Page 61 of Found Through Fire

Why doeshe have to be creepy about it? I take a deep, calming breath and let it out to try and collect my feelings about the bullshit that I am about to endure. Getting myself together as much as I can, I pick up my phone, bring up Dad’s number, and call him. The goal is to summarize it before I forward it to him. Maybe if he isn’t blindsided by the email, he will remain calm and collected.

He answers on the second ring. “Hi baby girl, what’s going on?” I usually call him while I’m making dinner, so he’s already suspicious.

“Hi, Dad,” I say in a hesitant voice. I know he’s about to freak out. Not sure if it’s because he will see that the creeper was able to get on the property again, or because he is going to see evidence of the make-out session in my garage.

“Willow Anne Russo! What’s wrong?” Damn it! He broke out the full name.

“Well, I got an email today…” I say, trying to figure out if there is a way to sugarcoat this, but I’m coming up blank. I decide to just push through it until I get to the shit storm. My dad is waiting for me to continue when I finally blurt out, “It looks like the stalker got my email and sent me more pictures around my house from the last few days… And he sent another bad poem,” I say all in one breath so I can get it all out.

There’s nothing but silence on the other end of the line for a minute, finally followed by a long exhale. I can imagine him rubbing his hands down his face and pacing around the room like he always does when he’s frustrated or stressed out. He finally processes what I said and replies with an angry, “Did you send it to me yet?”

I know he isn’t mad at me, just the situation, so I don’t worry about it. I take a breath and forward him the email, and in a hesitant voice, I say, “Okay, I just sent it over.” I don’t mention what he will see, only because I don’t even know how to word it. I am a fully grown woman, so I’ll kiss whomever I want, but I don’t want my dad to see it in a picture out of nowhere.

Judging by the choking sound coming from the other end of the line, I can tell he just saw them. He doesn’t comment on them, probably because this is uncomfortable for both of us at the moment.

“Did you get any alerts after the upgrades that Gig did before he left?” he asks when he’s done looking at the email.

“Nope, that’s why I was surprised to see them. Everything was quiet, and the cameras were never knocked out. Gig set it up so that if they went down for any reason, I would get an alarm notifying me. I have no idea how they got on the property,” I reply, thankful that we aren’t mentioning the kiss pictures. Sometimes, avoidance is key for survival.

“Did you update Grey or the dumbass?” Even with all of the shit going on, I laugh. My poor dad has never had to deal with his only daughter dating, even though I’m in my twenties. I guess he is going to have to experience it now.

It takes me a second to control my laughter, but when I can speak again, I reply, “No, not yet. I called you first.”

“Okay. I’ll call Grey and let him know to head back if he’s free. Are you working from your home office?” he asks.

“Yeah, I was going to drop by the shop, but that was going to be later in the day,” I reply.

“If you’re okay with it, and if they’re willing, I’m going to ask that one of them stay with you during the day, too. They can switch off so they can still get their work done. But if he’s still able to get through Gig’s security, there isn’t really anything else we can do to keep him away from you.”

“Okay, I’ll call Knox, and you can ask Grey. If they’re busy, though, I think I can handle it on my own,” I say, closing my eyes and blowing out an annoyed breath.

“I know you can, Will. This is just for my peace of mind until I get back. Please just do it so I can know that my daughter is safe,” he pleads. Damn it! Why does he know me so well?

“Okay, Dad. I can do it. But only until you get back,” is all I can say at this point. I don’t want to stress him out even more than he already is with all this going on while he is away, but this is becoming a lot.

“Thanks, Will. I’ll call you back after I talk to Grey. Did you want to update Gig on your phone call with him about his system?” he asks hopefully, making me chuckle. He doesn’t want to deal with my tech-genius brother getting sassy because someone got through his system either.

“Do I want to hear the tantrum-rant about how nothing should be able to get past his system? Hell no. I’ll let you take that one,” I reply.

We say our goodbyes, and I decide to let Knox know. I go for texting him, since he doesn’t come off as a phone call kinda guy. I just hope that he doesn’t overreact like all the other men in my life would.

Me

Hey… you busy?

Future-Mr-Fox

I just got to the shop and was about to text you. I’m never too busy for you. What’s up?

Me

I was just opening some emails and a small thing popped up, and I thought you may want to know. If you’re busy, it can wait though.

Future-Mr-Fox

… Popped up? Is this that down playing shit you were trying to do with Smoke the other day when you had a possible bomb threat and got shot?

Me