Alex’s heart thudded a little harder. He listened for background noise. It didn’t sound like he was in the restaurant. It was too quiet. Romero swung the door open. Alex brought a finger to his lips.

“You must have a death wish, Bruce ‘cause I swear to God, you so much as—”

“Does Valerie know you’re having her tailed? I’m getting pretty good at timing his piss breaks.”

Romero stood next to Alex, hanging on every word. Alex motioned for him to get Hank on the phone. “What do you want, Bruce?”

“Oh, I think you know what I want.”

Angel walked into the office.

“You’re f**king crazy.” Though his words were harsh, his voice remained calm. He’d die before letting this idiot know his mind games were working. “That’ll never happen, Bruce.”

Alex had both Romero and Angel’s full attention now. He covered the receiver, “Ask Hank where the girls are exactly. This f**ker is watching them.”

Angel’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s Hank? What girls-”

Both Romero and Alex shushed him.

“Valerie,” Alex mouthed.

Alex could almost pin-point the moment it hit his brother. His eyes opened wide. “She’s with Sarah and Sof.” He whispered.

“And Izzy,” Romero added with a frown.

Alex had missed most of Bruce’s crazy rant. None of it made sense anyway.

“… mine!! She was meant for me, you ungrateful stupid bastard!”

The blood scorched through Alex’s veins like fire. Bruce sounded like a raving mad man. “That’s where you’re wrong Bruce.” He said calmly. “Valerie’s always been mine.”

Bruce cackled even louder this time. “Is that so? So, even when Luke was f**king her she was yours?”

No way would Alex let this guy rile him. He took a long deep breath, glancing at Angel who was standing arms crossed waiting anxiously to hear the next words out of Alex’s mouth. “Listen here, Bruce—”

“No you listen!” He was screaming now. “If you think you can stop me, you’re stupider than I thought. You keep trying, and I’ll make you sorry!” He stopped screaming and started laughing, this time in a low droll. “I didn’t realize you had such a pretty sister, Alex. And wouldn’t your brother be sorry if he had to cancel his wedding?” He paused for a moment then added, “Valerie looks beautiful tonight. I’ll be sure to tell her.”

Alex’s calm vanished. He spoke through his gritted teeth careful not to let out the rage that built so quickly. “I’ll kill you.”

The line clicked and the line went dead. “He hung up.” Alex slammed the receiver down.

“What the hell is going on, Alex? Who’s watching them?” Angel looked as alarmed as Alex felt.

He didn’t have time for long explanations. “Valerie has a stalker.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” Angel’s eye were ablaze. Alex couldn’t say he blamed him. Up until now he felt pretty safe with Hank watching them.

He tried sounding confident. “Relax, I have someone on them. They’re being watched, but you can’t tell Sarah.”

“Why not?”

“Because Valerie doesn’t know.”

Romero still spoke to Hank, filling him in on the phone call.

“Tell him Bruce knows he’s watching Valerie.”

The door flung open. Alex heard glass crash. The waitres’s frightened eyes met his. “They’re fighting!”

Alex cursed under his breath and charged out of the office with Angel and Romero close behind. He turned to Romero who still held his phone to his ear. “Tell him not to take his eyes off of them for a second. I don’t care if he pisses his pants!” He’d reached his boiling point now. He turned back to Romero again. “Make sure you tell him I said that.”

The fight was under control when they got there, but it left the entire bar area a mess. Romero’s guys escorted two big guys out. Sal held back a smaller guy with a bloody nose and a fat lip. Apparently, he wasn’t the trouble maker, but still yelled obscenities at the guys being escorted out.

Alex had seen this a million times. The guy was obviously putting up a Mr. Tough Guy act for his startled girlfriend to make up for the fact he’d gotten his ass kicked. Well, he was in no mood for it. He had other customers to think of.

Alex got right in little man’s face, still reeling from his conversation with Bruce. He spoke just loud enough for the guy to hear him. “Calm the f**k down, or I’ll throw you out there with those two and let you settle things on your own.”

The guy stared at him but didn’t say a word. Alex took in the sight around him. It would be hours before they could get the place back in order. I’m getting real good at timing his piss breaks. Damn it, the wheels spun in his head.

Sarah and Sofie met Isabel and Valerie at Isabel’s apartment earlier that evening. They’d all driven in one car to the restaurant and were supposed to head back to the apartment after dinner for drinks. Valerie told him they’d play it by ear. Depending on how the night went, they’d either drive home tonight or spend the night if they didn’t feel well enough to drive. Alex’s money was on the latter. The wedding wasn’t until three in the afternoon tomorrow, so they’d have plenty of time to get home and get ready the next morning.

Of course, Alex had offered to pick Valerie up but she said if the girls all stayed, she would too. If that was the case, Romero would have to put someone else on the nightshift, someone unfamiliar with the case. That didn’t sit well with Alex. He could only hope Valerie decided to go home tonight. The notion of not having her in his bed all night wasn’t a welcome one either. He’d made it a point several times to tell her that would never happen again. Here just two weeks into it, the possibility of it happening was already upon him.