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“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” I admonish him, trying to rein in my anger. “I meant that they weren’t meant to cause her harm or harm to anyone else. They are still on the tamer side of stalking. That doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t escalate, it just feels like a leap to jump to arson already. She either has someone else out to get her or we’re missing some of the escalation signs.”
“Didn’t Lay say she thought there were some notebooks missing?” Adam looks at me, his eyes narrowed in thought. “What if whoever this is already started escalating and that’s why Dec felt he had to find a way to protect her? I think we need to look for them and then try to decode what he was saying.”
“This shit is fucking worrying me,” I admit to the guys, running my hands harshly through my unbound hair. “I don’t like where this is going. I’ve seen shit like this happen one too many times in my job and the woman never makes it out unscathed.”
“They won’t get to her,” Riggs grumbles, his jaw tightening and lips thinning. “Over my dead fucking body will anyone harm her.”
“It’s not all physical. It’s already started affecting her mental health and the longer this goes on the more damaging it will be.”
“So, what do we do to stop this? You’re not with the force anymore, I’m not in the military, and Riggs is a welder. We don’t exactly have the resources to figure this out on our own,” Adam murmurs. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in for whatever it is, I just want to know what we’re going to do.”
“Start by finding those notebooks and keeping Alayna here so she’s not on her own. If she needs to go back to her hometown, I’ll go with her to make sure nothing happens and then try to convince her to stay here with us at least for a while.” I look to each of the guys who nod in agreement. “Our top priority is keeping her safe and staying firmly between her and whoever is after her.”
“Yes, sir. Now, I have an appointment at seven that I can’t miss so I’m going to go get ready.” Adam salutes us both, before walking out of the kitchen to get ready for work.
Turning to look at Riggs, I raise an eyebrow at him and fold my arms over my chest. He stares back at me, not a hint of emotion on his face. He knows as well as I do that I’m waiting to hear all about why he was in Lay’s room tonight and how he got so comfortable kissing her temple. I’m not mad or upset, no one has a claim on her, but damn, I’m curious as hell.
“You guys looked pretty comfortable with each other,” I hum, a teasing lilt to my voice. “Want to talk about it?”
“What do you think?” He stares me down, a bored expression on his face.
Smiling, I throw out a quote from one of our favourite movies, knowing it will bring out a smile. “Alright then, you keep your secrets. We should talk about it at some point though. You’re not the only one falling for her.”
Riggs chuckles softly, shaking his head at my joke, but follows it with a nod of acknowledgment. He pushes off the counter, tossing a middle finger over his shoulder on his way out of the kitchen, our sign of endearment to each other.
My smile fades as reality settles back in. There’s so many unknowns right now and way too many variables to consider. I can feel a clock ticking, but the problem is I can’t see it so I have no idea how long we have until time’s up.
Flicking on the coffee machine, I get a couple bagels together and some travel mugs of coffee for the guys to take to work with them. Since being put on leave, I’ve become a regular ol’ homemaker to these assholes. Making breakfast and coffee when I’m awake before they leave. I fucking draw the line at lunches though, they can make those themselves.
Adam comes in first, a cocky smirk on his lips. “Thanks, babe. I’ll make sure you get some good loving tonight for being such a good wifey,” he jokes, throwing kissing sounds my way.
“Fuck off. I’ll throw all of this out if you keep this shit up,” I throw back, smacking him on the head when he snatches his stuff off the counter. “Now be a good breadwinner and bring home the bacon.”
Adam laughs, choking on his coffee and throwing a one finger salute my way on his way out. Riggs is silent when he comes in, his stance rigid and his eyes exhausted. Unlike Adam, who uses humour and insults to cover his stress, Riggs becomes a stoic, emotionless stone. It will probably be impossible to get him to talk, let alone smile, for the next little while.
With those two out of the house, I head to my room for a long hot shower. There’s something about a shower that helps me do my best thinking and right now, I need to get back up to the top of my game. Not only is this situation fucked, especially if it’s connected to Declan, it could very quickly turn to life or death for Alayna. If the arson on her bar was in fact connected to the stalker gifts, they’re escalating fast.
Turning on the shower, I take my time, letting the water run over me as my thoughts start to clear. The steam fogs up the bathroom, the heat of it soaking into me with every breath.
The answers to this puzzle are at least somewhat in those missing notebooks, I can feel it in my gut. We need to find them and find the clues to whoever is behind this. Find the person responsible, or people if the bar was a separate issue, and then Lay will be safe. There’s nothing more in this entire world that I want than for her to be safe.
With a plan, I get out and get dressed for the day. Everything in me is telling me to go check on Alayna and make sure she’s okay, but I fight it. She needs rest right now and we need answers. Bypassing the spare room, I head straight to Declan’s room to start looking. This is where at least some of the answers are so this is where I’ll be spending the next several hours of my life.
With each passing hour, I get more and more frustrated with Declan. Why couldn’t he have just told us what was going on? Why the fuck didn’t he talk to me or either of the other two? We were supposed to be like brothers, but he kept us out of more than we ever knew. If he had just talked to us then maybe we could have helped him and he would fucking be here. Kicking his desk, I storm out of his room with nothing to show for my efforts.
It may be only early afternoon, but it’s fucking five o’clock somewhere and I need a drink. Walking up to the bar, I instantly notice something is amiss. The cabinets at the bottom are haphazardly hanging open with multiple bottles pulled out across the floor. Neither Adam nor Riggs would leave it like this which only leaves Alayna, but she doesn’t drink.
Turning on my heel, I walk quickly to the spare room and knock loudly. After the third unanswered knock, I throw open the door. The smell of vodka in the room is overwhelming with one empty bottle sitting in the middle of the bed, a note sticking out from under it.
My heart is racing as I run over to the note, nearly ripping it when I pull it off the bed. The floor falls out from under me, the deja vu of the moment nearly knocking me on my ass. She’s leaving us just like Declan did.
Pulling out my phone, I send texts to Adam and Riggs before calling in a favour owed to me by someone on the force. Tracking her phone is the quickest way I can think to find her and I need to get to her before it’s too late.
This can’t fucking happen again.
Chapter Seventeen
Alayna
