“You just being you is the reason I fell in love so fast. I know without a shred of doubt that without you, I was only half the man I could be. Since leaving the service, I was just existing. Now? I feel as if I have a renewed purpose in life. Like all the things I’ve seen and done, that time I was held hostage . . . it was all worth something. I’ve made it through because it was my destiny to meet you.
“Honestly? I have a feeling this guy’s stalking you because he knows he let a good thing slip through his fingers. He screwed up, and he’s desperate to get you back, to have you under his thumb. But it’s not going to happen. I won’t let him snuff out your light . . . because it’s mine now. And I don’t mean that in a weird, psycho way. It’s mine to protect. To keep safe. To help you shine.”
Carlise’s eyes teared up as he spoke.
Chappy had no idea where the words were coming from—he wasn’t exactly known for having much of a romantic soul—but somehow, she brought it out in him.
“Riggs,” she murmured.
“We were meant to be,” he said simply. “I can’t imagine that some higher power led you to Baxter, who led you to me, only for you to disappear from my life now. We’ll talk to the police chief in Newton. We’ll tell my friends what’s going on. We’ll tell your mom and Susie to be careful, that someone out there might try to use them to get you to come back to Cleveland. We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe, and the people you care about are safe, so we can live happily ever after.”
“You think he’ll go after my mom or Susie?” Carlise asked, alarmed.
Shit. He hadn’t meant to scare her. “I wish I could say no, but I honestly don’t know what this guy’ll do.” Chappy didn’t want to bring up the fact that he suspected her stalker was watching her mom. Not when she was so worried already. “I swear we’ll figure it out. We’ll bring your best friend and your mom out here to Newton if we have to. I’ll hire bodyguards for them both. We’ll send them on a monthlong cruise. Whatever they want. But I’ll do what it takes to make sure they’re safe because it’s the right thing to do, and because I know you’ll worry and will blame yourself if anything happens to them.”
With a sigh, Carlise closed her eyes and leaned into him. “I’m so tired.”
“Then sleep,” he said immediately.
Her eyes opened, and she shook her head. “No, I mean, I’m just tired of all this. Of worrying. Stressing. Tired of wondering when and where he might show up. I’m not sorry I left Cleveland because it led me to you . . . but what next? Will he find me here, and I’ll have to leave again? Then what? Where will I go? Where will I be safe?”
“With me. You’ll be safe with me,” Chappy said firmly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“You can’t prevent it,” Carlise said sadly. “Eventually, he’ll find me. Will he hurt you for being with me? Or your friends? Or April? Or Baxter? I just . . . I can’t let anything happen to you, Riggs. I can’t. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you from being sucked into my drama.”
“You know what you can do?” he asked.
“What?”
“Fight. For me. For you. For us. You’re right that I can’t be by your side all the time. But I don’t want you to give up on us. Don’t run. Stay here in Maine. With me. Fight for what we have. It’s unique, Carlise. I’ve never felt this way before, and I don’t care how fast things happened. We were made for each other, and no stalker is going to take that away.”
“I can do that. Fight, I mean,” she said softly.
“Good. Now, do you want to see the messages from your mom and Susie?” he asked, needing to change the subject. Just thinking about Carlise having to fight off her stalker, to fight for her life, made him nauseous.
“Oh, I can see them? I thought since the Wi-Fi wasn’t working, I wouldn’t be able to,” she said excitedly.
“I downloaded the emails to your phone’s hard drive by opening them. I didn’t read them,” he said quickly.
“I wouldn’t mind if you did. I trust you, Riggs.”
Once again, this woman brought him to his proverbial knees with her words.
“I forwarded the emails from your stalker to myself, then put them in a folder called Yucky Stuff on your account—I know it’ll be tough, but I’d prefer if you didn’t read them. They’ll just upset you, and I’m going to deal with them—but I couldn’t do anything about the texts. So I’m also asking you to please not read those either. At least none from the unknown account. You can read the texts from your friend and mom, but it would make me feel a lot better if you left the others for now,” Chappy told her.