Page 56 of Mine to Protect

“No,” I grumbled. Great, nothing like being the topic of the office gossip.

“Oh, you mean the confrontation between you and Sadie? You know, I heard she said that you said some pretty mean things to her,” Sarah furrowed her fair brows in concentration as she twisted the cap to the wine, sending a familiar crackle to my ears as the seal broke.

Huh. Who knew they made screw tops.

I stared at the bottle in wonder until Sarah’s words sank in.

“What?” I exclaimed. “She was the one being all creepy. I didn’t say anything to her.”

“She’s creepy for sure.” Sarah looked back to Cas and leaned across the countertop, bringing us closer. “I’d stay away from her. She seems a bit… unstable. The other rangers have been talking about it, and someone said she's a little obsessive with John.”

My stomach dipped. “Obsessive how?”

One of Sarah’s shoulders rose in a half shrug. “Being up there all the time, coming up with stuff to make him think he needs to protect her. Like today, she said you were aggressive toward her when she stopped you. Wacky.”

“Wacky,” I mused. “She was the one who found the note.”

“What note?” The paper bag crinkled as she dug around the bottom with her head practically inside it.

“Nothing.”

“Well I got a random note today. Maybe she put something on my car since we’re friends. But it wasn’t anything mean, more like a love note. Maybe I should tell her I’m not her type?” With a smile, she leaned back with a package of Oreos clutched in her hand.

“A love note?” Cas said from the couch.

“How in the hell did you hear that?” Sarah’s eyes twitched toward the ceiling. Turning to face him, she leaned back against the counter on her elbows.

“What did it look like?” I inched around the counter.

“You know, like a love note. It said something about having so much fun. I don’t know. I tossed it, thinking it was from the guy I fucked last night.” She shuddered. “Way too clingy for having such a small dick.”

“We need more details,” Cas interjected.

Sarah cringed. “Okay. Well, I swear it was only three inches—”

“Not his dick,” Cas grumbled into the hand covering his face. When it slipped down, I couldn’t help but giggle. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere other than here hearing about some guy’s small penis. “The note. What did it look like?”

Her shoulders visibly relaxed. “Oh good, because I felt bad talking about it, you know. I mean, it's not like he could help being so small.”

Cas turned and walked to the living room, his frustration clear.

“Fine, the note, got it. Okay, so it was like an old-school valentine of sorts, like you’d give in grade school. Why does this matter? Is that like the one Sadie put on your car?” Sarah’s eyes flicked from me to Cas and back again. Watching me, she tilted her head. “What's wrong, Bridie? You look paler than normal.”

Of course I was pale, I couldn’t breathe.

What was this guy doing targeting Sarahandme? Neither of us were his usual target, so did that mean Sadie was the one who put the notes on our cars? Maybe this had nothing to do with the serial abductor, but how would Sadie know about the type of notes that were left for the victims?

“I’m so confused.” I paced between the kitchen and living room. “We need to call Chandler and John. Maybe John mentioned something to Sadie about the note, and she’s just playing mind games. We need to ask him.”

“What the hell is going on?” Sarah demanded, her tone high-pitched. “You’re freaking me out.”

Cas held out a hand, silencing us both as he pressed a phone to his ear. “Peters. Mathews. Come down to Alta’s. We have some new information. Call that dipshit John too. We need to ask him a few questions.”

“Worst girls’ night ever,” Sarah sighed and looked to the ceiling. “Just saying, we need a redo.”

“If we’re still around,” I murmured.

“What does that mean?”

---