Chapter 8 #4
“I’m gonna need your mom’s number, and the contact information for the detective in New York who was working on your case,” Mr. Mayson says, and I nod my head in agreement.
“I have a friend who’s been looking into things,” Asher says, and I look over at him. I never knew this. We talked about what happened to me, but he never told me anything about someone looking into it.
“You do?” I ask, wondering when he had asked someone to check on it.
“Yeah.” That was all he said while pulling me closer so he could kiss my forehead.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “When were you going to tell me about that?”
“Right now.”
“Don’t you think that I should know about things like that?”
“You know now.” I narrow my eyes and he brings my hand to his mouth, kissing my fingers that are wrapped around his. “Nothing has happened in the last few months. We weren’t even sure if the break in had anything to do with what happened in New York.”
That’s a good point. We didn’t know anything. I don’t even know why I cared. I was grateful that he was looking into it.
“Have they come up with anything?” I ask, hoping that some detective was using his skills so I didn’t have to live my days worried about my life being in danger, or worse, having Asher or either of our families in danger.
“Nothing new. They think it was an isolated incident.”
“So, do they have any idea why this is happening?”
“No, baby.”
“Do you think someone is stalking me?” I ask, looking at Asher then his dad.
“I’m not sure what’s going on. And before I jump to any conclusions, I need to talk to the florist who delivered the flowers and ask about the person who placed the order.
Then I need to contact your mother and find out what she remembers from the night of your attack.
I also need to contact the officer who was handling your case and see if there are any cases similar to yours,” Mr. Mayson explains.
“Asher already found that out. They said it was isolated.”
“Yes, they did, but he was talking about the attack. I’m talking about the flowers and the messages,” Mr. Mayson says.
“Smart.” I smile at him and he shakes his head, chuckling.
“In the meantime, I want you to be extra cautious when you’re out. I also need you to make a list of people that you have dated. There might be someone who wasn’t ready for your relationship to be over.”
“That’s simple. I dated my ex-fiancé and Asher.”
“I mean anyone you went out with, even if it wasn’t serious.”
“I know, and it was only my ex and Asher. I never dated in high school. My mother wanted me to work, and if I wasn’t working, I had to be at home.
I met my ex during my sophomore year of college and I dated him until I caught him with my mother.
After I broke it off with him, I needed time and I was never really interested in anyone, so I didn’t date.
Although, before the attack happened, my boss made me sign up for a dating service, so I did that, but I haven’t even checked the activity of that account. ”
“Do you have the account information?” Asher asks and I can see his jaw tightening.
“Yeah, it’s in my phonebook.”
“So, you didn’t think about closing the account since we met?”
I rolled my eyes and looked at him, wanting to determine if he was being serious.
“I haven’t even thought about it.” His eyes narrowed.
“What? You’ve been keeping me busy,” I shout, throwing my hands in the air.
“I’m sorry if I haven’t thought about a dating site that I didn’t even want to be a member of.
” I hear Asher’s dad laugh from across the kitchen and I look up at the same time as Asher.
His dad puts his hands in front of him in a stay back gesture and laughs harder. I laugh, and Asher’s eyes come to me.
“You think this is funny?”
“Um...no?” My answer sounds like a question and I start laughing louder.
“What did I tell you about laughing at me, baby?” he asks.
I see the look in his eyes so I jump off the counter and start to run to get away from him.
Sadly, his legs are longer and his speed is faster, so I don’t have a chance to escape before I am lying on the floor and his big body is pinning me down, tickling me.
My head is thrashing back and forth. I am begging him to stop and then Beast comes over, not to help me, but to assist Asher in his torture. He is licking my face while Asher tickles my ribs.
“Are you going to close the account?”
He keeps up the tickling. “YES!” I screech my agreement about the dating site.
“Please stop. I’m going to pee.” I am finally able to say a full sentence and he stops immediately.
I jump up and run to the bathroom without looking back.
When I am walking back toward the kitchen, I hear Asher and his dad talking.
“I want this shit done.”
“Call Kenton and ask him to make November a priority. You can always send her to him to keep safe.” Hmm, that’s interesting. I’ve been wondering what Kenton does for a living but every time I ask about it, I get the run around.
His laugh holds no humor. Then he answers, “He met November at the Christmas party and was getting ready to go in for the Kenton kill when I told him she was mine.”
“He would never cross that line and you know it.”
“The only thing I know is that I want this shit done,” he growls. “I’m too selfish to send her away. I wouldn’t be able to function knowing she was staying with Kenton.” I hear him take a breath. “If things escalate, I’ll take her to the cabin.”
“Your cousin is a good man. He’s also one of the best at what he does.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You were not there. You didn’t see the way he looked at her. I know Kenton better than anyone. And unless something else happens, she stays here with me.”
“Your jealousy could end up getting her hurt,” his dad whispers and my heart starts beating double time.
“I would never let anything happen to her. I have my fucking reasons for not trusting anyone with her.” I know I need to quit eavesdropping, but it is like I’m glued in place.
“We don’t even know what’s going on. The only thing we do know is that she was attacked in New York.
That may not even have anything to do with what’s happening here. ”
“The card shows the New York City skyline. I think whoever is doing this knows her from New York. We don’t know if the attack and the things happening here are connected, but since she’s been in Tennessee, she has had two separate instances where someone left poetry.
This thing is messy. We just need to clean it up and put the pieces together.
I’m going into town to the florist. I’ll call and let you know if I find out anything from them. ”
“In the meantime, I’m gonna talk to my friend in Jersey and tell him about what happened today.” I can hear the frustration in Asher’s voice.
I walk out of my hiding place in the hall just as Mr. Mayson is opening the front door.
He tips his head in my direction, his eyes soft on me.
“I want you to be extra careful.” I can tell that his tone is not that of the sheriff, but as a man who cares about me like a daughter.
“If you’re out, you need to watch who’s around you.
If anyone makes you feel even the slightest bit of unease, you go somewhere where with a lot of people and call me or one of my boys.
As I told Asher, this whole situation is a mess.
I just need to see if I can dig anything up that will straighten everything out. In the meantime, stay safe.”
“Thanks for everything.” I walk to him and hug him around the waist. He gives me a one-armed hug, his other arm full with his notebook, his plastic bag with the card inside, and a coffee cup.
“I’m sure Susan is going to be stopping by soon and will want to see for herself that you’re safe.
” He was not wrong. Susan was a momma bear and very protective of her cubs.
Since being brought into the family, she has taken me under her care and made it known far and wide that if you messed with me, you would have to deal with her.
“Okay,” I murmur. My real mother might not want me, but Susan loves me and she is better than anything I could ever ask for in a mother. Asher’s brothers are always giving me a hard time, telling me I am a suck up but I don’t care.
Asher hooks me around my waist, pulling my back to his front. “Talk to you soon, Dad,” Asher says, shuffling us to the door as his dad closes it behind him. He locks it and turns me around, his hands framing my face. “You okay?” I can see the worry in his eyes.
“I’m fine. I just want to know who is doing this and why.”
“Me too, baby,” he says, laying his forehead against mine.
“Is it me, or is that poem totally creepy?” I whisper.
“It’s not just you.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know, baby,” he says quietly. I wrap my arms tighter around him and hold on. I can tell he hates this more than I do.