Chapter 11

A few days after the emporium blaze, Dodger was back to normal considering the whole store had almost burned to the ground but thankfully it wouldn't take much work to get it fixed, Maxine and his family and friends were relieved he was going to be just fine but still there was that lingering feeling that the fire was intentional. Considering there was a crazy stalker on the loose, which had to be the only reason.

Dodger drove up to Maxine's work one early morning-not risking the chance of her being followed again. "So I'll see you after work?" He asked.

Maxine nodded. "Yeah" She said with a smile before leaning to kiss him. "I love you"

Dodger smirked. "No, I love you"

Maxine laughed. "Oy, I'm going to be late" She said before pecking him on the cheek one last time before getting out of the van and heading inside.

Once she headed inside, Veronicas suddenly walked up to her. "Maxine, just the person I wanted to see at this hour"

"Everything is on schedule Ronnie" Maxine said as she looked through her notes, making sure nothing was late and that things were ready to go.

Veronica chuckled. "Good to know, and by the way do you have the seating chart for the ceremony?" She asked.

Maxine then reached into her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper which had seating plans all over it so everyone could have somewhere to sit at the ceremony. "I've decided to stick to tradition and have family members up front"

Veronica examined the seating chart. "Well done my dear"

Just then Maxine's phone vibrated and as she got it out to check for messages-the one person she never wanted to hear from again had sent her another text.

You will never be rid of me no matter how hard you try.

Maxine couldn't move or speak-it felt as if the world had come to a standstill. Suddenly all of her work stuff fell out of her hands and onto the floor.

"What on earth? Are you all right darling?" Veronica asked in surprise. Usually her employee was so composed and put together-it was rare to see her freeze up like that.

Maxine still couldn't find the words to explain to her boss that someone was stalking her and Dodger. She felt like she was going to be ill. Maxine headed to the restroom, leaving all her stuff behind.

Meanwhile Dodger was on the boat, trying to catch up on some work now that the emporium was closed until it was finished being rebuilt. But still he had way more on his mind-like if the fire was based on an accident like a bad wire or something else. Maybe the person who started the blaze actually wanted to hurt or even kill him. And he also had Maxine to worry about. Whether she wanted to admit or not-he saw his fiancée as vulnerable since Patrick got put away.

The threatening, anonymous texts, Maxine being followed that night, the messages on the side of the boat and on the bedroom wall…and now the fire. Dodger sighed as he tried to take it all in. Of course he wasn't a private investigator but he knew something was wrong-it was that weird, sick feeling he had in his stomach.

'You all right Dodger?" Dirk asked as he walked past and saw the boy he had raised as his own being awfully quiet.

"I'm fine, just doing a lot of thinking" Dodger said as he put down his pen, wanting desperately to take a break and get his mind off everything that had been troubling him.

Dirk sat next to Dodger. "About the wedding?" He asked.

Dodger sighed. "No, more about that daft psycho who keeps terrorizing us" He said as he looked out the window.

"Dodger, you've done all you can, now it's time to let the police handle whoever this is okay?" He suggested calmly.

Dodger stood up and began to pace the room. 'I know but…I can't help but feel sick to my stomach when that person strikes again and there's fear in Maxine's eyes. Just as she's getting her life back to normal after everything Patrick put her through" He sighed before continuing. "Max has done enough being afraid of her own shadow and I will make sure she never has to do that again"

Dirk then placed a hand on Dodger's shoulder. "I would do the same for Cindy if she was in the same situation but…I don't want you to get hurt is all"

Dodger sat back down where he was before. "I know" He said softly.

"I think you should just concentrate on the wedding and your new future with Maxine" Dirk suggested.

"It's hard especially with what's going on" Dodger protested. As much as he wanted to just focus on him and Maxine, how could he do that when some random crazy person is out there wanting to hurt her?

"I know Dodge, but once all this craziness settles down then you and Maxine will finally get the lives you both deserve" Dirk said,

Dodger nodded. "Yeah, considering I've waited quite a while to call her my own" He said.

Meanwhile Maxine had just gotten done splashing her face with some water in the restroom to try and soothe her intense nerves. But she still felt the butterflies and chills down her spine. Maxine then realized she absolutely had to stop thinking about it or else she was going to go mental.

She was supposed to looking forward to her new life with Dodger-her gorgeous, sweet, funny and all around perfect soon to be husband. But with this madman running around-it was easier said than done. Once she was composed enough, she fixed her hair and left the room heading back to where she was before. Veronica was talking with the same catering company she had hired way back when they were hired to take of the planning.

"Oh there you are Maxine. Feeling better?" Veronica asked once she was finished with the caterers.

"Oh yeah I'm fine, just under a lot of stress" Maxine explained, hoping Veronica wouldn't get too suspicious.

Veronica nodded. "I see. So by the quick way you headed to the loo, I'm guessing you have a bun in the oven ay?"

Maxine softly chuckled. "No I'm not pregnant I promise, just dealing with a lot"

"All right, I won't pry any further" Veronica said before walking away.

Maxine took a deep breath and began to get her mindset on work and not her stalker. She had no idea why Ronnie thought she was pregnant. Of course she would like to start her own family with Dodger but now was just not the right time.

By the end of the day, she was on her way out the door when Ronnie and her assistant Helena walked up to her.

"Care to join us for some champagne at The Loft Maxine?" Ronnie asked.

"Ummm, sure. Just let me text my fiancée real quick" Maxine said before getting out her phone and sending Dodger a quick message.

Hey babe, it's me. Going out for drinks with some people from work. Be back later
Love Max

Half an hour passed and the three women were gossiping and drinking champagne, forgetting all about work.

"So Maxine, Ronnie tells me you're getting hitched" Helena said before taking another sip of her champagne.

"Yes I am" Maxine said with a smile. "I'm pretty sure he's the one"

"Well you certainly have my congratulations" Helena said before all three women laughed.

"Thanks Helena, I'm going to go to the loo real quick" Maxine said before grabbing her purse, leaving her drink on the bar.

The other two women were too busy gabbling about work and etc. to notice a stranger had come along and mysteriously snuck a sleeping pill into Maxine's drink before disappearing yet again.

Soon after Maxine had come back and finished her drink, she said good night to her co-workers and left the club. Suddenly she began to feel very tired and dizzy. She only had two glasses of champagne so she couldn't have been that drunk. Maxine suddenly passed out and then all of a sudden a mysterious person found her and picked her up before putting her into the back of a car. The car then sped away to an abandoned warehouse somewhere in London, thinking she wouldn't be found there.

Meanwhile back in Chester on the boat, Dodger suddenly got Maxine's text and was kind of concerned she was out at night after work considering what happened last time but then again he figured she would be safe with work acquaintances so he didn't think too much of it

Inside the cold and dark warehouse, the stranger placed Maxine on the bottom bunk bed before getting her situated as if she was simply asleep and not drugged. A calloused male hand reached out to stroke some of Maxine's hair off her face.

"Sleep tight my dear" The man whispered before leaving and closing and locking the door.