Chapter 50
FLETCHER
I started getting texts from an unknown number. I knew they were from Tank, though. Texts like: Hey gorgeous. Miss your face. Wish I could see you again, turned into: Why don’t you leave that asshole boyfriend of yours and be my mate? I could give you so much more.
When I didn’t respond, his responses got harsher and crueler. Warning me about what might happen if I don’t come back to him. Threatening to hurt me, to hurt Adam, if I didn’t “be a good boy” and listen.
I couldn’t tell Adam about this. I was afraid of what my Alpha might do.
He was still so agitated about the whole thing, and I felt so damn guilty, because all of this was my fault.
It was my idea to share partners. I was the one who wanted to explore sexually.
I was the one who met Tank that night at the club.
It was better if Adam didn’t know, so I decided to just ignore the texts and block his number. Except a new unknown number began popping up to harass me almost immediately.
You can’t outrun me forever, pretty boy… I’m coming for you, one way or another.
It sent a chill running down my spine. I stuffed my phone into my pocket before Adam could peek at the screen, because I was certain I’d gone pale as a ghost.
“I think I’m going to take a shower,” I announced, and made my escape.
Later that evening, my insides felt all twisted, like they’d been run through a hand mixer. Agitation edged through me, so I decided to go for a walk. I needed to stretch my legs and walk off these nerves.
Besides, I wanted to pick up something for dessert. Something to surprise Adam with, since he’d been so stressed lately.
There was a bakery right on the edge of town that sold homemade goods that were to die for. I’d stop there and grab a pie. Maybe peach, or apple crumble. Mmm...
The walk was nice. I’d definitely needed to get some fresh air. Being cooped up in the house all the time was driving me batty.
I was almost to the small lot of Mammy’s Place when I heard it—the loud rumbling of a motorcycle engine, growling its warning behind me.
I spun around to see Tank sitting astride a beast of black and chrome, rolling towards me quickly. He revved the engine and I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart in my throat.
I glanced around. Shit. This wasn’t good. “Tank,” I warned him as he swung his leg over the saddle and strode towards me with an almost cocksure confidence, like a predator who had his prey directly in his line of sight. “Please, leave us alone.”
“I just wanna talk,” he drawled.
“Well, I don’t wanna talk to you,” I snapped back, glancing over my shoulder at the little bakery that suddenly seemed so far away. “What’s done is done. I’m sorry it ended the way that it did, but it’s over, okay? I just want to move on with my life.”
Tank growled at me, baring the tips of his fangs. “Me too! But I can’t fucking get you out of my head! Don’t you get it?” he all but roared. “My beast aches for you. My body misses you. I crave your taste. I just need—”
“Stop.” I held up a hand. “Just stop. It’s not happening.”
“Fletcher, would you just—”
“No!” He grabbed my wrist. I jerked back, trying to wrench free. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” I shrieked. Panic climbed up my throat as he so easily yanked me into his chest, like I weighed nothing at all.
“I need you, pretty boy.” Tank’s voice was low and rough with an unspoken growl—and then he smashed his mouth to mine in a kiss I didn’t give him permission to take.
I gasped and tried to twist away, but the hand at the back of my head held fast. Forcing me down. Kissing me open, his tongue thrusting between my parted lips as I opened them to scream.
Bucking beneath him, I did the only thing I could think to do—I bit down on his tongue until the warm, wet copper of his blood filled my mouth. He snarled in pain and jerked away, and I took off running with a scream.
“HELP!”
“YOU LITTLE BITCH!” Tank howled after me. Moments later, I heard the bike engine rev again, and I knew he was going to run me down with that monster.
Panting, my lips still wet with blood, I sprinted across someone’s lawn and began beating on their front door. “Please be home, please be home!”
An older man pulled the door open a crack, blinking down at me in confusion. “Can I help you, young man?”
“Please, can I come inside? I promise, I won’t stay long, but that guy out there? He’s my ex and he’s trying to hurt me! I need someplace safe to stay until my boyfriend can come pick me up. Please!”
At that moment, Tank rolled up in the old man’s drive, shouting slurs and curses at me. My heart beat thunderously in my chest, but the man opened the door fully, ushering me inside.
“Do you need me to call the cops?”
God, that would make things so much worse… “No!” I yelped. “I-I just need to call my boyfriend. Thank you, though.”
I sank shakily down in an old floral armchair and dialed Adam. He picked up on the first ring, concern in his voice. “Fletcher? Where are you?”
“Um. It’s a long story. Can you come pick me up? I had a run-in with Tank and I don’t feel safe walking home.”
“Why were you out walking alone in the first place?” he demanded.
“I just wanted to get some air,” I mumbled. “And I was gonna pick up something sweet for dessert tonight…”
Adam’s sigh hissed across the line. “Oh, baby… Where are you?”
“Um. I don’t know. One sec.” I asked the man what his address was, then relayed it back to Adam. “It’s like, really close to Mammy’s Place, that bakery we love so much? I wanted to get us a pie, but…yeah.”
Suddenly, I had no appetite. In fact, all I could taste was blood. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, using my phone’s selfie-camera as a mirror to make sure I got it all. I didn’t need Adam to freak out more than he was going to.
Adam showed up far quicker than expected, which told me he definitely didn’t follow the speed limits. When he pulled into the drive, I peeked outside to make sure Tank wasn’t nearby. I thanked the man who’d given me a safe haven, then went out and got in the car.
Adam’s golden eyes were sharp as knives. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, I—”
“I can smell him on you, Fletcher.”
His accusatory tone made me flinch. I hung my head. “He… He tried to kiss me, told me that he needed me, that his beast craved me and that I was making a mistake. I bit him and ran. Thankfully, this neighbor let me inside. Otherwise…”
Would Tank have kidnapped me? God, I didn’t even want to think about that possibility.
Adam growled. “This is such bullshit.” He slammed his palms against the steering wheel. My head snapped up, my gaze zeroing in on him. “We’re going to the cops.”
“What? Why?”
“He’s obviously unhinged. We need to get a restraining order. Is there anything else he’s done? Has he called and harassed you? Texted?”
I sighed and fished out my phone from my pocket. “Yeah. Some texts, late at night. I never replied. I blocked one number, but another started texting me. I’m sorry, Adam. I should’ve told you, but I was worried you’d get upset. This is all my fault.” My shoulders slumped, my chest aching.
His expression suddenly softened. “Fletcher. No. It’s not,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry with you, I’m pissed off at the situation, and at Tank. He’s insane. You can’t control that. We both made a bad decision by sleeping with him, but the cops will sort him out. He won’t bother us anymore.”
I nodded slowly. “I guess.”
Why did it feel like involving the police would only piss an Alpha like Tank off though?