Cam pulled his omega to his side before turning towards me. “What did the letters say?”
“It’s all stuff like ‘you’re mine,’ but written in really bad poetry.”
“You think it’s connected to the attack?” Josie asked softly.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you keep them?” Theo asked, clenching his jaw.
“Yeah, they’re all at the house.”
“If you give me your keys, I’ll go get them,” Cam said. “Then we can take a look and maybe send them to our lab for analysis.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner,” I said softly. The heat from my coffee cup sank into my palms, almost burning them.
There was silence in the room, and Josie’s arms wrapped around me. I sank into her embrace, my throat tight.
“We’re going to figure this out,” she said. “Promise.”
The letters were spreadout on the kitchen island.
“You weren’t joking about the bad poetry,” Theo muttered.
“These are horrible,” Josie said. “I’m so sorry. You’re going to stay here with us, right? You can’t go back to your house.”
“Oh, no. I need to get back.”
Josie’s eyes widened. “Westin, no. It’s not safe.”
“But I can’t stay here.” Panic rose in my chest. This is how it started—they were happy to have me at first, but then they would turn on me. And what if the stalker tried to get to Josie? I would never forgive myself if she got hurt because of me.
“She doesn’t have to stay if she doesn’t want to,” Theo told Josie before turning to me. “But if you go back home, we’re hiring you a bodyguard. Honestly, we’ll need to hire one for you either way.”
“Oh, no, that’s just…”
“No arguing,” Josie said fiercely. “Plus, as your employer, I need you to stay safe.”
“As my employer?” I asked, brow raised.
“Yes.” She sniffed. “If you got hurt, the bakery would suffer. So really, this is a business decision.”
Theo’s lips quirked and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“So, this is strictly a business decision?” I asked.
“Yes. And if you refuse, I’ll just have to fire you.”
The fear of being a burden warred with my tremendous gratitude for my friend. I turned to Theo. “I guess I’m getting a bodyguard.”
He grinned. “Sounds like it. I don’t think they’ll need to move in with you. If they set up a security system at your house and drive you wherever you need to go, you should be safe. How did you get on with the bodyguard last year?”
After the Designation Government sent me the letter requiring me to participate in their pilot program for the device, the Alliance brought me to a safe house with a bodyguard, Sampson. We’d been there for two weeks before the government was overthrown. Sampson had been really nice. He was an older alpha who had been with his pack for thirty years. He’d been a comforting presence, and we’d spent most of the time playing board games.
“Yeah, he was great.” The rebellious part of me didn’t want to have someone watching my every step, but the stinging in my split lip whenever I spoke reminded me that I needed to take this seriously.
Josieand I were curled up on the couch, the TV softly playing one of Josie’s favorite movies. She turned to face me. “Ben wanted me to tell you he’s so sorry about what happened.”
“It wasn’t his fault,” I said, my brow furrowed.
