Chapter 3
ZACH
The door opens, and I’m holding my breath, excited to see Skylar. It took me no time to pack, and the rest of the time I spent watching more of her videos.
Fuck, she’s amazing.
I hurried over here, wanting to see her, to hear her giggle and watch her bite her lip when she concentrates. But instead of seeing Skylar, I’m looking at Logan.
He looks worried, and my stomach drops. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He ushers me inside. “Nothing. She took it as well as I expected.”
“But she agreed,” I insist. There’s no other option. I’m not leaving here.
He nods. “Yeah, she agreed.”
I drop my bag by the door and look around. When I pulled up to the small house with the white picket fence, my heart started to race. In the past, I would have been freaked out by the cozy feeling this place invokes in me, but not today. No; right now, I feel at peace.
I look around her home, and it’s a perfect reflection of her. The lighting is soft, throws tossed over the back of the couch, stacks of books, warm wood, and it smells of vanilla and cinnamon. Every bit of it wraps around me and fills me with a warmth I haven’t felt in a long time.
“Where is she?” I ask.
Logan looks around the empty living room. “Uh, probably in the kitchen. That’s where she spends most of her time.”
I look at him expectantly, and he turns. “Come on.”
I follow him through the house feeling incredibly tense.
I want to shake my hands to try and calm myself.
As soon as we walk into the kitchen, I see Skyler, and I can’t look away.
She’s even more beautiful in person. Her brown hair is in a knot on the top of her head, just like it is in most of her videos.
Seeing her here in person, I want to reach out, undo the knot, and let her hair fall down around her shoulders.
She’s staring at me with wide blue eyes, and I take a few steps closer. “Hey, Skyler.”
She lowers her eyes to the dough in front of her. “Hello, Zach.”
Logan looks between me and his sister. “Uh, I’m sorry to run, but I have a plane I need to catch.”
Skyler pulls her fingers out of the dough and walks over to the sink. She has her back to us as she washes her hands, and I let my eyes travel down her body. Her curves draw me in, and I put my hands together in front of me to hide my growing arousal.
Drying her hands, she walks into her brother’s waiting arms. As they hug, Logan kisses the top her head and whispers, “It’s okay, sis. I’ll be home before you know it.”
She sniffs and pulls away, nodding her head. “You better.”
He grips her shoulders. “I will.” He gestures to me. “Please do what Zach asks you to. Let him do his job.”
She nods but never vocally agrees.
I come to stand next to Skyler and pat him on the shoulder. “We’ll be fine here. Take care of yourself, Logan.”
He nods, looks between me and his sister, gives me a warning glare, and then hugs his sister again. “Okay. Love you, sis. Tell our brothers I love them too.”
Skyler sniffs, and I walk with Logan through the house. After more goodbyes and instructions, I shut the door behind him. I lock it and then go through the house, testing all the locks on the windows, saving the kitchen for last.
I needed the time to get myself together. When I finally walk back into the kitchen, Skyler is back working on the dough, and she doesn’t even look at me when I come in.
I stand across the counter and watch her. She’s completely in her element, and it’s mesmerizing watching her work. Does she know how beautiful she is? She has to.
“Skyler.”
“Yep,” she answers quickly, kneading the dough with more intensity.
“We should talk, don’t you think?”
She shrugs. “What do you want to talk about?”
When I don’t answer, she glances up at me, blushes, and looks at her hands again.
I pull up a stool and sit down so we’re almost eye to eye. “What are you making?”
“Sugar cookies.”
I nod and quietly watch her. She shapes the cookies, puts them on a pan, and then slides them into the oven. She sets the timer and then crosses her arms over her chest. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
Everything, I almost mutter, but I know that would come off creepy, so I stick to why I’m here. “Everything about your stalker.”
She frowns. “Okay. Well, let's see. His handle on social media is ‘bakersking.’ He pops into most of my live feeds. He leaves messages on all my videos. And…”
When she stops, I tense up. “And what?”
She lets her shoulders droop and walks over to the trash can. She opens the lid and points down inside it. “I got these yesterday.”
I walk over next to her and see the bouquet of daisies. “Did he deliver those to you… here?”
She blinks up at me, and for the first time, I sense that she is fearful even though she’s trying to act like she’s not.
She shakes her head. “No. He didn’t. Someone else delivered them. The card is right there. I figure I’d give it to the policeman that is supposed to be handling this. But he says there’s nothing he can do unless the guy actually does something.”
I grab the card off the counter and read it. “Blue is my favorite color. Like your eyes.”
The writing gets blurry as rage travels through my body. This motherfucker watches her, lusts after her, makes her feel unsafe. I will fuckin’ end him.
I turn to Skyler. “We need to talk.”
She shrugs and looks at the timer before gesturing to the table in the corner of the room. “Have a seat. The cookies will be out in a minute.”
I stomp over to the table, pull out the chair, and sit down. I’m trying to calm myself, but inside, I’m fuming.
I turn the card over in my hand. Petal + Leaf.
I pull out my phone, take pictures of the front and the back of card, and send them to Alex Colby. He’s coming to work with us at Stronghold Security, and if anyone can get the details on who purchased the flowers, he can. He has almost as much military experience as Logan and I do.
She works around her kitchen, and I just sit here and blatantly watch her. Neither one of us talks, but it’s a comfortable silence.
Eventually the timer dings, and I watch Skyler take the pan out and set it on the stove. She pours milk into two glasses and carries them over to the table. Then she plates some cookies and brings those over too.
After sitting down across from me, she crosses her hands on the table. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
I sit up a little taller. “I’m not leaving.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “Zach, listen. I agreed because I don’t want Logan to worry about me while he’s gone, but I really don’t need a bodyguard. I can take care of myself.”
I bite back the urge to give in. I’m not giving in.
She tilts her head to the side. “Look, I don’t want you to waste your time or your resources taking care of me.”
“Miller already paid.”
Her eyes widen, and she throws a hand up. “I’m sure I’ll be getting visits from all my brothers over the next few days.”
I just sit here, watching her. If she thinks I’m leaving, she’s mistaken. There’s nothing that will force me out of here. Whether she wants to believe it or not, she’s in real danger, and over my dead body will I let someone hurt her.
My silence doesn’t sit well with her. She bangs her hand softly on the table. “Zach, will you please listen to reason? This is a bad idea. You can’t stay here.”