Page 49 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but sure. I’d like that.” She leans back into my lap, giving me better access. “But I need to get home early. Can’t miss any more classes. Actually, shoot, I should text this girl Julie and have her send me her notes.”

I hold her in my lap. “You can do that later. Let’s get through these knots before the food gets here.”

“Fine,” she huffs.

“Do I detect a hint of sass in your tone? I thought I’d fucked all the sass out of you last night.”

She twists to straddle my lap and I’m instantly hard. With her hands on my chest and her nails digging into my skin, she smiles sweetly. “My snark is woven into my soul and as far as I can tell, you haven’t fucked my soul away.” She plants a quick kiss on my chin and whispers, “Yet.”

“Oh, you’re in for it now,” I say, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up. As I’m about to show her how I can fuck the life right out of her, the damn doorbell rings.

She laughs and taunts me. “There’s our food. Guess whatever this is has to wait.”

To hell with that. We can warm the food up later.

I shift her so I’m carrying her bridal style and open the front door. As soon as I see what’s on the doorstep, I set Blake down and step in front of her. “What’s going on?” she asks.

My senses are on high alert as I quickly grab the items and close the door. “Blake, go into your room and lock the door.”

“Okay.” Her voice is frantic, but she doesn’t fight me.

I grab my phone from my pocket and dial Leon. “They’re after Blake.”

“Whoa, start over. What’s going on?”

I pace the length of the hallway. “Get your shit and get over here. Both of you.”

“What happened?”

“I just opened the front door to a stack of pictures with a bullet paperweight, man. Just get the fuck over herenow.”

“Fuck. Alright, stay calm. We’ll be there soon.”

As soon as I hang up, I flip through the photos. Blake walking through campus. Blake at a coffee shop. Blake at her doorstep. “Motherfucker!” It takes everything in me to not punch the wall.

Take deep breaths.First, I’ll check on her. She must be terrified. I knock on the door. “It’s just me. You can open up.”

She rushes into my arms. “I saw photos of me. And was that a bullet? What is going on?”

I don’t want her involved any more than she already is, but I guess it’s too late. She’s in this now, so she may as well know what’s going on. “Leon and Jasper are on their way. We’re going to check the house and make sure you’re safe for the time being. I think this was a message from some very bad people.”

She rolls her lip between her teeth before meeting my gaze. “Does this have to do with Jasper getting shot? Are those people the ones who left the photos?”

“I believe so.” I huff and pull at my hair. “I’ll tell you everything, but first I need to get dressed and you’ve gotta pack a bag.” I grab my shirt from the floor and pull it over my head before reaching for my belt and boots. Blake hasn’t started to move. “Do you need help packing?”

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll stay with us. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you stay here after this.” She releases a breath and nods. “I’ll be right back. Grab everything you need for classes too.”

Once I finish tying my boots, I slowly open the front door, checking every blind spot. When I deem it safe, I jog out to my car and grab my gun from the glove box. I’m such a fool for leaving it in the car. What the fuck would have happened if they broke in? This is what happens when I’m careless. In my world, even the smallest oversight can have deadly consequences.

I’m too impatient to wait for the guys. Gun aimed ahead, I case the property, searching for anything out of place. There are too many places to hide here. I know firsthand how easy it is to watch Blake. Even easier to get inside the house. On my first pass everything looks as it should. I figured they wouldn’t hang around, but needed to check anyway.

As I round the corner toward the front door, I catch the back of a body walking away. Aiming my gun, I yell to get his attention. “Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?”

The guy turns and I realize I’m looking at a kid no older than eighteen. His eyes widen and he puts his hands in the air. “Hey man, I’m just here to deliver your food. I’m leaving, it’s all good.”

Fuck.

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