Page 38 of Under My Skin

He turned to look at me, putting a hand under my chin to make me look at him. “Tell me the truth, sweetheart. Are youokay? I know it’s a lot, and I hate that this creep dragged you into this mess.”

“I won’t say I’m not a little freaked out, because I am. But I’ll live,” I sighed.

Placing a hand on the back of my head, Braden leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead. My skin tingled as he pulled back, and those damn butterflies were back with a vengeance, as if daring me to deny the way he made me feel.

“I swear I won’t let anything happen to you or Isaac,” he said softly. “Not if I can help it.”

“I know,” I said on a shaky exhale. “And I know this isn’t your fault.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not blaming myself.” He let out a humorless chuckle. “I’ll text you after I meet with the security company.”

I nodded.

“I’ll see you soon, beautiful,” he said, kissing my forehead one more time before heading toward his car.

“He likes you, you know,” Morgan said from beside me. “Like,reallylikes you.”

Right. She was still here. How had I forgotten that?

“We were in public,” I reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no. Holding your hand across the table, kissing your forehead, calling you ‘beautiful’ and ‘sweetheart’ like that…that’s not for show, babe. Neither is the way he was looking at you. Trust me, he’s not that good of an actor.”

I snorted loudly. She hadnoidea. Because she’d only seen Dr. Jekyll.

But then again, that was all I’d seen since our arrangement had started too. Not once had Mr. Hyde come out to play.

And more and more with every passing day, I was starting to wonder if that side of him even existed at all anymore.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

BRADEN

My phone pingedwith a notification just as I pulled into a parking space at the strip mall that Bobbi Franks, Licensed Private Investigator, worked out of. I was so relieved that she’d made time for me today after my lawyer, Glenn, had given me her phone number.

He’d suggested filing a police report since this issue was getting more serious and had even told me he would go with me so they wouldn’t brush me off, but I’d told him I wanted to talk to this PI before I did anything else. I was done just sitting back and letting this happen, though, so I was going to do whatever she thought was best. An obsessed fangirl harassing me via email was one thing, but doing enough of a deep dive to figure out who Dani was and threateningher?Thatscared the shit out of me. If anything happened to her or that adorable baby boy because of me?—

No. I couldn’t even think about that. If either one of them got hurt because of me, I didn’t know what I would do. I’d never forgive myself.

I knew what Ishouldhave done. What a better man would have done. Ishouldhave ended the arrangement with Dani. Lether keep the money and followed through on my end of the bargain, but freed her from her obligations.

But I was too damn selfish for that. The thought of never seeing her again, never talking to her again, never getting to steal another touch of simple brush of our lips…it hurt too much. Even offering her an out the way I did had cut me like a knife. I didn’t understand why, but with every passing day, the desire – no, theneed– to keep her in my life only grew stronger. And now it was strong enough that I would have hired an entire army to protect her and Isaac rather than let her go.

Taking a deep breath in through my nose, I picked my phone up and looked at it. Sure enough, another anonymous email was sitting in my inbox. Without even opening it, I moved it to the folder with the rest of the emails from my cyberstalker and exited the vehicle. An electronic chime went off as I walked into the small office space that was decorated with a fake palm tree, a few comfortable-looking armchairs, a framed diploma in criminal justice, and a framed private investigator’s license.

“Just a sec,” I heard a woman with a thick Southern accent call from a back room.

Although this office didn’t look like much, the woman who worked here was one of the best investigators in the state, and she specialized in cybercrimes. She’d come highly recommended by my lawyer and a couple of my teammates who had dealt with similar issues in the past. Besides, I was sure she spent most of her time either on the computer or out in the field, so she didn’t really need a tricked-out office. She just needed a base of operations.

“Sorry about that,” a blonde-haired, cobalt-eyed woman chirped as she walked out. “My secretary’s daughter is sick, so it’s just me today. I’m Bobbi. And you’re Braden, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things. Thanks so much for staying late.”

“Of course. From what you told me on the phone, this couldn’t wait. Come on back so we can talk.”

Following her into the room she’d come out of, I had to stop myself from laughing as I took in the sight in front of me. I was instantly reminded of Penelope Garcia’s office inCriminal Minds: at least a dozen computer screens that currently had screensavers on the displays, a bunch of random colorful odds and ends, and a huge coffee mug full of pens with various fluffy tops.

“You can laugh,” Bobbi chuckled. “I know I’m a cliché. But with some of the bullcrap I see on these screens, I need cute, fluffy things to balance it out.”

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