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But I refused to be the cause of stress for either my mom or my dad.
Fifteen
Jordan
From the moment we walked into Arella’s dressing room, I’d been shaking. The place was destroyed. Not a single object was left intact, and I knew in my gut that if my girl had been there when the motherfucker had done this, she would have been a casualty as well.
Imagining Arella broken like the perfume bottle under my feet was a disturbing picture I couldn’t erase from my mind.
I’d been concerned for her safety after she’d told me about the packages and then that she thought the stalker had messed with her phone. But this just shoved it in my face how dangerous the person who was obsessed with her seemed to be.
After nearly an hour of answering questions for both Detective Kirtner and the executive dickwads, I decided enough was enough. “I’m taking her home,” I told Garon. We shared a look, his expression like stone, before he finally gave a firm nod.
Not that it would have mattered. I didn’t need his approval to take my girlfriend anywhere. As we walked back to my vehicle, I shot a text to Mia. After seeing the way Arella shut down at the mention of personal security earlier, I knew it was going to be hard to get her to agree to it. She’d told Kirtner she would think about it, but I knew her too well not to be able to read that she was going to be stubborn about the issue.
Maybe if I could convince her Drake and Lana wouldn’t find out, she would be more agreeable. But to do that, I needed Mia and her husband on board with a promise they wouldn’t let the Stevensons know what was going on with their daughter.
Opening the passenger side door for her, I stopped her before she could slide into the seat. When she looked up at me inquiringly, I could see the tiredness in her pretty eyes. I hadn’t let her get much rest the night before, and she’d been nonstop busy all day.
“I’m doing a shit job taking care of you already,” I berated myself. “I swear, I’ll do better, starting now.”
“I wasn’t aware it was your responsibility to take care of me,” she murmured, a small smile lifting her lips. “But I like that you want the position.”
“I don’t want the position,” I informed her as I lowered my head. This close, there was no way I could miss the hurt that flashed across her beautiful face. Skimming my lips over hers, I told her, “It’s already mine—you are mine, Arella.”
Her eyes lit up, and she stabbed her fingers into the back of my hair, pulling me closer. “That means you’re mine, too.”
“Always, baby.”
--
Arella fell asleep on the drive home. After parking in my usual spot, I carefully lifted her out of the car and carried her to the elevators. On the ride up to my floor, she started to awaken, but I kissed her brow and softly told her to go back to sleep.
Inside my apartment, I placed her in our bed and tucked the covers around her. I ached to crawl in beside her and just hold her while she rested, but I had things that needed my attention.
Closing the bedroom door behind me, I walked into the kitchen, the farthest room from where Arella was sleeping, and called Mia. She’d responded to my earlier text by telling me to call her whenever I got the chance, and the sooner I got her on board with my plan, the better.
“Hey,” she greeted before the first ring finished. “What’s up?”
I didn’t waste time with small talk but got straight to the point. I told her everything I knew about Arella’s stalker, how she didn’t want her parents to stress over her possibly being in danger, but after what happened earlier, it was apparent that she very much was in danger.
“Holy shit,” Mia whispered. “Poor Arella, having to deal with all this crap without confiding in any of us.” She sighed heavily. “I get her being concerned about stressing out Uncle Drake. With how sick he was before his liver transplant, we all tend to walk on eggshells around him with serious stuff.”
“She needs security, though, Mia. But I know she’s going to be stubborn about it.” I scrubbed my free hand over my face in frustration. “She told the detective she would think about it, but I could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t taking him seriously enough.”
“Yeah, that sounds just like her,” she muttered. “Okay, let me talk to Barrick about this. I’m sure he’ll have a suggestion or two on how to handle her.”
“Thanks, Mia,” I told her, a small measure of relief taking some of the tension out of my shoulders. “Call me back after you speak to him.”
“Will do, my friend.”
I got a text and ended the call so I could deal with it. Seeing it was my mother, I sent a quick reply. After checking the clock, I decided there was plenty of time to take a nap with the angel asleep in our bed.
Stripping down to my boxer briefs, I climbed in behind her.
“Mm,” she sighed, turned over, and threw her arm around me. “Missed you.”
I kissed the top of her head and rolled onto my back, taking her with me. She stretched out on me, pillowing her head on my chest, and cuddled closer. Within seconds, she was deeply asleep once again, making me smile. It wasn’t long before I followed her into dreamland.
