“Agreed. I’m going to take pictures, and then we can start going through everything if that’s okay with you?” I ask before I realize he probably needs sleep if he’s opening up Grind Time in a few hours. “Or I can take handle it, so you can sleep before opening.”
“Nah, Willow’s going to open, so I can hang out as long as needed.”
“Thanks, man.” I get everything photographed within fifteen minutes, and then my skin starts to itch. “I’m going to go check on Rina, then I’ll be back and start clean-up.” Oakley nods but doesn’t look up from the pile he’s shifting through.
I race up to the house and see she isn’t in the living room before heading to the bedroom. Rina curled up in the bed, tear tracks still fresh on her cheeks as she breathes softly, makes my heart hurt. I’m glad she’s finally asleep, but seeing her breakdown was so fucking hard for me. I’m torn between taking care of her and figuring out what the hell is going on with this stalker situation. I knew handling the workshop would be better in the long run, but all I wanted to do was hold her all night long. Take away her fears, and prove to her that I would be here for her and take care of any shit that pops up in her life.
Kneeling on the floor next to her, I softly run my fingertips over her temple, down her cheek, and across her lips. I lean forward, pressing a kiss so gently that she doesn’t feel it to her forehead before pulling back an inch.
“I’ll fix this, Emmerdeur. I’ll make sure you’re always safe and taken care of,” I whisper before slowly getting off the floor and getting back to the workshop.
Oakley and I made good progress into the early hours of the morning. By the time we called it, we’d gotten most of the space cleared and all the destroyed wood thrown out. I didn’t even have the energy to drive home; instead, I crashed on Rina’s couch, hoping I wouldn’t scare the shit out of her when she eventually woke up.
It’s where I find myself currently stretching after being woken up by the smell of coffee.
“Coffee?” Rina’s voice pulls me out of my sleep haze.
“Please.” She places a Grind Time mug on the table in front of me, and I smirk. “Steal this one?” I ask as I take a sip.
“I would never,” she gasps, with her hand over her chest in faux indignation. Dropping her hands, she chuckles. “I took it after I asked Oakley, thank you very much. Even offered to pay, but he turned me down.”
A genuine smile graces my face, one I haven’t felt since this whole thing started, but it drops just as fast.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She sighs in response, and I put my coffee down and motion her over to me. Once she’s close enough to touch, I pull her into my lap. I realize she’s in nothing but a tank top and boy shorts, and I’m in only my boxers, but I’m determined to not let my dick run the show right now.
“I-I have no idea, honestly.” Shesinks into me.
“Is this the first time something like this has happened?” I want to be gentle and not push her, but I also need answers.
The tension in her body is instant, and I know the answer before she opens her mouth.
“I’ve been getting texts…”
“Rina,” I scold before reeling myself back in. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I try so hard to soften my tone, but I know I fail.
“I don’t need to tell you everything, Arlo. Hell, we just started” —she gestures between the two of us— “whatever this is. And it seemed harmless. I just blocked the texts and moved on.”
“Texts, as in multiple?” Definitely having a hard time staying level-headed and not freaking the fuck out right now.
She sighs and leans into me. “Look, I was going to tell you if whoever this is had texted me again, but it has been radio silence for a couple of weeks, so I thought I was in the clear. The texts weren’t anything super crazy, but they were worrisome. I promise I was going to bring it to you with the next contact.”
I rub my hand up her back as she talks, hoping the sheer anger and fear I’m feeling right now aren’t translating into my movements. She doesn’t need to know how much this is affecting me. I need to take care of this, take care of her, and not let my emotions get in the way.
But they will always be in the way because she’s the love of your life. There’s no changing that.
Well, I need to try to stay rational because I won’t be any help to her if I don’t.
“Do you still have the texts?” I ask.
“I deleted them and blocked the number, but I took screenshots,” she says weakly.
“Good, that’s really good, Emmerdeur,” I whisper into her hair. “Can you send those to me?” She nods, sinking further into my hold.
“Who would do something like this?” Her voice has a slight tremor in it, and I know right this second I’ll do anything to make her feel safe again.
“I have no clue, but I’ll figure it out, okay? I think it’s a good idea to just stay in today, email your clients and tell them about the delay, and then regroup and start fresh tomorrow. Take the day to just be fucking pissed, and then we’ll get you back on track. I’ll handle everything else, okay?”
