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“It’s more than that. The person who sent me the letter sent me a picture of me tied to his bed and blindfolded,” I stammered, wishing I could take back the last part. The butterflies in my stomach made me nauseous. “I promise it’s not happening anymore. I ended it when it got out. I know reputation is important. Please don’t fire me.”
I sucked in a deep breath, and Jared waited to make sure I had finished speaking. “I’m not going to fire you. I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do in your free time. Just don’t let him tie you up in my office. Are we clear?”
“Seriously?” The nervous shame that had poisoned me since I got the letter slowly seeped out of me. He didn’t care?
“Yes, seriously.” Then, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. The gentle, friendly look on his face made him look older, almost grandfatherly. “If you want my honest opinion though, you are clearly upset over it. If you like the guy, this seems like a pretty stupid thing to end it over. Everyone has secrets.”
Did he have secrets too? I stifled a small giggle when I imagined him tied to a bed.Everyone has secrets.Standing, I felt lighter. I had to get to Graham, but I knew what I had to do first. “Thank you.”
He nodded at the door, trying to hide his smile. “Get out of here.”
By the time I pulled up in front of the shelter, my blood was boiling, and my hands shook even as they gripped the steering wheel. I took three deep breaths before I shut off the car and climbed out. When I threw the front door of the shelter open, hitting the bell, the perky blonde looked at me from the reception counter. The customer service smile she had been wearing on her face fell, and she glared at me.
“What can I do for you?” Even through her scowl, her voice was overly friendly.
I stormed up to the counter, getting close enough to smell the coffee on her breath. “I believe this belongs to you.” She gasped when I slammed my hand against the surface, leaving the flash drive behind. “You can keep the picture,” I snarled.
Rachel cocked her head to the side, smirking proudly. “Oh, you got my gift.”
“I did!” I looked around the room to make sure nobody else was there before I lowered my voice. “Nice try, bitch. Next time, you’ll have to try harder than that.”
She laughed, the loud cackling rivaling the barking coming from the hallway. “I don’t know,” she said, spinning the flash drive on the counter. “Judging by the way he moped his way in here the other day, I got to you a little bit, didn’t I?”
My stomach filled with sand, sinking to the ground beneath me. What had he told her? Rachel smirked at me, resting herelbow on the counter casually. “He was pretty upset, but don’t worry. I comforted him.” She winked, and I seethed.
Had he done something with her? I thought about his fingers tracing the holes in my jeans, and I blinked away the image of him doing the same to hers. He wouldn’t. I knew better than that. “You can’t scare me. Stay away from my man, or I’ll take the letter to the cops.”
“Is he your man?” She smirked, unaffected by my threat. “When he left here, he looked pretty fair game to me.”
I stuck my finger in her face, getting as close as I could without touching her, and she stumbled back a step. “You heard me. Stay away frommy man, or you’ll be the one who barked up the wrong tree.”
Chapter 24
Graham
Ihated moving, enough that I was willing to do almost anything to procrastinate, even though I’d waited to move into my new house for months. The knock at my door made me pause, holding the box of plates I had finished wrapping. I setit on the counter, crossing the living room to the front door and flinging it open.
Chelsea tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and looked up at me. “What are you doing here?” I asked her, leaning against the door frame.
“I was wrong.” She stepped towards me, her brow furrowing and her steps faltering when she noticed the stack of boxes behind me. Chelsea blinked, letting her eyes linger shut for a moment while she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never should’ve let the threats scare me. I shouldn’t have been ashamed. I—”
I put my hands out, grabbing her shoulders and stopping her. “What threats? What are you talking about?” Flashes of her face when she came to tell me it was over crossed my mind.Fear.My chest tightened, and guilt flooded me. I should’ve protected her.
“I got this letter, and they sent pictures with it. They said they were going to tell everyone about…” She hesitated, waving vaguely around her, first pointing to herself, then me, then to the bedroom and putting her hands behind her back. “It was the girl at the shelter. I guess she likes you, and…”
My pulse roared against my ears, nearly drowning out the sound of my own voice. Rachel had been all over me, even giddy when I was at the shelter. I remembered the lipstick she had been wearing when she walked into the kennel with Bullseye that she hadn’t been wearing when I walked into the shelter the first time. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides.
“Rachel threatened you.” I gritted my teeth when Chelsea nodded.
“I already took care of it.” She shrugged, cocking her head to the side. She looked proud of herself. What did she mean she already took care of it? Chelsea stared at me, tense for a moment before she dropped her shoulders and relaxed. “I went and sawher. I told her to stay away from my man, or we were going to have problems.”
My man.“Oh did you now?” I grabbed her wrist, stepping back into the house and pulling her with me. When she was past the threshold, I slammed the door, and she jumped at the sound.
Chelsea nodded. “And I told my boss everything, though I don’t think I probably needed to tell him as much as I did.”
I lifted my eyebrow, smirking. “What did you tell him?”
“It doesn’t really matter.” She shook her head, and her cheeks turned bright pink. “I’m not ashamed of it. I’m not embarrassed by it anymore. I want this. I wantyou.” Chelsea stepped forward until her chest met mine and snaked her arms around my neck.
