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“So take a big, deep breath for me and stay calm at least long enough to tell me what it is I’m protecting you from.” I need to know who I’m looking for so I know what precautions to take that will keep her safe. I’m confident in the steps I’ve already taken, but I need to know what I’m up against.
She shakes her head instantly. “No. I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
Tears well up in her eyes and she crosses her arms over her stomach, scooting backwards like she can disappear into the couch. “I did something bad.”
I’m not going to get anything out of her by asking her directly. She’s ashamed of whatever she did, so I’ll have to find a way around it. “Okay. Can you tell me if it’s one person or more than one that’s going to be looking for you?”
“It’s just one. It should be just one.”
Good, an answer, even though her uncertainty concerns me. “And he hurt someone?”
Phoebe nods her head.
“Did he kill someone?” I have a feeling the answer to that might be yes, and then it will be even more imperative that I figure out what she’s facing so I can keep her safe from it. Not for personal reasons, but Pres won’t let her go back to work at BIBO for some time while we sort this out.
She pauses to mull over her response before answering. “Um… not exactly.”
“Alright. Didyouhurt someone? Were you involved?”
The vault closes- I see it in her eyes. She stays silent, vanishing into her mind where everything can be locked away in neat little boxes. It’ll take more work than that on my part to get through to her. Maybe if I can make her comfortable first, then probe for information later, I’ll have better results.
“Do you want something to drink?” I offer hopefully.
Silence. Her eyes have glazed over. At least she’s comfortable enough to not feel like she has to be on guard here. She knows she’s safe, and sheissafe here. There’s an automated gate outside that’s part of a concrete fence with barbed wire along the top. The gate only opens from my phone with my fingerprint or by the code at the keypad. The house’s front entrance has a double door mantrap that locks both doors for ten seconds any time one of the doors opens. There are motion sensors all over the property and alarms all through the house.
My fortress is intentionally impenetrable in numerous other ways. At first I assumed her stalker was likely an amateur teenager with a broken heart that isn’t going to try to come here. Though, the note is suspicious. ‘Don’t scream. You’re next’? That’s pretty weird. That doesn’t sound like a breakup. It sounds more dangerous than that.
She says she did something bad, but I don’t have a clue what that could mean. She’s young. She doesn’t have anything on her criminal record, so if she did hurt someone, she was never charged or convicted. She’s a fucking mystery.
I get two water bottles from the mini fridge beside my desk and put one on the table in front of her. She’ll probably be sitting there for a while, and I missed my morning workout to help Pres with the computers and tablets at BIBO. I doubt she’s going to try to leave any time soon, and if she does the monitors will let me know.
Down in the basement, I have amassed an entire home gym. I usually exercise every morning. There’s not much to do when you’re too paranoid to go outside on a regular basis. It keeps me from sitting in front of the computer eating powdered donuts and getting too fat to go outside.
So while Phoebe contemplates her entire life, I have time to get a workout in, and I have rage to unleash after seeing a pretty little blue-haired girl lose her shit over a creepy note. Yeah, when I find the person on the other end of that note, they’re going to wish they’d died before they even picked up the pen.
Chapter Five
Phoebe
Idid something bad. So bad. I did something bad eight years ago, and now I’m going to die because of it. He found me, and he’s going to hurt me.
Coming back to awareness, I recognize that Josiah has left. I crack open the water bottle and gulp down half of it before the urge to check my surroundings overtakes me. I know he went into what looks like the kitchen, so I'll go the other way first. I want to get a chance to look at everything before running into him.
He's intimidating, but not threatening. I believe I'm not in danger with him, but he looks like someone I don't want to be on the wrong side of. Maybe snooping around his house isn't a good idea, but I'll be quick. I'm just taking a peek at what makes this house ‘safe’ compared to any other.
The wall of computer monitors in the living room is a pretty good start. There's 6 of them- huge ones the size of TV's- mounted to the wall in two rows of three. I'm not sure how a person could even use all those at once. To the right of his desk is the kitchen, where I'm not going. To the left I find the entryway. There's some weird double-door situation with a room between the doors.
Through the windows at the front I can see the gate and the fence topped with barbed wire, like we're in a prison. Back to the living room there are stairs leading up, but there's something foreboding about entering someone's private sleeping space, and he brought me here to help him so I'm not exactly interested in pissing him off.
I peer into the kitchen and see that he's not there so I go ahead. The kitchen is nice, decorated in shades of gray and white. All the appliances are stainless steel. It's a small kitchen with a dinner table to the side. Only one seat, but I get the feeling he likely doesn't have many visitors.
Clanking sounds come from a set of stairs that lead down, and I follow them. Not smart maybe, but I'm curious. He wouldn't have left me alone if it wasn't okay to explore. Or he would've at least told me to stay put. Even the Beast told Belle where she wasn't allowed to go in the castle.
Although, when I see him, I think maybe I shouldn't have strayed from the couch. Josiah is shirtless and sweaty with his back to me as he lifts himself up by just his hands on two bars protruding from a large metal arch. There's a giant circular weight hanging between his legs from a belt around his waist.
And Josiah's back is covered in rippling muscles, flexing with every motion as he raises and lowers his body. I'm not even sure I have as many muscles in my body as I can see on his back and shoulders. He's broader than I thought when I first saw him. His biceps look bigger than my head when they flex. The width of his shoulders is probably the same as that of a car.
