Zeppelin:
Is the address stuck in outer space?
Jesus fucking Christ, this guy.
I quickly sent off the address so he’d fuck off somewhere, then added a middle finger as a second text, and lastly, I turned off my phone so I could have some fucking peace. I knew I’d told Zeppelin he could come do a wellness check if he wanted, but if he showed up at that door, I might punch him in his face. Which was really out of character for me, but fuck, I was so done with the day, and my life was spinning out of fucking control. Had been from the moment X walked into the shop and laid his eyes on me, to be honest.
“Everything okay?” Preston asked, looking up at me as I rounded the couch to sit on the other end. And as if we were that familiar with each other, Preston stretched his legs out and put his feet on my thighs. I grunted but ignored them otherwise, focusing on the TV screen where two guys were speaking in Thai and… goddamn, were they watching a porno?
“Oh, hope you don’t mind BL shows,” Preston said like watching two guys fuck on TV was a normal occurrence for him. “This is one of my comfort shows. It’s called Love in the Air.”
I just stayed silent. This wasn’t what I would have chosen to watch if I ever decided to sit down and watch television, but it wasn’t my house, so it wasn’t my call. I was merely here to protect them and find out who the fuck was bothering them. And then, I planned to take them out, shove Preston and X out of my life, and go back to my normal, basic, calm routine.
“I ordered pizza while you were on the phone,” X spoke up. “Hope that’s good.”
I nodded once. Pizza was fine. Hopefully, we’d all eat, and then, the two of them would go to bed so I could crash. I needed rest so I could look at all this shit with fresh eyes and a clear head. And maybe if Preston was at work and X was doing whatever the fuck it was he did, I could do some hunting without them distracting me.
Because as much as I hated to admit it… Preston and X were very big fucking distractions.
Chapter 11
Xan
Having Shane in our home was almost like having a physical ghost there. He didn’t say anything. When he happened to be in the apartment with us, he was so still, I sometimes had to look at him just to ensure he was still breathing. I didn’t know if he was uncomfortable or if he just didn’t know how to properly exist around others, but it was strange. And that was coming from a sociopath who lacked social norms.
“Why do you think he decided to room with us if he’s uncomfortable?” Preston asked. He was on lunch but had left his food in his car by accident that morning in his rush to get inside. He’d been running late, and I’d been running late for practice, too. His alarm hadn’t gone off, which meant we overslept. The only reason we woke up was because I heard Shane getting ready to head into the tattoo shop for the early morning appointment he had.
When Preston texted me that he left his lunch in his car, I’d told him to call me, and I tracked every step he made through cameras in the parking lot. My trainer was pissed that I was fucking off—his words—but Preston was more important than any upcoming fight could hope to be.
“Trying to protect us,” I said because I knew it was the truth. He’d told me himself. But I didn’t need protecting. However, I wanted as much protection as possible on Preston. Nothing could happen to him. I’d burn this entire fucking world to the ground if something happened to him. He was the only person who kept me sane, kept me tethered to the earth. He was my everything.
If I lost him, I’d become a monster that would have to be put down.
Preston scoffed. “Receiving that ear was terrifying, but—” His words were cut off when someone stepped out from the other side of his car. I snarled. He’d been in my blind spot. Fuck parking lots.
“Turn around and get inside,” I snapped at Preston. He didn’t move. “Now, Preston!” I shouted. And finally, he kicked his ass into gear and spun around, racing for the doctor’s office. But in his fear and his rush, he dropped his phone, which meant I couldn’t talk to him or check on him. Still, I watched as he hurried inside because like hell was I going to shout at him to get his phone. He needed inside. Away from the mother fucker who’d been waiting for him.
Once Preston was safely inside, I watched as the perp toying with my man picked up Preston’s phone. “You thought you’d get away with it?” the person said, his voice covered by a modulator. He glanced up at the closest camera, the one I was watching him through. I gritted my teeth, my fist clenching at my side as I stared at my phone, watching the hooded figure standing where Preston had just been standing, their fingers wrapped around Preston’s phone. “Everything done in the dark comes to the light.”
With that, the stalker dropped the phone to the pavement once more, then pointedly crushed it beneath their boot all while staring at the camera like they could see me, though I knew they couldn’t. Then, they slipped back off into the blind spot.
“Fuck!” I shouted, already sprinting for the exit and tugging my keys from my pocket. Preston was smart. He would stay inside. But I needed Shane. I no longer had a hacker on my side, but Shane may have someone on his side who could find out who the fuck that was and what they wanted.
“What?” Shane grumbled when he answered.
“They showed up at Preston’s job,” I told him as I yanked my helmet on my head. I slammed my visor up so I could continue talking to him. “I’m going to Preston’s job now.”
“Did you see them?” Shane asked.
“Yes, but not their face. They were hooded and kept their face hidden from the cameras. But they touched Preston’s phone. Talked to me. Warned me that everything done in the dark comes to the light.”
“Get me that phone so I can try to get prints off of it,” Shane ordered. “I’ll be at the apartment waiting.”
He hung up without another word. I gunned my bike, then took off for Preston’s job. When I got there, the receptionist sent me directly to the administrator’s office, where I found Preston. He had a trashcan in front of him, and it’d recently been emptied. So he’d probably gotten sick once already. Preston had a strong stomach, so vomiting wasn’t like him. But he also hadn’t been fucking stalked before.
Stalked because of me.
I’d never experienced self-contempt before, but I had a feeling this was what it felt like. Because I hated myself for putting him through this.