Page 9 of Byte

“I checked the prison’s current employees. He’s not one of them. Like I said, I need to do some more digging, but I can already tell you he’s not who he said he was.”

“I’m so fucking stupid,” I mumbled to myself.

“Don’t say that. You had no way of knowing. And you ended things because he made you uncomfortable. There’s nothing stupid about that,” he corrected.

“Thanks.” I appreciated his words, though they didn’t make me feel any better. Thankfully, I trusted my intuition and ended things when I did. Before I could continue thinking about what could have happened, another thought occurred to me. “Did you see a picture of him online? Was he the one who broke into my house?”

“I’m not sure. A few pictures came up, but none of them are very clear. I didn’t get a good look at him because it was dark, and he was wearing a hat. I also didn’t notice anything distinctive or identifying about him.”

“Let me see the pictures.”

He opened up his laptop and turned the screen toward me. I scrolled through the few images and shook my head. “None of those are him.”

“I had a feeling that was the case,” he admitted.

“So, what do you think I should do now?” I asked.

He exhaled audibly and leaned back in his chair. “Phoenix wants us to come to the clubhouse after lunch. We’ll talk to him and go from there.”

I glanced at the time and exhaled heavily. “That’s still a few hours away, and this is going to drive me crazy until then. I don’t like not having a plan.”

“He’ll likely agree to not notifying Keegan and Shaker as long as the club knows what’s going on and you’re safe.”

“Right, but how is the club going to ensure my safety? I can’t come back to Croftridge until Keegan and Shaker get back. Between school and work, I’m barely home as it is,” I explained.

“Well, what’s your schedule like for the next two weeks?”

“I have to work Monday. I’m at the doctor’s office from eight to five on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for my clinical hours. I’m off Friday, work Saturday and Sunday, and off Monday. The next three days are clinical hours again. I work on Friday, and I’m off for the weekend. Then, it repeats every two weeks until the end of the semester.”

“That’s intense.”

“Don’t I know it,” I commiserated.

He was quiet for a few moments before he made a suggestion. “Okay, how about this? I’ll stay at your place and be your shadow for the next two weeks.”

“I, um,” I stammered. “Can you do that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I can work from anywhere as long as I have a computer and an internet connection.”

“What about your chickens?” I blurted. I wasn’t necessarily trying to find a reason why he couldn’t stay with me, but I wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea. Truthfully, I was uncomfortable with it for reasons I didn’t want to acknowledge, like how safe I felt in his presence or how my stomach fluttered when he smiled.

He waved his hand dismissively. “One of the prospects or club kids can take care of them while I’m gone.”

“Well, I guess we have a plan,” I conceded.

“Once again, I feel like I should be offended,” he teased and placed his hand over his heart.

Suddenly, I felt like an asshole. He came to my rescue the moment I called, risked his life chasing away the intruder,and offered to spend the next two weeks of his life being my bodyguard. “Crap. I’m sorry, Byte. I’m truly grateful for everything. I’m just upset about the whole situation. It has nothing to do with you personally.”

“It’s fine, Gabby,” he said and stood from his seat. “You want to help me feed the chickens?”

“I’d love to,” I said. “Do you have any other animals?”

“Why? Are you hoping I have a pig?” he laughed.

“Do you?” I asked hopefully. I loved pigs and had begged Keegan for one when I was little.

He shook his head. “No. Just the chickens. But who knows? One may wander into my yard one day.”

---