Wade wrenched the door open, taking everything in with a practiced look. Behind him, another patrol car pulled in, and if I wasn’t mistaken, I could see East’s truck barreling into the parking lot.
“I haven’t looked for any evidence or anything yet. Sage was my first priority,” I barked out.
There was a moment when he looked at his sister and then at me, gave a nod, and shifted into his professional mode. It was one of the things I appreciated about working with him before — how well he adapted in a crisis.
He took a steadying breath, as if he were calming himself now that he’d see her in person. “Can you tell me what happened?” He tipped his cowboy hat back with one finger.
The way her van was parked was unsafe, and I knew Wade was thinking the same thing I was. Her van was largely blocked from view way over on this side, so even someone from the main parking lot wouldn’t have seen anything happening. That was something we’d have to address later. Situational awareness was important, especially when you weren’t very big.
“Sage? Are you alright? Wade called me …” East had run up panting as she relayed essentially what she’d told me.
“Yeah, East. I’m okay. I was able to get away.” She shifted a little next to me, and her brothers looked at each other for a minute before Wade started in again with the questions, either deflecting or trying to get it over with.
“Height? Build? Anything you noticed about them? Male? Female?” Wade rattled off.
“Definitely male. There was body odor, and they were taller than me.” I snorted. Everyone was taller than her. “He was bigger than me for sure, but not by much. He was pulling me back against him.” My teeth clenched just thinking about it. “Hoodie.”
The information was important, but ‘taller’ covered approximately three-quarters of the adult male population and did little to narrow the field, so I filed it away anyway.
She hadn’t moved from her position leaning against me, and I knew that both East and Wade had noticed it. I tried not to tense up as she described how the person had taken her by surprise and started pulling her forcefully into the back lot.
“I remembered what you always said, Wade.” Her tone turned desperate. “Don’t let them take you somewhere else. So I fought, and I ran.”
"You did exactly right." My voice came out flat and steady, the tone I used on missions when someone needed an anchor, and I held onto that because of the other thing running underneath. There was that familiar bank of fury that I had to shut down. Someone was going to die, that was for fucking sure.
"Are you hurt?" Wade’s tone was careful. He had been watching her, and he knew she was okay for the most part, but I could tell he was trying hard to put his professional hat on.
“No. Just some marks on my arms. Scared.” She scooted a little closer, as if she wanted to sink into me, and that made me want to pound my chest like a gorilla. “I do need to tell you that I’ve gotten a few flowers at the shop lately that are weird. I was going to call and talk to you about it tonight.”
“What do you mean?” Wade asked, his eyebrows drawing together.
He wasn’t the only one confused. Didn’t she get flowers delivered all the time? It was a flower and plant shop. I ran a soothing hand along her back. Then I remembered Delphina mentioning that she’d gotten flowers delivered.
“One arrangement left on the counter, and twice I’ve gotten bouquets at the shop.” I stiffened at her words. “Done just like the ones I make. They’ve been creepy. They match my style exactly, which anyone could get from social media. Same wrapping paper. Everything.”
Wade took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose before asking, “Any note? How are they delivered?” East’s fists were clenched at his thighs, and I could tell he wanted to say something (or many somethings). I wanted to join him and ask her why she didn’t speak up before, but that wasn’t helpful. Sometimes things didn’t seem significant until something big happened.
“The first was left at the shop. I’m not sure how it got there, and I asked Cedric about it, but he doesn’t know either. The other two were delivered by different people, not by a company oranything. Two of them had notes. I have pictures.” She unlocked her phone and showed me a picture of a bunch of flowers and the small note that came with it. Then she flipped to another one.
You notice everything. I notice you.
I’m going to keep you.
She sent the photos to Wade’s phone, her fingers trembling a little.
“That’s all we need. How about I go ahead and see what I can find here? East, can you take her home?” Wade suggested as he stuck his pen in his pocket, but he didn’t fool me. I’d worked with him long enough to see that he was one part freaked out and one part furious.
Everything in me wanted to insist that she stay with me, but her brothers were right here, and the words were stuck in my throat.
Sage
East looked like he was mad at the world, and I didn’t really want to go home or to Mags. Right now, everything felt disconnected. The whole thing had happened way too fast for me to even process, and Rhodes felt safe.
“Can I just stay with you?” I asked, ignoring my brothers. Rhodes looked angry too, but he was leaning over me like he’d fight a wolverine or keep the next Armageddon at bay, and that made me feel protected.
“Of course you can. We need to check a few things. You’ll do as I say?” He’d tipped my chin up again, and I couldn’t help the full-body shiver that ran through me at the sensation of his single-minded focus. His fingertips grazed my jawline for two point seconds, but it was enough for the word to slip out of me.
“Yes.” The answer came automatically.
