20. Emmy
“Spill.”
I take a sip of my coffee, which went cold hours ago, and watch Steph over the rim of the mug. She’s pacing the length of my office, and if she doesn’t stop, she’s going to wear a hole in the floor.
“There’s nothing to spill.”
“Bullshit,” she counters. “You haven’t wanted to go out for drinks in days. Days,” she repeats, throwing her hands up. “And you promised to make it up to me when you couldn’t go before.”
She’s right, I haven’t wanted to go out with her. But that’s only because I’ve been spending all my free time with Inferno. He can give me things she can’t… all sorts of things.
I clench my thighs together at the thought and clear my throat. “I’m sorry. Things have been hectic, that’s all.”
“Again, bullshit.” Steph flops down in the chair across my desk. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the dreamy look in your eyes every morning, or the way you seek out that hunk of a man when his shift starts when what you should really be doing is leaving this place with me. I see these things, Em. I see them all.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “You see too much.”
She grins, and I’m reminded that she’s not really angry. “At least tell me he’s good in bed,” she encourages. “If he’s good in bed, I can forgive you.”
“I’m great in bed.”
I lift my gaze to the doorway, and Steph twists her neck. Inferno is leaning against the jamb, a confident smirk on his face.
Steph looks from him to me to him and back again. “Is he telling the truth?” she whispers as if he can’t hear her.
“Yeah.”
My friend sighs dramatically and gets to her feet. “Fine. I give.” She walks to the door and stops in front of Inferno. “Hurt her, and I’ll kill you.”
With that, she leaves, and I let go of the laughter bubbling up from my gut. “Should I tell her or let her have her moment?”
Inferno walks inside the office and around my desk to drop a kiss to the top of my head. “Even if we wanted to, we can’t tell her the truth about me so might as well let her have her moment.”
“Okay.”
“I shouldn’t be too much longer,” he informs me. “I’ve got one more office before I finish with yours, and then we can head home.”
“Sounds good. I’ll wrap things up.”
Inferno disappears into the hall, and I shift my attention to my computer. I need to check my email one last time before shutting things down because I’m waiting on a referral for a new client I was contacted about this afternoon.
I click on the email icon and scroll through my inbox once it loads. I don’t see the referral I’m waiting for, but I do come across one from an unknown sender. Opening the message, I’m sure I’ll be deleting it within seconds since it’s likely junk, but I’m surprised when I see it’s not spam.
I read the words, and my stomach drops.
Dear Emmaline Daniels,
You’ve crossed a line, and there’s no going back. Shacking up with the enemy is the ultimate sin, and it won’t be forgiven. I wish you’d have sent him packing because now I have to take care of it for you. I’ve been nice up until this point… other than slashing your tires that is… but that’s over. I’m coming for you and the ape you’ve been fucking.
Get ready for me, Emmaline. You haven’t been able to hide from me yet, and that will never change.
Sincerely,
Your pissed off stalker
P.S. Enjoy the pictures. I know I did
My hand shakes as I move the mouse to the attached files and click on them. Images, one after the other, pop up on the screen, and with each new photo, my anger rises.
Every single file is a picture of me and Inferno in, shall we say, compromising positions. These were clearly taken from outside my house, and the thought makes me desperately want a shower.
Inferno strides into my office just then, and tears gather in my eyes.
“Emmy,” he says, rushing to my side. “What’s wrong?”
Words fail me, and all I can do is point at my computer.
“Son of a bitch,” Inferno snarls. “Who are these from?”
“Who do you think?”
“Sorry.” He straightens to his full height and pulls out his cell. I have no idea who he’s calling and can’t figure it out based on his side of the conversation. When he disconnects the call, he bends down next to my chair. “Okay, I need you to forward this email to one of my brothers. He’s going to dig deeper and see if he can figure out who it came from.”
“No.”
He blinks several times. “Emmy, you have to. This is how we catch this fucker.”
“I can’t,” I tell him. “These pictures… I’m naked, Inferno.”
“I know, and trust me, I’m not crazy about the thought of anyone else seeing them, but I trust my brothers to be discreet.”
With as much as I’ve put my faith in this man, I don’t know why I’m faltering now.
This is personal, private… that’s why.
But if his brothers can help…
“Fine,” I cave. “Where am I sending it?”
He recites an email address, and I type it in and hit send before I chicken out. After turning off my computer, I reach for my desk phone.
“Who are you calling?” he asks, grabbing my hand.
“The police. I need to report this.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“Emmy, you can’t report it. It’s likely they won’t be able to learn anything new from it so what’s the point?”
“But this is harassment. And the pictures prove that this guy was at my house.”
“And he didn’t hurt you.” I narrow my eyes at him, and he smiles. “Not physically, anyway. Let my club do our thing. If we can figure it out, you can go to the police.”
Here I am again, doing things against my better judgment because I trust him.
“Fine. You’ve got forty-eight hours.”
“We’ll have this wrapped up in twenty-four.”