Chapter Thirteen      It had been a week since the last call and Heidi was beginning to feel uneasy. Nick was hoping that the stalker had forgot about him, but Heidi knew that wasn’t the case. The stalker had a reason for stalking Nick and until he finished it, she knew he wouldn’t just forget about it.    She was walking through the lobby of their hotel when she saw Billy talking to a woman who was in tears. Thinking that it was just a fan trying to get upstairs to meet the guys, she ignored them and turned to move in the direction of the restaurant. “Heidi.” Upon hearing her name she turned to look at Billy and noticed he was waving her over. Moving through the lobby, she came to a stop beside Billy and waited for him to explain. “Heidi, this is Shelly Withers. She has brought some very interesting things to light and I think you should hear them. Why don’t you and Mrs. Withers go upstairs and talk. I need to pick up the package,” he said as he passed Mrs. Withers to Heidi. Heidi nodded, knowing that he was on his way to meet the guys after they finished their interview with a local radio station.     Silently the two women made their way to Heidi’s room. “Have a seat Mrs. Withers. Can I get you something to drink?” she asked. “No thank you, I’m fine. Please call me Shelly.”      Heidi nodded and sat saying, “Okay Shelly, Billy said you had something to tell me.” “I don’t even know where to begin. This is a rather long story. You see I’m in the middle of a messy divorce, and my husband blames Nick for our problems.” “Nick? Nick Carter?” Heidi asked, the fine hairs on her neck rising. “Yes. You see I’m a fan. I know I’m not the typical fan. I’m older and have children the age of most of their fans, but I truly love their music. Things started going bad between Harry and me about a year before I became a fan, but he seems to think it was what he calls “my obsession” with them that ruined our marriage. In reality, it was him. I won’t go into details, but that’s basically what happened.”    “So what exactly are you trying to tell me?” Heidi asked, not liking where this was going. “I’m getting to that. Last week, he showed up at my new apartment. He was in a rage and he was ranting about fixing me and my young lover. At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about, but then the more he ranted, the more I began to understand. He was threatening to harm Nick. I called the police and reported him for breaking the restraining order, and he’s been in jail for the last week. He will be released this afternoon and I’m afraid he’s coming after Nick to hurt him.” Tears spilled over and ran down Shelly’s face. Heidi handed her a tissue and Shelly said thanks as she wiped at her tears. “I told the police what he threatened, but they didn’t take me seriously. I didn’t know what else to do, so I came here in hopes that someone would listen to me, take me seriously. I don’t want to see anything happen to Nick,he’s a good kid. I don’t even know where Harry got the idea that I was having an affair with Nick, I’ve never even met him. I’m just so scared that he’s going to do something crazy,” she said as she sniffled.    “I’m thankful you came to us. We’ll make sure Nick is heavily guarded. He’ll be safe thanks to you warning us,” Heidi assured her. Their attention was drawn to the door as it opened and Nick walked in followed by Billy.   “Nick,” she began, but stopped as Nick crossed the room and enfolded her in his embrace. She could feel his body tremble and her heart cried out for the fear he felt. “Billy told me,” he said as he pulled away and took a seat, pulling Heidi down next to him.    “Mrs. Withers? It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for coming forward and telling us this,” Nick said as he laced his fingers with Heidi’s. “Call me Shelly please.” Nick smiled and then Billy asked, “Shelly, does your husband know anything about computers?” “Yes, why?” she asked.   “Because we believe he may be the man who has been stalking Nick.”   Shelly’s eyes widened and her breathing turned shallow. “Oh my God!” she whispered, her hand going to her throat. “How… how long has this been going on?” she asked, suddenly afraid to know the answer.    “For about six months now,” Nick answered. Shelly jerked and her face paled. “That’s when I filed for divorce. Oh Nick, I’m so sorry. I never meant to cause you any harm,” she said, her voice quavering as tears threatened to fall again. Nick reached out and took her hand. “Shelly, this is not your fault. You can’t blame yourself and I don’t want you to. Please don’t,” he asked. His soothing voice and the warm touch of his hand calmed her down.    “I know this is hard for you Shelly, but how much does your husband know about computers?” Billy asked. “He’s a hacker; or rather, companies hire him to try and hack into their systems, to test their firewalls and security measures,” she answered, after taking a deep breath to shore up her nerves.    Nick, Heidi and Billy exchanged knowing glances and Shelly asked, “You really think he’s the one who’s stalking Nick?” “We’re not for sure, but so far, everything you’ve told us, matches the profile we have on the stalker.” “Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!” Shelly repeated as she rocked herself, her arms tightly wrapped around her middle, warding off the chill that wouldn’t leave her alone.    “When are they letting him out?” Heidi asked.     “At one this afternoon. You have to protect Nick, Harry can be very violent,” she said, her eyes going wild as she looked from one person to the other. “We will, don’t worry,” Billy reassured her.    After finding out what jail he was being released from, Shelly was escorted back downstairs and Billy went to call the police to inform them about what was going on. Nick looked at Heidi, his eyes full of fear. “This is it, isn’t it?” “Don’t talk like that,” Heidi said as she moved to encircle his neck and hug him close. “He’s coming for me, I just know it. Heidi…if something happens to me, I need you to know how I feel.” Heidi cut him off, “Nick don’t talk like that. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let it.” “Heidi, please listen to me. I need to tell you this. I need for you to understand that you mean the world to me, and that the last few months have been the happiest of my life. Even when we were fighting, you made me feel alive. You bring out the best in me. Please believe me when I say that I love you.” Nick’s voice broke on a sob and Heidi’s arms tightened around his neck. “Oh Nick, I love you too. We’ll get through this,” she said as she held him tight. ‘Please Lord, keep him safe,’ she prayed silently as the man she loved sobbed in her arms. SNC Index Chapter Fourteen Main Page