Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Something darkened in his eyes, and his jaw ticked with tension. “I know you’ve been fucking around with people. That professor, right? Dean Aavik? And the other one—I don’t know his name, but he looks like a cop. He was onto me.”
I wasn’t going to confirm or deny crap to this nutbag. Especially not when it concerned Dean, who could face backlash if the college somehow thought he’d gotten involved with a student. It was best to shift the attention away from him altogether.
“You forgot a few.” I scratched my nose.
I was getting to him. His smarmy amusement was slipping off his face, revealing another ounce of anger.
“You’re such an ungrateful fucking pig,” he chuckled humorlessly.
I flinched and swallowed, then shook my head. Nope, I was not letting him get to me. Fuck him! “What does that say about you?” I retorted. “You’re the one who can’t get enough of me. Despite a fucking restraining order, you’re here to harass me.”
I’d given him so much power, and I was probably going to be pissed at myself for that later. He’d gotten off on my fear. He’d been happy when I’d been miserable.
No fucking more.
Dean Aavik
I smirked faintly at the sight of Joshua’s name on the display, and I answered the call. “How’s the traffic jam?”
“Where’s Gael?” His tone set me on edge.
“He just took the garbage out—about four seconds ago,” I replied, wiping my mouth with the napkin. “I thought I’d give him fifteen seconds before I checked in on him.”
That wasn’t an exaggeration. I didn’t want him alone.
“Caleb’s in town. His last location was pinged two hundred feet away from Waffled.” Joshua rushed out the words, and just like that, I was on my feet and moving toward the back of the establishment. “I already called the police, and one of my old buddies is on his way. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Okay, okay—we’d get Gael upstairs, and he’d sit tight until we’d found Caleb.
“I’m on it.” I ignored Katy’s confused look—or Kaley? I didn’t quite remember. And I ran back toward the door that led to the alley.
The door was open maybe an inch or two, and just as I hung up the phone, I heard an unfamiliar voice say, “I know you’ve been fucking around with people. That professor, right? Dean Aavik? And the other one—I don’t know his name, but he looks like a cop. He was onto me.”
Like a flip of a switch, I was transported back in time to intense Navy drills where we shut off our emotions in order to respond faster. The rage was put on a tight leash, and I was about to shove the door open when I heard Gael’s reply.
“You forgot a few.”
That stopped me in my tracks, and I instantly lowered my hand.
My boy said fucking what?
That wasn’t our Gael.
Act faster, act faster.
I swallowed dryly and stepped back, and then I called Joshua as my head swam with strategies and exit points. The alley—that was Caleb’s only way in and out, and we couldn’t let him get away.
“Almost there,” Joshua said.
“He’s here,” I replied quickly. “Drive around the back and head up the alley.” I ended the call before he could prattle off any questions; I didn’t have time for that. I had to get back to the door, and I was there right on time, it seemed. Caleb was getting angry.
“…ungrateful fucking pig.”
I clenched my jaw, one hand on the door—
“What does that say about you?” Gael shot back. “You’re the one who can’t get enough of me. Despite a fucking restraining order, you’re here to harass me.”
Fucking hell, boy, don’t provoke him.
I could shower him with hugs and pride later, but what he didn’t know… Every stalker had a limit. Every lowlife had a trigger switch, and once that was flipped, stalking and harassment turned into much more. Joshua had aired his thoughts weeks ago, about how Caleb had escalated his stalking merely by coming all the way to DC—and to top it off, he’d discovered that Gael was seeing at least one man here. Now he was back, and that meant something. He wasn’t here to just harass Gael. He was here to get even somehow.
I held my breath and waited for Caleb’s response.
I didn’t get one; I just heard the crunch of feet moving, and I’d had it. I pushed the door open, causing it to slam against the wall, and I sprinted forward as Caleb charged at Gael.
“You worthless piece of—”
I grabbed on to Caleb’s shoulders from behind, spun him around, and slammed him up against the wall. “Let’s continue that—you little piece of shit,” I growled.
“Dean!”
“Get off me, you old fuck!” Caleb tried to shove me away, but all I did was hike my arm higher up, effectively jamming it against his throat. “This is him, isn’t it, Gael? Fucking—” He choked, and when he grabbed at my arm, I fisted his hair and spun him around once more, pressing him up the wall with the side of his face scratching against the painted concrete. “Ow! Let go of me!”