Dedicated to: rachel_cadle66

Status: Edited

Ever since the second set of roses had been sent he kept his distance from her. No text messages, no gifts, and absolutely zero letters. 

It killed him to leave her so alone like this. He hated it during those first few weeks and nothing has changed. He wasn't made to be this far away from her and not send her something. So to keep himself busy he had been gathering everything he needed for the next phase of his plan and he had been keeping an attentive eye on Milinda.

Every night he watched from his post as Milinda spent hours staring at the now-dying bouquets of roses desperate to discover the message behind them. And every night when she went to bed more frustrated than the night before he would sigh and shake his head. He knew that Milinda was a smart woman so he couldn't understand why on Earth she was struggling to find the message. 

Maybe she needed some assistance, perhaps after a whole week of silence he needed to come back. 

* * * *

Milinda frantically raced around her room desperately searching for a pair of socks of all things.

She looked up at her clock and screamed through clenched teeth in frustration when she saw that she was indeed going to be late for her shaft at Bella's. She was never someone who enjoyed being late, most people she grew up with didn't act like it was a big deal. They were all late for classes and meet ups like it were nothing. Milinda was never that kind of person, if she wasn't the first person at that door then she would feel horrible, and not just emotionally terrible but physically as well. Her stomach would churn and do all sorts of flips and her head would feel dizzy, one time she started shaking.

"Where are they?"

After she tossed up her entire room making it look like a tornado had rolled through she finally found the pair of socks she had been searching for. She put them and her shoes on and then raced out o the apartment. 

"Have an okay day!" Akhona called out to her.

"I'll try!" Milinda yelled back before she got into her car and sped off.

She silently prayed that the traffic wouldn't be bad so that she would possibly get to her shift right on time, but God didn't answer her prayer and she found herself stuck in a long and winding traffic line. She had to fight the urge to hit her steering wheel and scream ad the multiple cars around her that were blaring their horns were not helping.

With some time to kill Milinda turned up her radio and listened to some music and began thinking of how she would word her excuse for being late. 

Thanks to the hectic traffic Milinda was almost an hour late for her shift. She had expected Bella to be furious with her but much to her relief and surprise she let Milinda off with a warning. 

"You have been a loyal employee and this is the first time you've been late so I'll let you off this time. But only this time, unless of course it's an emergency you know with what you're going through at the moment." 

Milinda knew that either Shawn or Camila must have interviewed Bella at some point this past week because Milonda hadn't told her what was going on in her personal life. Mostly because she didn't want Bella to worry about her, she was still feeling bad about the Fred incident.

As she slipped on her apron and started packing the desserts shelf she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

Using her one hand she took it out of her pocket and opened up the message that had been sent through. She was expecting it to be another photo of Kylie doing something adorable because sometimes Akhona would send her pictures during the day to cheer her up.

 It was not a picture of Kylie.

I know it's been a while since you've heard from me. I've been trying to give you some space to figure out the message behind the roses. However, much to my surprise you still haven't figured it out. You are such a smart girl Milinda I know you can figure it out.

 I hope you have a great day cupcake.

Love, your Secret Admirer. 

Her breath hitched in her throat but even though she wanted to start hyperventilating she managed to keep herself level-headed and sent Shawn a message begging him to get to Bella's cafe quickly. 

Milinda grabbd the nearest chair and sat down. It had been a week of pleasurable silence, not a single gift or letter from this man and now out of the blue he has decided to start communicating again. Just the other day she had the faith idea that maybe he was gone, maybe he had decided to leave her alone and she would never hear from him again. It was a pointless desire. This man wasn't going to leave her alone, until the day they catch him he will remain a part of her life. Her shadow constantly following her until he picks up the courage to show himself. 

She looked down at her phone and read the message over and over again, not only did it confirm her suspicion that the roses did contain a message behind them but it also gave her a new clue. Cupcake, to most people it's an obscure nickname but to her it meant something. Nerves in her brain twitched and danced trying their best to find the name of the person who used to call her by that nickname. 

Cupcake. Cupcake. Cupcake.

Someone used to call her that. She could hear it so clearly being said to her, she simply couldn't see the face of who it was. 

* * * *

It had been a week since anyone had heard from the stalker which was why Shawn was so shocked when he got the message from Milinda to get over to Bella's cafe. 

With the help of his siren, he and Camila weaved through the little bit of morning traffic that was still there and reached Bella's in no time. The bell above the door jingled as he swung it open with such force thought he would break it. 

After almost a week of not seeing Milinda, it was refreshing to see her face again. He didn't realize how much he missed seeing her crazy red hair and those green eyes until he saw her. He just wished they were meeting again under better circumstances.

The duo rushed behind the counter to where Milinda was sitting and while Cmils stood a few steps back trying to give the woman some space Shawn knelt beside her and started rubbing her back. He felt her tense at this action for a brief second but eventually, she released the tension and relaxed into his touch.

"I thought he was gone," she sighed. 

He could hear a small crack in her voice and he know she wanted to cry or scream or both. The only thing that made the situation worse was that after a week he still had as little evidence on the man as he did a week ago. 

Every day was a struggle for him, dead end after dead end after dead end when it came to any sort of leads on who this guy is and where he is hiding. It was because of these failures that he had basically been ignoring her. He had Camila be the one to message her and keep her reassured that they were still on the case, he avoided Bella's cafe even though he was craving the blueberry muffins so bad. He even stayed away from Jeanette's bar because he idea of seeing her and having to bra bad news to her constantly got to him. 

All his years on the job he was no stranger to giving victims bad news, it happened more than he liked but he was always able to do it, but not this time. Not with Milinda.

"We will get him." He knew it was wrong to make any promises to victims because there was that small chance you wouldn't be able to deliver on them but he couldn't stand seeing her in this state. "I know him coming back isn't what you wanted but it will give us more opportunities to gather more evidence that will help us get him." 

She didn't verbally answer but she gave a curt nod which eased some of his tension. He removed his hand from her back and stood up, he had reassured her as much as he could, now it was time to get professional. 

Milinda used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away a few tears that had yet to drip down her cheeks.

"Can I see the text?" Camila asked. 

Still completely in a daze, she handed Camila her phone. She watched as Camila furiously typed, her fingers moving at the speed of lightning doing god knows what with her phone. 

"You doing the grandma trick again?" Shawn asked Camila and Milinda scrunches her face in confusion. 

"Yeah," Camila nonchalantly replied.  

"I'm sorry but what the hell is the grandma trick?" she asked, trying to keep herself and her emotions in control.

Camila looked at her and smiled. 

"Oh, it's something that I learned a few years ago when my grandma started losing her marbles. She would leave her house a lot and we needed an easier way to find her. So I learned to use an app to locate her cellphone through the recent text message she sent," she explained.

"That's smart," Milinda said. 

"I'm smarter than I look." Camila smirked. 

While they waited for Camila to see if the grandma trick would bring success Milinda went back to trying to figure out who it was that gave her the nickname cupcake.

She felt a calloused hand rest itself on her shoulder, "Milinda are you okay?" Shawn asked her.

As much as she was enjoying this sudden physical touch he was giving her and as happy as she was deep down to see him after he's been actively avoiding her for a week none of it was helping him catch the monster lurking in her shadow. 

"Still trying to figure out who the hell used to call me cupcake," she hissed in frustration. 

"Don't strain yourself Milinda it will come back to you eventually."

She didn't expect a wave of rage to flow through her but it did. Milinda reached up and flung his hand off her shoulder. She jumped up off the chair and turned to face him, raw anger flaring in her eyes.

"No, I need to remember now. Whoever that person is is the guy stalking me. I need to remember who he is so that you can throw his ass behind bars and my life can go back to normal!" she yelled at him not caring about the customers that were sitting around them. 

The cafe fell into a state of dead silence and all eyes were now focused on Milinda and Shawn. Unable to keep it in any longer Milinda burst into tears, her loud sobs echoed off the walls and made the customers around her look at her with pity.  

The door to the kitchen swung open and Bella who had heard all the commotion came storming out. She looked down at Milinda who was uncontrollably sobbing and then she looked out at the customers who were silently watching the scene like it was a reality TV show for their entertainment.

"Don't you all have something better to do than watch a girl cry? Go back to what you were doing or get the fuck out of my store!" Bella yelled at them.

Not wanting to get on her bad side the customers turned away from the commotion that was going on and went back to what they were doing. 

Milinda outstretched her arms and without a second thought, Bella rushed over to her and gave her a back-breaking hug ad let her sob into her shoulder. 

Camila watched her partner with interest as he looked at the moment between Bella and Milinda with what looked like envy. She knew that Shawn had some feelings for Milinda, the last week had only made her even more sure of that but she don't know why he had to be such a man and not admit his feelings. 

She couldn't imagine holding in her feelings for someone, she didn't do that with Akhona and now they were happier than ever. After that passionate night that took place a week ago, they had been testing, calling each other, facing timing, and every once and a while Camila would meet up with her at her apartment. 

They weren't anything serious, they weren't girlfriends they were simply two people who found each other attractive and spent a lot of their spare time together where they got to know each other better and occasionally have sex with each other. 

"I'm sorry Bella I didn't think I was going to be this emotional," Milinda apologized when she finally stopped crying. 

Bella shook her head and rubbed Milinda's back and shoulders.

"You don't have to apologize especially with what you're going through," she said in a reassuring tone that did make Milinda feel a bit better. "Speaking of which why don't you take the day off."

"No, I'll be fine. I just need to splash some water on my face," Milinda mumbled as she shook her head. 

Ever since the start of this nightmare of a situation one of Milinda's worst fears was that it would disrupt her work life. She didn't work two jobs for fun she did it to make money so that her daughter could have a good life. Now her fear was coming true and because of this man she was going to lose hours f work here she could be making money. 

"Milinda I'm not asking you I'm telling you, go home and rest," Bella commanded.

More tears rimmed her eyes and even though she wanted to argue back and make Bella keep her there but she couldn't. 

"Fine," Milinda sniffled and took off her apron.

"I'll take you home," Shawn offered. 

"It's okay you don't have to." 

"No, really I insist."

"Seriously Shawn you don't have to besides I can't leave my car here." 

"We can tow your car behind us."

Even though it was a stupid idea Milinda was far too tired to continue arguing with Shawn, so even though she didn't want to she said, "Sure."

Minutes later Shawn had hooked Milinda's car to his and they were on their way to Milinda's apartment. For the most part, the drive was silent, the only sound that could be heard was the radio playing softly. 

"So Milinda I noticed when we first met you have an accent, where are you from?" Camila asked breaking the silence.

"South Africa," Milinda replied. 

"I've always wanted to go there," Camila exclaimed. "Growing up I've always wanted to go on a game drive in one of those national parks there but sadly I don't have the time or the money."

"Do you have any specific park in mind that you want to visit?" 

"I've heard the Kruger National Park is nice," she said. "Have you been there?"

Milinda tried not to burst out laughing, "Hell no, it's way too expensive. I mean I would have loved to go but it's just not affordable for the majority of citizens. I have been to Addo Elephant park and Kragga Kamma Game Park, mostly because they were the closest to my home city." 

A smile tugged on Milinda's lips as she thought back to the day her parents took her to those game parks. The wide open spaces and seeing all those lions, rhinos, elephants, zebra, and all other types of bucks up close were incredible, and not many other experiences beat it.

"What is your home city?" 

"Port Elizabeth but I think it has a new name now." 

"Why did you move here?" 

"You seem incredibly interested in my life all of a sudden," Milinda laughed.

"I'm a naturally curious person." She shrugged." I also hate silent car rides," she added.

"Well, I moved here because my daughter's father died in a car crash five months. I didn't have other family members to look after us and I wanted a fresh start."

Camila locked eyes with her through the rearview mirror.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Milinda said not knowing what else to say.

Silence once again plagued the drive.  With the heavy traffic that came up so suddenly the three of them knew they would be stuck for a while so Milinda decided to start a conversation up.

"Camila if you don't mind me asking what made you want to be a detective?"

Camila remained silent for a few moments.

"A while back my uncle owned a restaurant here in the city. It was one of those relaxing bar slash eatery-type places. It wasn't super famous but he loved it." The smile that had been tugging on Camila's lips suddenly disappeared."One day when he was closing up this guy came in with. . . um. . . with a gun. He beat my uncle till he almost died and then stole all the cash in the register. My parents and I sat with him in the hospital and when those officers came in and told my uncle how they caught the man I realized that that was what I wanted to do."

"Is your uncle okay?"

"Yeah he had to spend a few days in the hospital but he came out alright. He doesn't own a restaurant anymore but he still cooks."

Milinda now decided to turn her attention toward Shawn who had been silent throughout the ride so far. She also didn't know much about Shawn and with everything going on between them the least she could do was learn more about him.

"What about you Shawn, why did you want to be a detective?"

"I don't like to talk about that," he unexpectedly snapped at them.

This immediately brought a tense atmosphere into the car and for the remainder of the twenty-minute drive, nobody uttered a single word.

"Thanks for the ride," Milinda said with a small smile when they reached her apartment.

"You're welcome," Camila chirped and she pulled Milinda into a warm embrace. "Have a good rest you deserve it," she whispered into her ear.

"I will."

As Camila pulled away Milinda caught a whiff of her shampoo. Apple-scented shampoo that was very similar to the one Akhona used. The smile on her lips because wider, she knew that Akhona was hiding something from her for the past week and now knew what it was or who it was.

"Camila we should get going," Shawn said from still inside the car.

"Fine," she sighed. 

Camila waved as she got back onto the car.

"See you guys tonight at Jeanette's," Milinda said, even though she was missing her shift at Bella's there was no chance in hell she was going to give up her whole day of work.

"Oh, you will." Shawn winked and then drove away.

Milinda scoffed and shook her head.

"First, he snaps at me then he winks at me. I swear to God this man has bipolar or something."

When Milinda walked into the apartment Akhona jumped back in surprise, Kylie on the other hand was ecstatic that her mother was home early and ran toward her with a stuffed toy clutched tightly in her hand. 

"Mommy play," she giggled and handed the toy to her. 

"Oh, I would love to." Milinda smiled and took the toy from Kylie who then ran to her room probably to fetch another toy.

"Why are you home so early?" Akhona asked.

"The guy sent me a message I freaked out and Bella gave me the day off," Milinda quickly explained.

Akhona pulled Milinda into her embrace.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this."

"It won't last forever," Milinda whispered.

She knew that was all she could say. For now, it was all she could hold on to.

* * * *

After a day of playing with Kylie and stuffing their faces with popcorn and gummy sweets, it was time for Milinda to go to work. She wasn't excited to go, especially since her stalker could be there or send her another text. The only thing keeping her together was that Camila and Shawn would be there with her.

When she reached the bar there was already a line of people waiting outside all of them eager to get inside and get drunk. Milinda breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Shawn and Camila standing at the front of that line.

"This place draws quite the crowd," Camila chuckled when she neared them.

"Yeah it does, never know if that's a bad thing or a good thing," Milinda nervously chuckled.

"Well let's find out." Camila mischievously smiled."Open her up!" she cheered, and the crowd cheered with her.

As the doors swung open the crowd rushed in. The regulars heard to their normal seats and the others made themselves at hok in whatever space they could find.

Shawn and Camila sat at Milinda's half of the bar right next to her. 

Vera rushed in a few minutes later and together the two women served the customers at the speed of lightning.

When the customers were satisfied for now Milinda grabbed herself a beer and joined Shawn and Camila.

"This is a nice place!" Camila yelled over the music.

"Well, I expect to see you here more often."

"Oh you will." Camila's phone beeped, and when she looked at the text she smiled. "Well I have to go see you both tomorrow."

She hurried out of the bar leaving Shawn behind with Milinda.

Much like the car ride earlier an uncomfortable silence settled over them.

Shawn set his near-empty bottle on the counter and leaned slightly closer to her.

"Hey um. . . I'm sorry about making you cry earlier. I didn't know what I said would make you upset," Shawn apologized, taking Milinda's hand in his.

This shocked her slightly but she enjoyed the feeling of holding hands with him so she didn't move away.

"It wasn't your fault. It's just.this is an emotional time for me and at that moment I couldn't handle it anymore." She explained trying to make him feel better.

Shawn smiled and sighed with relief.

"Thank God, I thought you'd be mad at me."

"Well, I'm not," she giggled.

It made her feel silly and like a bit of a schoolgirl giggling like that because of a boy... well a man but sometimes that's what she needed.

"Mmm." 

"What?" Milinda nervously smiled.

"I didn't notice how green your eyes are, they are stunning."

A harsh blush spread into Milinda's cheeks. She pulled her hand away from Shawn's and looked down at the floor.

"You don't mean that," she mumbled.

Shawn used his thumb and his pointer finger to lift her chin so that he was looking her in the eyes.

"I do mean it. You are a beautiful, fierce, strong-minded woman."

A warm feeling spread through Milinda as Shawn's flirtatious words circled through her mind.

Nobody had ever spoken to her like that, nobody had ever said those things to her and for the first time since she met him, Milinda was grateful for Shawn's company. She was happy to be around him because somehow this man whom she hated for so long made her feel safe and in that brief moment her life felt like it was back to some state of normal.

"Milinda I need your help in here!" Vera called from the supply room, breaking the moment between Shawn and Milinda.

Shawn reluctantly leaned back in his chair and picked his beer back up.

"I'll be back," Milinda said to him

"Take your time."

The second Milinda finished helping Vera move some boxes of alcohol she rushed back to the front where she expected Shawn to still be waiting for her. When she saw that he wasn't in his seat she looked over at the small crowd of customers where she eventually saw him standing by the door talking to some woman.

Her heart lurched in her chest as she watched Shawn rest his hand on the woman's lower back and leave the bar with her.

* * * *

Milinda didn't know what hurt more, watching Shanw leave with that random woman minutes after flirting with her or the fact that she had allowed him to get into her head. 

She was angry. . . no she was furious with him but she was also mad at herself. She knew what kind of man he was but she still let him break through her defenses and play with her emotions as if they were some toy.

She wanted to toss and turn in her bed but she couldn't in case she accidentally hit Kylie. So instead she stayed still staring up at the ceiling in the quiet dark.

The quietness of the night was shattered by the sound of the bathroom window shattering.

A spark flared within her and she rushed to her bedroom door and locked it. Quietly she raced to the bedside table, unlocked her phone, and called the officers that were positioned in the car outside her apartment.

The handle to the bedroom door twisted but when the person behind it tried to push it open the lock prevented it.

"The police are on their way!" Milinda yelled at whoever was behind the door.

This threat didn't seem to deter him or her and they continued to try and open the door, each attempt resulting in a failure.

Kylie who had now woken up due to the noise started screaming and Milinda desperately tried to calm her.

She listened as the front door to her apartment burst down and two officers rushed in. She heard running and then a loud thud.

A few seconds later and knock on her bedroom door.

"Police open up!"

Keeping Kylie close to her Milinda unlocked the door and let the police officer in.

"We got the man we're taking him to the station another squad car has already arrived to watch over your apartment," the officer explained.

"Thank you," Milinda sighed with relief.

Even as she watched the officers drive the man away she still didn't feel safe and it was at that moment she knew that neither she nor Kykie would be getting any sleep for the rest of the night.

* * * *

Pure rage flowed through him, his mission didn't go as planned at all. He was supposed to go in take Milinda and Kylie and bring them out so that the three of them could go somewhere and live together as a family.

But this idiot who he hired to get them proved that he was as useless as he thought he would be.

As he watched the police car drive him away he thought about going into the apartment and grabbing the girls himself but he knew another car would be coming by soon and he couldn't risk joining Antonio in a cell.

So for now all he could do was wait.

* * * *

Camila and Shawn lazily shuffled into the district. They were both tired from having to sneak out of a house, Camila out of Akhona's and Shawn out of his CIs.

Shawn hated the fact that he had to leave Mikinda at the bar like that with no explanation. But when Cassidy came up to him and begged him for help he had no choice but to go. 

She wasn't just a CI to him she was family and she had helped him through more than anybody could ever know.

He knew Milinda probably hated him again but he would make it up to her, but he would be lying if he said that the text message he got about someone breaking into her apartment made him rethink his opportunity to do that.

He thought she had gotten hurt or worse. He was relieved that she was fine and even more so when he was informed that they had caught the man to had broken in.

This horrid reign of terror in Milinda's life could come to an end tonight.

"Where is he?" he asked the officer.

"In the interrogation room sir," the officer replied.

"Do you want me in there with you?" Camila asked with a yawn. 

"No, I'll go alone," Shawn responded shoving his gun into the safe.

The single dim lamp was the only source of light in the room. The suspect sat chained to the chair an expressionless look on his face.

Shawn slowly took a seat across from him. He leaned forward and rested his hands on the table.

"Why did you want to break into Milinda Johnson's house?" Shawn asked. 

The man didn't answer.

Shawn jumped out of his seat and slammed his hands against the table.

"Maybe you didn't hear me why did you want to break into Milinda Johnson's house?" he yelled.

The man like every other person Shawn has ever interviewed shuddered at his outburst, but he still didn't say a single word. He was a tough one so there was only one thing that could break him.

Shawn removed his hands from the table and started moving toward the door.

"Fine Antonio Valencia you are under arrest for murder, breaking in, stalking, and attempted kidnapping."

"I was just hired to kidnap her," Antonio said as Shawn was about to leave.

Smirking at himself Shawn turned back around.

"Who hired you?"

* * * *

"Andy Murray!" Shawn yelled as he neared his desk.

"What?" Camila asked.

"Andy Murray he's the owner of Jeanette's Bar. He's the one who hired Antonio to kidnap Milinda."

Shawn and Camila sped to Andy's apartment which was consistently right above Jeanette's Bar.

"Andy Murray open up!" Shawn yelled bashing his fist against the door.

A few minutes later the door slowly creaked open and an exhausted Andy Murray stepped outside.

"Good evening officers, how may I help you?" he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back," Shawn commanded.

"What. . .why?" he fumbled.

"Because you're under arrest for stalking Milinda Johnson, the murder of Fred McCormick, and hiring Antonio Valencia to kidnap Milinda Johnson. Now put your hands behind you're back."

"I didn't do any of those things," Andy claimed, but Shawn wasn't having it and he pushed Andy against the wall and arrested him.

* * * *

Nothing could beat the joy that Shawn was feeling for having caught Milinda's stalker. As soon as Antonio identified Andy he could go to Milinda's place and tell her the great news.

It probably wouldn't take away the anger she is no doubt feeling toward him but at least she wouldn't have to live her life in fear any longer and her life to go back to normal, that was all she wanted for her.

His train of thought was broken when Camila bolted toward him.

"What's wrong?" Shawn asked noticing the worried expression on his partner's face.

"Andy isn't the guy."

Shawn felt as if the world would implode right then and there.

"What do you mean?"

"Antonio didn't identify Andy. He said the man who approached him had blue eyes, Andy has brown and he's not the right height."

Shawn furiously shook his head. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing.

"He probably wore a mask. Along with lifts and contacts."

He knew that was a long stretch but it was better than hearing that he had failed to catch Milinda's stalker, again.

"The man didn't wear a mask. Antonio also said that there was a large scar over his right eye."

Shawn knew that it was over. Once again the case had slipped through his fingers.

Andy wasn't the guy, which could only mean he gave Antonio Andy's name on purpose. It was a setup just like the order for the roses.

"Fuck!" Shawn yelled and threw the closest thing he could grab again the wall.

As he was about to spiral down into a rampage his phone beeped. 

Frustrated he pulled it out of his pocket and opened the text.

Did you really think it was going to be that easy Detective? Enjoy this dead-end because that is all you are going to get.

The End Of Episode 6