Chapter Fourteen
Emma looked aroundthe backyard where her family had lived for decades.She would always remember the day she and her father planted the rosebush for her mother, or when her brother and mother played with her in the sprinkler.She laughed when she remembered how her mother had shrieked when the cold water hit her skin.God, she missed them so much, and it never seemed to lessen, but she learned how to live with the grief.
She knew the house she grew up in would always be home, but she was going to make a new home with Damon once the house he bought was livable enough for them to move into.Fortunately, her brother was helping with the construction to make it go faster.She would never get a chance to miss her childhood home, because she could always come back.Her brother was going to keep the family home.
She worked at home because the bastard stalker was still on the loose, and Damon and Trent liked the idea of her in a safe, locked house with a top-of-the-line security system they had installed.They also made it a point to stay home with her.She wished she could have told them they were getting out of hand or overreacting, but she had to admit she felt safer with their precautions.
She was pulling the weeds in the flower garden when the back slider opened and closed.She expected the guys to say something and turned when she heard nothing.
Emma immediately scowled when she saw Marley and felt instantly resentful.
She stood and faced her.“What the hell do you want?”
Marley smirked.“I just came to see how you were doing?”
Emma almost snorted.“Yeah, right.”
“So, how are things working out for you here?”Marley looked around the backyard and frowned.
Emma had no idea what the woman was talking about and didn’t care.“What do you want, Marley?”
“Oh, I heard you still had a stalker.”
Emma’s eyebrows rose.Why had this woman brought it up again?
“Now, where did you hear that?”
Marley grinned.“Oh, a little birdy told me.”
“So, you’re dating a cop?”Emma asked.She wanted to know who it was so Damon could deal with him.The cops in town were usually good about not gossiping and staying out of people’s business unless it was unlawful in some way.
Marley snorted.“No.None of them makes enough money for me.”
“Then how do you know so much?”
The smirk on the other woman’s face made Emma’s back stiffen when things started to connect in Emma’s mind.The stalking had started shortly after Trent started dating Marley.The women had hated each other from the very beginning.Emma disliked Marley because she knew deep down, she was a conniving slut.Marley despised her because she could ruin her plans with her brother.It also explained how she knew about it at the beginning when Emma hadn’t told anyone except the police.“You’re the stalker that’s been bugging me?”she murmured.
Marley scowled.“Oh, I think it’s more than bugging.It could be dangerous.”She giggled.“Admit it, you were terrified.”
Emma’s mouth dropped open.“Jesus.Itwasyou all along.”
Marley looked surprised and then a bit smug.“Now, why do you think it was me?”
“Because it started when my brother started fucking you.You knew I saw you for the whore you are, and you didn’t want me around to mess things up for you.Don’t you think you went a bit far?”
Marley laughed.“Hell, no.I enjoyed seeing you scared.Poor baby.Locking yourself in your apartment like a little mouse.”
Emma snorted and took a few steps toward the woman.She tried to control the blinding fury of letting this slut control her life for months.“So, you think you’re pretty smart?”
Marley smiled.“Yes.”
“What about when I press charges and get you arrested?”
Marley looked surprised.“They won’t do anything.”
“You stalked me.That’s a crime.”