Under His Protection
Chapter 1

When Jade Edwards walked into the police station and up to the front desk she could feel eyes watching her. This was something she was used to, being a lingerie model people were always staring so she had long ago learned to ignore them and the whispers behind her back.

“Can I help you, Miss?” The older officer behind the desk asked, raising an eyebrow when he looked up.

“Yes,” she said and glanced around nervously. “I want to report a stalker.”

“Who’s being stalked?”

“I am,” she replied.

“Your name please,” he asked, giving her a smile.

“Edwards, Jade Edwards.”

“Just take a seat over there Miss and an officer will be right with you.” He pointed to the seats that were lined up against the wall. A man in cuffs was seated on one of the chairs so she sat several seats away from him. She could feel his eyes on her but she didn’t look his way. Jade looked up when a voice spoke to her.

“Miss Edwards, my name is Officer Joe Brown, will you follow me please?” He reached out to shake her hand. His eyes did a quick sweep over her, she was a real beauty he thought to himself as he led the way into a back room.

Jade followed him and sat down in the seat he pulled out for her. Another officer joined them, he was tall, his skin a dark shade, probably tanned from the California sun. He was attractive, his body filled out his uniform nicely but his eyes were dark and menacing. There was an aura of arrogance about him.

“Miss Edwards, this is Officer Zane Warner. We’ll both be taking on your case. Now would you like to start from the beginning?”

Jade liked Officer Brown, he was nice and a real gentleman. But the other one she instantly took a disliking to when he sat down without so much as a hey, tapping his fingers lightly on the arm of his chair. So she turned her attention to Brown. “I think someone has been stalking me.”

“You think?” Officer Warner scoffed. “You expect us to take you seriously with you just thinking it? We need proof.”

Turning her eyes to glare at him she snapped back. “I don’t just think it. I get these calls from someone who doesn’t speak or hang up. I hear them breathing on the other end. I also sense someone is watching me.”

Zane looked her over from top to bottom. She wore a black dress with heels. She had blonde hair, her makeup applied perfectly and he couldn’t help but notice she had a great rack. Being a breast man he felt a stirring in his lower region. “What do you do for a living?” he asked.

“What has that got to do with anything?” she asked, wondering what he was getting at. “If you must know I’m a lingerie model for Victoria's Secret.”

“So you take your clothes off in front of people?” Zane added sarcastically.

“No. I model bras, panties, and nightwear for their magazine. I do not remove my clothes so I’ll thank you not to imply that I’m some kind of stripper.” She stared into his eyes, her temper starting to flare up till Officer Brown broke the tension.

“Show some respect, Warner.”

Zane got up, folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall. “All I’m saying is a woman should expect the attention when she exposes her body for the world to see.”

Brown shook his head at Zane and turned to Jade. “Office Warner does have a point, though he could have worded it better. There will always be people out there that for whatever reason give you some problems. I’m afraid you’ve not given us much to go on.”

“Maybe this will convince you I’m not crazy.” Opening her purse she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Officer Brown. “This was slipped under my door sometime during the night.”

He read it out loud so that Zane could hear.

You belong to me and soon we’ll be together and you’ll no longer have to degrade yourself by showing off your body. I love you and look forward to the day when our bodies join as one so stay pure for me. I will kill anyone who touches you.

Letters from newspapers were cut out and pasted onto a sheet of white paper and placed in a white envelope.

Zane took the letter, looking at it. “This could just be a prank to scare you. Do you have any enemies or an ex-boyfriend that might be holding a grudge against you?”

Jade was a little surprised at the change in the tone of his voice. “The modeling business can be very competitive. Every girl strives to be on top, so there is a lot of jealousy between them. Right now I’m their top model so some of the women resent me, but not enough to harm me. As for a boyfriend, I haven’t had one for over a year.”

“Did it end badly?” Officer Brown asked.

“Sort of, he wanted me to quit, I wouldn’t so he walked.”

“We’ll have to talk to the girls you work with and anyone else you know. Also, we need the name and address of this ex-boyfriend of yours.” Officer Brown handed her a pen and paper, asking her to write down the names of her co-workers, their phone numbers and anyone else who might want to scare her. While she was doing that the two officers walked over to the coffee machine and started talking amongst themselves.

“What do you think Zane? Is she being honest with us or could this be a ploy to get some free publicity?”

“It could be,” Zane replied. “There really isn’t much we can do with just the information we have.”

“Well, it won’t hurt to talk to some people, and the ex, see what he has to say. Damn Zane, she’s really hot. I’ve got to see if my wife has any of those magazines.”

They went back over to Jade.

“Officer Warner will give you a lift home and check out your apartment to make sure it’s secured.”

Zane shook his head at Joe Brown. “I don’t have time. I’ve got to get ready for a date.”

Jade got to her feet. “Perhaps another officer could take me home. After all, we wouldn’t want Officer Warner to be late for his date.” She smiled at Zane, one that didn’t reach her eyes.

“It’s ok Miss, it’s on his way.” Officer Brown turned to Zane. “Take her home, check out the apartment and bring in your report tomorrow.”

“Fine, let’s go,” he said snarkily he opened the door and waited for Jade.

They walked in silence to his car which was a black Mustang, he opened the passenger door, shutting it once she was inside. Going around to the other side got in, removing his tie and undoing the top three buttons on his shirt. His eyes momentarily glanced over and down at her legs. As the seats were lower to the floor it pushed her legs up, her dress rose up showing off her upper thighs.

Clearing his throat tore his eyes away and concentrated on the road. When they reached her apartment complex he parked in the visitor’s spot. A doorman opened the door for them to enter and they stepped onto the elevator.

“Fancy place,” Zane commented. He looked up and made a note that it had a security camera in it.

“I like it,” she said as she took her keys from her purse. “I live on the top floor.”

Reaching the tenth floor and stepping off the elevator they walked down the hall and stopped at the last door at the end. Putting the key in turned it and entered, Zane right behind her. She flipped a switch, lighting the apartment up.

He looked around the room, it was enormous. “I have to check out every room,” he said as he started walking around. He checked the kitchen first, it was clean, not a thing out of place. He then entered the living room which held a white sofa and two matching chairs and all the usual stuff, lamps, TV etc. He went into the bathroom and checked out her medicine cabinet. Nothing unusual in it, just the kind of stuff women used, creams, shampoo and so on.

Jade went and poured herself a glass of red wine, she shouted out asking if he wanted a drink. He told her no so she stood looking out her patio window, waiting for him to finish. She wanted him gone. He was rude and arrogant and she could never tolerate people like that.

Zane then walked into her bedroom. A white cat lay on the bed and hissed when he went to pat it so he pulled his hand back before he got scratched. He opened the closet and looked through her things, nothing seemed out of place. He was beginning to think this was all a waste of valuable time. Time, he could be spending getting ready for his date with the hot little waitress from the diner.

Going back into the living Jade was sitting on the sofa, patting the cat from hell who ran from the bedroom into the livingroom. “Nice place you got here, must cost you a lot.”

Ignoring his question she asked one of her own. “Are you almost done?”

“Not yet,” he said as he opened the door leading out onto the patio. He went out and looked around, checking out the building across from this one. Their windows faced each other, and going back inside closed the door. “Do you close the blinds at night?”

“No. I turn on all the lights and leave the drapes open while I strip down naked in front of the window. I usually walk around naked,” she said, rolling her eyes. God, what a jackass.

Zane realized she was putting him on. “Everything seems to be in order so I’ll leave now. Officer Brown and I will talk to the ones on the list you gave us tomorrow. In the meantime keep your door locked and if anything comes up call the station and they’ll send someone over.” Pulling out his notepad started writing in it.

She knew from the look on his face and the way he spoke he didn’t believe her that someone was stalking her. “You don’t believe me do you?”

“What?” he asked, looking annoyed when he looked up at her.

“You think I’m making all this up,” she said angrily.

Letting out a sigh he put his notepad back inside his pocket. “The publicity would boost your career, wouldn’t it? Might even get you noticed by Playboy.”

Jade could feel her blood boiling with rage. If he wasn’t a cop and she could possibly be charged with assault she would have slapped him across that smug face of his. Instead, she walked over to the door and opened it. “I think you can leave now.” She felt her face turning red when he walked over and stood so close she could feel his breath on her face when he spoke. His eyes traveled down her face and stared at her lips for a brief moment. He was close enough to kiss her and she thought that’s what he was going to do. She breathed a sigh of relief when he put some distance between them.

“Good night Miss Edwards,” he said, his eyes going to her mouth. For a brief moment, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her lips. Backing away he walked out and chuckled when she slammed the door hard behind him. He looked at his watch and swore, he was already half an hour late for his date. He still had to go home to shower and change.