He scrolled through her Instagram taking time to inspect each picture. The account was only eight months old but held almost every photo he could have wanted. Pictures of her and her family showed who was the biggest obstacle in his relationship with her. Pictures of her work gave him an idea of when her shifts were. Her favourite flowers, chocolates, books, TV series, dates she had with her now fiancé, the activities she did with her daughter and her recent engagement. Everything about the last year of her life was laid out for him. 

His mouth twisted into a smirk as he looked at a photo that showed her at the beach. The picture was taken from the side by her fiancé his shadow looming on the sand. Milinda was standing in the water bending over so that her fingers were grazing a new wave that had just rolled in. She was smiling and completely unaware of the picture being taken. All of the other women were pretty with one or two falling into the category of beautiful, but Milinda... she was angelic. Her flowing red hair that reminded him of fire and her eyes as green as the forests were enough to draw any man in. He was lucky to have found her and he couldn't wait to have her all to himself.

His phone buzzed in his hands and he rolled his eyes as the message from his boss appeared at the top of his screen.

Boss: Are you going to come into work at any point or should I start looking for another guy to replace you?

He sighed and quickly typed a response and as soon as he hit send he jumped off of his bed to start getting ready for work. Phone in hand he looked down at the picture of her at the beach.

"I'll see you later, darling," he whispered before grabbing his work bag and heading out the door.

* * * *

Milinda looked down at her phone scrolling through the several messages she had been sent over the weekend. The weekend that was supposed to be spent celebrating her engagement was instead spent locked in the apartment jumping in between keeping Kylie occupied and reading the new messages. She sighed and wiped her hand down her face as she read the recent message for the hundredth since it had come in the previous night.

Casanova: I never thought that angels were real until the day I laid eyes on you, my darling. I've always wondered what heaven must feel like, will you show me?

The door to her bedroom was slowly opened and Shawn walked in eventually making his way to the bed where Milinda was still sitting under the covers. Her pyjamas held stains from the coffee she had drunk earlier, her eyes had bags under them and her hair was a total mess. She looked like a ghost, and it was driving Shawn crazy. 

"Are you okay?" Shawn asked standing next to her side of the bed.

Milinda shook her head her eyes still trained on the words on her phone. Shawn sighed and looked at the screen. He too had read the messages hundreds of times along with Camila and Detective Fisher each one making him sicker than the other. He hated that she had to go through all of this. Wasn't last year and the events it brought upon her enough? Clearly not. Obviously the universe thought she hadn't suffered enough.

Releasing another sigh Shawn sat on the bed beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders pulling her close. Milinda wanted to push him away and keep looking at the message but she was exhausted. Receiving messages left and right all weekend left her unable to sleep so the second her body touched Shawn's her exhaustion took over and she dropped her phone and slumped against him. Tears began trickling down her face hitting Shawn's jacket blending into the dark material.

"I can't keep up with this," Milinda sobbed. "It's barely been a week and I'm already going insane."

Shawn pulled her as close as he could and kissed her face in a futile attempt to comfort her. He knew it wouldn't work but he had to try. he loved her too much to sit back and do nothing to try and ease her pain.

"Camila and Detective Fisher have been working non-stop all weekend and today the three of us are going to hit this case with everything we've got. We will not stop until this man is in handcuffs."

"And what if I'm dead before that happens?" She looked up at Shawn eyes red and puffy. "What happens if this man gets me? What will happen to Kylie?"

Shawn shook his head as the vile images of the other victims danced around his mind. Naked women laying between garbage their bodies black and blue from the torture they endured. The marks on their necks from his hands and the fear frozen in their eyes. He would die before he let anything like that happen to Milinda. He refused to let her become another statistic or a notch on this man's murderous belt.

"Milinda, this man will never get to you; I will never let that happen."

Milinda shook her head and scoffed. "I'm sure that's what all their husbands used to say and now they are all dead too."

"Milinda-"

"Mommy!" Kylie called out from her room.

As Shawn tried to reach out Milinda leapt out of bed and rushed out of the room. He knew she was right, every single one of the victim's husbands had said similar things. They had all promised to keep their loved ones safe and in the end, they just became victims too. They were seen as nothing more than an obstacle and Shawn had been trying everything he could to banish that from his mind. Trying to forget the fact that when the month is up and this man comes for Milinda he will have his murderous eyes set on him as well. Perhaps this time would be different. Oh, who was he kidding Rebecca Benson's husband was a boxer, he had trained to fight his entire life but his fists couldn't stop this man. Anne Simms her husband was such a gun fanatic that the officers on the scene lost track of how many weapons the man held in his home and still he was unable to protect his family. All of the men fought and none of them won so what chance did Shawn have?

The sudden buzzing from his phone snapped Shawn was his horrid thoughts. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the new message.

Camila: Are you going to grace us with your presence at any moment?

Camila: Please get here soon this woman is driving me crazy.

As soon as he gathered everything he would need Shawn ran to the front door. "I'll see you both later!" he called out to the girls before leaving.

As Shawn pushed through the stained doors of the station and was met by the buzzing of his fellow officers around him the familiar joy that came with arriving at work didn't appear. Instead he was filled with the intense feeling of dread and much to his surprise fear. As he stood frozen looking out at the officers walking around some holding files others drinking coffee or eating a doughnut he realized that he had never been so envious of other people's lives. As a kid, he always wished that his life was different. He wished he had a mother and a father who didn't spend his days drinking and nights beating his sons. He wished he could be a child and not have to raise his brother and then he wished that he still had a brother. He wanted a normal life and now that he had finally gotten one he was once again finding himself wishing for other things. Cases that he wasn't personally involved in, being able to sleep peacefully at night and most of all being a properly engaged couple with Milinda and start planning their wedding.

Camila emerged from the break room her face covered in powdered sugar along with her hands. A wide smile broke out on her lips and her sigh echoed through the entrance room as she laid eyes on Shawn.

She ran to him wiping the powdered sugar off her face in the process. "Oh thank God you're here I swear I was this close to jumping off the roof," she chuckled as she looped her arm with Shawn's, and they started walking up to their desks.

"Oh come on she can't be that bad," he said.

Camila snorted back a laugh. "Yes she is, and you know it. I swear I feel like I'm working with the daughter of Satan."

Shawn shrugs, "Yeah, I suppose she can get intense at times, but you'll get used to it... sort of."

Camila cries and throws her head back. "I don't to get used to it I just want her to go back to her station and you and I work this case. I mean Milinda is our friend... well, my friend and your fiancé so we'll be more inclined to get this case perfect. All she's been doing all weekend is moving into her new desk and setting up our... conference room I guess you could call it. She's annoying and demanding, and I can't stand it," she whines like a child, and Shawn can't help but laugh.

He knew that everything Camila was saying about Detective Fisher was right. She could be annoying everyone including him felt that way during their time at the academy and during their time as partners and most of all she could be demanding. Shawn pulled Camila to the side of the passageway and forced her to look up at him.

"Listen, I know she can be difficult to work with trust me I know. But, she knows this case better than any of us. I may have worked with her in one of these cases but she has been researching these cases since we were in the academy and after that. When we worked on the Elanor Rice case she knew more about the previous cases than every other officer that was helping us. She is the closest thing to an expert we are going to get. So, you and I are going to go up there and we are going to work with her to catch this bastard, okay?"

Camila looked up at her partner and reluctantly nodded. "Fine, but I want to warn you that if I start to get annoyed I will use you as a human shield or I swear I will kill her."

Shawn chuckled, "I'll do the best I can to make sure you don't land up in prison for murder."

Camila throws her hands in the air as she starts walking backwards, "That's all I ask."

* * * *

Milinda sat quietly at the back of the police car gazing out the window as her new escorts drove her to work. The radio played softly in the background and the officers too tired to talk also sat silently in their seats. Milinda was supposed to get a lift with Shawn like they had discussed but after his haste exit he had at least arranged the officers who had stood outside her apartment all night to take her to Bella's before their shift change. After the slow drive down the semi-packed streets they arrived at the quiet café.

"Thank you," Milinda mumbled to the men in the front of the car.

"You're welcome, we'll see you tomorrow morning," the officer in the diver's seat said with a small smile.

Milinda smiled at the other officer who offered a curt nod in response. The car waited until she was in the café before driving away and not long after they had left Bella walked over to her and wrapped her arms around Milinda's tired body.

"How are you doing, honey?" she asks refusing to let Milinda go.

"I could be better."

The women pulled apart and looked at each other. They didn't know if it was nerves or the sheer disbelief of what was going on but they burst out laughing. Their stomachs felt like they were being twisted into knots and tears were streaming down their cheeks. As their laughter died down they pulled up some chairs and sat down breathing rapidly.

"I'm sorry I'm bringing this around you again," Milinda sighed.

Bella reached over the table and grabbed Milinda's hand cradling it. "Don't be it's not like you're doing this on purpose. And if you need to take time off again like last year then that's okay too."

Milinda furiously shook her head. "No, I can't go into hiding like that again it was driving me crazy. And I can't force you to keep my job open for me if I take off like that again."

"It's not a big deal, Milinda. You are by far one of the best employees I've ever had and dare I say it but you've become such a good friend to me. You work your ass off which is more than I can say about some of the people that have walked through here in the past." Milinda couldn't keep her smile away nor could she hold back the chuckle that was resting behind her lips. "Listen to me, I will happily keep you on while this whole thing plays out even if you have to leave again for a while."

"And who exactly is supposed to help you out if I go away? You looked like a ghost when I got back after the last time because of the work load."

Bella smiled and leaned back in her seat. "I'm so glad you brought that up. Remember when I talked about hiring another assistant manager to look after the second store I'm hoping to open this upcoming year?" Milinda nodded. "Well, I think I've found someone. His name is Noel Lawson and he's almost perfect."

Milinda's brows furrowed and her head tilted to the side. "Almost perfect?"

"He's still a barista and has never held a management position before. Apparently, he was in the running for management in his last establishment but they had to shut down before he could go through any sort of training."

Milinda nodded, "I think I see where this is going."

"I met with him over the weekend, and he's coming here today for his first shift, and I want you to train him."

Milinda leaned back in her seat and shook her head. "Not to use my situation as an excuse or anything but do you think this is a good time to do this?"

"Consider it a distraction," she said with a shrug.

Milinda dropped her gaze to the floor. "I don't know."

Bella moved her chair over so that she was sitting next to Milinda and rested her hand on her back. "I know you're hesitant but I think this could be good for you. I'm going to be opening a second café and I need someone running that place when I can't be there. I need to trust them and feel confident that they are up to the job. You are the best person to train this man I know that for a fact. So, will you please do this for me?"

Milinda kept her gaze locked on the floor as she thought over the offer. Training someone would be a good distraction to help her get through the hell scape that was her life but what about the risks? What about the possibility that he could be her stalker?

Milinda looked up at Bella. "Fine, but I'm going to have Shawn run his information just in case."

Bella smiled. "Do whatever makes you feel comfortable."

"When will he get here?" Milinda asked.

A knock on the café door startled the women, and they turned to see a man standing on the sidewalk waving at them.

"Right now," Bella said. Bella hastily walked over to the door and opened it allowing Noel to enter the store. "Thank you for coming."

Noel turned to Bella with his lips curled into a wide smile showing off his pearly white teeth. "I should be the one thanking you. I thought it would be years before I got another opportunity to become a manager." He turned his attention toward Milinda. "I'm guessing you're Milinda," he said to her.

Milinda stood up and walked over to him reaching out to shake his hand which he quickly accepted.

"Yes I am and you must be Noel it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too and thank you for agreeing to train me." He turned to Bella and whispered, "She did agree to train me, right?"

Bella chuckled and nodded. "Yes, she did. Now I am going to get back to my office there is a mountain of paperwork waiting for me. Milinda, you can start showing him around and inform him of some of the basic operations around here."

"Of course."

Milinda and Noel stood in silence as they watched Bella retreat to her office shutting the door behind her. Milinda turned to look up at Noel noting the excitement shining in his dark brown eyes.

"Okay, let's get started. We can start in the back room and I'll show you where you can keep your bag," she said pointing to the bag that was slung over his shoulder.

"Lead the way."

* * * *

The conference room stood dead silent as the three detectives lounged around waiting. Detective Fisher paced back and forth sighing and shaking her head, Camila was leaning as far back into her seat as it could go tossing a ball of paper into the air and catching it, and Shawn was sitting in front of the large whiteboard that was fastened onto the wall that held all the pictures of the victims as well as every suspect that had been mentioned dating back to 2005 when the first victim was killed.

Camila once again threw the ball of paper into the air but this time as it came down Detective Fisher caught it and threw it in the nearby bin.

"Seriously," Camila sighed.

"When is this guy going to get here?" Detective Fisher snapped.

With his focus still on the board Shawn replied, "He should be here soon."

Detective Fisher sighed and her hands gripped the back of the nearby seat so hard her knuckles were turning white. "You've been saying that for almost an hour now, and he's still not here. Does he even know how time-sensitive this case is?"

"Yes, he does," a deep voice echoed from the now-open doorway.

The three detectives turned to see Sam leaning against the doorframe his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes starting daggers at Detective Fisher.

"Sam, always nice to see you again I wish it was under different circumstances," Shawn said as he walked closer so that he could shake Sam's hand.

"Same here," Sam said. Sam turned back to Detective Fisher. "I'm sorry for getting here so late but I just got some new information on a case I've been working on for a few months."

"And you couldn't have sent someone else to take the information?" Detective Fisher asked her arms crossed over her chest and her head tilted to the side.

Sam smiled at Shawn and Camila before walking closer to the other detective and reaching out his hand. "Forgive me for not introducing myself, Detective Fisher. Detective Sam Munch missing person's." At the mention of missing person's Detective Fisher dropped her arms and nervously shook his hand. "So, I'm sure you can imagine that any time I receive new information about one of my cases and I have to follow up on it myself in case it turns out to be the real thing."

"Was it?" Camila asked.

Sam shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I'm still certain that this man is a runaway but his parents won't give up. Anyway, Conan what do you need me for because I highly doubt it's to give me a wedding invite... unless I am getting one."

Shawn pressed his lips together. "I'm afraid not. We haven't really been doing much wedding planning with everything that's going on."

Sam slowly nodded. "I heard a rumour that Casanova was back and that Milinda is his next chosen victim. I'm sorry, man."

"So you can see why we need to catch him soon and why this case is so time sensitive," Detective Fisher said.

Sam nodded and moved past everyone to get to the board. "I'm guessing you want me to give an analysis on this man?"

"Of course, after all, you were right about Milinda's stalker last year," Camila said.

The trio watched as Sam looked at each picture and read through some of the files that were on the table.

"So he did this to help you guys last year?" Detective Fisher whispered to Camila and Shawn.

Camila nodded. "He's worked a couple stalker cases as well and has some amazing instincts when it comes to these guys. He gave us a profile that matched Grayson perfectly so I have no doubt he'll do it again."

Detective Fisher shook her head, "Poor woman having two stalkers in less than two years. What are the odds?" She looked over at Shawn who was intently watching Sam. "At least she has you to help her get through all of this. I do hope she knows how lucky she is for that."

Camila peered over at Detective Fisher trying to hold back the cringe that so desperately wanted to come forward. She knew that Shawn and Averie were partners before she came along and knew that they had some sort of falling out. She had tried all weekend to pry information from her fellow officers as to what that falling out was about but all of them refused to give her anything all of them saying it was Shawn's story to tell.

"Yeah, I guess," Shawn said quickly moving away from her and toward Sam. "You seeing anything?"

Sam nodded, and the woman moved closer to hear what he had to say. "No doubt you guys are dealing with a predatory stalker. Like all others like him, your guy is driven by his sexual desire and obsession with his victims. He's quite particular with his victim type all of the women have a similar build to Milinda and are around the same age. He's incredibly meticulous which is proven by all the lack of evidence and he certainly has a need to keep in routine almost like he's stuck in it. Perhaps he saw it in a movie or read it in a book something that he saw regularly growing up that is burned into his mind and became part of his development."

"Like BTK, he used ropes for sexual pleasure from a young age and he used ropes and bondage in his crimes," Detective Fisher said.

Sam nodded. "Exactly, I'm sure that during this man's sexual development violence was introduced and now it's all he craves. He is driven by his desire to inflict violence on these women. He will have some sort of criminal background but it will mostly be theft and voyeurism."

"How do you think he selects his victims?" Shawn asked wondering why on Earth he had chosen Milinda.

"I don't know. Most men like this have no relationship with their victims. Their connection is all in his delusion sparked from some random encounter. He also has no connection to their husband or at least shouldn't have any. Those men are nothing more to him than obstacles he needed to get rid of. Although since the men were injected with sleeping pills and alcohol then I don't know why he had to kill them."

"Maybe whoever he drew inspiration from killed the men?"

Sam shrugged, "Possibly. You could start there but I would also see if any of the women went to similar places as Milinda or enlisted some similar services from a particular company. Essentially any place all of the victims could meet the same person."

"Well, that narrows our search down," Camila whined.

"I'm afraid I can't be of much more help than that."

Shawn nodded. "Okay, thank you, Sam. I'll call you if I need anything else."

"Sure and maybe a wedding invite with it."

Shawn chuckled, "Let's hope so."

As Sam left the trio gathered closer to the board.

"Okay," Detective Fisher said. She picked up a marker and went to a clean section of the board. "So, let's make a profile of this man. Forget about the past suspects since most are either dead or are in such a condition they can't be our man."

Camila nodded. "I agree we make a new profile all together and start fresh."

Detective Fisher opened the marker and started jotting down some notes that Sam had just given them along with any other points that were raised by Shawn or Camila. After an hour of back and forth, the trio stood back and looked at their new profile.

"So, we're looking for a man between the ages of forty and fifty and at least five feet seven inches tall based on how tall he would have to be to overpower most of the husbands. He is also well-built and most likely holds a job that allows him to interact with people. He is meticulous and enjoys a routine one that he may have picked up from some sort of literature during his youth. He will have a criminal history of either theft, voyeurism or both."

"There has to be something else we can add," Camila said chewing on a pen she found in her pocket.

Shawn picked up one of the nearest files and looked at the autopsy of the husband in that case. "The men were injected with a mixture of sleeping pills and alcohol."

"We've already established that," Detective Fisher said confused by his sudden interest in that detail.

"The medical examiner that looked over Isla and Brian Ouval said that the pills that Brian was injected with were hospital grade, not ones that you could get over the counter at any pharmacy. Our suspect needs to either be a doctor, nurse or someone who knows someone knows people in that profession."

"I said it once and I'll say it again that really narrows it down," Camila sighed.

"Yeah it doesn't make our search any narrower but that was a detail that nobody checked into, even us, so it's a new start. Let's search for any hospital that has reported any sleeping pills going missing from their inventory. Camila, you and Shawn can get onto that while I look for any media that our suspect could have gotten his routine from if there is such a thing."

"All right, let's do this," Shawn said.

And just like that the trio got to work and as the hours went on and morning turned to afternoon the three detectives slumped back in their chairs feeling a sense of defeat. 

"I couldn't find a single piece of literature that depicts our man's routine, or at least to the full extent he does it," Detective Fisher sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and allowed her head to drop. 

"Well, I've got three hospitals that reported missing sleeping medication. Two turned out to be the supplier's fault because apparently, it's very difficult for someone to remember how many boxes to ship out. And the third was a doctor who developed a bad habit and has since been fired," Camila said her shoulders slumped in defeat. 

Shawn sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, I'm in a similar boat to you, Cam. One hospital in my search area reported missing sleeping pills. After an investigation, they discovered that they were being stolen by a patient." The two women leaned forward in their seats hoping to hear some good news. "Don't get your hopes up the patient was a teenage girl who just wanted to make a quick buck. Her mother stopped her and returned the drugs before the girl got a chance to sell them."

"So, after," Camila looked at her watch, "four hours of investigating we have all reached dead ends."

"It would seem so," Shawn sighed. He turned in his chair to look at the pictures again. Every single picture was a reminder of why he was working on this case. Each victim gave him the will to keep going. "The hospitals were a bust but we still have private practices and clinics we can look up."

Camila wheeled her chair back and stood up. "We can do that after I get some coffee. Do any of you guys want some?"

"You know I don't drink the coffee from this machine," Shawn said. 

"Neither do I that's why I'm going to the cart across the street."

Shawn nodded. "Then I'll have a coffee too thanks."

"Make it three," Detective Fisher said. 

They handed Camila some money and watched as she ran out of the room shutting the door behind her. Shawn stood up from his chair and walked to the window looking out at the busy street below. 

Detective Fisher's chuckle bounced off the walls, and Shawn turned to face her. "What?" he asked. 

She laughed and moved her head from side to side. "It's just good to see some things haven't changed."

Shawn smirked and nodded to the door. "If you're talking about the shitty coffee here I'm sure that hasn't changed since the sixties."

Her lips curled upward in a smile as she looked up at him through hooded eyes. "I'm talking about you and your need to look out a window when you're stressed."

"I'm not stressed," Shawn quickly shot back but quickly cringed at how unconvincing he sounded. 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Sure." She pulled away from the table and slowly walked over to him resting in the space opposite from him. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Shawn scoffed. "No offence or anything but you're the last person I want to talk to about my problems."

She cast her gaze to the floor. "You used to tell me everything."

"Yeah well, that was before you left me for your boss. How is Jack by the way?" Shawn snapped his eyes turning to daggers glaring at her. 

Her head shot up and she glared at him her lips pursed in a scowl. "Shawn, if we're going to work together we need to put our past behind us. Like it or not but for the duration of this case we are partners. If you want to keep this relationship strictly professional then that is fine I won't ask about your life again." As she started to storm back to her chair she turned to look back at him, "Not that it is any of your information but Jack and I aren't together anymore. He broke up with me after he was fired."

The deathly grip of silence took over the room as Shawn watched her retreat back to her chair and dive right back onto her laptop typing away at the speed of light that used to amaze him even years ago. She was right whether he liked it or not they were partners again for the duration of this case. They needed to gel as a team, so he had to put his feelings for her aside. 

"I'm worried about Milinda," he said breaking the silence around them. "Mentally she barely survived last year's ordeal and now just as we were moving forward with our lives this man had to come in and ruin everything. I tried to distract her this weekend by talking about wedding stuff but she just shot me down every time. I don't even know if I'm going to be getting married at this point," he scoffed. Resting back against the wall he leaned his head in his hands and sighed. 

Averie rushed toward him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get this guy soon enough and before you know it you'll be standing at an alter watching her walk down that aisle to you. And as for Milinda shutting you out just keep at it. Keep reminding her that you're there and eventually she'll come around," she smiled at the ground, "I know I would have."

Shawn looked up at her flashbacks of the final weeks of their engagement rolling in like a bulldozer. She may have shut him out after she lost their victim but he stopped reaching out. He thought giving her space would bring her back but the reality was it only pushed her further away from him. He couldn't have that with Milinda. She was his soulmate of that he was sure and he wasn't going to lose her. 

"I'm sorry that I stopped trying. That doesn't excuse you cheating on me but I will still admit that I didn't try to keep our spark alive." 

"You're right that doesn't excuse what I did... but I am grateful for the apology." She smiled and her hand started to move up and down his arm. "And don't worry if Milinda is smart she'll come around soon enough. She is a very lucky girl and I'm sure she knows that. Most women dream about having someone like you in their lives."

Shawn's chest tightened as he looked into her eyes. He was worried about this. He had a feeling that her comment earlier had meaning behind it. He thought it would be a one-time thing but the look in her eyes said otherwise. 

"Averie-"

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Camila said shocking her colleagues by her sudden reappearance. 

"You're not," Shawn quickly said moving away from the window and closer to Camila to grab his coffee before retreating to his chair. 

Camila watched awkwardly as Detective Fisher collected her coffee and returned to her seat. She may not have been able to get any information out of her fellow officers about what had gone down between Shawn and Averie but after what she had just walked in on everything was coming together. She thought Detective Fisher was flirting with him earlier but she knew it for sure and she was not about to let the blonde bitch get in the way of her friend's relationship. 

* * * *

"Thank you and have a good day," Noel said as he handed their final customer her coffee and cake. 

Milinda smiled at Noel as they watched the woman leave the store signalling that their day was finally over. With a nervous smile on his face, Noel turned to look at his trainer hoping for some sort of praise. 

"You did well today," Milinda said as she nodded. 

Noel sighed with relief his shoulders slumped and his legs buckled sending him collapsing onto a nearby chair. "Thank goodness. You were so quiet all day I wasn't sure how I was doing."

Milinda winced at his comment. He was right she had been quiet for most of the day only talking when he had a question or if she had to explain something to him. She thought work would be a good distraction but the reality was that nothing could get her mind off of her stalker. The evil being that lurked in the shadows filled with the desire to end her life in one of the worst ways possible. 

"I'm sorry about that I've just got a lot going on."

"With the wedding planning I'm guessing," Noel chuckled as he pointed to the ring on her finger. 

Milinda instantly touched the ring she had almost forgotten about. Shawn had tried to get her into wedding planning over the weekend but she had shut him out with all her focus on the messages she was being sent and trying to keep Kylie in the dark about what was going on. 

"I wish that was my only problem," Milinda said through a nervous laugh. 

Much to her surprise Noel stepped closer to her and rested his hand on her back. He looked down at her with his soulful eyes and she almost gasped at how his thick curls looked in the afternoon sun. 

"I know we've only known each other for a few hours but if you ever want to talk about whatever is bothering you I'm here." 

Milinda chuckled, his offer was tempting but he was not the person she should be confiding in. "I don't know how professional that would be considering you are basically my trainee, but thank you for the offer."

He moved his hand up to her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's okay I understand that. I just wanted to help you've got such beautiful eyes it's been hard for me to see the light being drained from them."

Milinda knew she should move back and break the contact between her and Noel but she was so shocked by his comment that she felt as if her feet were frozen to the spot. 

The sudden ringing of the bell above the entrance brought Milinda back to reality and she turned to see who had just come in. 

"Hi," she greeted Shawn with a smile surprised to see him standing by the door with his arms crossed over his chest and a strange look in his eyes. 

"Hey, I managed to get off work early and I thought you might have preferred a lift with me... unless you've got something going on here."

Milinda furiously shook her head, "No, I'm all done here let me just get my stuff and let Bella know I'm leaving." She turned to Noel, "Good job today and I'll see you tomorrow."

Noel looked between her and Shawn a couple of times before setting his gaze on her. "See you tomorrow," he said with a smile. 

Milinda ran to the back room and got her stuff and after telling Bella that she was clocking out and retrieving her tips from the day she followed Shawn out of the store and into his car. 

"Who was that?" Shawn asked as they took a slow drive back to the apartment. 

"Oh... um... his name is Noel. Bella wants to open a second store and she needs another assistant manager to help her run it. She wants me to train him for the next... I don't know how long. Sorry for not introducing the two of you I just really want to get home and have a long bath."

Shawn shook his head. "It's okay I was just confused when I walked in and saw the two of you like that."

Milinda's brows furrowed as she looked over at him. "Like what?"

"Starting into each others eyes." As she looked over at him Milinda couldn't help but laugh. "Don't laugh at me. I have a sexy fiancé and I knew it was only a matter of time before someone took notice."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh. It's just... I know your past engagement has left some scars and I can understand why you are asking about this, but I want you to know that you don't have anything to worry about with me. I know I've shut you out this past weekend and I'm sorry about that too. I'm going to do better and... Shawn, I love you so much and I'm so grateful for what you tried to do for me this weekend." She reached out and rested her hand on his thigh, "Nothing was happening between Noel and me."

"You promise."

"I promise."

Shawn sighed with relief. She was right about his past relationship having left some scars. Averie pretended that everything was fine and then out of nowhere left him for another man. He loved Milinda and knew that she would never cheat on him but he couldn't stop the evil thought from surfacing. 

"Listen, while we're speaking about stuff I wanted to let you know that Detective Fisher might have made a flirty comment with me. It wasn't anything serious and nothing will ever come from it obviously because I love you but I wanted you to know."

Milinda's heart sunk as the words 'flirty comment' left his mouth and now she knew what he must have felt like seeing her and Noel in that shop. She knew Shawn would never do anything to hurt her, after all, he did love her but that detective... Milinda didn't trust her. She was worried about Shawn's ex-fiancé working on her case because there might have been bad blood but now it was for a different reason all together. Did she want to get back together with Shawn? Would she try to pry them apart? Take advantage of their situation to get what she wanted. So many questions and Milinda just didn't know the answers and that made her scared. All she could do was trust Shawn's love for her. 

"Are you okay?" Shawn asked noticing how quiet Milinda had suddenly become. 

Milinda snapped back to reality and looked at him. "Yes, I was just thinking. Thank you for telling me." 

Shawn sighed and reached over to her resting his hand on her thigh and squeezing it for comfort. "Don't worry I love you with all of my heart and soul."

Milinda smiled and rested her hand on top of his. "I love you too."

Shawn chuckled, "Besides, if Averie ever tires anything I'm sure Camila will shoot her."

Milinda's head flew back into the seat as she laughed. "And I'm sure Akhona would help her."

Laughter filled their car and for the first time in days, the couple felt completely at ease. As they pulled into the parking lot at the apartment, Shawn pulled her close capturing her lips with his. Milinda eagerly responded only pulling back when she felt she was running out of breath. 

Shawn reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand caressing her soft skin with his thumb. "So... do you want to plan a wedding with me?" he nervously asked. 

Milinda giggled as she eagerly nodded. "Let's go plan our wedding."

* * * * 

He watched as the couple rushed up to the apartment their faces beaming with their bright smiles. He had seen Shawn walk in on her and the other man at her job. He might not have been able to hear what they were talking about but he knew flirting when he saw it. He also knew that Shawn was working with his ex-fiancé. A hailstorm of drama was surrounding this couple and for the first time ever he wasn't sure if he would even have an obstacle to get rid of. He didn't want that to be the case, the thrill of taking his prize mostly came from defeating the competition. It was proof that those men didn't deserve them. If you loved someone you should be able to protect them. He was the only one who could protect those women and he was the only one who could actually keep Milinda safe because he really loved her. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and with a heavy sigh, he took it out and opened his new message. 

Boss: You better have something good for me or I swear to God I'll replace you in a heartbeat.

"I'm getting really tired of you," he hissed under his breath as he typed. 

Me: You're going to love what I found out. I'll tell you more tomorrow right now I've got something I need to do. 

He quickly shut off his phone and then got settled in his seat. He brought his binoculars up to his face watching as Milinda kissed her daughter and Shawn stood off to the side watching mother and daughter with a smile on his face. 

"So, darling, what are we doing tonight?"

End of Episode 4 

So, Shawn has drama at work and now so does Milinda.