Page 92 of Players and Pages
"Not you, too," I said with an eye roll. "We always have tonight. We have to live our lives, still. Even bonded."
"She's not wrong," Jackson reminded them, albeit reluctantly. “Plus, we have the bond, so we’ll know she’s safe.”
Griff’s expression turned serious now. “Don’t block us out, gorgeous. It’s meant to be open.”
“I won’t,” I promised. Though, that was partly because I was starting to get addicted to the way they filled my chest with their presence.
The bellover the door jingled as I walked in. I stopped and took a deep breath as if this was the first time that I'd come in. Itstill smelt like home. Books, ink, and the mix of my best friends’ scents.
Mine was faint, but that’d be changing today.
"Yay, Dani is back," Taryn called from near the register. She was rocking Gem and Bea was next to her doing the same with Liam. It was a welcome sight.
"I think they've grown since I last saw them. How is that possible?" I asked my friends as I rushed over.
“They feel it, too,” Taryn joked as she adjusted the baby in her arms. “How was the heat?”
"You’re definitely glowing," Bea said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
"It was amazing. The pack was incredible… but I'm also glad to be back," I said as I tucked my purse behind the counter. “Though, they didn’t agree. It took an insane amount of will power to come after all three were begging to stay another day.”
"And you didn’t want to stay with your three hotties longer?" Bea gasped, shaking her head. “You might be insane, girl.”
"We would have covered for you," Taryn offered up.
"I didn't want to keep the guys from the camp any longer. It's not fair to the kids," I admitted. “And from the sound of those voicemails, the coach was anxious to have them back.”
"Why do you always have to be so reasonable?" Bea rolled her eyes.
"Someone has to be. What did I miss and is there anything that I need to take care of?" I asked them, rubbing my hands together as I looked around. The desk looked the same, thankfully.
"No, we covered it all. I do have some book boxes you can pack at the register if you want to help with that?" Taryn asked. “We have another shipment going out soon.”
"Of course. No emails or socials?" I asked, turning towards Bea to look her in the eyes when she answered.
"I've taken care of it all," she said with a nod. I just hoped that meant it was all normal emails and not that she was fighting with bullies in the inbox.
"We’re going to lay these two down and I'll grab the supplies you'll need," Taryn told me before I could ask more questions.
"Perfect. I'm going to walk the shelves and make sure everything's in order and I'll meet you back here," I said as they headed to the room where the babies slept.
The store was in pristine condition. I must be rubbing off on them. They kept up with everything from dusting to organization, even the new books were tucked right where they belonged.
As I passed the last shelf, my eyes caught on a piece of paper that was sticking out, my skirt brushing it so it fluttered and caught my attention.
That’s strange.
Crouching down, I pulled the book from the shelf and flipped it open to where I could see the paper tucked inside.
The words were scribbled in, the pressure of the pen strong enough they were literally etched into the paper. The handwriting was sharp and angry… the words making my blood run cold.
No. Not again. Not yet.
You'll getwhat's coming to you bitch.
Both the bookand note fell from my hands as I rushed back to the counter for my phone. Taryn just rounded the corner with her hands full. She dropped everything on the counter when she saw my face.
"Are you okay, Dani? What’s wrong?"
