by L. P. Dover
Taking my hand, she pulled me away from Jason’s car over to mine. “We need to get away from here. Why don’t you stay at my place while they investigate?”
I’d practically been doing that anyway for the past week, but now it was different. I literally had been driven out of my home. I hoped Jason found the culprit and when he did, I wanted to get to the guy first.
—
Five days had passed and there was no goddamn progress in the investigation. Jason couldn’t find a single shred of evidence and basically said the house was clean. What a crock of shit; there had to be something. The police had been working nonstop to find answers, but whoever committed the crime was smart. Obviously, not smart enough, because anyone who knew me would know better than to come after me.
Practice was about to start and I waited for Blaine to show up. If that fucker had anything to do with my house I was going to kill him. However, as time dragged on, he never walked through the doors.
“Sorry about the investigation,” Derek called out.
My hands were numb from clenching them so hard. “Me too.” I leaned my head against my locker and faced him.
Aaron sat down beside me and laced up his cleats. “The police can’t find anything?”
“Nope. They say the house is clean. I had people come in and take everything that wasn’t salvageable away. Bristol’s been busy finding new furniture. It’s being delivered today. She said it’ll all be done by the time we get finished with practice.”
“You gave her full rein of your money?” Derek asked in awe.
I shrugged. “Why not? I trust her.”
Aaron slapped me on the back. “You’ve fallen hard, brother. Good luck with that.”
“Got that right.” Derek chuckled. “Next thing you know, you’ll be married with three kids.”
The last thing on my mind was marriage, but it wasn’t a long shot. If there was any girl I’d consider marrying, it would be Bristol.
“That’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Ryan growled, appearing around the corner.
Derek and Aaron stepped back and walked out of the locker room, along with everyone else on the team except Ryan.
“And how would you stop us?” I asked. “You’re not Bristol’s keeper.”
I finished tying my shoes and stood, facing him head on. We were about the same height and build, and even if he was Bristol’s brother, it wasn’t going to stop me from kicking his ass again if I had to.
“No, I’m not,” he said, “but she’s my sister and I care about her. The last thing I want is for her to be in the crossfire of some cocksucker you pissed off.”
Teeth clenched, I was all prepared to fight back, but he had a point. “I’m not going to let her get hurt.”
“That’s a wise decision, Reed. Because if she does, nothing’s going to stop me from ripping off your fucking head. I don’t know why she wants to be with you, but I’ve respected her decision and backed off. If this shit keeps happening, though, I will step in. Make no mistake about that.”
Turning on his heel, he stormed out, leaving me to the scary thoughts running rampant through my brain. The police hadn’t caught whoever it was who destroyed my house. What if that same person came after me again, or worse, after Bristol? No matter what, I would protect her. That was for damn certain.
Chapter 22
Bristol
“This is the last piece,” Marco said happily.
He was one of the movers I’d hired on plenty of occasions when I worked in my clients’ homes. Both he and his partner had been working nonstop to get everything moved in. Marco and James carried the mattress upstairs to Jaxon’s bedroom. Once that was done, the rest of the house was up to me.
The whole weekend while Jaxon talked to the police, I was busy finding him new furniture. He’d given me his credit card to buy whatever I wanted. I was pretty good at finding beautiful things for reasonable prices, unless I had a customer who was adamant on getting strictly name-brand pieces.
Marco and James came back downstairs, wiping the sweat from their foreheads.
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate you working so hard for me today.”
Marco held out his hand and I shook it. “Anytime, Ms. Thomas. Please make sure to tell Mr. Reed we said thanks.”
“I will. He’ll be thrilled to come home to a finished house.” Jaxon had paid them double to get everything brought in today. I knew it made Marco happy, considering he had a large family to feed.
Once they left, I got to work. The whole house wasn’t fully completed, but I wanted to get the living room and Jaxon’s bedroom done. There was nothing wrong with his room colors to begin with, so I stuck with the same tones as before. The only thing I had changed was the position of his bed and his dressers. He had a gorgeous view of the lake, and I thought it would be nice to have the bed facing that window. I was pretty sure he didn’t care about the scenery, but I did. Once I had his room completed, I went down to finish the living space.
The paintings I had framed for Jaxon were now in the trash, since there was nothing left of them. It had hurt my heart to see his work ripped apart and thrown across the floor like garbage. For now, I stayed away from walls and just concentrated on the furniture placement. I didn’t want anything on the walls other than Jaxon’s work. It belonged there.
“Hello,” Angela called from the kitchen. She had a key to Jaxon’s house, and I knew she was stopping by. It was her day to cook and I was glad of it. After the busy day I’d had, there was no way I’d have the energy.
“In here, Angela.”
She appeared in the doorway and smiled. “Wow, you’ve been working hard.”
Laughing, I flopped down on the couch. “I have. I’m just glad most of it’s done. Hopefully, Jaxon will like it when he comes home.”
She waved me off. “He will, my dear. I’m going to cook you both enough food to last the next couple of days. I have family coming in from out of town this weekend.”
“That sounds like fun. If we run out of food, I know how to cook. It’s just yours tastes so much better.” She giggled and her little, twinkling eyes crinkled.
“Thank you, Bristol. I have to say it’s been a breath of fresh air with you being around.”
The doorbell rang, so Angela walked over to answer it. I was curious to see who it was and got up to look around the corner. It was a postal carrier, holding out a large envelope. Once Angela had accepted it, she turned around and held the envelope out to me.
“It’s addressed to you.”
I took it from her, and there written on the front was my name with Jaxon’s address. “That’s strange. Why would someone send me something here?”
Angela shrugged. “Not sure, dear. But I’m going to head into the kitchen and get started. I have a lot of cooking to do.”
She waltzed off and I sat back down in the living room. There was no return address, so I had no clue who’d sent me the letter. Sliding my finger under the lip, I tore the envelope open and looked inside. I pulled out the letter and gasped.
Bitch,
You’ll never be as good as me. Might as well leave while you still can.
~S.
Who the hell was S? I felt sick to my stomach and terrified to see what else was in the envelope. All I could tell was that there were pictures, and I could only imagine who the two people in them were. Closing my eyes, I pulled them out and laid them on my lap. The second I looked down at them, I wished I hadn’t. Bile rose in the back of my throat and my heart thundered so hard it made my chest hurt. In the pictures were Jaxon and another woman in various positions, having sex. I couldn’t see her face, but I could see his. Jumping to my feet, I let the photos fall to the floor and I left them there.
The only thing I cared about was getting the hell out of there, away from the pictures…away from Jaxon.
Chapter 23
Jaxon
“Alright, Reed, let’s see what you got.” Aaron held the ball and I kicked it as hard as I c
ould. All day, I’d tried to make a successful field goal at the sixty-five-yard line and failed. I’d made the ones at sixty-three, but those extra two feet were my enemies. And again, my attempt was a failure.
Aaron patted my shoulder. “You’ll make it one day.”
I scoffed. “I sure as hell hope so.” The other guys started to head inside, but Aaron and I stayed behind. “One more time,” I said.
Chuckling, Aaron fetched another ball and got into position. “What is it with you always wanting to be the best? You’re already the number-one kicker in the NFL.”
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the two posts at the end of the field. “I’m not the best until I’ve defeated the best.” I rushed toward the ball and felt it as it left the tip of my cleat. It spun perfectly in the air as it flew down the field. The aim was straight and it kept going and going until it soared right through the posts.
There was nothing but silence as Aaron and I watched the football bounce when it hit the ground. “Holy shit, dude, did I just see that right?” Aaron asked in awe.
“I believe you did.”
He jumped up and hollered so loud you could hear it echo across the field. “Whoa! Hot damn! I can’t believe you actually made it.” I was so in shock over it, I didn’t even know how to react. None of the guys on the team or our coaches were on the field to witness it. Probably no one would believe us, but I knew the truth.
We started back inside and I was on air. It was turning out to be a good day. When we made it to the locker room, most of the guys were gone, but Aaron announced to everyone left that I’d made the kick. Now all I had to do was do it again during a game.
On the way home, I stopped and bought Bristol some Godiva chocolate-covered strawberries. I knew she loved them because I’d heard her talking about them to Hayden on the phone the other night. I was glad to see her getting along well with my friends.
When I arrived home, I thought she would be there, but the only car parked in the drive was Angela’s. I was hoping to tell her the good news about my kick. However, when I walked in Angela was by the stove, her body stiff.
“Hey,” I called out. She turned around, and I wasn’t expecting to see the conflicted look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Bristol left about an hour ago.”
I set the strawberries down on the counter, but I had a sinking feeling that something bad had happened. “Did she say when she’d be back?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t get to her in time.”
“What are you not telling me?” I asked, losing my patience.
Swallowing hard, she headed toward the living room and I followed her. The room looked fantastic, everything completely different from what it used to be. The black couches I’d had were now replaced by soft brown ones with different-colored accent pillows. There were trees in the corners that were lit up like the last ones. I could see Bristol in every aspect of the room.
Angela picked up an envelope that was sitting on the coffee table. “This came in the mail today, only it was addressed to Bristol. When she saw what was inside, she ran out of the house.”
She handed me the brown envelope and I ripped out the contents. Sadie had taken pictures of our night together without my knowledge. Obviously it was to frame me, the way she was doing now. The pictures were bad enough, but the letter infuriated me more. That stupid cunt had crossed the line way too many times. Now she was involving Bristol.
“I have to find Bristol.” Envelope in hand, I raced to the door.
“You don’t think this girl has anything to do with what happened here, do you?” Angela shouted after me. Before I could get in my car, I froze and turned around.
Thinking about it, Sadie was psychotic enough to do it; I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t all there in the head. “You have got to be kidding me. Why didn’t I think of her before?”
Angela shrugged. “She obviously has a bone to pick with you if she’s attacking Bristol. I haven’t lived sixty-eight years without seeing what people are capable of. If I were you, I’d go to the police about it. You need to stay away from that one,” she said, pointing at the envelope.
“No shit.”
She was right. Going after Sadie would only make things worse. If it was her that messed up my house, then she was more fucked up than I thought. Leaning against my car, I ran a hand angrily through my hair. Everything was going great for me until this. Bristol wasn’t going to want anything to do with me now, and I couldn’t blame her. I had to find her.
—
After various attempts at calling Bristol, it was obvious she didn’t want to be found. I wasn’t surprised, but I wanted the chance to explain. Knowing my luck, she probably went to her brother’s and I’d have to go through him to get to her.
What was worse was that I didn’t even know that psycho cunt had taken pictures of our one and only night together. The only thing to do was wait Bristol out and since I had a key to her condo, I decided to go there. I paced her kitchen floor, hoping to hear the sound of keys in the lock, but it never came. My phone rang and I rushed over to it, only to see Jason’s name, not Bristol’s.
“Thanks for calling me back,” I said to him.
“Sorry it wasn’t sooner. From your message, it sounded urgent. Is everything okay?”
“No, that’s why I called. Bristol received something today and I think you should take a look at it. There’s a girl who’s been stalking me and as idiotic as it might sound, I think she might be behind the break-in.”
“Hmm…interesting. Where are you at?”
“Downtown, at Bristol’s condo. I can’t find her, so I’m waiting her out. Want to meet me in the parking garage?” I asked.
“Be there in ten.”
He hung up, and by the time I made it through the building and out of the lobby to the parking garage, he was pulling in. I walked down to his car and he got out.
“So what exactly is going on?” Jason asked. I handed him the envelope and he looked inside, eyes widening the second he saw the pictures.
“Her name is Sadie. I never gave a shit about finding out her last name. But this girl,” I said, pointing at the pictures, “is a fucking nutcase. She’s been following me around and selling pictures to the tabloids. I have no doubt some of these will be next.”
I’d had some scandalous stories circulate about me before, but this one would definitely tear Bristol and me apart if it hadn’t already done so. Gaze narrowed, Jason studied the note. “What has me concerned is this letter. It’s threatening.”
My stomach clenched. “That bitch better not think of hurting Bristol.”
He lifted his face to me and sighed. “You can never be too sure. Delusional people are capable of just about anything.” Putting the letter back in the envelope, he sealed it up. “I’m going to take these and run them for fingerprints. If this girl was responsible for the break-in, she probably left no trace on these either. I’ll see what I can find, though.”
I shook his hand. “Thanks, Avery. This girl’s trying her best to ruin my life.”
Jason started back toward his car but then stopped and faced me. “I know this pisses you off, but don’t do anything stupid. You don’t exactly have the best track record.”
What I really wanted to do was find Sadie and beat the shit out of her, but my mother always taught me not to hit a girl. I had no desire to hurt a woman…except for Sadie. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually going to lay low and let you handle it. I just want Bristol to talk to me again.”
“She will. You have to give women their space. Trust me, I know this all too well.”
As soon as he got into his car and drove away, I took the elevator back to the lobby on up to Bristol’s condo. Bristol had no choice but to come home eventually, and when she did, I would be waiting for her. Once inside her condo, I pulled out my phone and called Hayden.
“Hey,” she answered happily. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
> I sat down at the kitchen bar and sighed. “Sorry, sweetheart, no pleasure in this one. I need your help.”
“Uh-oh, please tell me you didn’t screw things up with Bristol?”
Teeth clenched, I couldn’t get Sadie’s smug smile out of my head. That bitch was probably enjoying every minute of this. “I didn’t, but someone else did. Here it goes…”
Chapter 24
Bristol
“Girl, you need to dump his ass!” Jennifer shouted through the phone. She had tried calling me all afternoon, but I was so angry I couldn’t even begin to speak to anyone until now.
I’d been driving around the city for hours, stopping in various places to take a break. Jaxon kept texting me and calling, but I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. It felt like it was one thing after another with him. First, he lied to me about who he really was, and now I was being sent scathing pictures of Jaxon with another girl. It all made me sick.
“I know,” I agreed. “I don’t know if I can handle his lifestyle. So many women want him. Will I have to put up with this stuff for the rest of my life?”
She snorted. “Most definitely. I’d get out now before things get too serious.”
They already were. I loved him. My phone beeped and I glanced down at the screen; it was Hayden. “Jennifer, can I call you back? It’s my friend Hayden.”
“Wait, you have to tell me what you’re going to do. Is it over between you two?” she asked, her voice desperate but also angry.
My phone beeped again and I sighed. “I don’t know. It’s just too much right now. I’ll call you back.” I hung up with her and answered Hayden’s call, regretting it the moment I switched over. It was probably Jaxon calling from her phone. “Hello,” I answered nervously.
Hayden’s voice answered. “Hey, girl. What ya doin’?”
“Driving. You?”