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“I thought I showed you those last night… and again this morning.”
“Those are some definite perks. What else do I get?” She glides her lips down the side of my throat, making my mouth go dry and my cock start to firm up again.
“How about I get Gloria to watch Oliver tonight and I take you out on our first real date?”
She pulls back slightly and looks up. “You want to go on a date?”
“Hell yes I do. The only problem is going to be trying not to drag you into a dark corner, fuck you up against the wall, and let everyone in the restaurant hear you come for me.”
I notice the flash of arousal in her eyes and the way she starts to rub her nipples against me, seeking friction. So, my girl likes the idea of getting fucked hard and dirty in public. Noted.
***
“Can I go see Bianca?” Oliver asks as he climbs out of the backseat of the car. I glance over at the house next door but there’s no indication she’s home. She texted me earlier letting me know she wasn’t going to be able to make it to Oliver’s class. I know she felt bad about it, but I told her she needed to take care of Violet and her dad who spent the entire night in the hospital with her. The fact that Bianca loves Oliver and feels bad about missing a single one of his classes means so much to me that it makes my chest feel tight.
“Not right now, she’s out helping her friend remember?”
“Oh yeah.”
“You’re going to hang out with Gloria for a while tonight then we’ll pick you up and the three of us are going to spend the day together tomorrow, so you better think about what you want to do.”
We’re headed up the walkway towards the door and he’s chattering away at all the things we could possibly do together tomorrow, making me smile. I can’t help but imagine Oliver, Bianca, and I functioning like a little family. Hell, I even fantasize about the mundane things like her picking him up from school and me cooking dinner for the three of us, lazy Saturday’sspent barbecuing in the back yard, going to the movies together. All those things don’t seem quite so boring when the three of us are doing them together.
I’m pulled out of my daydream as I approach the porch and realize Oliver is no longer happily chattering away. Instead, he’s holding up a big manila envelope, examining it closely like maybe he can see through the outside to its contents. “What’s that, bud?”
He gives me his signature shrug. “It was on the ground.”
“Why don’t you give that to me and you put your painting away in your room? Then I’ll make us some lunch.”
I open the door and he hands me the envelope before rushing down the hallway to his room. I make sure to close the door and arm the alarm before sitting at the kitchen table.
There’s nothing on the front of the envelope except my name. I’d know that block lettering anywhere. This is from the person that’s been harassing me, but they’ve never delivered threats in envelopes of this size before. It’s always been small, letter sized envelopes stuffed with single sheets of paper. This feels thick, like there’s something more inside.
I go to the cabinet and fish out the evidence baggies and gloves I’ve been keeping there in case a new letter showed up, then carefully proceed to open the envelope, doing my best to not tear it, smudge any possible prints, or wipe off any DNA.
I slide out the contents and realize that these aren’t pieces of paper. It’s a stack of eight by ten photos. I flip through the stack slowly, trying to decipher what exactly they are. It takes me a minute because there are large portions of each photo that is scratched and crossed out so deeply and repeatedly that the photo is almost unrecognizable. In some cases there are even portions that have been gouged out.
My breath hitches in my chest when I realize that every single photo is of Bianca and Oliver. There are photos of them walkingdown the street together, at the store, in the park, there’s even a few of them walking from her car to our front door. Even though every photo is different, the consistency is that in each and every one, both of their faces have been obliterated.
The very last photo has a message scrawled across it in red.
I’LL TAKE YOUR FAMILY LIKE YOU TOOK MINE
My heart is pounding and I’m having trouble catching my breath. I flip through the photos again and again, hoping there’s something that will identify who’s been following my family, but it’s useless. This guy has been smart every step of the way. All the letters have been filled with vague benign threats focused exclusively on me. This is a significant escalation. The utter obliteration of their faces, sometimes straight through the paper, show the rage he doesn’t seem to be able to contain any longer.
I quickly take out my cell and call Rafe to meet me at the house. He agrees without question and says he’ll be here in five minutes. I shove the photos back into the envelope and force myself to start on dinner while I wait. My world may feel like it’s in upheaval but I still have a kid to feed. I’ve dumped everything into the baking dish for the chicken and rice casserole and shove it into the oven just as Rafe shows up.
“Shit,” he mutters while sifting through the photos. “Who’s the chick?”
“It’s my neighbor, Bianca. We’ve been seeing each other. You met her that night at the convenience store robbery.”
His eyes light up with recognition. “Right. I shouldn’t be surprised you’ve been hitting that with how you two were all over each other.”
A low rumble that sounds suspiciously like a growl comes from my chest. “I’m nothitting that. She’s my girlfriend.”
He looks up from the photos and gives me a grin. “Good for you man. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.” I run my hand down my face, trying to wipe the worry away. “Unfortunately, it looks like all I’ve done is put her in this psycho’s crosshairs. Don’t we have anything to go on yet?”
