Page 92 of Creed

“Is Asher still on the line?” Creed asks, running a heavily tattooed hand through his hair.

“No,” Lachlan answers. “I sent him on an errand with my wife and her sister. It’s just us on the line. Is there something more you wish to tell me about this situation before we dive into details?”

Creed and I share a look with raised brows. Though I’m sure Creed’s question begged for discretion, but it’s like this dude can read our minds through the phone.

Creed glances down the hall, noting that Collins is still asleep before he speaks. “The harassment isn’t for me.”

“And who is the harassment aimed at?”

“It’s my…girlfriend.” He admits, and the word coming from his lips makes my stomach dip a little and a small wave of guilt rushes through me when I think about what I did earlier with her as the center of the fantasy.

“Your girlfriend?” Lachlan parrots.

“Yes. She’s Asher’s half-sister. Collins Weston.”

“Ah,” is all he says, as if it all makes perfect sense. Maybe Asher told him their story. “I have a program that can grant me access to the phone remotely, but I’d like to get some of the details from you first. I assume that Collins is aware that you are in possession of her phone?”

“Yes.” Is all Creed says blandly, and I catch him rolling his eyes out of the corner of my eye. I can’t help but silently laugh because it’s the second time he’s been grilled about that.

“What is the nature of these threats?”

Creed opens the phone that’s squeezed hard in his grip and he scrolls quickly past the images, trying to avoid looking at them before he reads off some of the messages that this dude has sent over the last week. And Jesus fucking Christ, this guy is an absolute lunatic.

After a couple seconds of silence pass, save for the sound of keys clicking on a keyboard before Lachlan clears his throat, trying to gain my best friend’s attention again. “Creed? Is there anything else I need to know about before I access the device?”

Fuck. Creed’s knee starts bouncing again. He’s silent for too long and Lachlan tries saying his name again. I squeeze his knee again to try and calm him as I try to swallow past all the dryness that’s taken over my mouth. “Sir,” I interject, “My name is Riley Graves. I’m Creed’s friend and housemate. I’m somewhat aware of what’s going on, so I’ll do my best to help answer questions.”

“Very well.” Lachlan answers simply.

I clear my throat, swallowing past the lump lodged there. “There are, um, pictures in this text thread.” I exhale a shaky breath, my heart pounding. “They’re not good. Each one looks like it was taken in the past by whoever this guy is, and she’s in some…” I curse under my breath, squeezing my eyes shut. “They’re just…they’re triggering. Sensitive and vulnerable, and she looks like she’s been injured in each photo.” I pinch the bridge of my nose as I speak. “I know it’s your job to investigate, but I—we—don’t want anyone to see her like this.”

Lachlan was silent for another beat before he says so low, you can barely hear him. “Any content on this phone will be kept secure and confidential. No one besides the three of us will have access to it, and I’ll do my best to find out who the motherfucker is that’s behind this as quick as I can.” He’s quiet for a moment before he speaks again, “My wife was taken about a year ago by a stalker. She kept the threats to herself until it was too late, so I’m proud of your girl for coming to you with this in the first place.”

I’m sure he’s not talking to me, and it’s a super inappropriate time to think this, but I can’t help but think his words are directed at me when he says your girl. She’s not mine, but I’ll protect her like she is because in a way, she is mine. She’s my friend. My family. She’s everything and I will do anything I can to keep her safe.

Creed snorts, his voice laced with humor for the first time during this conversation. “Didn’t give her much of a choice in the matter. If it was up to her, we’d never have known.”

“I know the type all-too-well, unfortunately.”

“Alright, so what do you need from us on our end to do this?”

More clicking sounds and Lachlan sounds like he’s now on speaker. “I have a system that can hack into a phone’s system remotely, I just need you to call me from that phone and I should be able to take over the interface and access the messages. Once I’m in, my program will intercept and record any and all incoming calls and texts. Hopefully I can get an accurate location based on the surrounding towers the IP address pings from. Sometimes we get the occasional techie who can scramble the location or is able to hit from separate cellular towers, but let’s hope that’s not the case.”

“Why do we not want that?” Creed asks, but then adds quickly, “I mean I know why we don’t want that, but why don’t you want that?”

“Because it’ll make finding the stalker more difficult. If we can’t pinpoint a location, then we have no way of knowing whether this guy is actually following Collins or if he’s all talk from a distance.” Lachlan answers and anxiety roils within me.

“Either way, I want this fucker found and dealt with.” My head snaps to Creed at the venom in his words.

“You want him dealt with by the law?” Lachlan asks casually, like what my best friend is implying is the same mundane topic as talking about what he wants to eat for lunch.

“You’re a McTavish, right?”

A pause. “I am.”

“Then you know exactly how I want him dealt with.”

Lachlan is quiet for a moment, then, “Understood. Keep the phone charged so I have constant access to it. Try to keep Collins from using it or resetting it so that I don’t lose connection to the device.”

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