waiting room, I must’ve scared Ciro and Shane, because they jumped off the couch, and Ciro immediately put himself in front of Shane, blocking him from any harm. And if that didn’t tell me what kind of man Ciro was, nothing would.
“Sorry,” I said. “I know who is doing this. But I don’t know.”
“That’s unbelievably helpful,” Ciro said sarcastically.
“I mean I know, but I can’t remember his name.”
“If he gave you a name, it could be fake. Anyway, who is it?” Ciro moved to the side, no longer blocking Shane.
“At the con, a guy asked me, if I were to make a playlist for someone, what songs would be on it? He came to my panel and my signing. Shane, the guy you said made you uncomfortable.”
Shane’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Oh, my God, Ledger! He wanted to make an appointment with you to come to his house and sign his equipment.”
“Yes, him. Please, baby, please tell me you remember his name.”
“Charles. His name was Charles.”
Ciro looked at Shane and me. “If he was at your panel and at your signing, it shouldn’t be too hard to find him. I’ll speak to the coordinators of the con and the hotel it was at. Hopefully there’s some footage. Let me see what I can find. If I can get anything, I’ll let you know and get you to ID him.”
“Ziggy would be able to tell you if it was the guy in the parking garage too,” Shane said.
“Yes.” I smiled. “Then we’d have the fucker, and this could finally end.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Ledger.” Ciro took out his phone and started texting. “Let me talk to Riordan. I’m sure we can find something. All the con guests also had to register. So I can see how many Charleses there are and try and match it with DMV records.”
“Is that legal?” Shane asked.
“Do you care?” Ciro answered with a smirk.
“Right, yeah, okay. I heard and know nothing.” Shane plopped on the couch, and I joined him while Ciro did his thing.
“Ziggy wants us to leave here. End this and come back for him when it’s over.”
Shane turned to face me. “What do you think?”
“I think I gotta do what he wants, because I’ve already done enough to him.”
“You didn’t do this to him, Ledger.” Shane placed a warm hand on my cheek. “Stop. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of others. I don’t think for a second Ziggy wants that, and while Trinity had her faults, I don’t think she wanted that either.”
Gently, I rested my forehead against his. “I know. It’s hard not to, though.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll just keep reminding you, then.”
“Hey, you two,” Ciro interrupted. “I’m going to call Detective Glass and fill him in.”
“Okay, and Ciro—tell him we’re going back to Haven Hart. If he needs to talk to us, that’s where we’ll be.”
Ciro narrowed his eyes at us. “Fine, but you’re staying at your place. No work. You’ll be under guard until we find this guy. Promise me that, and I’ll agree.”
Everyone should have a friend like Ciro. “Yes, Dad, okay, I promise.”
“Motherfucking brat.” Ciro stormed out of the waiting room, and I joined Shane in laughter.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Shane
As much as I complained about Haven Hart, I felt a pang of relief when I saw the Welcome to Haven Hart sign. The air was familiar—the sights I knew, even if I closed my eyes. The smells were like a home-sweet-home hug.
“Never thought I’d be happy to be back here,” Ledger said, echoing my thoughts.
“Yeah, same.”
I could see Riordan’s men following behind us, and it felt oddly comforting to know we weren’t alone in this. I guess the murky and shyster dealings of this town came in handy sometimes.
“Think your bodyguards will be okay with it if we stop at the diner and grab something to go? I doubt you have much at your place, since you’ve been gone for a few days.”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Ledger turned into the diner’s parking lot. When the car stopped we waited, knowing one of the guys would come to the car.
“What’s going on?” the guy asked when we opened the door.
“I don’t have stuff at my house, so I need to get food. I’ll make a grocery order and have it delivered, but I need something to hold me over.” Ledger started walking toward the diner, not waiting for a response.
This stalker was clearly unstable, but I found it hard to believe he’d attack us