“Poppy literally just pulled those out of the oven,” Rosaline said, shaking her head.
“You saw me do it, Cash.”
Another chime sounded, too soft to be from the security system.
“Could you pass me my phone?” Lyric asked, stretching across the counter, arm not long enough to reach her phone, which she’d left beside the recipe for the brownies.
“Ew.” Rosaline handed it to her with a frown. “The case is sticky. I think you got batter on it.”
Lyric glanced at the screen. “Five four one. That’s an Oregon number, right?”
“Mhmm.” Poppy reached inside the drawer beside the stove for a toothpick so she could check that the brownies weren’t underbaked. “Eugene, Bend, um, Springfield. Cash?”
He lowered his protein shake and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Medford, too, I think.”
“Corvallis,” Rosaline said, and all three of them shuddered.
“Weird,” Lyric murmured, frowning at her phone.
“Did someone from a four five one call you or something?” Rosaline asked. “Did they leave a message?”
An uneasy look had settled on Lyric’s face. “Text.”
“Cassidy’s got your number, right?” Cash twisted at the waist, cracking his back. “She probably just gave it to one of the other girls.”
“I don’t think Cassidy would do that,” Poppy said. “Not without asking Lyric if she was okay with it first.”
In an effort to make her feel welcome, Cassidy had invited Lyric over for drinks with a few of the other WAGs. Over as opposed to out because Cassidy wasn’t ready to leave her two-month-old with a sitter.
“No.” Lyric shook her head. “It’s—it’s not from Cassidy. It’s... really strange.”
“Probably spam or something then, babe. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Cash crushed the drink carton in his hand and tossed it in the recycling can. He paused, brows drawing into a sharp frown. “Unless you mean strange as in threatening.”
Rosaline rounded the counter. “What’s it say?”
Lyric pressed her fingers to the notch at the base of her neck. “Hi, Lyric. You don’t know me, but you’re going to want to see this. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I would want to know the truth. xx.” She shook her head. “It’s not signed.”
Poppy shivered and tossed the toothpick she’d used to check the brownies in the trash. Whoever it was knew who Lyric was and somehow, they’d gotten ahold of the private number she kept closely guarded, only trusting it to her closest friends. “That’s kind of creepy.”
Cash scrubbed a knuckle over his mouth, still frowning. “What bad news?”
Rosaline’s eyes were locked on the screen, her lips pursed, and her jaw tight. “There’s a link.”
“Is it smart to even click it?” Poppy asked. “It could be phishing.”
“Just what I need.” Lyric sighed. “Someone trying to hack my phone.”
Cash crossed the kitchen and stopped behind Lyric, wrappinghis arms around her waist. He kissed the knob at the top of her spine. “We won’t let that happen.”
“You and what army, Curran?” Rosaline snorted. “It’ll be fine. You’ve got two-factor authentication set up, you’ve got a photo vault, your software is up to date, and your passwords are all strong and unique. And we’ll change them after just in case.” She took the phone from Lyric and tapped on the link.
Curious, Poppy crowded behind them, trying to get a glimpse of Lyric’s screen.
Lyric’s Google Drive app opened and after a few seconds of staring at the triangular emblem set against a back screen, a folder loaded. There were only three files inside, one labeledtinder.png,anothertinder2.png,and a final file calledKasaNightClub.mp4.Two pictures and a video.
“This is really creeping me the hell out,” Lyric murmured, leaning back against Cash’s chest. “I don’t think I want to open these.” She shivered and shook her head. “I don’t know. I just have a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.”
“You could have a stalker, Lyric.” Rosaline’s index finger hovered over the video file. “Anotherstalker, I mean.”
