Chapter 4 Lex
LEX
I fought the urge to cross my legs or duck behind a piece of furniture for some sort of coverage. That only stoked my anger. This had always been the way things were with West. He could understand me better than anyone else in one breath and cut me to the quick in the next.
Cara smacked him upside the head. “You’re an idiot.”
Holt’s lips twitched. “Gonna have to agree with your sister on that one, Castille.”
Castille. I rolled the name around on my tongue. I’d always loved when his football teammates had called him by his last name, and it made sense that it had carried over into the military and after.
West’s boss gave me a reassuring smile as he extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too. Thanks for coming to, uh, help.” I wasn’t exactly sure what they thought they were going to do, but I was grateful for them trying.
Holt nodded, gesturing to our small living room for us to sit. “Happy to. I checked out your YouTube page. You’re damn talented.”
Heat hit my cheeks, and I didn’t miss the glare that West sent in his boss’s direction. “Thank you.” I picked at the hem of my shorts as I sat. “It’s kind of become tainted with everything going on.”
Holt pulled out his phone and then sat in one of the two overstuffed chairs, West taking the other. “When did this first start?”
I made a humming noise as I thought back. “I think the first comments came about two months ago.”
West’s gaze snapped in Cara’s direction. “You told me it had only been going on a month.”
Cara rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know exactly. I haven’t been writing every incident down on my calendar.”
I glanced at my best friend, where she sat on the other side of the couch.
“I don’t think I told you when it first started.
” I turned my gaze to Holt, studiously avoiding the man sitting next to him.
I couldn’t look into those dark brown eyes and not long for something that would never be mine.
“At first, it was just stuff that wasn’t all that out of the ordinary.
Compliments, really. About my voice or telling me I was beautiful. ”
“But something changed?” Holt pressed.
I nodded. “Then there were almost commands. Things like, ‘Stop showing the world what’s mine.’”
A low growl sounded from West’s direction. “When did that happen?”
I wrapped a string from my cutoffs around my finger, pulling tight. “I don’t know. Maybe six weeks ago?”
West sent a sidelong look at Holt. “That’s a fast escalation.”
Holt pressed his lips together and nodded. “I’ve got one of our tech guys combing through your YouTube comments to get all the information we can.”
My mouth felt dry. Parched. I couldn’t seem to get any words out, so I just nodded again.
West’s assessing gaze bored into mine. “When did the notes start?”
I pulled the string around my finger, cutting off the blood supply. “A little over three weeks ago. At first, they were on my car. I’d find them after a shift at work. But we’ve gotten a couple here, too. I usually find them in the morning.”
A shiver raced through me at the thought of someone lurking outside my door while I was asleep.
West covered my hand with his, then slowly and methodically unwound the string from my finger. A buzz lit beneath my skin, my muscles humming with the contact. He didn’t take his eyes off mine. “We’re going to figure out who’s doing this. I promise.”
A burn lit behind my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear that.
How alone I’d felt. I had Cara and Pete, but that was really it.
My parents had never been overly invested in me, almost as if they’d had a child to tick it off the to-do list. Three years ago, my dad had retired, and they’d moved to Arizona. I barely saw them now.
West might be a jerk at times, but I knew he would do everything possible to keep me safe. It was just the kind of man he was. A good one. The best.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Holt cleared his throat, and West jerked his hand back, the moment broken. “I assume the police have the notes in evidence?”
Cara scoffed. “They have them, but I doubt they have an evidence storage system.”
Holt frowned at that. “We’re going to check into our hotel and get the lay of the land. Hopefully, our tech team will have more information for us, as well. Tomorrow, West and I will get this place wired for a security system.”
Cara groaned. “Seriously? My memory is horrible. That thing is going to go off every other day.”
West pinned his sister with that patented big-brother stare. “It’s necessary.”
I winced. “I’m sorry, Care.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “None of this is your fault. I’ll just junk-punch whoever this is when West catches him.”
My mouth curved a fraction. My bestie could be vicious when she got riled.
Holt and West stood, but West lingered for a moment. “Call me if anything seems out of the norm.”
Cara nodded. “You’re on speed dial.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off West as he walked toward the door. An ache took root in my chest as if some invisible string connected us and was pulling taut, just shy of breaking.
I forced my gaze away, staring down at my hands. I saw a bunch of red marks where the string had tightened around my pointer finger. I flexed my hand. I could still feel the heat of West’s palm and the gentle movements as he’d unwound the string.
The door shut with a snick that sounded like a bullet in my ear, and my head snapped up.
Cara let out a low whistle as she flopped back onto the couch. “That was a lot of testosterone for a small space.”
“I’m sorry you’ve gotten mixed up in this.”
Cara wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hard hug and not letting go. “We deal with things together. That’s just bestie code.”
“A potential stalker seems like overkill for bestie code.”
“Never.” She hugged me tighter and then let go, reaching for the remote. “How about some seriously awful reality TV to take your mind off things? Nothing like watching a woman dating a dude who’s boning at least ten other women to make your problems seem like a walk in the park.”
I choked on a laugh. “Sounds perfect.”
“Wait, we need ice cream!” Cara leapt from the couch and bounded into our small kitchen. A few seconds later, she reemerged with a pint of cookie dough ice cream and two spoons.
I arched a brow. “No bowls?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” She hit play on the dating reality show and shoved the ice cream in my direction.
It all helped. The sweet treat, the ridiculous drama on screen, but most of all, the friend who always had my back.
By the time the show ended, I had a stomachache and was stiff from sitting in one spot for too long. “I can’t believe we just watched that for two hours.”
Cara grinned. “It was glorious.”
I chuckled as I stood. “It was. Thanks, Care Bear.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Don’t you start calling me that just because West is back.”
I grinned. “It’s such a cute nickname.”
“Not when he calls you that in front of your first crush, it’s not.”
My grin widened into a smile. I’d never forget how embarrassed she’d been.
A knock sounded on the door. Or something like a knock—a single thud against the wood.
I stiffened, my gaze jerking to Cara. She was on her feet in a flash, striding toward the door.
“No—” I started, but it was too late. Cara was already pulling open the door.
Her gaze swept the night and then went to the landing. She bent, picking up a rock. But my eyes were locked on the white envelope.
I hurried to Cara’s side and snatched it up. Someone had written my name in block letters across the front. I should’ve waited, should’ve handed it to the police or West, but I needed to see what was inside. I tugged the notecard free, and my blood ran cold.
YOU’RE MINE. TELL THEM TO LEAVE, OR YOU’LL BE PUNISHED.