Chapter 31
Chapter thirty-one
“What kind of problem?” My jaw clenches and I stroll over to the glass door that leads to the deck.
Peering over my shoulder, I make sure Parker hasn’t gotten out of bed before I open the door and step outside.
The sun has fully set now, and the night sky is clear, showcasing millions of stars that reflect off of the black colored ocean.
Propping myself up against the deck railing on my forearms, I drop my head and wait for Karson to answer.
“Cole and I went to Parker’s after you two left. We did a sweep of her property and couldn’t find anything. No footprints, no evidence that anyone else had been there.” Karson explains and my eyebrows pinch together.
“That doesn’t make any sense. When I got there, she was petrified.”
“Let me finish, Cain.” He snaps. “Slater also tapped into her cameras, there was nothing.”
Something isn’t right. I saw her, naked on the floor, trembling. There had to have been someone there.
“Cole stayed the night there on the couch without incident and left around two in the afternoon to go to Doc’s and locked everything up tight. I was starting to think your girl’s a little nutty.”
“Watch your fucking mouth Tate. You didn’t find her, you didn’t see what I saw.” He’s about to piss me right the fuck off. If he’s not careful, I’ll knock his teeth right down his throat.
“Jeeesuuus Christ, Maverick. Shut the fuck up. Let. Me. Finish.” His tone is frank, and I hear the lighter flick on the other end of the line. With my free hand, I pinch the bridge of my nose.
Get to the point, damnit.
He takes a deep inhale, and continues.
“Now, as I was saying, I was starting to think she’s a little nutty. Anyway, Cole left at two. Slater and I spent the afternoon looking through her security footage for the last month. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. I got here around nine, and her house is fucking destroyed.”
My hand drops from my face and I stand up straight. Looking out over the ocean, I grip the railing so tightly my knuckles turn white.
“What do you mean her house is destroyed?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“I mean, her car is sitting on four slashed tires, someone tried to pry the front door open. The deadbolt must’ve stopped them, because the living room window was smashed in.
The inside of her house is completely wrecked.
The couch has been cut into, holes in the walls, dishes smashed all over the kitchen floor.
Her bedroom is in the same state. She’s going to need all new furniture, and clothes.
Looks like your girl has a stalker.” He explains bluntly.
Still staring out over the ocean, I ponder his last statement.
A stalker. And no…the irony of it is not lost on me.
I’ve been watching Parker like a hawk for some time now, forcing myself into her life, following her and digging into her background.
I guess you could say I’ve been stalking her, but to think someone else is invading her life has me feeling murderous.
“Slater’s on his way here now, we’re going to get this place cleaned up and he’s going to hack into her security system again to make it so it can’t be fucked with anymore.
Troy is coming out to replace it entirely first. I pulled Cole from Doc’s as well, he says he has an idea of who it might be and he’s going to try to find the fucker. ” Karson tells me.
“When we leave here tomorrow, I’m going to take her back to my place.
She’s not staying there anymore.” I grind out and hear the door behind me softly open.
Spinning around, I see Parker standing in the doorway with her arms wrapped around her middle.
A worried expression fills her features, and she takes a step toward me.
“Is everything okay?” She asks softly.
Dropping the phone from my ear, I end the call and slip it into my pants pocket then walk to meet her at the doorway. Stopping in front of her, she cranes her neck to look up at me. I reach my hand to the side of her neck and stroke the soft skin with my thumb.
“Everything’s fine, Sweetheart.” I lie. “Let’s go back to bed.” She remains locked in place and her features harden slightly.
“Not until you tell me what’s wrong. Who was that on the phone?” She asks firmly.
“Karson.”
“Did they find something at my house?” Her voice shakes, and I drop my hand from her neck to grab her hand.
Lacing my fingers with hers, I turn and lead us to the chairs so we can sit down.
Lowering myself into the seat, I pull her onto my lap.
She sits sideways on one leg, and positions herself to look directly at me.
“Yes and no. They didn’t find any evidence of anyone being there last night. Nothing on the cameras and no footprints.” Her spine stiffens.
“No.” She shakes her head. “No, no there was someone there. I know there was. Oh this isn’t happening again.” Her voice is laced with panic as she covers her face with her hands and rapidly shakes her head.
“What do you mean again?” I ask. She raises her head to look me in the eyes, hers swimming with tears. She exhales and squeezes her eyes closed, letting them fall.
“I think someone’s been watching me. No, I know someone has been.
But I’ve never been able to catch them. Not even on the cameras.
But I can feel them watching me. I’ve heard them try to get in while I’m awake.
I thought I was close one day, I heard someone walking on the porch outside of my room.
When I opened the door to confront them though, no one was there.
I feel like I-.” She hiccups and the tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
“I feel like I’ve been going crazy, Maverick.
I haven’t slept, I’ve barely eaten. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder. ”
“Hey, hey. Shhh” I pull her into my chest and wrap my arms around her.
She starts to sob and I rest my chin on the top of her head.
My mind wanders back to the day she almost caught me, and I smirk to myself.
She was so courageous that day, bursting out onto the porch, gun drawn like a professional, ready to take them on.
My smirk quickly falls, however, when her words register.
The only time I ever entered her house, or even tried, she was either asleep or not home.
Who the fuck has been trying to get in?
“You’re not crazy, Sweetheart.” I whisper, doing my best to not let her sense the tension I feel right now. She remains silent for a while, then shifts herself to lean into me more. Her cries subside and she clears her throat.
“What else did he say? I have a feeling that wasn’t all of it.” She asks softly. Taking a deep breath, I decide to tell her the truth.
“Someone got inside in between Cole and Karson being there. They flattened all of your tires, broke a window to get in, and destroyed everything inside of your house. It’s all going to have to be replaced.
” Her body snaps upright and her eyes slam into mine.
Her chin trembles, and seeing the devastated look on her face makes me want to go on a warpath.
“Everything?” Her voice shakes. I give her an affirmative nod, and her head falls.
Her fingers knot on my chest and she lets out a pained sigh.
“You know, I never had anything that belonged to me before that house, or the things inside of it.” Her eyes lift to mine and lifting one shoulder slightly, she continues.
“I know it’s just stuff, but it was mine.
I thought no one could try to take anything away from me anymore, but I guess I was wrong.
” A lone tear falls from her lashes and I swiftly wipe it away with my thumb.
Her confession puzzles me, but I told her I’d let her keep her secrets until she’s ready to tell me, so I don’t push.
Sliding one arm under her knees, I stand and carry her back inside. Once back in the bedroom, I lay down next to her and pull her back to my front. Her silent sobs break my heart, and I feel my blood begin to boil.
May God have mercy on the son of a bitch that’s behind this, because when I find them, I fucking won’t.
Parker
“Everything needs to be replaced.” Maverick’s words echo in my mind as I lay in bed next to him, trying to fall asleep.
I’m no stranger to loss. I lost my parents, Uncle Nick, everything I have ever known.
I even lost myself during all those years with Preston.
So, you’d think losing some material items wouldn’t be such a big deal, but it is to me.
Those things represented hope, change, and peace for me.
Having them ripped away from me like that, shatters those representations and completely obliterates any feelings of safety I had.
Rolling over slowly, my gaze lands on Maverick’s sleeping form. His lips are slightly parted, and his long, thick eyelashes rest on top of his cheeks. Some locks of hair fall into his face, and I raise my hand to gently push them back.
“Thank you.” I whisper softly as I feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude for the sleeping man beside me.
Had he not barged into my life the way he did, who knows what could have happened last night at my house.
Pulling my hand back, I tuck it into my chest and scoot closer to him.
He tightens his arm around my waist and lets out a soft sigh.
A smile pulls at my lips, and my eyes begin to flutter closed.
The next morning, we wake up and after Maverick fills me with his come, he makes us breakfast that we decide to eat outside on the deck.
I finish my food and sit back in my chair, staring out over the ocean.
I watch as the waves crash against the shoreline.
It’s another chilly and gloomy day, but the scene in front of me is peaceful.
“I want to see the house.” I say, my gaze sliding over to Maverick, who stares at me for a moment before speaking.
“Are you sure?” He asks. “Karson and Slater got everything cleaned up already, so it’s empty now. There’s really nothing to see.”
Thinking for a second, I nod. “I’m sure. I don’t think it’s really going to sink in that I have to start from scratch again until I see it.” He pauses, then gives me a nod.
“Okay. But Parker, you’re not staying there anymore.
It’s too dangerous. We’ll go back, but only to look.
You’re going to stay with me, at least for a little while until we figure out who it was that broke in.
” I want to argue, but the look of determination in his eyes tells me, this isn’t up for debate.
It makes sense, I definitely don’t want to be there alone anymore.
Not after everything that has happened over the last few days.
“Alright.”
We stay at the beach house for a couple more hours, I shower and change my clothes, then we make the drive back home.
Anxiety slams into me as we pull back into my driveway.
Once parked, Maverick exits the truck then comes over to my side to open the door.
Stepping out, the gravel crunching underneath my shoes seems to echo all around us.
It’s so quiet outside, leaving an ominous feeling lingering in the air.
Looking over at my SUV, I notice a set of brand new tires on it and my brows furrow in the middle.
“Cole went to pick the tires up and put them on for you early this morning.” Maverick says from somewhere behind me.
I nod and we make our way over to the porch, then climb the steps.
Examining the front door, I notice that the wood trim around it is splintered.
Reaching a hand out, I let my fingers lightly trace the wood and the reality of the situation finally starts to settle in.
My intuition has been right all this time, someone has been watching me.
Realizing that I haven’t been going crazy is a bit of a relief, but the truth of it is, that means someone is after me.
That thought sends a bitter chill down my spine and settles heavy in my gut.
Maverick steps forward with my keys in his hand and unlocks the door.
He pushes it open and we step inside. Shutting it behind us, he places a hand on the small of my back as I take in the emptiness of the living room in front of me.
Everything is gone, there is no evidence here that any of my things were here at all.
It simply looks like no one has ever lived here.
Turning, I mindlessly walk toward my bedroom, noting all the holes in the walls that still need patching.
The sight causes my chest to tighten, and when I cross the threshold of my bedroom, tears pool in my eyes at the sight of it.
On auto-pilot, I move to the french doors and pull them open.
Stepping out onto the deck, my eyes dart to the spot where I first saw someone in my yard.
Sadness washes over me as I stare, and I can’t hold the tears back anymore.
Everything’s gone, again.