Page 89 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

A shuddering breath puffed into my face. “I know. I’m sorry. This wasn’t my finest moment. I should’ve talked to you, not accused you. Fuck, I’m sorry babe.”

“You always protect me, but yeah, accusing me and not talking to me is probably not the best way to go about it.”

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Maybe I need to bring someone else in to protect you.”

“What? Why? Are you walking away from us?” Pain squeezed my heart that he was doing exactly what I feared

He kissed my forehead, then my cheek. “No, baby, no. My feelings for you are clouding my judgment. I need you safe.”

“If someone ever came for me, would you hunt them down?” I asked.

“With my last dying breath,” he answered. I had no doubt he meant it.

“Then we don’t need anyone else.Idon’t need anyone else.”

He grunted.

“Okay?” I needed to make sure we were on the same page.

“Let’s reevaluate in a day or two.” He ran his finger down my cheek. “We have to talk about something else.”

“Okay.” Something in his tone had butterflies rioting in my stomach.

His voice gentled. “You very possibly put Ruby and her grandmother in danger with the posts today.”

I shook my head wildly. “How? It’s just the bakery and how I found their shop at the marketplace. I don’t even talk about going into one or my personal connection with them.”

“We don’t know how your stalker will possibly use those photos and the information you posted today. They might even assume you were at one of those locations or even be able to figure out where we are.”

“Shit, Alden. I was at one of those locations.”

“I know. We need to reach out to them.”

“Fuck, I was trying to help my friend,” I yelled and slammed my hand against the island. I needed a place to get out my frustration. “I’m so tired of being careful, not knowing who this is or even why. Why the hell did someone become obsessed with me? And now, because I didn’t think it through, I might have placed people I care about in danger.” My pulse thrummed in my neck and pounded in my ears. I wanted to punch whoever it was that had put me in this situation and make their life miserable.

I could care less about myself being in danger but realizing I might have put a target on the backs of two people who didn’t deserve it had my stomach rolling. I pushed away from Alden and barely made it to the bathroom before I vomited.

“It’ll be all right,” he whispered. “Gage and I’ll make sure they’re safe.”

His hands tenderly lifted my hair and held it back as I kept my face over the opening. Tears ran down my cheeks, dripping into the toilet to mix with the bile inside. Alden handed me a tissue. I wiped my eyes and then my mouth.

Finally, my stomach stopped heaving long enough for me to push myself to my feet. And Alden was right there as I threw the tissue into the toilet, closed the lid, and flushed.

He kissed the top of my head. “I’ll get you a glass of water while you wash your hands.”

I nodded.

When he reappeared with the water, I gratefully took it from him and shooed him out of the bathroom. I rinsed my mouth with the water, before I grabbed my toothbrush and brushed away the nasty taste left behind.

After putting each item away I decided it was time to go back to the living room and find out what I needed to do to make this right. A small part of me wanted to linger, but that really wasn’t my style. I took everything head on. I fucked up so this was my mess to clean up.

“What can I do?” I asked, sitting down next to Alden.

“We can start by warning them. Let them know they’re in danger and that they might want to shut down for the next few weeks or make sure there’s enough staff on so no one is left alone.”

I nodded and held my hand out for the phone.

After handing it to me, he ran a finger over my cheek. “How can I help?”

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