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“Where did you go?” Wren asked.
“I went back home and stayed with my parents, but he showed up there too. I was hoping to stay with them through Christmas, but I just couldn’t stick around once he showed up at their house.” They had all grown up about half an hour from Huntsville in a little town called Athens.
“You didn’t run far then,” Blade said.
“No,” she breathed, “I didn’t. Again, it’s almost Christmas and I was hoping to celebrate with my family.”
“Wait—I thought that we were going to celebrate together,” Wren said.
“I was going to call you in a day or two, after I was sure that I was safe, and ask you to come home.” Wren wrinkled her nose and shook her head. He knew that his sister wasn’t about to go home to Athens. She hadn’t been home since her fiancée had died in that bad truck accident; he had a few years back. She and Lee were high school sweethearts and his death devastated Wren. After his funeral, she moved from Athens to Huntsville, saying that she wanted to be closer to Blade, but he knew that it was just Wren’s way of running from her problems.
“I figured that would be your reaction,” Trixie said. “That’s why I didn’t call you.”
“You could have at least warned me that you were going home. I stopped by your place last night and was worried when I didn’t find you home,” she said.
“I hate asking you all for help so close to the holidays, but I have nowhere else to turn,” Trixie said.
“You should have turned to us first,” Blade said. “I don’t have plans for Christmas. I can help,” he said. Yeah, he knew what he was getting himself into. Blade was in for a whole lot of nights standing under the cold spray of a shower, but not helping Trixie wasn’t an option. He was going to find out who was stalking her, and then, he was going to do his absolute best to keep her safe. Keeping his hands off of her was going to take a fucking Christmas miracle, but he was at least going to try.
Trixie
Trixie Hammer wasn’t about to turn down the help that Blade was offering, but how was she going to hang out for the holiday with the guy she had a crush on since she was a kid? She couldn’t think of a time when she didn’t have a thing for Blade, but she lived by the promise she made to his younger sister, and her best friend, that no boy would ever come between the two of them. Trixie had a sinking feeling that falling into bed with Blade would end their lifelong friendship because she wasn’t looking for anything long-term. She’d eventually have to walk away from him and Wren and that would break her heart. Wren had been by her side through thick and thin. When Wren’s fiancée died suddenly, Trixie practically moved into Wren’s apartment with her. That was just how it was between the two of them, except for now. If she let Wren be a part of her life now, she’d end up in just as much trouble as Trixie had found herself in.
She hadn’t been completely truthful with Wren when she told him that she didn’t know the guy who had asked her to dance at the club. She knew Bruce Trent very well. He had been stalking her for almost six months now, not that she shared that bit with Wren or her sexy brother.
Trixie had met Bruce at a work mixer that she was forced to attend. She told her boss that she had to get home to feed her cat, but he knew that she didn’t have one. He called her bluff and dragged her out to a local pub and bought her way too many mixed drinks. When Bruce asked her to dance that night, she said yes. That was her first mistake. She should have turned him down then too, but she had her beer goggles on, and honestly, he was pretty cute. The problem was, he wasn’t Blade, and that had her saying goodnight to him, even after he all but begged her to come back to his place with him. She knew better than to follow a guy home after just one dance; Trixie just had no idea that Bruce would follow her back to her place and try to force him way into her apartment. That was the first time she had called the cops on the guy. It wasn’t the last time though, and now she had dragged her best friend into her mess. Sooner or later, she’d have to come clean and tell Wren the truth, but there was no way that she’d be able to admit to being a complete fool in front of Blade.
“I hate to ask you to have to babysit me over Christmas, Blade,” she said.
“It really isn’t a big deal. You can come to my place. I’ve got great security and an extra bedroom.” She wasn’t sure if she pouted when he mentioned an extra bedroom or not. Honestly, she was hoping that he had a little one-bedroom place where she’d have to share his bed with him, but that would be just tempting fate.
“Plus, I’ll be able to check in on you if you’re over at Blade’s place,” Wren said. Trixie had to admit—seeing her best friend more often would be nice. As it was, they were only hanging out a few times a month now, usually going to clubs and dancing. That wasn’t really her scene anymore, even though Wren seemed to love their nights out, Trixie was more of a homebody.
“I’d like that,” she said to her friend. Wren took her hand and smiled.
“It’s settled then,” Wren said. “You’ll go with my brother, and he’ll take you back to your place to grab a few things. Then, you’ll go home with him, and he’ll keep you safe.”
The big guy sitting behind the desk, whom they called Savage, laughed. “You always this bossy?” he asked Wren.
“No,” Wren defended.
“Yes,” Blade countered.
Trixie rolled her eyes. “They’ve been like this for as long as I can remember,” she admitted. “I can’t tell you how many ties I had to break over the years. And for the record, yes, Wren has always been this bossy.”
“You know, you don’t have to be on his side just because he’s keeping you safe,” Wren grumbled.
“I know, I’m just being honest. And I honestly love your bossy ass,” Trixie said, pulling her in for a quick hug.
“I love you too,” Wren said. As an only child, Wren was the closest thing that Trixie ever had to a sister. The only problem with them being sisters would mean that Blade would be her brother and she had enough impure thoughts about him to make that impossible. No, she’d be fine with Wren being her best friend because at least then, she could fantasize about Blade and the number of beds he had in his house.
“I can tell you that we won’t be stopping by your place, Trixie,” Blade said. “In fact, we aren’t making any stops. I need to make sure that this Bruce guy didn’t follow you here and is waiting for your next move. If he knows where you live, and knows where your parents live now, he won’t stop trying to find you.”
“Oh,” Trixie breathed. “You make it sound like I’m going to be trapped at your place.”
“You are,” Savage said, “you will need to stay there until we can figure out what this guy wants and if he’s a threat. I’ll do some digging into who he is.”
“All right,” Trixie stuttered. If Savage researched the guy hard enough, he might find that she actually had met Bruce before the other night. Wren would find out that she had lied to her and that would be a disaster.
