Lila had messaged me this morning to check in, and I’d promised to call her later. She’d probably gotten tired of waiting on me.
A grin pulled at my cheeks, and I let out a happy sigh. Maybe we were finally going to get the happily ever after we deserved.
All I had to do was help Lila find the right guy too, so she could be as annoyingly happy as me.
I unlocked my phone with a swipe and my blood ran cold.
Unknown number:You better not be where I think you are.
34
JULIAN
“Julian.” The high-pitched fear spiking Harper’s voice, combined with the way she rushed into the kitchen and slammed to a halt with her phone extended sent my heart out of my body.
I wrenched away from the computer and held out my hand. “What? What’s wrong? Is it the baby? Are you hurt?” The thought of either took me out at the knees.
“I got another message.” She shoved the phone toward me, letting go as soon as my hand wrapped around it. She flapped her hand like it had burned her and took a wobbly step toward the couch.
I guided her to a seated position with a hand on her elbow and brushed her curls away from her face. “We’ll take care of it. Thank you for showing me right away.” I caught Dante’s eye and tipped my head toward Harper, indicating he should take over. “I’m going to call the private investigator.”
“What’s his name?” Harper clutched one hand around her throat, the other arm curled across her stomach.
“Greg. Why?”
She stared at the wall across from her, eyes wide and unseeing. “Just needed to know. Needed something else to think about.”
I gripped her shoulder and squeezed. “We’re going to figure this out. We’ll catch them.”
Dante finished washing his hands and hurried over to sit beside Harper on the couch. He draped his arm over her shoulders and pressed her to his side, adding his hand to hers on her belly. The protective gesture prompted a burst of fury. Howdaresomeone threaten Harper. How dare they scare her and threaten all of us.
Why? What was the motivation? If we knew that, we might be able to figure this out faster.
I dialed Greg’s number and waited. He answered on the second ring. “Julian.”
“Hey, man. We have another threatening message. You ready for the number?”
“Shoot.” Keys clicked and Greg repeated the number back to me. “Sad to say, but this is likely a burner phone. Doubtful I’ll get much. Unless they’re incredibly naive in their anonymity and don’t realize how easy it is to find someone.”
“Maybe we’re that lucky and this is some kid who thinks they can get away with it.” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the anger from exploding and sending me into a fit of rage that trashed the room. I should have taken Alexander up on his offer to work out together. A few dozen deadlifts might ease the frustration.
“I’ll get back to you soon as I can.” Greg hung up with a click of his rotary phone, leaving the jangle in my ear long after I lowered the phone to the table.
Alexander had come out of Dante’s home gym at some point and joined Dante and Harper on the couch. I stood behind her, massaging the tense muscles in her shoulders and neck.
“They can’t get to you.” Dante kissed her temple. “We will not let them get away with this.”
“Dante’s right. Greg is incredible. If anyone can figure out who’s behind this, it’s him. And once we know, we can shut this shit down once and for all.”
Harper’s heavy sigh mixed relief with continued fear. “I hope you’re right. I know I was wrong to hide this from you, so it’s my fault I’ve lived with it for so long. I want it to be over. I’m so tired of jumping every time my phone makes a sound. I actually didn’t think twice today when the sound went off. I thought it was Lila, and to see that, especially when I didn’t expect it, brought it all rushing back.”
I was so going to make them pay for the emotional trauma they’d put her through. The urge to find whoever did this and destroy their life might make me a petty asshole, but I’d do it. No one had the right to threaten someone for simply living their life. I didn’t have that right, but the justice of repaying the favor burned hotter with every passing day.
“We’re going to fix this.” Dante ran his hands through her hair.
Alexander snuggled against her from the other side. “What’s the worst that can happen anyway? So our reputations are tarnished. Big deal. Did you know that we had to have an entire PR campaign when we added Julian to the board?”
“You did?” Her head fell back and she stared at me upside down, an adorable frown puckering her cheeks.
