed. “You even played my favorite band!” “No, I didn’t play your favorite band,” he said as he stopped spinning her to look at the stage. “I called a few friends to help make this day even more special.” “Wait! You know them?” “Okay, so it’s more like I called in a few favors, and they had been following your story. I told them how you always listen to their music to get inspiration when you write your stories, and believe it or not, they are actually fans of yours too.” Emily watched in amazement as each member from her favorite K-pop group walked on stage and began singing. Amidst the singing, dancing, food, and conversation, a van pulled up in her driveway. A deliveryman carrying a small box walked up to the crowd and started yelling, “Excuse me! Is there an Emily Winters here? I have a special delivery for Emily Winters.” Upon hearing her name, Emily turned around. “I’m Emily Winters,” she exclaimed, waving her hand in the air. She excused herself from her new fiancée to receive the package. Jin watched her closely as she signed the statement, accepted the small box, and thanked the deliveryman. She had a smile on her face as she was on her way back to his side, but as she got closer, he watched as her smile dropped and turned into a curious look. She walked up next to him, holding the small box up to her ear. It was ringing. Emily called out to her brother, “Hey, Samuel, can you come over here for a minute?” “Sure!” he yelled, as he excused himself from his friends and came jogging over. “What’s up, Em?” She held up the still ringing box in front of him. “What is this, and why is it ringing?” he asked. “I am not sure. It was just delivered to me as a special delivery. It wasn’t ringing when I accepted it, but now it is. What do I do?”

“Have you ever thought about opening it?” She glared at her brother. “Okay, okay, I get it. Give it to me. I will do something with it.” “I am coming with you. I want to know what it is,” Emily said. “We…we are coming with you,” Jin corrected. Samuel took the box from her hand, taking it to a picnic table off to the side of her backyard. He pulled out a pocketknife and sliced through the tape, holding the box closed. Jin carefully opened the flaps to reveal a ringing cell phone. He reached into the box, pressing the answer button along with the button to activate the speakerphone feature. “Well, well, well, Emily Winters. It seems you are a more steadfast woman than I predicted you would be.” “Ava!” Samuel exclaimed. “Of course, it’s me. You didn’t think something like being shot or the police would keep me away, did you?” Jin was furious. “What do you want, Ava?” Jin demanded. His fists clenched so tight by his sides his knuckles shown white. “I want revenge against your pretty little girlfriend, or should I say fiancée now? Either way, I think it is a little too soon for you to celebrate—” “Look, I know you want me, Ava, but it’s never going to happen, and you had better leave my sister alone. I will never allow you to bring any more harm to her, and if I find out you have, I will kill you myself.” “Don’t flatter yourself, Samuel. I don’t care about you anymore. All I want now is revenge against your sister. There can never be anyone who sures my skills. I’ll be seeing you around, Emily.” The phone disconnected then immediately made a noise alerting the phone had received a text message. When Samuel tapped on the message, an image

appeared. He tapped on the image enlarging it, and it stunned them all. The photo was of them staring into the box situated on the picnic table. Emily’s face was covered by a big red X. “Damn, she was here somewhere.” Another tone alerted them to another incoming message. Emily opened the message while Samuel read it aloud. “Better watch your ass, Emily. I’m coming for you!” Emily grabbed the phone and carried it over to the grill and threw it into the flames.

*****

“I think I have her full attention now,” Ava said with an evil grin. She walked from her hiding spot in the woods to a red Mazda Miata. This wasn’t normally her style, but she was taking on a new challenge, so she was going to change everything. She slid into the sports car and sped away, laughing. Buzz, buzz, buzz. “Where is that buzzing coming from?” She pulled over to the side of the road and started to feel underneath the driver seat. There she found a phone taped to the seat, vibrating. “When did this get put here?” Questioning if she should answer the phone or not, she decided to see what would happen and hit the answer button. She was surprised to hear a mechanical voice begin speaking before she could even say hello. “Hello, Ava. Do you want revenge on Emily Winters?” “Absolutely!”

“How about we make a deal?” “I’m listening…” “You want revenge, and I will help you with the financial aspect of this, but you have to get rid of Emily Winters.” “So you called to offer me money to get revenge?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Because I want that bitch dead!”

About the Author

From a young age, Erin Dixon loved to read and write and had written many short stories as a child. In fifth grade, she was chosen for a creative writing program hosted by Mercer University. This program only inspired her to write creatively even more. She was born and raised in Georgia and began playing slow-pitch softball at the young age of four. She played softball with her older sibling for many years, accumulating many sports awards and many lifelong friends. She continued her education after graduating from high school, earning two associate degrees from West Georgia Technical College while working fulltime. She worked with animals for fourteen years until the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020. During this pandemic, while many were working from home, she used this opportunity to fulfill one of her lifelong dreams of writing a book. While on break from work, she put on paper many of the ideas she had for various novels. After committing to one idea, she worked consistently for months to complete her debut novel, Lovers’ Revenge. Erin met the man who is now her husband back in the sixth grade. They continued their friendship throughout middle school and high school. Several years after graduating from high school, they were married. Now Erin is a devoted wife and loving mother of one.