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“Those boys are something else,” Dot says to me as I sit down, her hands firmly placed on her lap. “I swear their nerf war has been going on forever. No matter who wins, the others always demand a rematch. Mostly, Adam if I’m being honest.”
Laughing again, I shake my head. “Adam is definitely a passionate person who can’t stand to lose.”
“That’s a nice way of saying he’s a stubborn ass,” Hailey jokes, leaning back on her chair and shaking her head. I shrug, not correcting her because she’s right. While I love Adam now, I did punch him in the face once upon a time.
“Enough about them! I want to hear about you, Lay. Riggs says you’re working on opening up a bar?” Dot changes the subject, her bright eyes searching mine for something.
“I am! It’s going to be where the oldHopped Hauswas,” I explain, excited to be talking to someone else about this project. We go over my plans for the place and everything I’m excited and worried about. They’re both so easy to talk to, it really makes the time fly by. Before I know it, the guys are done with their nerf war, Rhys winning the game yet again.
We pull out the food after that, stuffing our faces and chatting the rest of the daylight away. It’s nice being with people outside of our normal group that love and support us. Hailey and Dot are so kind and thoughtful, both of them checking in with me before touching me and welcoming me into their family and into their lives like it’s nothing.
When the night starts to take over more, the shadows crawling in to steal the last of the light, we decide to call it a night. The guys are extra loving, all of us in such a good mood compared to the stress we’ve been under lately. Today was good for us, getting out and away from all the stalkerish bullshit. I mentally add it to my list of things we should definitely do more often.
“Thank you so much for having us over. It was a wonderful time, and I think it gave us a good break from all the craziness happening,” I murmur, squeezing Dot’s hand.
“You guys are always welcome here! Seriously, make them bring you over more. I miss the hustle and bustle of a busy house.” Dot glares at the guys, all of them looking away guiltily.
Walking through the house, we gather our stuff and finish saying our goodbyes. Hailey stayed in the backyard, her phone going off like crazy before we left. Dot is chatting to Rhys about the interview he had yesterday when Adam opens the front door. He slams it shut immediately, his face pale and pissed the fuck off.
“What’s going on?” Riggs and Rhys ask at the same time. Dot steps closer to me, her body slightly shielding me from the door.
Adam looks at the guys before turning his attention to me. “Kevin fucking Jennings was here, and he left a message for us. Rhys, call the police and get Jarrod or his goonies out here to deal with this.”
“Open the door,” I demand, trying to step through everybody blocking my way. “I need to see what he left.”
“No, Lay. You really fucking don’t,” Adam scoffs, shaking his head and standing guard in front of the door. Rhys steps away to talk to his police contacts as Riggs joins Adam by the door.
“Open the fucking door and show me. I won’t ask again,” I demand, clenching my fists and teeth. This involves me, and I’ll be fucking damned if they block me from seeing.
Dot places a hand on my shoulder, glaring at the guys. “Lay is a grown woman. Stop treating her like a child, and let her make her own decisions. I would also like to see what this asshole did to my house. So, open it.”
Adam grimaces, placing his hand on the door. “Fine. It’s not pretty, though.”
Swinging open the door, I catch the sight of red first. Deep red blood is everywhere, splattered across the front door and the porch. It looks like I’ve stepped into a slasher film where there are no survivors. The metallic smell is overwhelming, bringing images of the torture basement into my mind. Pushing past the flashbacks, I study the door and porch a little bit closer, needing to see and commit to memory what this motherfucker did. In the door is an envelope with my name scrawled on the front, and it’s pinned there by a knife still dripping with blood. Whoever he hurt, he did it recently and he left the remnants of it behind to show us just what he’s capable of.
Stepping past the door a little bit, Riggs grabs my hips to stop me from completely going outside. It doesn’t matter, though, I’m out enough to see the still wet blood and the message left just for us.
I’m always watching you.
Chapter Nineteen
Alayna
It’s midnight by the time we get home. Getting Dot and Hailey into a hotel and the police to the house took far longer than we anticipated. Dot begged us to stay with them at the hotel. She was terrified of what would happen to us back at our place, but we all agreed that staying away from Dot and Hailey for the time being would be better. Kevin wants me, not them.
When we get home, I’m wired, having slept in the car for a while when we were waiting for the police to get what they needed. I was the first one to be questioned, so after Adam was also questioned, he took me back to the car so I could close my eyes. This intense exhaustion that keeps hitting me is starting to get on my nerves. It’s inconvenient at best.
“Well, that was quite the way to end the night,” I dryly joke, dropping down onto a stool in the kitchen. Adam drops down beside me, laying his head on my shoulder as Rhys and Riggs take up their normal spots against the counters. “Bloody notes are my favourite.”
Rhys looks at me, his blue eyes searching me for something. “Are you okay, Lay? The stalking is getting intense, it’s okay if you’re not okay.”
Shrugging and bumping Adam’s head off my shoulder, I answer, “Yeah, I’m okay. To be honest, this didn’t scare me so much as piss me off. Dot did not need to be dragged into this. The more people he goes after to taunt me, the more angry I become. He’s fucking with good people, and I’m livid.”
“I think we’re all fucking pissed he brought Dot into it,” Adam speaks up, stretching out on the stool. His shirt lifts, giving me a good view of his abs. He catches me looking and winks at me, bringing a smirk to my face.
“He’s going to pay for doing that to my mom’s house.” Riggs cracks his knuckles, his black tattoos moving with the muscles on his arms.
My mind is moving to distract itself from all the stalker shit, needing a break from the stress of it all. It seems my libido is working in tandem with my mind because every single thing the guys are doing right now is turning me on. The angry passion in their voices, their muscles moving and flexing as they move around, and the smell of their cologne mingling in front of me. I’m turning into a feral cat in heat, and it’s working to distract me.
