She grips the bedsheet puddled in her lap. “I’d love to spend the day with you, Drew.”
Pressing another kiss on her lips, I then get up, straightening out my creased shirt. “I’ve got to go home, get showered and changed, and then go check on the gym. I missed calls from Landon, but my battery went before I had a chance to talk to him. I’ll be back to pick you up around twelve? Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” she whispers.
Kissing her one last time, I then turn to leave. “See you soon.”
I close the bedroom door to, and laugh when I hear her muffled squeal of joy. She really is a breath of fresh air.
“Katnip, no…” she cries out.
A chuckle slips free as I let myself out.
*** *** ***
Pulling up outside the gym, I gape at the destruction that awaits me. All the front windows are smashed, including the entrance door. The area has had a few broken windows and a couple of incidents involving graffiti, but never something this severe. Taking a look at the other buildings, none of them have been touched.
There are police questioning staff and Landon is amongst them, running his fingers through his hair with a haggard expression.
I get out, slamming the door to Dad’s truck that he let me borrow. It’s easier to cart my bike and the stuff we will need for tonight in there than doing a dozen trips back and forth. Now I’m wishing I had gone straight to Charlotte’s. I don’t want this ruining our day together. She had been too excited about me taking her out for me to let her down now. Whatever happened here isn’t going to change my plans.
Landon turns at the sound of my door slamming shut, and his shoulders sag when he spots me. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“What’s going on?” I ask, gritting my teeth as my boots crunch over the broken glass. “Who the fuck has done this?”
“Calm down,” he tells me.
I give him a hard look, not wanting to be fucked around right now. “Tell me!”
He shoulders drop. “As you can see, someone has smashed the windows; they’ve also vandalised your office. It’s a mess in there,” he explains. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all morning and left messages for you to get here.”
I step past him and through the broken doorway, following the scrape someone had run along the floor, the reception desk, and then back to the floor leading to our office. For it to cause that kind of damage, it would have needed a steel bar.
I’m taken aback when I step into the gym area. All the equipment has been left untouched. There isn’t a single thing touched or damaged in here. “What the fuck?” I grit out, stopping to let Landon answer.
“I don’t know either.”
“This was personal,” I guess.
He avoids looking me in the eye. “There’s more you need to see in the office.”
What isn’t he telling me?
Stepping inside, I suck in a breath at the mess that is contained to one side of the room. “It’s only my side that’s been trashed,” I point out.
“Yeah. And you received those,” Landon tells me, pointing to a vase of white tulips on the broken desk.
The hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end, and ignoring the newcomer, I move toward the vase.
“Sir, we have forensics coming.”
I narrow my gaze on him, and he clamps his lips shut. I take off the lavender coloured note wedged into the petals and vase. “Has someone read this?”
Landon shakes his head. “No. I have been waiting for you. My family know about this. We think it’s someone trying to warn me off and they got the wrong side of the room.”
I pull out the card, not answering him.
She taints them all.
She paints them red.
Give her a chance, and she’ll stain you next.
Leave while you can.
This is my gift.
I won’t give up until she’s at rest.
“This isn’t about you,” I rumble.
Landon takes a step, his brows reaching his hairline as he scans over the note. “What the fuck?”
“This is because I’m spending time with Charlotte.”
He narrows his gaze. “You spent, what, a handful of times with her? This has to be because I’ve been looking for him.”
“I took her on a date last night,” I admit, giving zero fucks for his reaction. He grits his teeth and looks away. “I think someone doesn’t like that.”
“Then it’s Scott doing this. It’s the only explanation.”
“Not the only one,” I murmur. “Did you speak to any of the women on the list?”
“Not yet. Me and Aunt Kayla are going up to see one next week. She’s away with her husband at the minute,” he explains. “The rest don’t feel comfortable talking to us. Kayla said to give them time.”
“Let me know how it goes.” I turn to the officer. “How long before we can reopen?”
“We should be finished up here in a few hours.”
I give him a nod before turning to Landon, handing him the note. “Find the person in charge of her case. Give this to them, no one else. They’ll want to know.”
“What are you going to do?” he asks, as I pick my phonebook out of the pile of papers scattered all over the floor.
Handing him the phonebook, I grin. “I’m going on a date with Charlotte. No fucker is going to push me away from her.” I narrow my gaze on him. “Not even you or yours.”
He curses, stepping forward before stopping himself from doing something stupid. “You always were a stubborn motherfucker.”
My grin spreads. “Get used to it because I’m not going anywhere.”
“What does Charlotte have to say about that?”
I shrug. “You’ll have to ask her; but just so you know, I’ll take it personally if you warn her away from me. Now I’ve gotten to know her, I won’t let you or anyone else fuck it up.”
“And what are you going to do if we do?” he argues, a sharp bite to his tone.
Stopping at the door, I turn to him, letting him see how serious I am. “Fight for her.”
I leave, and hear him stomping after me. “Wait; where the fuck are you going?”
Sighing, I turn to him. “I’ve got somewhere important to be,” I remind him, then point to the book I gave him. “You can call someone to fix the windows and door. Charge it to the business account.”
“And what about all the members and staff?”
I shrug. “Send them home.”
He watches me closely, eyes narrowed. “You don’t seem very effected by this.”
“I’m a calm person.”
“Yes, but you protect what’s yours. I’ve seen you jump to defend this place when we’ve had trouble.”
My gaze bores into his. “This isn’t what needs protecting. Charlotte is.”
With that, I turn and leave, trusting Landon to sort this mess out. Am I pissed someone has done this? Yes. But it’s all replaceable and easily fixed. If the person had directed their anger to the entire gym, we might not have been able to reopen for a while. We’re also lucky no one took advantage of the break in to actually steal equipment.