Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Your dad came through and they decided to keep the baby. Furthermore, to honor my parents, they decided to keep the name, Gemma, if it were a girl.” I rub at my temple that’s now throbbing. “You know how fucking crushed they must’ve been? They had a nursery set up for her. I saw the pictures.”
Dempsey watches me with pity.
Hell, they all do.
Gemma, for her part, also looks guilty.
This dinner with my “not really that serious” girlfriend has gone down the toilet all too quickly. I’m eager to get the hell out of here.
“Damn, dude,” Dempsey rumbles. “That’s…so fucked up.”
Unable to deal with their expressions any longer, I push back from the table, the wood legs screeching across the floor.
“I need a breather,” I grunt out. “I’ll be in the car, Golden.”
Without another word, I bolt.
Gemma
Beauty decides that Two’s abrupt exit is her cue to hop onto his vacated chair and help herself to the rest of his lasagna. While Dempsey and Sloane both simultaneously start hollering at my precious fur-niece, who was just hungry, I abandon my own meal to follow after Two.
Before I can get the front door open, he’s barreling back through it with a familiar yellow flower in one hand and a note in the other.
My stalker strikes again.
Coldness seeps into my every cell. This creep followed me to my brother’s house and left me another message while we ate. I feel so violated.
Sloane, sensing my mood change, abandons scolding Beauty to come over to us. “What is it?”
Two trembles with fury or fear—I’m not sure which.
“My stalker,” I say sharply. “Wherever I go, they go.”
“Set it on the coffee table,” Sloane instructs. “Let me grab some gloves.”
Two drops both items onto the table as if they’re riddled with disease before tugging me into his arms. All the drama moments ago is forgotten as something far more sinister greets us.
Dempsey manages to clean off Beauty’s face, though her fur is stained from the sauce. She gets the boot into the backyard where she pitifully yelps at the door as if to plead her case.
By the time Sloane returns, Beauty has stopped complaining to no doubt wreak havoc on some part of their yard.
Sloane sits on the edge of the table and first inspects the flower before picking up the letter. She unfolds it and her eyes dart across the paper as she quickly reads it.
“Hmm.”
“What does it say?” Dempsey demands.
“‘Must be getting pretty serious if you’re showing him off to the family. Tell your boyfriend to keep his dick in his pants. Or else.’” Sloane frowns. “That’s all it says.”
I shudder at the warning. “Or else what?”
Sloane goes into detective mode. “Any jealous ex-boyfriends or people who might want to be with you that you can think of?”
“No,” I say as Dempsey blurts out, “Only the entire Internet.”
I scowl at him. “Not helping.”
“Just stating the obvious,” Dempsey says with a shrug. “You have like a billion followers. It could be anyone.”
Despite my being visible to a million-plus people, I don’t think it’s one of them. Clearly, it’s a local. Someone who knows me and has easy access to me.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together,” Two interjects. “I haven’t seen anyone who stares a little too long or anything. The creepiest thing that happened was when that cop caught us.”
Dempsey tenses. “Caught you doing what?”
“Irrelevant,” Sloane barks out. “The cop’s been cleared. I checked his patrol car driving logs and the vehicle hasn’t been to your school, home, or Hemingford Hall. He may have been creepy as you claim, but he’s not the stalker. Your stalker is staying hidden for a reason.”
“Because he’s a pussy,” Dempsey growls. “If he comes out of hiding, I’m going to kick his ass.”
“You and me both,” Two agrees.
“That means,” Sloane continues, ignoring the spike in testosterone levels, “either they’re small or incapable of carrying out their threats, which could mean a girl you might know could be trying to scare you. Or…”
“Or,” I urge her to continue. “I don’t know of any girls who could have it out for me.”
“And we’re sure this guy didn’t plant it just to freak you out?” Dempsey tosses back, jabbing a finger at Two. “Convenient he was the one to find the note.”
“Fuck all the way off,” Two barks. “Get off my back, man. Your fury is pointed in the wrong direction.”
“Dempsey,” Sloane says with a sigh. “Give Two a break. It’s not him.”
Two shoots Dempsey a smug look that has my brother’s face reddening.
“What is your other thought, Sloane?” I ask, bringing the topic back to where we started. “If it’s not some mean girl. Who then?”
“Someone with a reason to stay under the radar. A person in a position of authority perhaps? A prominent figure? A friend of your father’s?”
The room goes silent as I process those words. Imagining it could be one of Dad’s old guy friends has me cringing. Hard. I think I like the stranger idea better.