Page 76 of Sugar Coated Secrets

He stares at me for a long hard moment, a battle warring in his eyes.

“Easton?” I close the small distance between us.

He wraps me in his arms and pulls me close, holding me so tight I almost can’t breathe. “I can’t let you leave me.”

“What?” What is he talking about?

“You have to stay here with me until it’s safe. I don’t want you out of my sight. You have to stay, okay?”

I pull back enough to tilt my head and look into his strained eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t want to tell you this, but Daire says you need to know.”

“Daire? What does Daire have to do with this?” Fear trickles through me.

“A package came for you at the farm. To the store. Few people know you’re here… I don’t understand it.”

I tense. “What kind of package?”

He pauses. “Pictures of you outside your work and your condo.”

“H-how? Why?” My brain struggles to make sense.

“Daire says it looks like you were being followed and photographed.”

“Holy shit.” It’s a grave whisper. My body turns cold. “I was being followed. I did see that man. Oh my God. Oh my God!” I repeat in a squeal. My heart hammers, and my body shakes. “I’m being stalked. Me! Why? I-I’m no one. I’m careful. The alley was a mistake, but I never do that. You know I never do that.” Tears pool in my eyes and stream down my face. “I can’t believe this.”

Easton cups my head, pressing my cheek to his chest, and holds me tightly against him, his warmth and strength offering some comfort. A horrid thought occurs to me. I pull away from him again, as much as he’ll let me, and meet his gaze.

“I can’t stay here. You’re not safe. None of you are because of me.”

“This is the best place for you. With me, within the protection of the estate. Daire and I are going to hire security. The fact that no one got to you shows how safe we are. Only a few people know where you are, and he somehow discovered it. But you’re still safer here than alone at your condo. The farm has cameras all over. I have cameras. The estate has them. We’re gated. Now we’ll have security guards. It’s not like I’m defenseless, either. My dad trained me and Daire to handle guns long ago. I keep some in a safe in my office. I want to know where you are at all times until Steven works this out. The good news is, now he has something tangible for his research. This may be the key to finding out who’s behind this.”

My phone rings from where it rests on the dresser. I jump and force myself to calm down. At least listening to Easton talk got me to stop crying.

“I should get that. It might be my mom or Everleigh.”

I pull away.

He stays close behind as I get my phone.

When I see it’s Dash, I almost answer just to share this with him. Old habits. But then I haven’t explained the attack to him. At first, I didn’t tell him because I wasn’t ready to have a lengthy conversation or to talk to him at all. It would have led to other topics, like our sudden breakup.

Easton sees his name. “You’re not going to answer that, are you?”

“I think he should know. He cares about me still.” He wants to marry me even.

“Sadie?” He moves to stand in front of me. “The fewer people who know, the better. He could inadvertently tip someone else off. He might be the reason the photos arrived here. The person watching you is most likely watching everyone you know or have been close with. We need to keep this between us.”

The phone stops ringing. “Dash knows I’m at the farm, but who would he tell besides his bar-hopping buddies? And like they’d care…”

“It doesn’t matter if they don’t care. This is how it works. Think of your crime shows. Stalkers are creative and thorough. If he connected you to the farm, he has certainly connected you to Dash.”

I gasp. “My mom! What if he’s connected me to her?” The tears form again. I’d never forgive myself if she ended up as collateral damage. “This is too much. Stuff like this doesn’t happen to people like me.” I sniffle and wipe my cheeks dry from the onslaught of fresh tears.

“Oh, baby.” Eason cradles me to him again, his steady heartbeat comforting me.

I focus on it and try to calm down. “I have to call my mom. I have to warn her so she can be prepared when she gets back. We don’t know how long this will go on for.”

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