“Oh thank God.” She cried even more now squeezing Norma tight.

“But he’s not out of the dark yet. They’re watching him really close. He’s still unconscious.”

Valerie’s entire body shook. That’s when she felt it. Her stomach churned. She looked around. “Where’s the restroom?”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Norma asked, concerned.

“I’m gonna be sick.”

Expecting the dry heaves again, Valerie was surprised to throw up her entire lunch and breakfast. She stood breathlessly against the bathroom stall. She hated how her body reacted to her emotions. After washing up she went back to the waiting room. Luke was there now. She caught him up on her fathers’ condition and then turned to Norma. “When can we see him?”

Norma shook her head explaining, “They said as soon as they settle him into his room, but that may be a while.”

Valerie checked her watch. It was almost six. Alex would be home early tonight. He’d told her that this morning.

“Did you want to go back and get your things from the office?” Luke checked his watch also.

“No, I’m not leaving, until I see him.” She thought about calling Alex from Norma’s phone, but she knew he’d rush down, and she didn’t want Luke to be here. She’d been under enough stress being in the same room with them the night of the wine tasting. The last thing she needed was to go through that again, especially right now. “You can go if you want, Luke. I may be here all night.”

“No, I’ll stay for a while. I want to make sure he’s okay too. You’re okay…” Their eyes locked for a moment. Valerie glanced away, annoyed. Was he ever going to stop doing that?

Norma took a seat in the waiting room. There was no way Valerie could sit when she was worried. So, she paced, and Luke paced with her, at times rubbing her back for comfort.

***

Finally done with the payroll, Alex texted Valerie.

Can you talk?

He was feeling a little guilty about the night before. He’d been a little short with her after trying to get her to talk about Luke when she still didn’t mention anything about having had breakfast with him. They’d almost gone to sleep without making love. Almost.

Romero rushed into the office, closing the door behind him and pulling up a chair. He had a small pad of paper in his hand. “This is way worse than we were thinking.”

Alex tensed up at once. He hadn’t been expecting Romero today. This had to be bad.

“I haven’t had a chance to go through everything he sent me, but there are a few key things I think you should know right away.” He opened up the pad in his hand. “First of all, Valerie thinks she met this guy, and then he got all obsessed with her right?”

Alex nodded not understanding, and Romero continued, “Bruce set it up. He’s been following her way before that. He worked in the computer lab at her college. That’s where he first saw her. He was there, Alex, the night she caught you with the tutor. Saw the whole thing. Then he waited to approach her and woo her. He knew she was vulnerable and used it to his advantage.”

Every hair on Alex’s body went on alert. Bruce had been stalking Valerie for years? Romero looked down at his pad again, “His entries are especially vicious when he writes about you guys doing it. Like the night you left the bonfire with Valerie, that was your first night you were back with her right? He was furious.”

“He watched us?”

Romero lifted his eyes from his pad. “I guess. He doesn’t actually write what he saw but he definitely knew you had done it. This one might piss you off a little but it’s important. The only time he actually wrote and I quote ‘I almost killed her today’ was the morning after the first time she slept with Luke. He stayed the whole night outside of Luke’s house and followed her home the next morning. He was so pissed that he dated her for almost a month and never slept with her then she starts going out with Luke and week two, he nails her.”

Romero may as well have given him a flying kick to the gut because that’s what it felt like. He felt the air literally sucked out of him. He wasn’t sure what was worse, that Bruce had actually considered killing her, or the visual of her sleeping with Luke.

He gulped hard. The pulse in his ears throbbed. He blinked, thankful he was sitting, because he thought he might actually be lightheaded. Romero had never been one to pu**y foot anything. He sure hadn’t this time. Alex’s mind was still stuck on those last five words. Week two he nails her.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“No,” Alex barked.

“He’s more hung up on Luke than he is you.”

“And why would that be?” Alex almost didn’t want, to know but he had to now.

“Because you cheated on her, and Valerie told him she was in love with Luke. This was just before you two got back together. She may have told him that just to get him to back off. He keeps trying to figure out why she’s with you now. But he’s noticed Valerie’s inconspicuous meetings with Luke and he’s getting frantic about it.”

Alex clenched his teeth. That made two of them. His phone rang. It was Hank. The only time Hank ever called was if…

Alex grabbed it and stood up. “What’s up, Hank?”

Romero was on his feet next to Alex the second he heard Hank’s name.

“Have you talked to Valerie?”

“No why?”




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