Chapter 9
I stared at the message.
"Who's Linda?" Callum asked, reading over my shoulder.
"Dylan's college girlfriend," I said slowly. "He dated her before me. They broke up badly. He never talks about her."
"What did she mean by dangerous?"
I typed back immediately.
[Where? When?]
The reply came fast. [Coffee shop on 5th. Tomorrow, 8 a.m. Come alone. Please. He can't know I contacted you.]
Callum shook his head. "You're not going alone."
"She specifically asked—"
"I'll be in a car outside. Close enough to reach you in under thirty seconds. Non-negotiable."
I looked at his face. The warmth from a minute ago had hardened into something protective. Almost dangerous.
"Fine," I agreed. "But stay out of sight."
The next morning, I walked into the coffee shop and found Linda already there. She was small, dark-haired, with circles under her eyes that told me she hadn't been sleeping.
The moment I sat down, she started talking.
"I saw the news," she said. "The wedding, the interview, all of it. And when I saw him show up at your parents' house—" She swallowed. "He did the same thing to me."
"What do you mean?"
"The stalking. The showing up drunk. The crying." Her hands wrapped around her mug, tight. "After we broke up in college, he followed me for six months. Showed up at my work, my apartment, my gym. He slashed my tires twice. Filed false reports that got me fired from my first job."
My stomach turned.
"He told everyone I was crazy," she continued. "That I was the stalker. People believed him because he's charming and I—I wasn't." Her voice cracked. "It took me three years and two cities to get away from him."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
Linda looked me dead in the eyes.
"Because what he did to me was before he had money. Before he had connections. Now he's lost everything, and he's cornered." She leaned forward. "Serena, cornered Dylan is the most dangerous version. He doesn't just get sad. He gets vengeful."
"What do you think he's planning?"
She pulled out her phone and showed me a screenshot. A text from a mutual acquaintance.
[Dylan's been asking around about Reed's schedule. Where he goes, what car he drives, who's with him. Something's off.]
Ice flooded my veins.
He wasn't coming after me.
He was going after Callum.
I was on my feet before I finished processing it.
"Thank you," I said to Linda. "Truly."
She grabbed my wrist. "Be careful. He won't stop until someone makes him."
I nodded and walked out, pulling my phone immediately.
"Callum, where are you right now?"
"In the car. Thirty feet away, like I promised. What happened?"
"Drive to me. Now. I'll explain everything."
When I got in, I told him what Linda said. Every word. His expression didn't change, but his hand tightened on the armrest.
"He's surveilling me," Callum said flatly.
"That's what it sounds like."
Silence. Then he pulled out his phone.
"Diana. I need a full counter-surveillance sweep on all my vehicles and regular routes. Today. Also, pull everything on Dylan Lawson's movements for the last seventy-two hours. Credit cards, GPS, CCTV near our buildings. Everything."
He hung up and looked at me.
"If he's escalating to this level, we end it. Permanently."
"How?"
"The criminal fraud case. We accelerate it. Get the DA to issue a warrant. Once he's in custody, he can't touch anyone."
"That could take days. What if—"
"I'll double security. On you, your parents, and me. No one moves without a team."
He took my hand. Squeezed.
"Hey. Look at me."
I did.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Neither are you."
I nodded. But something in my gut wouldn't settle.
That night, at 3 a.m., our alarm system went off.
Someone had breached the building's perimeter.
"Who's Linda?" Callum asked, reading over my shoulder.
"Dylan's college girlfriend," I said slowly. "He dated her before me. They broke up badly. He never talks about her."
"What did she mean by dangerous?"
I typed back immediately.
[Where? When?]
The reply came fast. [Coffee shop on 5th. Tomorrow, 8 a.m. Come alone. Please. He can't know I contacted you.]
Callum shook his head. "You're not going alone."
"She specifically asked—"
"I'll be in a car outside. Close enough to reach you in under thirty seconds. Non-negotiable."
I looked at his face. The warmth from a minute ago had hardened into something protective. Almost dangerous.
"Fine," I agreed. "But stay out of sight."
The next morning, I walked into the coffee shop and found Linda already there. She was small, dark-haired, with circles under her eyes that told me she hadn't been sleeping.
The moment I sat down, she started talking.
"I saw the news," she said. "The wedding, the interview, all of it. And when I saw him show up at your parents' house—" She swallowed. "He did the same thing to me."
"What do you mean?"
"The stalking. The showing up drunk. The crying." Her hands wrapped around her mug, tight. "After we broke up in college, he followed me for six months. Showed up at my work, my apartment, my gym. He slashed my tires twice. Filed false reports that got me fired from my first job."
My stomach turned.
"He told everyone I was crazy," she continued. "That I was the stalker. People believed him because he's charming and I—I wasn't." Her voice cracked. "It took me three years and two cities to get away from him."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
Linda looked me dead in the eyes.
"Because what he did to me was before he had money. Before he had connections. Now he's lost everything, and he's cornered." She leaned forward. "Serena, cornered Dylan is the most dangerous version. He doesn't just get sad. He gets vengeful."
"What do you think he's planning?"
She pulled out her phone and showed me a screenshot. A text from a mutual acquaintance.
[Dylan's been asking around about Reed's schedule. Where he goes, what car he drives, who's with him. Something's off.]
Ice flooded my veins.
He wasn't coming after me.
He was going after Callum.
I was on my feet before I finished processing it.
"Thank you," I said to Linda. "Truly."
She grabbed my wrist. "Be careful. He won't stop until someone makes him."
I nodded and walked out, pulling my phone immediately.
"Callum, where are you right now?"
"In the car. Thirty feet away, like I promised. What happened?"
"Drive to me. Now. I'll explain everything."
When I got in, I told him what Linda said. Every word. His expression didn't change, but his hand tightened on the armrest.
"He's surveilling me," Callum said flatly.
"That's what it sounds like."
Silence. Then he pulled out his phone.
"Diana. I need a full counter-surveillance sweep on all my vehicles and regular routes. Today. Also, pull everything on Dylan Lawson's movements for the last seventy-two hours. Credit cards, GPS, CCTV near our buildings. Everything."
He hung up and looked at me.
"If he's escalating to this level, we end it. Permanently."
"How?"
"The criminal fraud case. We accelerate it. Get the DA to issue a warrant. Once he's in custody, he can't touch anyone."
"That could take days. What if—"
"I'll double security. On you, your parents, and me. No one moves without a team."
He took my hand. Squeezed.
"Hey. Look at me."
I did.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Neither are you."
I nodded. But something in my gut wouldn't settle.
That night, at 3 a.m., our alarm system went off.
Someone had breached the building's perimeter.