Page 48 of Sunflower

“That wasn’t exactly the truth.”

Narrowing my eyes, I pulled my head back enough to look him in the eyes. “Whatisthe truth?”

He paused, sucking his teeth as he processed things, resuming my head massage only when he muttered, “I left New York essentially because I was being stalked.”

I stilled.Stalked?“And that’s who I talked to today?”

He gave a stilted nod. “Almost positive. Your description is how I remember him.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “You’ve met him? When?”

Callum grimaced. “Yeah, this is the part you’re not going to like.”

I brought my hand around and lightly pinched his nipple, making him squeak. “I don’t like any of this so far, Callum.”

He chuckled, grabbing my hand before he rubbed at his chest. “No. Really? I wouldneverhave guessed.”

I moved to pinch him again, only to get stopped by him twisting away from me with a laugh. Even with the situation as dire as it was, I grinned up at him cheekily. Hell, if he could find the humor in this fucked up position we found ourselves in, there wasn’t a reason I couldn’t either.

Once he calmed, he sighed. “I first saw him right after our folks got married. At the hotel we were all staying.” He shifted beside me to get into a more comfortable position. “I didn’t think much of it at the time, other than it was weird how he was being really careful not to touch me.”

I ran through my interaction with Mr. Douchebag and realized he’d done the same with me. “He knows how your powers work.”

Callum nodded in agreement. “That was my guess, too. I played a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with him that night, and I didn’t see him again. Not until a couple of days ago.”

A couple of days ago? I frowned. The wedding was six months ago, which meant it had been that long since Callum had last seen this guy. “A couple of days ago? But you said you were being stalked. Two crossed paths in six months doesn’t mean you’re being stalked, right?”

“No, it doesn’t,” he scoffed wearily. “But it does when you wake up one morning to find a polaroid on your coffee table of yourself sleeping.”

It took every bit of self-control I had not to jerk away from him. “What. And I mean this most sincerely, Callum. The fuck?!”

He lifted his hand to rub at his eyes in resignation and exhaled deeply. “We can’t figure out why. It doesn’t make a lick of sense taking the picture and leaving it for me. I can’t read it, and George can’t seem to do anything with it either. Whoever this guy is, he seems to know how to get around our skills with seemingly no effort at all.” He dropped his hand down to his chest again to rest on top of mine, his fingers toying with mine. “I was on a plane back here two days later with George. That was six weeks ago.”

I frowned. Something was niggling away at the edge of my mind, but every time I reached for it, it would dart away. “George was at the wedding too, wasn’t he? You said that’s when he offered you the job, right?” I asked tentatively.

Callum hummed in agreement, his fingers still playing gently with mine.

“And you said you didn’t see this guy again until a couple of days ago…” My mind went back to what happened two days prior, and my heart double-thumped in fright. “Callum…Wheredid you see him this last time?”

He swallowed loudly. “At The Majestic just before our date.” He shifted in place again, lifting my leg over his and gliding his palm up and down my thigh. “It was why I wasn’t sitting at the table when you arrived. I was making a call to George to let him know.”

My index and middle finger tapped absently against his chest, both calming my racing heart and letting my mind wander. “Was he there the whole time?”

Callum shook his head. “I don’t know. I lost track of him once our date began, and I didn’t see him when Matthew went down. He could’ve been there.” He shrugged and looked at me with soft eyes. “My focus was on other things.”

“Understandable.” I leaned over and gave him a soft peck on the lips, rubbing my thigh against his crotch, making him hum again.

“It’s funny, you know,” he mumbled. “George only started focusing on you after shit went sideways in New York with the polaroid. That’s why he encouraged me to come back. Said that our paths would cross soon, and I’d need to be ready.”

“Which led to our date at The Majestic…” I said, trailing off as all the loose ends started coming together in one weird as fuck tapestry. “Callum… Are you sure this guy is after you?”

He turned his head to peer at me. “Pretty sure. Why else would he take and leave the polaroid?”

Thinking hard, I tapped my fingers on his chest again in a random staccato beat. “To see what you and George would do…”

Callum stilled, every part of him freezing as he thought about what I was saying.

“Think about it. At the wedding, both you and George were at the hotel. You spotted him, but what if he was originally there for George? Then he comes across you and either accidentally or on purpose ends up trailing you until you lose him.”

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