“Because I love you.”
WHAT?!
Nuh-uh. No way. No how.
He takes my hand in his, and creepy-crawlies spread across my skin as he runs a finger over the top of my knuckles. I want so badly to jerk it away, but as unhinged as he is, I’m afraid to set him off.
“And I’m sure, if given the chance, you would fall in love with me too.”
What.
The.
Actual.
Fuck.
I can’t even.
One plus one does not equal happy couple when one of those in the equation is a complete psycho.
Scaring a person into thinking they need you to stay alive is not love. It is not something that can be forced by an adrenaline rush.
That’s not love.
Love is…
Love is going to bed thinking of the person even when you were with them all day.
Love is wanting to share good news with them when you get it.
Love is being there for the bad even if you can’t be there physically.
Love is sharing all the stupid stuff that makes you laugh or think of them just because.
It’s needing to be near them because their presence alone is enough to make you feel better.
It’s finding excuses to touch them in the most mundane ways because the physical contact settles something deep inside you.
It’s joking and teasing and giving each other crap.
It’s accepting their weirdness just because.
It’s knowing when to push and when to not, being able to read each other and give them what they need.
Holy motherfucking shit-balls. I love Dex.
I’m in love with Dex.
Then, as if written by Walt himself, there’s a clatter of rushed steps and Dex is there. Flanked by my dad and my brother, all three with guns drawn, taking in the scene in one swoop.
Like magnets, our gazes snap together, my blues meeting those chocolatey browns that start to melt just the smallest bit as they take me in, satisfied I’m in one piece.
While Dex’s attention is on me, Justin’s is on my stalker. He must not have recognized the boat either, because his voice practically comes out in a whisper of shock.
“Paul?”
Chapter Fifty-Five
The narrow doorway into the cabin below makes it impossible for a sneaky breach, and the layout of the Catalina 355 sailboat prevents us from scoping out what we are about to walk into. Going in blind is never a preferred method, but it is what it is at this point. My entire world is down below deck; there is nothing that will keep me from her.
I can’t hear anything over the rush of blood in my ears, my heart beating a battle cry of Tink-Tink-Tink. My gut and my soul urge me to rush, to plow full steam ahead, but I wait for Justin and Jack to fall into formation with me.
There’s a tap on my shoulder and we storm the cabin, me running point, Jack to my right and Justin to my left.
Jack clears the tiny kitchen space and Justin handles the bathroom while I sweep across honey-toned wood accents and white furniture. Then, like a heat-seeking missile, my eyes lock onto Maddey sitting in the middle of the bed in the sleeping quarters near the bow of the boat with…
“Paul?” I distantly hear Justin say before his partner’s presence fully registers.
Tension drains out of Maddey’s beautiful face as she takes in my sudden appearance, but the worry is back in a second when she slides her gaze to Paul on the bed in front of her.
I scan every inch of her I can see, searching for any sign of injury. There are no bruises or blood, and she’s not restrained at all. That right there is a mistake.
But…Paul?
Fucking Paul is her stalker?
How the hell did I miss that? He was right under our noses the entire time. Was Ryan actually right? Did I allow myself to become distracted by giving in to my feelings for Maddey?
“Justin, my man, nice to see you, but you’re kind of interrupting right now.” Paul keeps his tone conversational like he didn’t just pull a gun on us.
“What the fuck, Paul?” Justin is seething as he takes another step closer. “It was you? You’re the asshole who has been tormenting my sister this whole time?”
“I wasn’t tormenting her.” There’s a genuine look of offense on Paul’s face.
“What the fuck do you call what you did then?” It’s Jack’s turn to move in.
“I was only trying to show your daughter how much I care about her.”
Is this guy for real?
“By scaring the shit out of her with your so-called gifts?” I taunt as I inch closer to my baby. Paul is too busy concentrating on justifying his actions to pay attention to the fact that we’re closing in on him.
“Those were tokens of love.” The volume of Paul’s voice starts to rise.
“Love?” Justin scoffs.
“We have a connection.” Paul continues as if he didn’t hear Justin. “Maddey’s always the one inviting me to join you guys, but you’re my partner. I needed a way to make you see that your sister and I were meant to be.”
“So…you started to stalk Maddey to…what? Swoop in and prove you could protect her, and you thought I would just be like, ‘You know what? You should date my sister.’?”
If that was really his plan, Paul obviously doesn’t know all that much about his partner.
“Don’t you look at her.” Paul turns his attention to me when I chance a glance at Maddey.
Needing to keep his attention on me and not on my girl methodically shifting on the bed, I comply. I have no idea what she thinks she’s doing, but the determined set of her jaw and the calculating gleam I saw in her eyes tells me she has a plan.
“This is all your fault, you know.” Paul’s eyes harden as he stares Justin down.
“The fuck?” In my peripheral, I see Justin’s hands flex around the grip of his gun.
“It was love at first sight for me the first time you brought me around your family, but out of respect for our partnership, I waited. I took the time for you to really get to know me so you would know I’d be a good match for Maddey.” He lets out a humorless chuckle that has every hair on my body standing on end. “You had to go and call your precious Dex to ride in and save the day when you should have trusted me.”
A shudder runs through me at the thought of what would have happened if Justin had actually done that—if he’d entrusted Maddey’s safety to the same person putting her at risk.
“Do you have any idea what this last week has been like for me? Having to sit there, not saying a word while he”—Paul gestures to me with the gun, the willy-nilly way he flops it around making me nervous it will discharge—“put his hands on her in front of me? Listening to them call each other Hook and Tink like they are pet names?”
“Those have been their nicknames for each other since we were kids.” Justin tries to reason. “Dex has been friends with our family since birth.”
“Some friend.” Paul scoffs. “You’re so blinded by your so-called friendship with him that you don’t even care that he’s giving that friendship a giant middle finger by screwing your sister every chance he can get.”
“Watch your fucking mouth,” I warn. I wish I could just put a bullet in him and be done with this. Too bad shooting him will only cause all kinds of legal complications, even with him having a gun trained on us.