Page 8 of You Found Me
Piper put a restraining hand on Romi’s arm. “I know this is frustrating, but there’s no need to get pissy.”
“I’m not getting pissy. I’m just…frustrated.” Della tried her best to sound reasonable and firm, but she was worried it came out petulant. They kept treating her like the child she used to be instead of the woman she was now. “I know where this isheaded. Remember the last time we had a stalker? We holed up in that hotel in backwoods Florida forever!”
“You make it sound like it was a decade,” Piper said. “It was only a couple of weeks, and it was Tallahassee, not a third-world country.”
“We were nowhere near a beach or anything else interesting,” Della said. “And it turned out to be a twelve-year-old kid who’d only sent that letter on a dare from his friends. It was nothing.”
“Yeah, but the guy before that actually swam across the bay to get to that vacation house I rented, remember?” Piper said. “He’s still in jail, I think.”
“He didn’t get inside, and all he wanted was to meet you,” Della pointed out. “He was harmless.”
“What about the guy who camped out on my front porch?” Mattie asked. “If he even caught a glimpse of me, he started singing loud enough to wake the neighbors. I was trapped in my house for months until his family hauled him off to rehab.”
“It was creepy, but it wasn’t exactly dangerous.” Della could see her arguments were falling on deaf ears. “Poor guy just needed some mental help. Which he got. He never came back, did he?”
“It makes sense to take some extra precautions until we know exactly who we’re dealing with,” Renic said in a deep, firm tone that reminded her very much of her father when he told her what time she had to be home from a date.
“Come on, Del, it’s not like you live in a secure condo building in New York anymore,” Piper said.
“No,” Della said as patiently as she could manage, “but the hotel I’m in right now is perfectly safe.”
“I can think of a dozen ways someone could sneak into that hotel room,” Romi said.
“Not helpful,” Piper muttered.
“She’s right,” Jason said. “If someone wanted to get to her, the hotel’s probably the best place for him to try. Too many moving parts, too many access points.”
“It’s not like I’m alone in that hotel,” Della pointed out. “Greg’s there. Nobody’s going to try anything with him right next door.”
“This will require more than just one meat shield.” Romi somehow packed everything she thought about Della, her personal bodyguard, and the entire situation into a soft, derisive huff.
“Greg’s not a meat shield,” Della snapped. “Don’t talk about him like that. He’s my friend.”
“That is the problem,” Romi said. “He is so wrapped around your little thumb he will be no good for this.”
Romi turned to Piper. “We need someone who will tell her no, not yes.”
Piper nodded, looking thoughtful. “It’s not a bad idea to bring in extra help. At least until we get this sorted.”
Della started to protest, but Renic cut her off. “Greg’s good. Nobody’s saying he isn’t. He’d take a bullet for you, no question. But it can’t hurt to have some extra eyes on the problem. Question is, who?”
“I suggest you hire someone who specializes in close contact personal protection,” Romi said. “Someone with a background in investigation and strategic planning.”
“Do we know anyone like that?” Lizzie asked.
“I do.” Romi took out her phone and tapped on it. “His name is Donovan Ward. I am sending you his contact information now.”
“You trust him?” Mattie asked.
“If I needed personal protection, he is who I would call,” Romi said.
Della watched the ripple of decision and approval travel through the room.
“Hey. Hello.” Della waved her hand. "Still here.”
“Della,” Renic said. “Guys like this don’t usually stop at one letter. He’s escalating. We’re not going to ignore this.”
“His next target might be one of your sisters,” Romi said. “You must think of someone other than yourself.”