Hyde and Seek

by Layla Frost

  Until that email.

  “Miss Skye? It’s Detective Oscar,” I heard through the door.

  I threw the locks and opened it to let her in.

  Though she was only a couple inches taller than me, her authority made her appear much larger. Her brown eyes were warm but sharp as she looked me over. “How are you?”

  “Uh, if I say brave and fierce, can we pretend I look it?”

  Her lips quirked up. “Of course. Are Jake and Gregory coming?”

  “Yeah, Jake should be here soon. He said he’d call his dad.”

  “Okay. Why don’t you show me the email while we’re waiting?”

  I brought her over to my laptop and moved my finger on the pad to wake it up. My stomach lurched again as I looked at the picture.

  Detective Oscar opened a notepad and began writing in it. “How long ago did this take place?”

  “A few days ago.”

  “Where were you parked?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. I’d been drinking at a club, Voodoo, and Jake came to pick me up. So somewhere between there and here.” My cheeks were hot with embarrassment, but I was also pale and clammy. It was an unpleasant sensation.

  “Do you know what time it was?”

  “Probably midnight or so?”

  “Anyone at Voodoo acting weird, giving you too much attention, making you feel uncomfortable?”

  I shook my head. “Edge, the owner, and Kase, a friend and employee of Jake’s, were there with me and my friends. I guess they played blocker during the night. But nothing seemed out of sorts. No one made a scene or anything.”

  I heard Jake’s Harley roar up my driveway. Opening the door, he came straight to me and crouched near where I sat on the couch. “You okay, sweets?” His thumb stroked my jaw as his eyes searched my face.

  I shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

  Jake looked at my laptop and saw the picture of us doing something that should have been private.

  Standing, his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white. His body was rigid and a muscle in his jaw jumped.

  Reaching out suddenly, he snatched the lamp off the table and side armed it across the room.

  It hit the wall with so much force that it looked like it exploded, shattering into tiny shards of nothing.

  I couldn’t hold back when my laughter bubbled out. Jake and Detective Oscar both turned to look at me, most likely trying to assess if I going into hysterics. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just that that lamp was a housewarming gift from my mother. I hated it and wanted to break it just so I wouldn’t have to look at it anymore. You did me a favor.”

  “I’ll still buy you a new one.”

  I shrugged. “We’ll wait until we get our own home, then pick one out together.”

  Some of the tension left Jake’s body. “Sounds good.”

  “So—”

  A knock interrupted, making me jump and Jake tense again. He looked out the window before opening the door.

  “Sweetheart, how’re you?” Gregory asked as he came straight to me. His green eyes searched my face in much the same way as Jake’s had.

  “I’m better now, thank you. Sorry for interrupting your day.”

  “Don’t even think about it.” His expression switched from concerned to all business. “What’s happened?”

  Detective Oscar took control and filled Gregory in.

  I was grateful to be saved from the embarrassment of telling my future father-in-law that his son and I had been photographed going at it at the side of the road. I’d have preferred he didn’t have to know at all, but since he did, I was relieved I didn’t have to be the one to say it. My face was on fire from just hearing it.

  Jake sat on the arm of the couch and rubbed my neck. As Gregory and Detective Oscar talked about the dead ends they were hitting in the investigation, he got up and paced.

  Bet he wishes I had another lamp to throw.

  “So, what’s the next step?” Jake asked. His patience had clearly run out.

  “Vigilance,” Detective Oscar said. “Be aware of who’s around you. If you get a feeling, Piper, don’t try to convince yourself it’s nothing. Leave. Call me. Call Jake. Call anyone and do it loudly. Don’t go out alone. I’d suggest changing your email address, but I know it’s your work one. Still, change it if you can swing that. I’d definitely recommend buying a new laptop. Before you even turn it on, though, bring it by the station and they’ll put the tracker on it. See about replacing your phone, too. These things are easy to dig into. Most bad hackers barely get in before virus protection or firewalls shut them down. But with some serious skill, they can get in so deep there’s no scan that can detect them.”

  “We’ll go tonight,” Jake said instantly.

  For once, I wasn’t going to put up a fight when Jake said he was paying. I kept looking at my laptop and bracing, like it was a viper about to strike.

  “Good idea. However, and I’m sure you both realize this now, the threat is real. We’d hoped to track down some punk that saw your pictures in the news, but that’s not what’s happening here. Stay safe. Don’t do anything that would put you at undue risk.” She jerked her head towards the picture on the laptop.

  Yeah, I don’t see any roadside booty happening again anytime soon.

  Or ever.

  “I’m going to head back to the station and start digging in with the tech guys. Piper, bring by the new computer.” With a nod goodbye, she left looking totally badass.

  “I need to get home to your mother. She’s worried,” Gregory said as he headed towards the door. “Call her soon, yeah?”

  Huh, that sounds familiar.

  “Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”

  “Anything for you. Call me day or night. Love you.” He stepped outside and closed the door after him. “Lock that.”

  Yup, definitely familiar.

  *******

  “Here’s your computer back, Miss Skye.”

  “Thanks.”

  “He with you?” Detective Oscar asked with a head jerk towards Rhys.

  “Yeah. Jake’s recruiting from our pool of friends for ‘Piper Babysitting Duty’.”

  “Don’t be stubborn about letting them help.” Her expression softened. “Speaking of Jake, it looks like he’s here to relieve the sitter.”

  Turning around, I saw him stop and talk to Rhys. “Weird. He wasn’t expecting to be done at work until late tonight.” I looked at him again as he headed towards us. “Shit. Something’s wrong.”

  Detective Oscar’s head tilted for a second before her body got tight. “You can say that again.” Her face returned to controlled and professional. “Mr. Hyde.”

  Jake’s vibe was dark and tense, his tone short and clipped. “Detective Oscar, a word?”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, going up on my tiptoes to try and make him look at me.

  Instead, he kissed my forehead distractedly. “I just need to talk to Detective Oscar about somethin’. Go see, Rhys, yeah?”

  “Come on, darlin’. Let’s get some coffee.” Rhys put his arm around my shoulders and guided me towards a small kitchenette.

  When Jake didn’t even react, I knew something wasn’t wrong.

  Something was really wrong.

  After what felt like hours, but was probably only about five minutes, Detective Oscar opened a door and stuck her head out. “Miss Skye, can you come in here?”

  My stomach twisted and turned as I made my way to the room she was in.

  I hadn’t noticed Rhys following until Detective Oscar looked behind me. “Sir, I think it might be best if you waited out here.”

  “And I think it might be best if I came,” Rhys’ low voice argued, his easy smile gone.

  “Detective Oscar,” Jake rumbled from inside the room. “Like you said, the more Piper and those around her know, the better.”

  “Fine. Miss Skye and…” she paused, waiting for Rhys to introduce himself. When he just looked down at her silently, she continued. “Sir, pl
ease take a seat.” Detective Oscar walked around her desk and sat down.

  Stiffly, I lowered myself into one of the chairs in front of her. My body was taut and rigid as I sat, literally, on the edge of my seat and waited to hear what was going on.

  Jake stood behind me and gave my shoulder a squeeze. His thumb ran along the nape of my neck.

  I turned to look back at him, but his focus was on a bagged envelope on Detective Oscar’s desk.

  Rhys leaned against the wall by the door. Catching his gaze, he smiled at me but his dimples were barely noticeable.

  Uh oh. Something is really freakin’ wrong.

  “Jake got a package at work today.” After putting on gloves, Detective Oscar moved an evidence bag with a manila envelope in it to uncover two more bags. Grabbing one, she carefully opened it and removed a ball of fabric.

  As it unraveled, I realized what they were.

  “Those are my panties,” I whispered.

  “Have you worn these recently?”

  “A few days ago. When… Oh my God. The night I went to Voodoo.” Wide eyed, I gestured with my head back to Jake.

  “Did you throw them out? Go to the gym in them? The laundry mat? Anywhere where they’d have been outside of your house?”

  I shook my head as I tried to find some excuse for why my panties weren’t at my house. My home. “No. I have a washer and dryer at home. Tomorrow’s laundry day. They were in my hamper.”

  When Jake began rubbing my arms, I noticed I was shivering.

  “I’m going to be honest, this was an extreme escalation. This isn’t cyber stalking, or even regular stalking. Someone obviously broke into your house. There was a note included in the package, Miss Skye.” Grabbing the other evidence bag, she moved it so I could see.

  I leaned down to see the frantic scrawl on a torn piece of paper.

  Next time she creams her panties,

  it’ll be for me.

  “Wait, what?” Like my brain was trying to protect me, the words were a meaningless jumble. As realization dawned, I wished I hadn’t tried so hard to understand. A strangled sob broke free and my shivering intensified, the chair vibrating and rattling from the movement. “Why?”

  Detective Oscar shook her head sadly. “I wish I knew. There’s something else. Another reason this is an extreme escalation. It appears as though there’s fresh ejaculate on these.”

  Lifting a small table, Jake jerked it up so he was gripping the bottom of two legs. Assuming a batting stance, he stepped into it as he swung forcefully, putting all of his weight into the momentum. Time seemed to slow down as the table hit the wall. Like an explosion in an action movie, the wood imploded as it splintered into pieces.

  When the door burst open, I was vaguely aware of Rhys moving to stand in front of me. However, my eyes were locked on Jake.

  His fury radiated as he dropped the jagged posts and turned back towards the desk. “Are you sayin’ some sicko jacked off on my woman’s panties? And then sent them to me in the fuckin’ mail?” he bellowed, making the room feel as though it was shaking.

  Detective Oscar’s face softened again. “Yes, but also no, I’m sorry, that isn’t what I’m saying. There’s no postage on this envelope. No evidence it’s been through the postal service. This was hand delivered.”

  “You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!”

  “Who has access to your office?”

  “Anyone. Everyone. I got a safe I keep anythin’ valuable in, but the door is unlocked.”

  “I need any surveillance you have, Mr. Hyde. I’ll contact businesses around you to see if anyone has seen anything. We’ll also check if there are other cameras in the vicinity that might’ve picked something up. In the meantime, I’m going to send these off for analysis. In fact, Mendez and Franklin here will take them to the lab.” With a nod, she held them out to the officers that had burst in.

  “That means you might be able to get the DNA, right? And if there’s DNA, he might be in a system? Or it could help when you catch him?” I preferred to look at the one positive thing that could come out of having my privacy so grossly violated.

  “If it is confirmed that this is ejaculate and there’s DNA, it will help. But you need to remember this kind of extreme escalation is a double-edged sword. On one side, he’s breaking his pattern. Instead of the occasional emails, and most likely the flowers too, he’s increasing both in timeframe and actions. He’s pushing for a reaction.”

  He’s about to get one in the form of me losing my lunch on my shoes.

  “And he’s getting stupid. All of this could make him easier to apprehend. But I need to stress that this level of recklessness could also make him more dangerous. His obsession with you is surpassing his desire to not get caught.”

  “Fuck,” Jake cursed roughly.

  “Jake, we’ll need to swab for your DNA so we can exclude it.”

  Clenching his jaw, he jerked his chin up.

  “How long do the results take to come back?” I asked.

  “It’s not like on TV. DNA is temperamental and it takes a while for the analysis to come back. After that, there’s the additional time to search through multiple databases. In the meantime, keep safe. Continue to have friends go everywhere with you.” Her voice softened. “We’ll get him, Piper. Just stay watchful and vigilant. Contact me day or night, okay?”

  “Yes, thank you, Detective Oscar.” My legs shook as I stood and began walking to the door.

  “Come on, sweets. We’ll head to the condo for the day.” Jake’s arm wrapped tight around me.

  “No. I have so much to do and want to work. It’ll help.” I felt numb, my mind in a fog as I tried to process everything.

  “Okay, we’ll go to Hyde’s.” With a nod to the detective, he guided me from the room.

  Rhys fell in step behind us, a silent guard.

  Jake touched his pockets. “I ran out of the shop without my phone. Call Ray and get her to head to your place with Edge and some of the security if he can swing it. Have her pack a bunch of your stuff for the condo, yeah?”

  I nodded, pulling my phone out as we exited the station.

  *******

  “You need to cancel that cake,” Jake said, storming into the Hyde kitchen a few days later.

  I didn't have to ask which one he was referring to.

  After our argument about Blake Green, Jake had tried to be cool and supportive about me doing the cakes. More so after our skeevy and upsetting visit to the police station.

  I knew it wasn’t easy for him. So, making myself a total hypocrite, I didn’t tell him any of the shit Blake spewed.

  I tuned Blake out and never even showed a reaction to any of the ridiculous things he said. Since I usually wanted to laugh in his face or roll my eyes so hard I’d give myself a headache, it was sometimes tough not to respond. When it became difficult to remain professional, I’d just remind myself how many opportunities this job could bring.

  I’d thought things were moving along tolerably. Based on Jake's tone, however, I was wrong.

  I sighed and continued washing measuring cups without looking at him. “I’m not cancelling. What’s up?”

  “You tried goin’ through Rhys but Green shot that shit down. Now every fuckin’ day he’s callin’ to talk about the cake. Needin’ to get together to change somethin’. I don’t trust him.”

  “Neither do I,” I readily agreed. “Which is why Rhys is there. Or Kase is there. Or Z. Or Eli. Or Key. Or any combination of them.” Picking up a dishrag, I turned to face Jake as I dried my hands off.

  “Well, next time I’ll be there.”

  “No way. Not gonna happen. We don’t need a repeat of the Tools for Teens event. He’ll poke the bear. The bear will punch him in the face. Then the bear will fuck me up against a wall.” The towel in my hand flipped back and forth as I talked. I tossed it on the counter before I accidentally hit myself in the face. Again. “I’m all for the wall fuck, so can we just skip the other steps?”

 
“I don’t like the shit he says to you.”

  “Yeah, what about Chloe? She’s still texting you, but you don’t see me bugging out.”

  Jake leaned on the table and shrugged. “I ignore her shit.”

  “And I ignore his.”

  “Yeah, but he’s in your space. I can hit delete on a message without readin’ it. You can’t mute Green.”

  “Yeah I can. He starts talking, and there’s this little black and white cow in a grass skirt that pops into my head. She dances the hula and plays a ukulele, and I don’t hear any of the white noise that comes out of his mouth. I’ve got a handle on this. I’ve gotten this far, and it’s almost done. If I do this, I’ll be a lot closer to hiring help and expanding.”

  “You shouldn’t have to deal—”

  “I’m dealing with this for my business, for my dream. You’re dealing with Chloe ‘cause you dipped your dick in crazy. It’ll be done soon and we’ll move on. Until then, you have to trust me.”

  “Fuck, Piper, it isn’t you I don’t trust. But you’re so fuckin’ naive! You don’t get it.”

  “No, I guess I don’t.” Crossing my arms, I looked up at him. “Explain it.”

  “Every day that fucker is comin’ up with new shit to say to get you. To try to take my sweetness. And I’m supposed to just sit back? Fuck that.”

  “You know what? I’m gonna be smart and bite my tongue right now. I’ve gotta get going anyways.” Storming out of the kitchen, I hopped in my car and drove to lunch with Ray, completely livid.

  After all this time, he still didn’t trust me. There was nothing Blake could say that would make me interested in him. There was definitely nothing he could say that would change the way I felt about Jake.

  Only Jake could do that.

  *******

  “Well, well, well. Look who it is. Jake’s innocent little bitch. Or should I say former innocent little bitch?”

  I’ll take catty, shrill voiced bitches I don’t have patience for, for $800 Mr. Trebek.

  Oh look, she’s got a friend. Looks like it’s a Daily Double.

  “Rachel, dear, didn’t you hear the news? Oh, I forgot, you’re banned and no one is talking to you. Oh, that makes this extra fun then,” Ray said, giving an evil smile.