Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Cullen
My arm curls around Hudson instinctively as I blink awake into my quiet room. I just lie there, warm and heavy with sleep, listening to the soft sound of his breathing against my chest.
Late afternoon sunlight spills through the window in long golden stripes, stretching shadows across the tangled sheets. We fell asleep wrapped in each other, both of us still butt-ass naked.
A low yawn leaves my lips. I can’t remember the last time I slept this hard.
I just wish it had helped.
There’s a fury simmering under my skin lately, hot and restless, and every day it gets a little harder to keep it from boiling over.
When Hudson showed up and apologized, it momentarily eased. It was hard not to contact him the last few days, but he asked for space, so I gave it to him.
Ironically, my stalker tendencies still took over. I don’t know how many times I drove past his house, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Every time I saw his Bronco in the driveway, I exhaled, the fear that he could try again all-consuming, which only feeds the anger growing inside me.
It doesn’t help that this psycho is still out there.
The flowers sent to Hud at the hospital were delivered by an actual florist employee, so there were no fingerprints to trace. The order had been placed online using a prepaid card, which basically killed any chance of finding the stalker through that.
It’s just one dead end after another.
Thundering footsteps echo down the hallway, and before I can warn Hud, Dad comes barreling through my open door.
“Cullen, I have some news—oh, shit!” Dad stops dead in his tracks, eyes wide, before whirling around and giving us his back. His shoulders are up to his ears, his hands covering his face.
“What the hell, Dad!” I whisper-shout, trying not to disturb Hud. I notice the blanket is sitting just below his pelvis, so I snag it, pulling it up to cover his naked sleeping body.
“I’m sorry. But to be fair, your door was open.”
I sigh and rub my forehead.
Hud stirs beside me, oblivious to the awkward tension in the room. “Mmm, I missed waking up like this.” His voice is thick with sleep, but his hand is wide awake as it makes a slow trek down my stomach.
I stop his descent before he embarrasses us both.
“Uh, Hud… we have company.” He tenses before his eyes snap open. He scans the room, and when he sees my dad standing just inside the door, his back to us, he burrows into my side, pulling the blanket over his head.
“Oh, fuck,” he mumbles into my ribcage. “Um, hey, Dr. Anderson… fancy meeting you here.”
I snort, rolling my eyes. Glad he’s making jokes because I’m pissed and mortified.
“Hello, Hudson. It’s good to see you—I mean, not good to see you… damnit—I just…” Dad stammers, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Okay, we gotta end this torture session.
“Dad, what do you want?”
“Right, uh, I have some good news. You two should come down so we can talk about it,” he says, slowly side-stepping out of my bedroom.
He gets one foot over the threshold before I stop him. “Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah, son?”
“About Mom…”
“I have plausible deniability since my back was turned.” His hands are up like he’s surrendering to an armed assailant.
My smile comes quick, Hud chuckling under the blanket. “Thanks, Dad. We’ll be down in a few.”
I get a thumbs-up from him before he closes the door behind him with a soft click.
“Well, that was fun.” Hud snickers as he emerges from his hiding spot.
“We need to learn to shut the door before we fuck,” I grumble, throwing the blanket back and grabbing our clothes from the floor.
Hudson laughs, catching his shirt that I toss to him. “Well, your dad got an eyeful of my naked ass in the hospital a few times, so no big deal.”
I turn away, gritting my teeth at the reminder that just a week ago, he was still laid up in a hospital bed.
Taking a moment to pull myself together, I slide my basketball shorts on and turn back to the bed.
Hudson is dangling his shirt from his fingers, a cute smile on his face. “Help me?”
The simple request sends my heart soaring. I sit next to him on the bed to help him out of his sling and carefully slide the shirt up his arms. I get a small kiss for each button I fasten.
“How much longer do you have to wear this thing?” I ask, gesturing to his bound arm.
“Hopefully, just one more week. Most of the healing happened while I was in the hospital.”
My lips pinch tight as I nod, grabbing his hand and leading him from my room.
We walk hand in hand down to the kitchen, where both of my parents are waiting for us, including Hudson’s dad. Mom jumps up from her seat to give Hud a warm hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Hudson, sweetheart. How are you today?”
He glances at me, smiling, before turning his attention back to my mom. “Today is a good day, Mrs. Eliza.”
Mom cups his cheek, a soft smile on her lips. “There are more good days ahead.”
He nods and takes a seat on the opposite side of the table. “What are you doing here, Dad?”
“We received some information from the detective and wanted to tell you. When Mom couldn’t get either of you on the phone, she asked me to stop by on my way home from work.” He gives us both a pointed look.
“Sorry, we were, uh… napping.”
My dad coughs, choking on the sip of coffee he just took. Hud’s ears turn bright red as he looks away from all the adults in the room.
Mom just glances between everyone, brows drawn.
I grab a couple of bottles of water, then sit down next to Hud, linking our fingers together. “So, what’s this about?” I ask, changing the subject to avoid the embarrassing elephant in the room.
Dad takes the opportunity to jump in. “You remember the campsite the police found?”
“Yeah,” Hud and I say in unison.
“Well, the detective finally got a warrant to search the airstream on site. They found pictures of you two, including handwritten notes that had been balled up and thrown in the trash.” Mr. Daniels continues.
“There were some other questionable things, but they don’t think they are relevant to your case. ”
My hand tightens around Hud’s. “So we still don’t know who is behind all this shit?”
“The police have their eye on someone,” Dad tells us.
I launch out of the chair so fast it topples backwards with a harsh crack against the floor. “You have got to be fucking kidding me! Why didn’t you start with that?” My chest is heaving, my hands balled into fists.
“You need to calm down, Cullen,” Mom snaps, her eyes sharp.
Hudson tugs me back down to my seat, his hand going to my knee, squeezing with enough pressure to help settle me.
“Who are they keeping an eye on?” Hud questions, his voice wavering as he looks from his dad to mine.
Dad sighs. “The campsite is only a few hundred yards behind the old Keller house. I think we are both cautious to agree with the police, but they suspect Mason Keller.”
Mr. Daniels nods his head, agreeing with my Dad.
Hud and I exchange a surprised look. “Mason Keller? You mean the Mason Keller who was our soccer captain when we were freshmen?” Hud doesn’t look convinced, but to me, it makes perfect sense.
Mason is the town druggie. No one really knows what happened to turn him into one, though there are rumors. Some say his family turned on him when he came out as gay. Others claim it was his family that died in a plane crash in the Bahamas a few years ago, and he was the only survivor.
Doesn’t matter because he’s a recluse, which would make him the perfect stalker.
“I didn’t want to say anything because we don’t know for sure. It’s just speculation at this point, but he does seem to have the easiest access to the property the police found,” Dad explains. “Plus, there is a connection to you. The pieces seem to fit.”
“So why don’t they arrest him? If there is, like, probable cause, can’t they lock him up?” I ask, wanting this guy to be off the streets so he can stop terrorizing Hud.
“You can’t just arrest someone on a hunch.” Mr. Daniels says. “You need solid evidence. They need DNA or something else just as concrete. Besides, they were able to track him down and question him. He cooperated and claimed he didn’t know anything.”
I scoff. “This is such bullshit. Why can’t something go our way just once?”
“Cullen, it’s something, and that’s more than we had yesterday.” Mom reaches forward and pats my hand that is fisted on the table.
“She’s right, babe. It’s… something.” Hudson doesn’t sound any more convinced than I feel.
I stare at him incredulously. “You can’t possibly be alright knowing this asshole is still roaming around somewhere.”
He sighs and rubs his brow. “I didn’t say I was, but we have a possible face—a name, and that’s something.”
Our eyes stay locked for a moment. I’m amazed at this version of Hudson sitting in front of me.
Had this happened a month ago, he would have sunk inside his mind without a way out.
The growth in this short amount of time is unbelievable, and because of that, I’m willing to let go of the fact that his stalker is still walking free—for now.
“You’re right,” I finally agree, albeit begrudgingly. “It’s more than we’ve gotten. Hopefully, they’ll catch him soon.”
Hud stands and wraps his arm around me, kissing my cheek. “No more negativity. I’m having a good day and I want to keep it going.” He leans in, lips brushing my ear. “Wanna go on a date with me?”
My heart flutters. That little sentence gives me more hope than I’ve felt in weeks.
“What did you have in mind?” I ask, ready to do whatever he wants.
“Nothing in particular. I just want to go out and live a little.” His smile is bright, genuine—happy. It says so much.
Live a little.
He wants to live.
“You boys go out, have some fun,” Mom chimes in. “You both deserve it.”
“Mom is right. It’s been a stressful time, and you boys need to try and get back to some semblance of normal.” Dad gives me a look, one that reminds me to keep my gun close by. I give him a nod to let him know I’ve got his message loud and clear.
“Remember to check in, Hudson.” Mr. Daniels reminds Hud.