This couldn’t be happening. Not now.
I scrambled to gather the photos, my hands shaking so badly I could barely hold on to them.
Before I could second-guess myself, I grabbed my hotel key and ran out the door of my hotel room, sprinting down the hallway in my bare feet.
I banged on the door that Easton told me was his when we arrived here twenty minutes ago, and he answered on my first knock. “Bianca? What’s wrong?”
I hugged him first because that was all I could think to do. There were no words between the two of us as we stood there enjoying each other’s embrace. When I realized that the door was still open, I broke the hug and looked around. There was no one there.
I pushed past him into the room. “I just figured out who sent those photos to my father.”
“Who?” he asked as I heard the door slam behind us.
I thrust the envelope at him. He took it with a raised eyebrow, but as soon as he saw what was inside, his eyes widened for a split second.
“So, whoever is stalking you is the one who sent these,” he said.
Our eyes met as realization and the gravity of this situation slammed into both of us. There was anger in his eyes once more.
“They are flaunting this in our faces, and I’m going to fucking kill whoever it is.”
Fear settled into the pit of my stomach as I watched him fume. Was he being serious? I knew I needed to do something to calm the situation down.
“Easton. I know that this wasn’t you,” I said as I sank down onto the edge of Easton’s bed. It was as if my knees were suddenly too weak to support my body. “Not that I even thought it was you anymore.”
“After all of this, I assumed you didn’t. I also suspected that Diana Caldwell might be responsible, but unless she hired this person to stalk you, I assume it’s not her either,” Easton said as he kneeled in front of me. “Sending this to you here when barely anyone knows where you are, might be the first mistake they’ve made because—”
“It narrows the list of people down. Well, unless someone else leaked that I was here.”
Easton took a deep breath. “Let’s look at the photos and the envelope. Maybe there’s some clue in them that could help us identify who sent these.”
“I looked at the envelope already and didn’t find anything. I didn’t study the photos though. In fact, I don’t know if I want to look at them again.”
“Why don’t we go back to your room since I’m done putting my stuff away, and then I’ll look them over while you’re packing and can help you if you need anything?”
I nodded because it sounded like a great plan.
I watched as Easton grabbed his things, and together, we walked back to my room.
He sat down at the desk while I went back to the bed and continued packing for home. He didn’t say a word, and that made me nervous.
“Did you find anything yet?”
“Not yet. I’ve been trying to analyze everything in the photos, but I haven’t found anything concrete.”
“Well, I’m just about done packing, but I might need to buy another suitcase for these things,” I said, gesturing to the items still out on my bed.
“You can put them in my bag. I have some room. That way, we can head to the airport without any delays,” he said as he stood up.
Easton walked over to me and placed a quick kiss on my lips.
I looked into his eyes and said, “Have I told you how much I love having you here? To not have to face any of this alone?”
He just stared at me as I laid my vulnerabilities bare. He pulled me close again, wrapping his arms around me tightly as if he could protect me from all the shit that was being thrown at me. I wasn’t sure he understood how much that meant to me.
“I love you too.” He leaned down and gave me a more meaningful kiss before he broke away. It was go time.
There was another knock on the door, but this time Easton answered it. Another uniformed hotel staff member walked in with a professional smile on his face.