Page 124 of Dean

“Yeah, me too.”

My phone pings and I look down at it.

“Don’t tell me that’s Nick.”

“No, that’s Amanda again. Listen, Nick hasn’t messaged me much since you visited him. I think you scared him…”

He arches an eyebrow at me, and I squirm. I cannot lie to him. “But?”

“Oh well, I might have maybe seen him at Beau’s place, but it could have just been a creeper standing in the shadows with a hoodie…”

“What the hell? Avery, you need to tell me this shit. Why didn’t you?”

“I mean I would have, but I wasn’t sure. He’s never outright aboutit. But we have the cameras now so it’s just a matter of time before he slips up.”

He doesn’t look happy about that. He looks positively murderous. “He set fire to my backyard, he’s been threatening you, he’s accused you of stealing. I’m going to murder him. I think I should have done that when I went over there.”

“No, you absolutely will not do that.”

“He’s bothering you. He’s bothering us. He’s a waste of space.”

“Yes, well…maybe he’ll just get run over. I really don’t want to think about him during my happy time.”

“What happy time?” Lex asks, appearing next to us. “Are you about to fuck?”

“What? No,” Dean grumbles.

“Shame. I’d like to watch, but I digress. The cameras are installed. Do you have a minute for me to go over the interface? It’s for dummies so it should be easy for you to understand.”

Dean eyes me, and I can’t help but giggle.

“Heisold.”

“Very old and very sexy,” Lex says, which makes Dean grumble under his breath.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Dean asks.

“I do, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have eyeballs. Good catch, Avery. I’m impressed.”

I waggle my eyebrows, and Dean sighs. “All right, show me how to work this. I want to make sure I can catch whoever is harassing Avery.”

“Oh, are we catching a bad guy? I love this. I feel like Sherlock. Should I get a hat? I should definitely get the hat.”

“No hat,” Dean says. “Just show me how the fuck this works. I want to make sure we have recordings of anyone entering my property.”

“Oh, you will. Growl at me some more and I’ll do anything you say.”

“I’m not fucking growling.”

“You are.”

Dean looks like he’s ready to explode, so I move up next to himand tuck myself into his side. It seems to soothe him slightly and he listens while Lex explains the interface. It really is easy and the cameras are high quality. They’re set up in the best places, perfect for catching anyone wandering around the front or backyard.

When Lex finally leaves, I usher Dean into the kitchen.

“So, we’re all set then. Trees, flowers, and a security system. How are you feeling?” I hand him a beer and he takes it, popping the top off and taking a small sip.

“Let’s go outside and relax. Put on a fire. Look at how pretty everything is.”

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