Page 40 of Rescued By My Best Friend's Brother

He steps back, his hands still at my back. “We have the house all to ourselves for a while.”

I raise my brow. “Oh really? And here I thought we were going to get some down time.”

He shrugs “We can do both.” He tries to hide his amusement, but his eyes shine bright with it.

I open my mouth to respond, but his phone begins to ring one of those generic ringtones. He steps back, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. He peers down at the name, the amusement fading from his expression. He now seems to be in business mode. “Sorry. I have to take this.” He pushes the answer button. “Hello, Detective Pierce.”

Detective? Why is he talking to a detective? Was he searching for information on Bradley after that incident?

My gut sinks. I don’t want my past with Bradley to be a problem between us. I thought I could start over. Is Bradley coming back to haunt me? I really thought I could escape. Maybe I can’t. Maybe I am just being too optimistic. I should have known I couldn’t get away.

Jasper turns back to me, ending the phone call. I didn’t even register the rest of their conversation. It was quick, and my thoughts consumed me, preventing me from listening to anything they discussed. “Sorry about this, but I need to meet up with Detective Pierce.” He kisses me quickly on the lips as he shoves his phone back in his pocket. “This shouldn’t take long.”

I nod, unable to find any words, or ask why he is meeting with a detective. My fear of everything falling apart muting my voice.

“I’ll be back in a little bit. I have to handle something really quick. I will explain when I return” I watch him disappear into the living room. I hear the front door open and shut, leaving me alone. Alone with my thoughts, my wonders, my anxiety…what if he found out something. What if he doesn’t want me around anymore because of the jeopardy I could put them in? So many what if’s when it comes to Bradley. I shake off the insecurities and try to finish my breakfast. It is all I really can do right now.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jasper

Asmilestretchesacrossmy face as I think about Elena, her soft lips and beautiful hazel eyes. She had to go back to the guest house Saturday night. How I wish she could have stayed all night in my bed. But maybe we will have some more time together today with Josie taking Lily out. We haven’t yet figured out how we will tell Josie or even what we actually are. I want to keep going with this. I always wanted this, and I guess with Elena returning, it made me realize how stupid and childish my vendetta was against her all these years and now how much I want her.

This thing we have, I want it to continue, and I want to do it freely, without hiding from my sister or from Lily. Although Lily is a whole other situation we need to work around carefully.

I shake all this off. I need to worry about it later. Right now, I need to focus on what Detective Pierce has for me. We agreed to meet at a coffee shop not far from my office. He said he has figured out who the culprit behind the notes and the creepy doll are. He has all the evidence to give to me.

I make it to the coffee shop first and order both of our drinks before finding a table in the corner away from everyone else. The last thing I need is a curious ear trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.

Detective Pierce walks in, a folder in his hand. He looks around the shop for me. I give him a small wave to catch his attention. He looks a little disheveled in jeans and a wrinkled button-down shirt. He gives me a nod and sits down across from me. He sets the folder down in front of him. He glances over his shoulder, ensuring that no one is around to listen and that we have privacy.

“It wasn’t too hard to figure out who it is. Like I said before, this was work from an amateur, but not who you had suspected,” He begins without preamble. The detective opens up the folder. “Do you know a Bradley Doyle?” He produces a picture of Elena’s ex-boyfriend.

Everything begins to fall into place. Of course, it is him. He must have been stalking her, exactly like I thought. He knows where I live. He knows where I work. He must have been watching her for a while. All of these realizations hit me at once. It is only a matter of time before he does something stupid. An amateur driven by the need for control only equates to disaster.

I call Elena, knowing she’s probably still at the house. She picks up the phone after the first ring. “Elena?” I say, trying not to sound too uneasy. Normally, I may have dismissed this as an unpleasant prank, but with her ex knowing where I live, it unnerves me.

“Yes?” I hear the sliding door open and shut. “Did you forget something?”

“No. But have you heard from Bradley recently?”

“Bradley,” she says this more as a statement than a question. I hear her gasps before the next words chill my spine, “What are you doing here?”

My blood freezes as I hear a man’s voice reply, “Elena. You made me do this.”

I put my over the speaker of my phone. I look at Detective Pierce mouth the words. “Call the police now and send them to my house.”

He hurries to pull out his phone and dial the police, knowing this is urgent. I don’t have to explain it to him. He probably even heard the other end of the line, my phone’s volume being the highest without being on speaker due to my habit of holding it away from my ear.

“Bradley, please don’t do this,” Elena begs. “Please. I’ll do anything you want, just put down the gun.” She sounds as if she is about to cry.

I clench my fist, the urge to hit something welling up inside me. I feel useless, sitting on the sidelines like this where I can do very little. I stand up, grabbing my keys from the table. Peirce follows suit.

“The police are on their way,” he warns me. “Let them do their job, nothing good will come of you rushing it. I could cause more harm than good. These men have negotiation skills that will help all of this end safely.”

“I can’t just sit by and do nothing,” I growl.

I hurry out the door and to my car, the phone still at my ear. I need to hear everything, to stay updated on what is going on. It could make the difference between Elena getting out of this unharmed or not.

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