Page 41 of Stealing Home

Now I can clearly hear him shouting obscenities on the other end of the line. She pulls her phone away, and looks at it horrified. “I’ll check as soon as I get off the phone.”

She hangs up and starts scrolling through her notifications. “Son of a bitch,” she shouts.

Taking the phone from her hand I see the find feature has been activated. I power it off. “Do you have your sister’s number memorized?” I ask her.

Harlow nods, and I hand her my phone. “Call her and give her my number. Tell her you broke yours in the garage so she doesn’t worry.”

“Good idea,” she says quietly. She calls her sister and puts her on speaker. “Hey peanut,” she tries to greet her cheerily, but it sounds forced to me.

Her sister groans. “Low, why are you calling me from a weird number?”

“I broke my phone at work. This is my, uhm, friend Scott’s phone.”

Her sister squeals. “Oh my god, it’s about time you got some.”

“Fucking hell, Leena, you’re on speaker phone,” Harlow warns her too late.

Leena laughs. “Not my fault. Everyone knows you’re supposed to say that first.”

Harlow looks at me, and I shrug. “She’s right. That’s like the universal rule of speaker phone usage.”

“Oh, you sound hot. I hope you’re going to treat her right. You know, Catherine the Great had her husband executed with piano wire, imagine what I could do with my cello strings,” she threatens.

“You’re scary,” I tell her.

“Mmhmm, and don’t forget it,” she agrees.

“Oh my god. I’ll talk to you later peanut,” Harlow groans and hangs up the phone.

I smile at her. “I like your sister.”

Her hands start to shake, and I know she’s not distracted enough about him tracking her phone. “What if he knows where I’m staying?”

I take her hands in mine. “We’re right above the garage. Let’s move your car, then he might think that you turned your phone off before you left work. Either way, I’m not leaving you alone here until we know you’re safe.”

“You’ve got to go to class. I won’t disrupt your whole life,” she argues.

“I do, and you’ll be at work around a bunch of men who seem to see you as a younger sister. You’ll be safe, and then I’ll be back here,” I promise her.

She swallows. “Go pack a bag hotshot.”

I’m glad she’s not fighting me on this. I’ll sleep on the couch if that makes her more comfortable, but I’m going to make sure she’s safe.

15

Scott

While Harlow driesher hair and gets dressed, I head over to the baseball house to pack some clothes. Before I leave, I pop my head in the garage.

The guy I haven’t met yet is standing outside the employee entrance smoking. “Hey, is Griffin inside?” I ask him.

He assesses me without answering. “Are you the pitcher?”

I hold out my hand, trying to be friendly, even though he’s giving off asshole vibes. “I’m Scott.”

He ignores my hand, takes a puff from his cigarette and exhales a cloud of smoke. “You taking care of our girl?”

My hackles rise. I see the wedding ring on his hand, so I don’t think he meansourin a romantic sense, but I don’t like anyone else feeling proprietary over her. I’ve barely gotten her to agree she wants to be with me.

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