“No, no. Calm down. I was teasing.” I should probably rethink treating everything he says like a joke. Rafe did admit some serious stuff to me last night about the type of person he is, plus I’ve already witnessed it myself. He tends to act first and ask questions later.
I’m fumingmad as I flip open my laptop. I have my phone propped up against a glass so I can see Lucy—well, I can see the curve of her tits and her chin. She’s not even paying attention to how she’s holding the phone.
It takes me precious seconds to pull up my camera app and get the live feed to her room playing. If this motherfucker does anything besides install the window sensor, I will feed him his own tongue.
“Are you still there?” I barely hum a response. The camera cues up, and I see a man facing her window, examining the sill. “Rafe.” That has me looking at the phone again. I bet she doesn’t even realize she said my name, good thing no one else knows it. “I’ll give you a call in a bit when they leave, okay?”
“Okay,” I mumble, knowing I’m going to be watching the cameras anyway.
“Talk to you soon,” Lucy says softly and disconnects.
I think about heading straight to her house instead of hiding out in mine like a fucking punk, but that would just create problems. I don’t know if the bastards working at her house fear me enough to keep their fucking mouths shut about me being there, so I would have to do something to make sure they did.
As accepting as Lucy seemed about my shit last night, that could change at any minute, especially if she found out I slit a couple throats just because they saw us together. Even knowing this, I still have my phone clutched in my hand, debating whether or not I should call David and demand he take care of Lucy’s room himself. He’s older and happily married, and more importantly, he knows me, knows who and what I am, but I don’t want to alert him to my connection to Lucy. Giving people shit to use against me is never smart.
The guy on the screen looks over his shoulder at the open doorway, then scans the room. I notice the bear I won her is on her bed by her pillows. It’s weird as hell, but I like that she keeps it there. My gaze is drawn back to the man as he bends down and grabs some items from his bag. “Fucking finally, do your job and get out.” I toss my phone onto the table.
A few minutes later, he looks over his shoulder again and smiles widely. Lucy pops her head in the door and points to her closet. The guy turns to the side and faces her while she enters the room. I watch as he scans her body. She’s wearing tight jeans that show off just how nice her ass is and a loose fitted shirt. Her outfit is basic as fuck, but not on her. The only thing she’s missing are her cowboy boots.
The man’s mouth keeps moving as he chats her up. Her back is to me, so I can’t see how she’s responding, but she seems focused on whatever the fuck she’s doing and not on him. I stand up to do something, but I can’t look away from the screen.
The guy’s not ugly, and he sure as shit would come with a lot less baggage than me, since he’s probably normal and shit. What if she likes him? What if she flirts back? I know that’s what he’s doing. I can tell by the slimy look on his fucking face, which I’m going to beat into a pulp for even speaking to her.
Lucy turns with a bundle of clothes gathered to her chest and hastily backs out of the room. Her expression is pleasant, but not inviting. She turns to the left and disappears out of view, so I drop my ass back to the cushion and snatch up my phone and text her.
Me:What are you doing?
Q:I’m about to jump in the shower. Everything okay?
Me:Where?
Q:???
Me:Why?
I can’t seeher in the shower, so I won’t know if he goes in there with her. My hands start to shake.
Q:Because I’m stinky and sweaty.
Me:There are four dudes in your house.
I wait for her response,but nothing comes, not even the little text bubble. I call her instead. It rings three times before she picks up, and she doesn’t sound happy to hear from me. “Hello?”
“You ignoring me?”
“No, I just don’t know how you expected me to respond to that message.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to demand she fucking leave and come here right now where I can watch over her, but I manage to take two breaths before opening my mouth, and she beats me to it. “What do you think is going to happen, Rafe? You’re acting like I’m going to run through the house naked or jump on the table and start stripping.” The low tone of her voice would suggest she’s pissed, but I hear insecurity there too. She thinks I don’t trust her because she was a stripper.
I pinch my temples because I’ve done exactly what I shouldn’t have. I’ve made her question me and herself. I know for a fact she wouldn’t do that shit, even if I wasn’t in the picture. “That’s not what I meant, Lucy. I know how guys think. You’re beautiful and in the shower. What if they try to fuck with you and I’m not there?”
“Rafe…” She breathes my name softly like she understands how fucked up my head is. “I can shower later after they leave,” she concedes, and I let out a weighted breath. It’s not only that I’m worried one of them will be better than me and steal her attention, but I’m actually worried about her. If they did something to hurt her, I would scorch the fucking earth. I can’t even say thank you, even though I should since she’s indulging me and my obsession.
“I’m going to hang out with Mom for a bit. See if she’s ready to talk.”
“Okay, call me if you need me.”
“’Kay, talk to you later.”
“Later.” I hang up not feeling like I won, even though I got what I wanted.
