The Rogue
Chapter 16

Ryan took a deep breath and pretended the building in front of him was engulfed in flames. This would’ve been weird for damn near anyone else, he knew. But active fire was the only frame of reference he had for setting his emotions aside and getting shit done. And since the task in front of him was to keep Chloe on the level as Addison and the Intelligence Unit updated her on the case against Bishop?

Yeah. Ryan was going to need all the help he could get.

Waiting for Chloe to meet him at the Thirty-Third, he dug his hands into his pockets and took a breath full of evening air. His brain defaulted to his breakfast conversation with Addison, replaying her admission for what had to be the hundredth time. His response had been a little bold, yeah, but it had also been pure truth. He did like her beyond the attraction between them—hell, if he were being brutally honest, he had ever since they’d spent that night together in December. Ryan wanted nothing more than to impulsively jump back into bed with her, to k!ss her and touch her and replace all those places that made her scream. But Addison clearly needed control. Which meant Ryan was going to give it to her.

No matter how much it had killed him not to hurdle the table to pull her close this morning.

“Whoa, you okay?”

Chloe’s voice clotheslined Ryan back down to the sidewalk, but he landed on his feet. “Absolutely. You ready, Ruby Red?” he asked, working up a smile. He’d promised to stay calm so Chloe would do the same. No time like the present to start.

She shrugged, her bright red curls bouncing off the shoulders of her coat as she tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow. “Not really,” she admitted, letting him walk her up the steps leading to the Thirty-Third’s front door. “But Addison did say I should bring someone from my support system, and having you here helps.”

“Then, here is where I’ll be,” Ryan said. “Did she say anything else about what happened today?”

Chloe shook her head. “No. But it’s weird that they wanted to go into my apartment, right?”

“Maybe a little. But the team is nothing if not thorough. It was probably just something they wanted to check, like Addison said.”

“Since when have you become so chill?” Chloe asked, nodding her thanks as he ushered her through the precinct’s main entrance.

Ryan arched a brow, keeping his smile in place. “It’s amazing what the repeated threat of being arrested will do to a guy.”

Bingo. It got her to laugh. “Ah. So Addison is a good influence on you, then.”

Before he could respond—not that he had any f*****g clue how exactly he’d do that without making an a*ss of himself—Addison appeared in front of the sergeant’s desk. “Hey, you two. Thanks for coming in so quickly.”

Ryan tried to ignore the way his heart had decided to beat faster at the sight of her. Of course, it didn’t work. “Sure thing.”

Addison smiled at him before turning to Chloe. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m better now that the protective order has been granted,” Chloe said. “He was served, right? It’s official?”

“He was,” Addison said, leading them deeper through the precinct, toward the metal detectors. “There have been a lot of developments today. We’ll give you the full update once we get upstairs, I promise.”

“Okay.”

They made their way past security, with Addison signing them in quickly and handing over visitors’ badges. She exuded confidence, her shoulders set and her gait loaded with purpose as she led them to the Intelligence office. They bypassed the main workspace, which held several clusters of desks pushed together, along with a long workstation that had six wall-mounted monitors over it, and headed down a narrow hallway off the back of the room. Addison stopped outside the open doorway to a smaller conference room, waiting for Chloe to go in first before she caught Ryan’s attention with a gentle brush of her hand.

“I’m glad you’re here with her. She’s going to need you.”

Worry unfolded in Ryan’s gut. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it, because Addison was already telling Chloe to make herself comfortable and asking her if she wanted any coffee or water. Maxwell, Capelli, and their boss, Sergeant Sinclair, were all seated at the table in the center of the room, and Addison didn’t waste any time getting to intros.

“Chloe, you already know Detective Maxwell from the other night.” She paused for a second to let Maxwell issue a quiet greeting, and while Ryan was certain that between his ink, his piercings, and his sheer f*****g brawn, the guy could crank up the scary-mofo factor if he wanted to, he gave Chloe a gentle smile for which Ryan was grateful.

“This is James Capelli, our tech and surveillance expert, and my boss, Sergeant Sam Sinclair,” Addison continued.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Chloe said, then gave up a self-deprecating shrug. “Well, I mean, maybe not under these circumstances, but…”

“We understand,” Sinclair said. “But we’re going to do all that we can to keep you safe.”

“So, you mentioned that Bishop was served with the emergency protective order this morning?” Ryan asked, and okay, maybe shaking the impulse to dive right in would take a tiny bit more work.

Addison nodded, sitting on Chloe’s left and putting Chloe between herself and Ryan, with Maxwell, Capelli, and Sinclair on the opposite side of the table. “Yes. The emergency protective order went into effect at about ten this morning.”

“That’s such a relief,” Chloe said. “Now, we can work on the next step, right? The order that lasts longer?”

“The preliminary protective order,” Sinclair said. “That is the next step. But we’ve run into some…complications.”

The worry that had burrowed into Ryan’s gut became full-blown dread. “Complications,” he repeated.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” Addison said, looking at Chloe, then Capelli. “Why don’t we start with the texts?”

Capelli nodded. “The texts were sent from a burner phone. It’s since been turned off, which makes locating it impossible. We were able to trace the purchase of the phone to a mini-mart off Lakemont, but it’s one of the busiest convenience stores downtown. Bishop’s credit card has never been used there and the store clerks didn’t recognize him.”

“What about video?” Ryan asked. Surely a place like that would have security feeds.

“They only keep video for two weeks, and because we’re guessing the phone was purchased with cash, it’s a lot harder to track exactly when—or if—he bought it,” Capelli said. “We do still have techs looking at the feeds, but with how meticulous Bishop has been so far, the chances are very slim that we’ll replace anything there to implicate him.”

“So if you can’t prove the phone is his, he can just keep saying he never sent the texts? Even though he was watching me last night?” Chloe asked.

The detectives all exchanged glances, so subtly that Ryan would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been trained to notice even the smallest details.

“About that,” Maxwell started, looking to Addison in a nonverbal handoff.

She looked at Chloe, her expression both calm and serious, and no, no, this couldn’t be good. “We wanted to investigate every possibility in order to uncover concrete evidence to prove that Bishop has been harassing you, and that he’s the one who sent the texts. We had to know exactly how he was watching you, so we checked out your apartment to try and figure that out.”

“Why does that sound bad?” Chloe’s voice caught, barely above a whisper.

“He wasn’t watching you through the windows, Chloe,” Addison said gently, and the hair on the back of Ryan’s neck stood immediately on-end. “He was watching you inside your apartment.”

Chloe gasped, dividing a panicked stare between Addison and Ryan. “But…that’s impossible. How could he even…I don’t understand. He saw inside my apartment?”

Ryan took a very deep breath, but only so he wouldn’t scream. “So Bishop is stalking her. That’s what this is, right?”

“Yes,” Capelli said. “We found surveillance equipment in Chloe’s apartment. Five video cameras and two microphones. We’ve disabled them all, of course, and tagged everything as evidence. There are no prints on anything, but I’m working on tracing both the equipment and the feeds.”

“Oh, my God.” Chloe covered her mouth with her hands, the tears in her eyes stabbing at Ryan. “He could see me? Hear me? How could I not have known that?”

“The equipment is very sophisticated,” Capelli said, his normally serious demeanor softening a little. “I’m highly trained in surveillance technology and it took me a little while to replace all seven devices.”

A thought occurred to Ryan, creeping up his spine. “Wait. In order to set this stuff up, wouldn’t he have had to get inside Chloe’s apartment himself?”

Chloe began to cry. Addison was right there with a box of tissues, looking Chloe right in the eyes. “I know this is a lot to process, Chloe. If you need a break, we can take one any time, okay?”

“No.” Chloe shook her head, her voice wobbling. “I…I just want to get this over with.”

“Okay,” Addison said. “To answer your question, Ryan, yes. Bishop was in Chloe’s apartment.”

Ryan grappled with the urge to lose his temper. But raging against the Intelligence Unit wouldn’t solve anything, and Chloe looked one step away from crumpling in her chair. He hated this, and he would protect Chloe at all costs, but right now, he had to keep it together. “When?”

“Ten days ago,” Maxwell said.

“Ten days?” Chloe choked out, and Addison nodded while Ryan sat there, stunned.

“Once Capelli found the equipment, we spoke to the building manager,” Addison said. “There was no maintenance scheduled for your apartment at all last month, and the staff all confirmed that none of them went into your apartment for any sort of emergency in that time.”

“Luckily for us, there are security cameras at either end of the hallway on Chloe’s floor,” Sinclair continued. “We were able to go through the footage, and ten days ago, a man in a cable company uniform let himself into the apartment with the master keys.”

Chloe shook her head. “I don’t understand. I don’t even have cable.”

“Even if you did, it’s illegal for anyone from the cable company to enter your living space without your permission, especially unattended,” Maxwell said. “The maintenance staff isn’t even allowed in without you there unless there’s an emergency, like a gas leak.”

“So Bishop was just posing as a cable guy for cover,” Ryan said.

Sinclair nodded, sitting back in his chair. “The apartment manager confirmed that she’d never seen him, and she’d certainly never given him—or anyone else—the master keys. The cable company has confirmed that they didn’t have anyone at the building that day, or even that week. So, yes. That’s very likely.”

“But you have him on video, right? So you can arrest him for breaking into my apartment?” Chloe asked, and here, Addison winced.

“We have a man who fits his general description and is wearing a cable uniform letting himself into your place on video. But he keeps his hat pulled down low the whole time and doesn’t show his face.”

“It’s him, though,” Ryan insisted. “He broke into Chloe’s apartment. He did this.”

At least no one argued. “Capelli is trying to trace the feeds and where the equipment came from, but it’s a process,” Sinclair said. “But yes, we’re all in agreement that this is Bishop and that he is escalating.”

“Wait…you think this is going to get even worse?” Chloe whispered, her face going pale. Ryan’s pulse slapped faster in his veins, his composure beginning to slip. He knew Chloe needed an anchor, but for f**k’s sake, Bishop had been stalking her and invading every aspect of her privacy for weeks. The only thing left would be to physically hurt her. Or worse.

Just as the last of Ryan’s calm evaporated, his gaze landed on Addison’s. The connection lasted for only a second, but somehow, it moved all the way through him, giving him just enough room to breathe. He latched on to her poise, the quiet certainty that they’d figure this out, and okay, yeah. Yeah, he could do this for Chloe. He had to.

“We don’t know, Chloe,” Addison said. “But in a lot of cases, stalkers follow certain patterns, and Myles does seem to be getting more and more dangerous, so yes. I have to be honest with you and say it is very possible that this is going to get even worse.”

Chloe’s breath caught. “I’m sorry. I can’t…I can’t think right now. I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

“Okay,” Addison said. But she didn’t shy away. “Sergeant, could we maybe take a break? I can stay with Chloe—if she wants me to—just to make sure she’s okay, and let you know when we’re ready to keep talking.”

Sinclair nodded, getting up from the table, and Capelli and Maxwell followed suit. “Of course,” he said. There was a whole bunch of nonverbal communication going on between Addison and Sinclair, then again between Addison and Maxwell, before the three men stepped quietly into the hallway and Addison turned toward Chloe.

“I don’t have to stay,” she said. “You won’t hurt my feelings at all if—”

Chloe threw her arms around Addison and Ryan’s heart broke in half. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m scared and I know I should be stronger, but—”

“No.” The word came just firmly enough to have weight behind it, and Addison pulled back to look at Chloe. “Don’t apologize for being scared. I’m here to be strong for you until we can figure this out. So is my unit, and so is your brother and your whole family. And, Chloe, we will figure this out.”

Ryan nodded. “Addison is right. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“I just…I’m so scared. And now, knowing he was in my apartment, watching this whole time and I never had a clue?”

Chloe shuddered and began to cry again. Ryan had no idea what to say, other than express his immediate desire to turn Bishop into paste. Luckily for him, Addison had things covered.

“This isn’t your fault. You are a victim, and Bishop is a bully. He’s counting on you to be scared because he knows it’s a natural reaction and it’ll get him what he wants.” She let the words sink in for a minute before saying, “I know how frightening this is for you. Not because of my job, but because I have been exactly where you are before, where you’re so scared, you can’t move or think or breathe.”

Chloe made a noise, half-scoff, half-hiccup. “You’ve been this scared?”

Addison didn’t hesitate. “Yup. I’ve been a victim, just like you, and you are going to be a survivor, just like me. We’re going to keep you safe. All of us. Okay?”

“O-okay,” Chloe said, sitting up a little taller.

“Where do we start?” Ryan asked.

“First thing’s first,” Addison said, dividing a look between them. “We get Chloe to the safest place possible, far from Bishop.”

“She can stay with me,” Ryan said. “Or we can keep to the schedule we made.” Between his siblings and their parents, there was no way any of them would let Bishop within a nautical mile of her.

Addison shook her head. “I know you’ve got the best intentions, but Bishop was listening when you came up with those plans. If we stick to them, it’s basically giving him a roadmap to where Chloe will be and when.”

“So I can’t stay with my family at all?” Chloe asked.

“It’s probably not the best idea,” Addison said.

Shock pumped through Ryan’s system as the gravity of the situation set in like cement. “Where else is she supposed to go? I mean, she can’t go back to her place, right?”

“I don’t want to go back.” Chloe shook her head, adamant. “Just knowing that he watched me there. I don’t want to go back, even if it’s safe.”

“You don’t have to. We have options,” Addison said, and God, she was so calm and controlled that Ryan couldn’t help but trust her. “Both Sergeant Sinclair and Tara Kingston, who’s the ADA, think there’s enough danger here to warrant temporary protective custody.”

Chloe’s chin lifted as yet another round of shock hit Ryan in the chest. “Like witness protection or something?”

“A little, although not nearly as extreme. You’d be assigned temporary housing and a protection detail who would keep an eye on you to make sure Bishop doesn’t locate you. You’d have to stay there until we can get him into custody, though, and there’s no telling how long that might take.”

“I’d have to just sit there and wait? What about school? And my job?” Chloe asked, panic seeping into her voice.

Ryan said, “We could talk to Stephanie about work—I’m sure she’d understand that your safety is at risk. Same for school. They might even let you do the assignments remotely, and we could try to replace you a place with a kitchen so you can keep up.”

“Speaking of which,” Addison continued. “I have an idea for where you could stay. It’s a little unconventional, but Sinclair is on board with it if you are.”

“Okay,” Chloe said, although it came out like a question. “Where?”

Addison paused for a deep breath. “When I was where you are, someone helped me. She changed my life, really. I think she can help you, too. Her name is Ah-lam. She runs a small martial arts academy downtown.”

Ryan made the connection in an instant. “You think she can help?”

“Oh, I know she can help,” Addison said with a small, wry smile. “And you’d be very safe with her, Chloe. I can attest to that personally. All the same, you’d still have an RPD detail looking out for you if you chose to stay with her. And, of course, I’d check in regularly, too.”

“Oh.” Chloe was quiet for a minute before nodding. “Okay. If she’ll let me stay with her, then yes. I want to do that.”

“Great,” Addison said. “We can have Grace go to your apartment and pack some clothes and toiletries, things you might need for school. Your cell phone and laptop will have to stay behind, I’m afraid. Bishop has already proven he can access those. But I can ask Capelli to set you up with a secure laptop so you can do your schoolwork.”

“What about a cell phone?” Ryan asked. No way was he not going to keep in contact with her.

But Addison shook her head. “If Bishop can access Chloe’s phone, chances are high he can access yours, or anyone else’s in your family. We’ll work on a secure way for you to communicate,” she added, likely because she could tell Ryan was about to nope the idea of complete radio silence. “But for now, you won’t be able to use your cell phones.”

Ryan wanted to argue. Hell, he wanted to rage. But this was the best way to keep Chloe from harm’s way, so he said, “Okay. What do we do now?”

“Now, we introduce Chloe to Ah-lam. We can go whenever you’re ready. She’s expecting you.”