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I drag his lips to mine and kiss him. My phone clangs on the ground, and I jolt back. “Oh. Vander is on the phone.”
Bennett’s eyebrows fold in. “Why is Vander on the phone? You called him and not me?”
He looks impossibly hurt. “Uh. Well. Um.”
“You can tell him, Katy,” I hear Vander shout. “In fact, put me on speaker. I have some questions for both of you.”
I put Vander on speakerphone, and Bennett tells him and me everything about his conversation with Liz, followed by his boss this morning. Vander asks him some questions, things I don’t fully understand, until he says, “Okay, I’m in.” In the background, I hear the click of the keys, and my insides shrink a bit. “I’ll get back to you,” he says and then disconnects the call.
Chapter Thirty
It didn’t take Vander very long. Within twenty minutes, he called us back and told us we needed to go to the police station and file a report. Cayden has been stalking both of us like crazy for months and has done research into which ingested poisons, chemicals, and foods could kill a fetus. Lovely.
We couldn’t give the police everything because that would incriminate Vander. But we have video of him following me to the pool this morning and lurking around the building, as well as footage from Bennett’s doorbell and back door cameras that show him across the street and sneaking around the house on several different occasions. We also gained access to hospital video after Bennett made a request, and he’s followed Bennett and me several times in the last couple of months.
His obsession with Bennett is off the charts.
By the time we left the police station and let them know about the way he threatened me and how we feared for our safety, especially since I’m pregnant, we had a restraining order against him, and they had a warrant for Cayden’s arrest. Bennett and I were assured that stalking is considered a crime in all fifty states and Massachusetts takes it very seriously. And because of our accusation of stalking and the fact that we did show them some physical evidence that he’s fabricated photographs and tracked Bennett using his phone, they will confiscate Cayden’s computer, phone, and other devices, which will lead them to the things Vander found.
It was a relief, but when I went to work that night, I was still feeling unsettled about it. So was Bennett, who was even more overprotective than usual. He drove me in and picked me up and had security escort me in and out of the hospital.
At least it didn’t take very long to get Cayden.
Not even two days later, we got a call from the officer who took our report to inform us that Cayden had been arrested trying to break into Bennett’s house—thankfully we were both at work at the time. The raid on Cayden’s apartment revealed terrifying results. Weapons and video equipment and poisons. He was living a block from us. One block. We had no idea how close he was to us all that time. How deep his fixation went.
Bennett was more than just a little shaken up. After all, Cayden had been his supposed best friend for two decades and his roommate for all four years of college.
It’s horrifying to think how close we came to his wrath and how lucky we were that this ended before he turned as violent as it seemed he was getting.
It got better for us from there, as two months after that, the DA informed us that Cayden made a plea deal and will be serving up to five years in prison with a chance for parole after three.
Now, with all that bullshit behind us, we’ve been able to focus on us, on his mom, and on the pregnancy.
These last couple of months have flown by.
I had my fellowship interview, and it went well. At least I think it did. Bennett was no help with that as he’s sworn to secrecy and would not speak to me at all about the fellowship process. It’s annoying and it sucks, but I understand his position on it, and I won’t risk his job. Still, I won’t find out until early next month.
Cricket has been a non-issue. She keeps her distance from me, and I do the same with her. I did wish her luck when I left my interview as hers immediately followed mine. She said thanks, and that was that.
Same with Zane.
Word about what Cayden did to me spread pretty quickly, and he came to check on me since he thought Cayden was my boyfriend. I told him I was with Bennett and that we were in love, and once we announced my pregnancy, I haven’t seen or heard from him since. I’ve had offers to interview for fellowships from eight different hospitals, one of them in Boston, and I interviewed at five of them. A girl has to have a backup plan. Still, if I don’t get this hospital, I’ll be crushed beyond all measure.
For now, I’m not thinking about it. Well, doing my best not to think about it.
“This is a joke, right?” I ask Layla as I try to squeeze into the tight dress she brought into the dressing area for me.
“What? Why? What’s wrong with it?” She blinks her pretty blue eyes at me, all innocent-like when Layla Fritz-Barrows is anything but.
“Layla! My boobs are everywhere because they’re freaking pregnancy huge, and my belly is like front and center. Not to mention this dress is short. Like, if I bend even a little, not only will my ass get a blast of icy February air, but I’ll be flashing everyone my naughty girl from the wrong angle if you know what I mean.”
Keegan chews on a Twizzler—her favorite—and snorts, making herself nearly choke. “No one knows what you mean. And you look hot. It’s Valentine’s Day. You’re supposed to get all fancy when you have someone to do that for.”
“Right.” Layla points to Keegan. “What she said. Besides, if I had your boobage, I’d totally rock that. Pregnancy tits are sexy.”
“Plus, the belly is too,” Kenna agrees.
Wren tilts her head, studying me. “If you wear it with Docs, it might be kind of badass.”
