Page 17 of K-9 Prime Target

She ended the call and pocketed her phone.

“Doug and Marlena are dating?” Liam asked.

“Worst kept secret at SkyCrest,” she said. “Anyway, let’s get over there. I’ll sit in Doug’s office all morning if I have to, but I’m not leaving until I’ve impressed upon him that he has a big problem on his hands.”

Chapter Five

Liam kept darting glances at Nina as they walked toward SkyCrest’s corporate offices. She moved quickly, back straight and jaw set. The dogs scampered ahead of them, but Sky kept glancing back at her mistress, her soft brown eyes clearly concerned. He could only imagine the turmoil going on inside Nina, but he could admit he was relieved to see her marshaling her fear into anger. It made sense—a person didn’t get to the top of a field like alpine ski racing without having nerves of steel and more than the average amount of bravery.

Kristie rose from behind her desk as they entered Doug’s outer office. “Ms. Rose, Ms. Jarvis said to tell you Mr. Elam is on his way.”

“Thank you.” Nina headed for the door.

Kristie intercepted her. “Ms. Jarvis is in Mr. Elam’s office and she isn’t very happy with you,” she whispered.

“Too bad for her,” Nina said, and reached past Kristie to open the door.

Marlena sat behind Doug’s desk, gazing out the window to the plaza below. She swiveled the chair toward them as they entered. “Doug works himself to a frazzle overseeing this resort. You have no right to interrupt the one day he tries to take off.”

Nina said nothing, but settled into one of the chairs in front of the desk. Liam took the other, while the dogs roamed the room, sniffing. Marlena eyed the canines. “I don’t believe dogs are allowed in these offices,” she said.

“Sky is a resort employee, just like me,” Nina said.

“Angel is my assistant,” Liam said.

Marlena shook her head and returned to looking out the window. The silence stretched. Nina sat still and composed, while Liam fought the urge to fidget.

Voices in the outer office alerted them to Doug’s arrival. Marlena stood and moved from behind the desk as he entered. The resort director was dressed casually, in baggy jeans and a University of Colorado hoodie, and appeared calm. “Nina, are you all right?” he asked. “Marlena said something about an encounter with your stalker? What happened?” To Liam’s ears, his concern sounded genuine.

“I’m fine for now,” Nina said. “Someone—I’m sure it was Aaron Nicholson, the man who stalked me before—left a note on my front door yesterday afternoon, and another on my mailbox this morning.”

Doug sat and pulled his chair closer to the desk. “He threatened you in writing? And you’re sure it’s him?”

She took out a slip of paper and passed it across the desk. “This is the second one. I gave the first one to a sheriff’s deputy. Both notes addressed me as ‘darling.’ That’s something Nicholson always did.”

Doug frowned at the note. “And the first one was like this?”

“Similar. It said hello, he was glad to see me again.”

Marlena leaned over Doug’s shoulder and studied the note. “That’s not a threat. Neither is saying hello. And there’s no name on here. This could have been left by anyone. A friend.”

“This is the same kind of note Nicholson left when he stalked—and kidnapped and attacked—me before.” Nina’s voice was even, but Liam sensed the strain of holding her emotions in check. “The words themselves aren’t threatening, but the fact that they were written by someone I don’t know, who presumes a closeness that doesn’t exist and then invades my personal space to leave these notes, is very definitely a threat.” She took a deep breath. “And if he isn’t stopped now, he will escalate. He’s done it before.”

Doug slid the note back to her. “I’m not sure what you expect us to do.”

“I need you to put this publicity campaign on hold until Nicholson is dealt with,” Nina said.

“We can’t do that,” Marlena said. “We’ve already spent thousands of dollars.”

“I’m not saying you need to cancel your plans,” Nina said. “Simply take down the banners and wait to launch the social media and print campaigns.”

“We’ve already paid for the space in magazines and online,” Marlena said. “And it cost thousands of dollars to hang all those banners and will cost thousands more to remove them. Not to mention they would be very difficult to store and reuse.”

“I don’t see how pausing the campaign is going to help,” Doug said. “This person already knows you’re here. And he apparently knows where you live, as well.”

The acknowledgment of this, said out loud, sent a cold shiver through Liam. Nina looked dismayed. “It might not stop him, but I think it would help. The more publicity I get, the more driven he is to…to have me. That’s according to the doctors who evaluated him before his trial.”

An awkward silence filled the room at this. Finally, Doug cleared his throat. “Have you spoken with the sheriff?” he asked.