Her smile slowly faded. “I’ve given a lot of thought to your life, Ranger Vance. Please take care of yourself.” The throb in her voice resonated inside him. “It’s almost ten o’clock. Unless you need me for anything, I’m going to go upstairs.”
He reached for her phone and handed it to her. “You can have this back. Forensics got what they needed from it, but they still have your laptop. I’ve removed all the messages.”
She gripped it. “Did they find a voice match?”
“Yes.”
“A Texan accent?”
“No. The stalker sounds like certain people who live in either Virginia Beach or Charleston, South Carolina.”
Kellie’s surprise over the news caused her to groan. “Charleston was the place where he killed one of his victims.”
“Listen to me, Kellie. If I have anything to do with it, there won’t be any more.”
She nodded. “As I told my mother earlier today, I believe in you. Now I’m going to call some of my friends who left messages with my mom.”
“After you do that, turn the ringer off. If the stalker intends on calling you tonight, I don’t want you bothered by him. You need sleep.”
A pained expression broke out on her face. “What are you going to do?”
“Coordinate with my backup crew.”
She slid him an anxious glance. “You think something might happen tonight?”
He watched a nerve throbbing at the base of her throat. Cy was determined to make her fear go away. “If not tonight, perhaps tomorrow night or the next. Either way we’ll be ready.”
“Then I’ll say good-night.”
“If you need me, phone me. But by no means come downstairs until I let you know it’s all right.”
“Okay.” She held his gaze for a moment longer before she went upstairs. Soon after, Cy’s phone rang. It was Vic.
“I’m walking down the alley to the garage.”
“I’ll open it.”
“Did you know the boss has supplied extra backup?”
“He told me.”
“Chris and Jose will be in a taxi in the alley. Lyle and the rest of the crew are in place.”
“Good. We’re set. This is the window of time the stalker has been waiting for. I’m counting on his making a move any night this week. Next week he knows she’ll be leaving for Colorado. If he thinks she could be married, he’s got to find out and get rid of her husband before he takes her off someplace and strangles her. He’ll need his brother.”
“Yup.”
“See you in a minute.”
Cy hung up and went out to the garage. He lifted the door partway. In less than a minute, Vic came crouching in before Cy lowered it. They both walked through the garage and kitchen to the living room.
“Has Kellie gone to bed?”
“As far as I know.”
“How’s she handling it?”
“The woman is tough. I’m beginning to understand why she’s such a fierce competitor in the arena. That’s the only reason this setup is working.”