Page 13 of Wizard

“What’s wrong?” Violet asked. “Did you get a coffee to go and spill all over yourself?”

“I only did that once,” I huffed, regretting that I told her that story.

“If that’s not the problem, what is?”

I cautiously approached my front steps, scanning up and down the sidewalk and street to make sure nobody was watching. After I confirmed that I was alone, I crouched down to peer more closely at the bouquet on my porch.

“Thea, what in the world is going on?” Violet squealed through my phone.

Heaving a deep sigh, I muttered, “I got flowers.”

“Awww, Baylor brought you a bouquet for your first date? That is so sweet, and I have to admit, also super surprising. He deserves major brownie points for thinking of that.”

For a moment, I considered the possibility that they were from Baylor, but I quickly discarded it. If he’d wanted to give me flowers, he would’ve brought them to the coffee house. “No, they’re not from him.”

“Who in the heck sent them then?” she demanded.

I waited until I tugged the card from the bouquet and scanned the message written in black ink on it. This wasn’t the first note I’d received, but it was definitely the scariest.

“I think I have a stalker.”

5

WIZARD

Ihad a lot of work to do when I returned to the clubhouse, so I dove into it, looking for a distraction. Otherwise, I would have spent the rest of the day and tomorrow morning obsessively watching Thea.

A few hours later, there was a knock on my office door, and I frowned at the interruption. “What?” I called out, quickly minimizing the files I was studying since they were confidential.

The door opened, and Echo walked inside, shutting it behind him. “Just talked to Violet,” he told me as he dropped onto the couch I had across from my desk and wall of computer screens. I’d dragged it in there after falling asleep in my chair a few times while waiting for a ping on something I was searching for.

My eyes narrowed. “Wouldn’t be here to talk to me about your old lady unless it has to do with Thea,” I surmised.

He ran his hands through his hair and blew out a breath. “Just keep your shit together while I tell you everything.”

Not a good sign. “Then spit it the fuck out,” I snapped.

“Violet was on the phone with Thea when she got home today. Seems there were flowers and a note on her doorstep.”

My hands balled into fists, and the green monster clawed at my chest. “From who?” I demanded in a lethal tone.

“Don’t know. It was the first Violet had heard about the situation, and she came right to me when she found out.”

“A stalker?”

Echo nodded. “That’s the conclusion Thea came to, as well. Mostly because this note was an escalation.”

“A fucking escalation from what?” I bellowed, jumping to my feet.

“Like I said, Violet was in the dark, so she didn’t know much. But she’s worried, so she asked me to tell you.”

I couldn’t talk through the fury engulfing me, so I gave him a chin lift before grabbing my shit and stalking out to my truck. Thea was coming back with me whether she wanted to or not, so I needed a vehicle that could bring some of her stuff.

On the drive to her house, I tried to talk myself down into a calmer state. I needed to convince Thea to leave with me and let me protect her. A logical argument and firm request were probably the best way to go. But by the time I arrived, I was still fuming and ready to just throw her over my shoulder and take her somewhere safe. Even if she kicked and screamed the whole way.

“Thea!” I shouted as I pounded on her door.

When she opened it a minute later, I scowled. “Never answer the fucking door without finding out who it is first!” I growled.

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