31. Stalker
South
I glance up from my phone as he rolls over from one side to the other. He reaches out and runs a hand over the sheets. His body slowly stiffens up as he clenches the fabric in a tight fist.
I watch as Shade struggles with some emotion I don’t recognize, his face not covered by the blank mask. His eyes are shut tight as his jaw clenches.
“Evie?” He calls out in a pained tone.
“Yes?” I raise a brow.
His eyes pop open and he turns to stare at me in surprise.
“What the fuck are you doing down there?”
“Watching you sleep,” I shrug and scroll through the pictures to the one I like best. I crawl from the foot of the bed to lie on my belly next to him and hold it out.
He scowls at the picture of him smiling in his sleep and starts scrolling, his eyes widening the further he goes. He taps a few buttons and chokes on air.
“How many pictures of me do you have?”
I take the phone, curious myself. He’s looking at the folder and the total is on the bottom.
“Seven hundred thirty-six.”
He doesn’t have anything to say about it.
“Look at this one,” I pull up one of my favorites. “How did I get you to be this happy? I want to do it again.”
“I don’t remember,” he says in a soft tone. He looks dazed.
I nod, a little disappointed.
“Do you want to stay home today or get a phone and your furniture?”
“How about a phone and stay home after? I liked our anime marathon.”
“Me too,” I agree and roll out of bed to get ready. “I have a request.”
“What is it?” He looks amazed at the news and gathers up some clothes to change.
“One of the assholes told me he had photos of you. Can you delete them or should I ask Tera to?”
“What?” He sounds pissed.
“I don’t like him having them and gouging his eyes out will upset Tera. I wanted to ask you first in case you were naked in any of them. I don’t think she could stomach it.”
“Consider it fucking done, baby.”
“I appreciate it,” I give him a feral grin. “But not really. I was hoping you’d say no so I could kill him.”
“Can I borrow your phone?” He asks me in a tight voice.
“Of course,” I hand it over and finish dressing as he makes a call.
“Get them out of here now. ”
It’s the only thing he says before he hangs up. My eyes narrow on him as my smile gets wider.
“They can run all they want. I’ll find them.”
He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “Baby?”
“Yes?”
“I think we need some new bans.”
Damn. I should have kept my mouth shut.
***
His new phone is so high tech it baffles me. What could he possibly need it all for? When we get home, he gets his laptop out and angrily hacks into the four asshole’s devices to wipe any memory of him away.
They still owe though.
I refuse to see what he’s deleting. Those memories are not mine and the thought of sharing this with them nauseates me.
Instead, I watch anime and munch popcorn while he works.
An hour later he freezes up and I glance over.
He’s been working steadily and so focused I might as well not be here. It’s interesting to watch. I’ve snuck at least fifty pictures of him.
“What’s wrong?”
He found something that he certainly doesn’t like.
He shifts until his back is against the armrest of his side of the couch and taps the screen of his phone, his glare getting darker as he goes.
“Shade. Show me and I’ll fix it,” I tell him in a gritty tone.
His eyes slowly lift to see me and I stare at the monster looking back.
“All my texts came in.”
The dark, hungry tone baffles me. Is he mad or not?
When my head tilts curiously his lips twist up into a grin that raises the hair on the back of my neck. I blink in surprise as my heart slams against my chest. The feeling is uncomfortable and new.
I snap a picture of it to study later. For now, I want to know what it means.
“You started a game that I didn’t know about.”
I try to think back but nothing substantial comes to mind.
“Who has your pajamas, baby?”
The picture Tera took of me handing my shorts to the landlord. He just found it. My head reels with pleasure over this reaction. It’s so much better in reality than my imagination. My feral grin comes out as I lick my lips.
“Find out.”
“I plan to. And I don’t accept bans.”
“You’re so perfect.”
I take another picture.