Stalker

Sam could hear her heart pounding as she searched the aisles. What was she thinking? If someone had done what she did, she would have called them stupid.

People were glaring at her as she bumped through them and their carts. Sam would give a hasty apology and walk on.

Several minutes had passed, and it seemed she had been going around in a circle. She hadn't seen Desmond or either of the twins. She prayed they were safe. She would never forgive herself if something happened to them.

What will they say to Claire when she comes to pick them up? What would they tell Timothy? A streak of tears ran across her cheek.

She suddenly bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry." She apologized hastily and walked on, but the woman kept watching her.

Jessica had come to get some toys when she saw the girl walking through the mall like a crazy woman.

"Isn't that Samantha? Diane's sister?" She asked herself.

The girl looked very much like Samantha, but Samantha was skinnier, but the resemblance was too striking to ignore. Maybe the girl finally found a place where her stomach was kept full. Jessica left her cart and sneaked after her.

Sam got to the counter again. She had been there earlier, but the girls didn't pay her much attention, so she didn't bother to speak to them.

"Ma'am!"

She turned at the voice to see the girls at the counter smiling at her. These girls had ignored her some minutes ago when she'd asked her about the twins. Why were they suddenly giving her smiles now? She went to them.

"Forgive us, ma'am," One of the girls apologized. "We didn't know you were from the Landon family. You must be Claire, right?"

Sam felt like puking at the patronizing smile on the girl's face. Just a moment ago, she had snapped at her to go to the police. Such fickle people.

"Have you seen Desmond?"

"I told you it was him." Another girl told the first excitedly.

"He is in the security room with those two lovely kids." The first girl said nicely.

"He found the twins," Sam asked hopefully.

"Yes, he is looking for you now. You can stay here with us. I'm sure they've seen you already, so they won't miss you again."

She was making sense, but Sam dreaded sharing space with those leeches. She was just about to experience just how dreadful it was.

"Mr. Landon is so cute." The second girl gushed, and the first and third girls smiled in agreement.

"I heard he used to hunt down criminals in Japan. Such a brave man," the third girl said.

Where are you, Desmond?

"Are those his children?" A girl asked. Sam nodded, not paying attention anymore to what she said.

"But I never heard about a wife. Could he have gotten them from a baby mama?"

Sam nodded absent-mindedly. The girls squealed.

"You still have a chance."

"Hurry, Miss Claire! Put his number in here. Please..."

When the phone was extended to her face, Sam looked at her in surprise.

"Can you please put in your brother's number so we can call him?" The second girl said.

What! They must be joking.

"You want me to give you Desmond's number?" She repeated, mimicking the first girl's tone.

The girls nodded. Sam wore a regretful face.

"Seriously, I would have loved to give you his number, but I'm not sure Desmond is into low-class ladies."

The smiles on their faces evaporated.

"We don't want our dear Desmond getting angry with me when he starts getting a bunch of rats ringing his phone, do we?"

The girl had a mix of humiliation and surprise. Who said Claire was easy-going?

She spun around with the intent of doing a catwalk but suddenly crashed into someone.

Desmond! Shit!

Sam's face heated up. Did he hear her conversation with the girls?

"Let's go," he said and led the way out of the store.

The first girl groaned.

"If I had known, I'd have treated her better," she said. "Now I've lost an opportunity."

Hiding behind a shelf, Jessica managed to take a shot of Sam and the rest with her phone camera before they left.

* * * * *

After the twins were forced to put the bags in the trunk, they headed back home. Desmond had decided to end the trip. The twins must have noticed his foul mode because they didn't protest.

When they got home, the nanny was at the front door waiting. She opened one of the back doors, and the twins rushed out eagerly.

Desmond came around and opened the trunk.

"Look how full our shopping bags are, Lora," Paco told their nanny, who smiled and nodded as she took the two bags out, allowing Desmond to close the trunk.

"Come inside and have lunch, then nap," Lora told them and led them inside.

Sam hurriedly stopped Desmond from passing by moving in his way.

"Mr. Desmond. I'm very sorry about what happened at the store."

"Don't be stupid next time. Excuse me." She moved aside to let him through into the house. She couldn't tell if he was still angry or just being snubbed as usual.

Unknown to her, Desmond wasn't worried about the children's safety; he was more concerned about them creating a mess and making him go through the embarrassment of being seen as a parent of spoiled kids.

He had found the twins together, contrary to what Sam had told him. They were arguing about a car, and both of them claimed to have seen it first. Scattered about the ground around them were different toys.

Desmond had looked around to make sure nobody saw. Luckily, they were the only ones in that section.

He went ahead and interrupted their argument by grabbing the car and putting it way too high on the shelf. In the end, they both lost them and had to be content with the ones they got. Moreover, not many kids go shopping for toys almost every weekend. They should be grateful.

After lunch, the twins went to bed. Desmond had retired earlier before they finished lunch after he got a text. Sam retired too. The day had been so tiring.

When she entered the bedroom, Desmond was not there, but she was too tired to think of anything. As she climbed onto the bed, she saw his phone lying there with the screen on. She knew it was wrong to go through people's phones without their permission, but the picture on the screen made her curious.

In the end, her curiosity won. She picked up the phone. There's a picture of a young man on the screen. It appeared Desmond was chatting with someone. When she scrolled further, she saw several pictures of the teenage boy. Eating in a school cafeteria, on a basketball court, in mid-air, throwing a ball in the net.

The photos came in a sequence. It looked like a normal teenager's daily routine. School, sports, and a walk in the evening meant this boy was being stalked. Since Desmond had been around since they came, it meant he was paying someone to spy on the boy. But why?

She could only come forth with one reason. Claire. She had noticed the look Eric and Desmond had shared the previous day. She knew then that they weren't going to let the issue slide. This boy could be the boyfriend Kira was talking about.

She suddenly heard the bathroom door open and quickly dumped the phone to the side and pretended to sleep.

She heard him walk to the bed and flop almost in the middle. This man for a while, everything was quiet.

"You can't be asleep yet, Samantha. You were going through my phone a second ago."

She heard Desmond's deep, relaxed voice. How did he know? Was he peeking at her from the bathroom? Did he have cameras in the bedroom?

She couldn't help but sneak an eye open to check. None that she could see. She looked beside her at Desmond. He was lying on his back, shirtless and scrolling through his phone. all those times she used to see him on the phone. Was he always stalking teenagers?

"What are you going to do to Claire's boyfriend?" The question left her lips before she could stop it.

Desmond turned and looked at her with a cocked brow.

"Mind your business." He went back to his phone.

"Don't hurt him…" She pleaded quietly. "Please?"

Desmond turned and smirked at her. Wasn't she so adorable? She didn't know the boy, but right then, it looked like she was about to shed tears.

"Don't worry, Samantha. We'll only scare the kid." He assured her mockingly.

"'Scare the kid.' What does that mean?"

"What...."

"Don't bother me!" Desmond snapped, making her swallow her words.

For the rest of the afternoon, they both lay there. Neither slept a blink. While Desmond was busy on his phone, Sam was busy imagining what he was discussing with the person at the end of the line.

They might be planning to poison his food in the cafeteria, hire a hit man to shoot him in the court or wait for him to take the dog out so they could grab him, bundle him into a car trunk, then take him to a cliff and throw him over it. Sam broke a cold sweat at the thought.

"Stop staring at me and go to sleep." He had been feeling her eyes on him.

Sam itched to talk about the boy again, but she couldn't muster the courage to. So, she just lay there till she eventually fell asleep.

When he started hearing gentle breathing, Desmond turned and looked at her. He put the phone aside and turned on his side to face her, his elbow supporting his head.

She was lying on her back but her face was turned towards him. He thought she was beautiful. Her skin looked very delicate and her pink lips were plump and almost red. He caught himself fantasizing about tasting them.

What am I doing? He thought. But Desmond wasn't one to hold himself back from his desires. The women were far too eager to have him to keep themselves away from him.

He did not doubt that Sam found him attractive. He could have taken her if he wanted, but she was too innocent. Each time he thought about doing something nasty with her, he felt like a pedophile.

The phone suddenly rang. Desmond picked up immediately and glanced at Sam to make sure she was still sleeping. He said, after listening to the person on the other end,

"Make sure he doesn't escape. We'll deal with him tomorrow."

Then he cut the call. Things were moving smoothly. Terry and Gord never disappointed him.

As he set the phone aside, he felt a slight weight on his chest. When he looked beside him Sam was dangerously close, her face slightly tilted up at him. Her eyes stayed closed, with her lashes resting over her smooth cheeks. Her lips were in a sleepy pout and she had an arm on his chest.

Gosh! If he hadn't known Sam, he would have thought she was intentionally seducing him, but knowing she wasn't didn't stop his blood from sizzling.

He was due. He needed to get laid as soon as possible before he messed up. He wouldn't want to risk engaging in any affairs with Sam and complicating their relationship.

He gently peeled her arm off his chest, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom to take care of the problem.

He left the room afterward to check on the kids. When he opened their door, he stepped on a toy car and almost fell.

Toys were scattered everywhere. The children, too, were all over the place. Kira was laying flat on her back among a group of dolls. Paco was sitting and leaning his back against the wall. His eyes were closed and his head hung sideways.

Unlike Kira's pose, Paco's pose gave away immediately that he was pretending to sleep.

"Nice try. Now get on the bed, kid." Paco opened his eyes and groaned.

"What gave it away?" He grumbled.

"You aren't that smart," Desmond said.

He looked at Kira to see that she was still in her position.

"Go tickle your sister." He instructed Paco quietly.

The boy complied with a mischievous smile. Soon, Kira was up and shrieking with laughter and screaming for help as she rolled about the floor.

"That's enough, buddy. Now go to bed."

"No..." Kira whined.

Before Desmond could say anything, the door opened and Laura entered. She looked around the floor in dismay before she noticed Desmond. She bowed in greeting.

"Good day, master."

"What is it?"

"Dinner is ready."

The twins squealed and jumped up and down. No one could force them to sleep again. After dinner, they would play as much as they wanted.