Page 37 of Forever Mine

But…I watched enough true crime and saw enough of shit in real life from my time in the hospital to know that was not the way to go about it. Ignoring things like this was a quick way to end up dead. So I sucked it up, shoved the note in my pocket, threw my backpack over my shoulder, and walked out with the box in my arms.

Jay was pacing the small hallway in front of the break room, looking very much like a caged animal. What had happened to put him so on edge? By Declan’s way more casual attitude, I had to assume my family was fine, which brought me to Riley and Beckett. Fuck, had something happened to them?

Jay stopped pacing when he noticed me and seemed to visibly relax. I was just about to open my mouth to ask about the guys when once again, I had his arms around me.

“Fuck. Dakota.” He didn’t say anything else, but he sounded so vulnerable it was breaking me apart.

I gently pushed him back, so I could breathe and we could talk. I jerked my head toward the exit. “Let’s go outside.”

Jay held my hand so tightly it was almost painful, but I didn’t stop him. Declan rolled his eyes but didn’t say a word as he followed us out.

As soon as we were away from my nosy-ass coworkers, or as far away as we could be, since they were everywhere, I turned back to Jay. “What happened? Are Beck and Riley okay?”

He frowned. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

I took a deep breath, already getting frustrated. “Well, I don’t know. You blew up my phone, called the cavalry, and nearly assaulted a security guard to get to me. You look fine, physicallyat least, and Dec would be freaking out more if it was my family, so that brings me to Beckett and Riley.”

Jay titled his head thoughtfully. “They’re fine. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” Just then he narrowed in on the box of chocolates in my hand. “What is that?”

I waved him away. We were dealing with one crisis at a time. “Later. What happened? Why were you so worried for me?”

Jay sighed heavily, once again seeming reluctant. Declan chimed in. “Someone keyed and destroyed the fuck outta your man’s truck. Since the message was very personal, he got concerned. Apparently, you had received a weird message at your house…” Dec’s eyes narrowed in a way only a big brother could manage. Fuck, I forgot I never mentioned that to them.

“Sorry,” Jay sounded sheepish again, “I didn’t realize you hadn’t told them about it. I was just so fuckin’ worried, sweetheart. I kept imaginin’ the worst, and you wouldn’t answer, and no one at this fuckin’ hospital would tell me a damn thing about you.”

Declan snorted. “No offense, my man, but they probably thought you were the stalker you kept yelling about.” But he squeezed Jay’s shoulder affectionately, lessening the sting of the words. Instead of balking at his touch, like I’d seen Jay do for everyone except me and his two best friends, he kind of relaxed. My eyes narrowed. What had happened while I was preoccupied that they became friends?

My mind was spinning, but I had to keep it together and work through this logically. Jay was on the verge of spiraling, and Dec was never great in these types of situations. He was the best person to have at your back, but when it came to diffusing high-stress situations, he tended to be more of an instigator than anything.

Starting back at the beginning, “What do you mean your truck was keyed?” Pain and desperation flashed across Jay’s facebefore he fished out his phone and pulled up some pictures. He handed me the phone, purposely looking the other way, and once I saw the pictures I understood why.

I was a little wigged out when I got that first flower and note. I was still half-convinced it was a prank, but it was creepy and put me on edge. The chocolate in my locker downright scared me, and if I had a moment to really process, I’d likely realize how violated I felt. Seeing Jay’s truck brought out a whole new emotion I hadn’t realized I’d even had. Violent, bloody, murderous, rage.

Howdaresomeone do this to him. That truck meant so much to him. Having something that was his and only his was so fucking important to him. He told me how hard he worked to be able to buy it, and he, Beckett, and Riley had spent more than a few nights in that truck when they had nowhere else to go. It was his lifeline. That piece of security and fallback he always had even if everything else collapsed on him. And some fucker took it away from him.

This was more than some petty vandalism. Jay’s truck was destroyed. And keying was understating the damage. It looked like a fucking bear clawed it. Or Wolverine. Long claw marks, or I guess a knife, because that sure as fuck hadn’t come from a key, ran down both sides of the truck. There were about ten on each side, plus the back of the truck. The windows were all smashed in. Every fucking window. There was one picture of the bed of the truck, and something brown and chunky filled the entire fucking thing. I swallowed down bile. I didn’t even want to know what that was. The whole thing was covered in spray paint messages, and it was clear what they meant by it being personal.

Across the truck, things likeman-stealer, criminal, drug dealer, low-life, white trash, high school dropout,andcock suckerwere painted over it. Some of it was even on the interior, which by the way, was sliced up, foam and whatever else wasinside the seats all over the interior. There was also a note stapled to the front seat. Jay or whoever took these pictures, had a close-up of it. It said,

I know who you are. I know what you’ve done. You don’t deserve him. This is your warning. Walk away from Dakota. Let him be where he belongs. You know you can’t give him everything he needs. I can. If you don’t, your truck will be the least of your worries.

Heart racing, I looked back up at Jay. He wasn’t looking at me and it was torture how much he had to be hurting. But I had to worry about the practicalities first. “Jay, baby, are you sure Beckett and Riley are safe?” That note had heavy implications, and since they were the only people he cared about besides me, I was deeply concerned that this psycho would go after them.

Jay nodded numbly but he seemed to be shutting down. I guess all the adrenaline from before was seeping out of him. I didn’t blame him, I felt pretty exhausted myself.

Luckily, Declan seemed to be at least partially informed of the situation. “Yeah. Beckett was the one who took those pictures and brought Jay here.” Made sense, he couldn’t have driven that truck. “He waited till I showed up and then picked up Riley.”

“Where are they now?” I didn’t love the idea of them being at their apartment, even if I was sure they could handle themselves.

“Wes’s,” Jay finally added.

Good. They’d be safe there. That worry gone, I focused back on Jay. I stood in front of him, bringing our faces close, and squeezed his neck.

“We got this, love,” I whispered, “Together.”

Jay didn’t respond, but he didn’t pull away either, so I took it as a win. “Where’s your truck?” He shrugged, so I looked at Declan, who also shrugged.

“That Beckett said Wes will take care of it?” Poor Declan seemed confused, which was understandable. He was probably trying to figure out their dynamics. Good luck with that.

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