The cops asked me tonight if I had anyone in my life or in my past who I would consider a suspect, and I honestly couldn’t think of one person. Troy would be an obvious suspect, but I know he wouldn’t risk tarnishing his family’s name by being so devious, and there is no one else in my past who I can think of who would want to hurt me or given me a reason to believe they are even the slightest bit obsessed with me.
I close my eyes. Neither the police nor Braxton told me what was said on the phone calls or what was in the package they received, but by the looks that were passed around, I know whatever it was, it was bad. I also know Braxton well enough to understand he’s not going to let me go about my life as usual, and I’m not sure I want to. For the first time in a long time, I feel vulnerable, the same kind of unease I felt as a kid when things in life were up in the air.
I open my eyes when I hear movement behind me then moments later, Braxton settles on the ground at my back and wraps his arms around me. Once I’m resting against his chest, encircled in the safety of his hold, I turn to my side to rest on my hip with my ear over his heart and listen to the steady beat.
“This is why I didn’t want you to know what’s been happening.” His words cut through the silence, and I open my eyes.
“You don’t think I would have eventually found out my place had been broken into and all my stuff was destroyed?”
“I was going to cross that bridge when I got to it.”
“You’re really unbelievable.” I tip my head back, and he dips his head down to meet my gaze. “What was your plan? Were you going to just move me in with you and say you got rid of all my stuff?”
“Maybe.” He sighs, and I want to laugh, because he would do something so ridiculous in order to hide what happened, but all that would’ve done is create more issues between us.
“That would have been a lie,” I point out.
“I know,” he agrees.
“You said you don’t want to lie to me anymore.”
“I also don’t want you so worried that you sneak out of bed in the middle of the night because you can’t sleep.”
“You can’t stop me from worrying about this.” I sigh, resting my head back against his chest.
“I know.” He cups my jaw, smoothing his thumb back and forth over my cheek. “What took you from bed?”
“I just keep wondering what I did,” I admit quietly as I stare at the silent street below us.
“You didn’t do anything. Sometimes people are just mentally unable to distinguish the difference between real life and what they believe in their minds.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“It will be okay.” His lips linger on the top of my head as he continues to speak. “The police will do their job, and I have people looking into things as well. Until they find out who is behind the calls and what happened at your apartment, we will keep you off the air.”
“I need to tell Jamie what happened.”
“He knows about the calls.”
He does? I mean that’s probably what his strange looks were about and why he didn’t seem to mind when I told him about Braxton’s overprotectiveness. “I’m surprised he didn’t demand he stay with me or something.” He clears his throat, and I know there’s more he’s not saying. “What?”
“He also knows I’ve had someone watching you.”
“You what?” I shout and attempt to push away from him, but when he doesn’t let me go, I growl in frustration and give up. “Since when have you had someone watching me?”
“The morning after we met, I was informed about the phone calls, and when your name was mentioned, I decided to hire someone to watch over you while I was out of town. They have been following you since then.”
“The big guy?” I ask, and he nods. “I knew it. So it was him who followed me in a car that morning?”
“No.” He frowns. “Someone followed you in a car?”
“Yeah… or I think so.” I shake my head. “I’m not sure. After I ran into you, I didn’t see them again and thought I was imagining it.”
“I think we need to tell the police about that incident. Do you remember what the car looked like?”
I try, but I can’t recall. “I think dark, but I can’t remember. It seems like forever ago.”
“Has anything like that happened since then?”
I think about it, but “No.”
“Before you moved here, did you ever receive any strange phone calls or letters, anything like that?” he asks—the same question the police asked me last night.
“No, I mean—” I pause, wondering if the photos of Troy cheating could be connected, but that was a long time ago. Surely something would have happened since then if they were.
“What?”
“The photos of Troy cheating on me came in a plain, unmarked envelope. I still don’t know who sent them to me.”
“Did Troy know who might have sent them? Maybe the woman he was cheating on you with?”
“I never asked. I’ve never even talked to him about what happened.”
“Do you still have the pictures or the envelope?”
“No, I left them along with my engagement ring when I left.”
“Troy’s father is in politics. Someone might have been planning on using those pictures to blackmail him. I’ll have my guys look into it. It might be connected, but it might not.”
“You know Troy’s dad is in politics?” I ask, and he raises a brow like “Are you really asking that?” “Right, never mind. Don’t even bother answering that question. Of course you know.”
His arms tighten around me. “I think you need to tell Jamie about what happened last night face-to-face. Maybe you can invite him over here and we can talk to him together, put him at ease, and make sure he knows you’re safe.”
“Your family is going to be here,” I remind him of something that has me nervous, especially since I’m not exactly in the best place mentally to meet them.
“What does that matter?”
“Because Jamie will probably lose his mind, and I’m not sure that is something you want your family to witness.”
“You don’t think my parents are going to be upset about this when they find out? My mother will probably demand I send you to stay with her, and my father will most likely ask if I want one of the guns he keeps locked away in his safe at home.”
“Or your parents will think I’m bringing trouble to their son’s doorstep and hate me because of it.”
“No one is going to hate you.” I see his lips twitch like he wants to laugh.
“You don’t know that, and if they do, it’s something you for once have no control over. You can’t force them to like me.”
“Let’s just see what happens.” He touches his lips to mine then stands and picks me up. “Right now, let’s get some rest. We will have enough drama to deal with in the morning without making shit up tonight.”
“I’m not tired,” I tell him as he walks us into his room and lays me on the bed.
“Then you can just lie here with me,” he bosses, climbing into bed with me and tucking his face against the crook of my neck. “You should know,” he whispers as my body starts to relax, “my parents are going to love you, because they will see how happy you make me.”