He shook his head again. “Nobody comes to mind. Besides, I’m always at the diner, so it’s not like I have time to get acquainted with strange people,” he said with drooped shoulders.
He worried his bottom lip. He’d seemed so casual about this when he first walked in, but now the worry was coming through.
I pulled off the glove from one hand and clapped his shoulder in comfort. “I’m going to do my very best to getto the bottom of this, but until then, make sure you keep up your vigilance.”
Atlas nodded his understanding.
“You’re currently staying with Hector, aren’t you? You should let him know what’s going on so that he stays on guard, too,” I suggested.
Besides, Hector wasn’t someone people messed with easily. He was huge and an ex-con. It didn’t help that he had a pretty scary face and a nasty scar through his eyebrow and temple. If I hadn’t known Hector to be the giant teddy bear he was, I would have steered clear, too.
It was reassuring to know Atlas was with Hector more often than not. Hector would keep him safe.
“No, he can’t find out about this,” Atlas surprised me by saying. “I don’t want to worry him more than I already do. I want to solve this without him. You can tell the others, but I don’t want Hector knowing.”
I sighed. “Atlas, you have astalker. This person could very well be dangerous, and they’ve already promised to get payback for you supposedly betraying them. Keeping this a secret might put him in danger as well. Especially since this stalker thinks you two are together.”
Atlas blushed at my words and seemed more concerned about Hector’s well-being than his own, but he stubbornly wanted to try to fix this issue without involving the diner owner.
I sighed and told him I would investigate this and keep in touch.
Maybe I could have Dan talk some sense into him. Dan was a lot closer to Atlas than I was. I walked Atlas out, then returned to my desk to sort through the evidence to see if I might have overlooked something.
My thoughts kept wandering back to Dan. Knowing there was potential danger in our town made me want to see him, to always keep him in my sights.
I’d always been possessive of Dan, but I thought it would get better now that we were together. Instead, I was left feeling…anxious.
I didn’t know whether it was worry over our parents that was making me feel this way or the potential danger from this unknown stalker, but the feeling wouldn’t settle down until I was clocking out for lunch and running to his clinic.
Chapter Twenty-One
DAN
When Clay told me about Atlas’ situation, I couldn’t shake off the concern for my friend,but I had full faith that Clay could protect him and figure out who was behind all this. Until then, I’d try to convince Atlas to recruit Hector’s help. It wasn’t that I didn’t think he could take care of himself, but why wouldn’t you want the extra help if you could have it?
Clay acted more clingy than usual after Atlas put in the report about his stalker. It was like he worried that since there was a stalker in town, he was going to end up targeting me as well.
Instead of my safety, I was more worried about our family dinner tonight.
It would be the first time the four of us would sit down together after Clay and I got together, and to say I was nervous was the understatement of the year.
Through the years, I’d learned how to act aroundClay so I wouldn’t let anything slip. I kept my distance and my cool, but how was I supposed to do that now that I knew what Clay sounded like in the midst of pleasure?
How was I supposed to be around him and look like Ididn’twant to kiss him?
I had to figure that outrealquick, because before I knew it, we’d arrived at our parents’ home. They’d left the door unlocked for us as always, and the smell of chicken wafted in the air as soon as we entered.
“Is that my boys?” Sandra called from the kitchen.
I couldn’t help the grimace that came up every time she called us that. It was the reminder that, legally, she was my stepmom and Clay was my stepbrother.
What I was surprised at was Clay’s reaction. He stiffened beside me when he’d never had an issue with his mom calling us that before.
He found my hand and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze before calling out, “Yeah, Mom. It’s Dan and me.”
He released my hand just as Sandra came out and pulled both of us into hugs. Mylao-baappeared moments later, wiping his hands with a towel. He swung the towel over his shoulder and clapped me on the shoulder in greeting.
It was the same as every other week. How could it feel like nothing had changed wheneverythingwas different now?
