Page 68 of Fighting the Darkness

I run through my stretches with Wilder while Griffin and Soren head for the office. As soon as we’re done, we follow behind them.

The door is open, so I step inside, eyeing the two chairs opposite Griffin’s desk, one of which is occupied by Soren. “Big guy, you’re going to need to look into getting more seating.”

“Don’t worry, sunshine. I have a seat for you right here.” Soren pats his lap and wriggles his eyebrows, making me laugh.

“Door open or closed?” Wilder asks as he steps in behind me.

“Open is fine,” Griffin replies, finally looking up from his computer. He’s wearing his reading glasses again, but pushes them onto the top of his head. “Nothing too top secret today, and maybe it’ll get the guys to stop assuming I only use the office for sex.”

Wilder nudges me toward the chairs as I giggle. “Well, maybe if you’d stop having sex in your office...”

Griffin’s eyes narrow as I slide into Soren’s lap. “If you keep up that attitude, little one, I won’t tell you the good news.”

“Oh! I love good news. Tell me! Tell me!” I’m all but bouncing in Soren’s lap as Wilder drops into the chair beside us.

“Are you going to behave?” Griffin asks, but the look on his face says he already knows my answer.

I tap my finger against my lips as if I’m thinking about it before shrugging. “Probably not, but you should tell me, anyway.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he grumbles. “I talked to Quinn, and we’ve scheduled your first fight two months from now.”

I squeal. I’m slightly irritated that I have to wait another two months, but the excitement of having a fight on the books overrides that. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Congratulations, Freya.”

Soren and Wilder add on their own congratulations, and I hope the next two months fly by.

Of course, Wilder has to be the one to rain on my parade. “You know you’re likely going to get your ass kicked in your first fight, right?”

“Gee, thanks, Wilder.” I don’t bother hiding my eye roll. “Yes, I get it. I’ll be fighting someone more seasoned than me. If I get my ass kicked, then I get my ass kicked. What’s going to happen will happen, and I’m good with that.”

“He just wants to make sure you’re prepared,” Soren offers.

I nod. “I know that, but I would’ve liked to have ridden that high a little bit longer.”

Griffin clears his throat. “Unfortunately, I think the next thing I wanted to talk about would have had the same effect.”

“Okay?” I frown, wondering what else he could want to talk about. “What’s up?”

“We need to talk about the notes being left for you.”

I shrug. “Why? Sure, they’re a little creepy, but the police said there isn’t anything they can do about it since the notes aren’t threatening me in any way.”

Wilder growls, drawing my attention to him. “Which is utter bullshit. Why would they wait until the notes were threatening? By then, it could be too late. It’s clear you have a stalker, and the fact that they won’t do shit about it is ridiculous.”

“While I agree with you, Wilder, I wasn’t done,” Griffin says, reaching into his desk drawer. “There’s a good chance they might be willing to do something about it now. I found this on my truck this morning.”

I lean forward to grab what looks like a piece of paper and some pictures.

She’s not yours. Stop corrupting her. This is the only warning I’ll give you.

Flipping to the pictures, I find pictures of me kissing Soren and Griffin, another of the two of them kissing, and then one of me leaving Griffin’s place.

“They might not be threatening you, but they’re threatening me.”

My hands shake as I stand, tossing the note and pictures onto the desk. “I don’t understand. Why is this happening? I didn’t mean to bring this into your life. Why can’t I just be normal?”

For the last three months, someone has been leaving notes on my windshield. Mostly about how amazing I am. How strong. How beautiful. At first, I thought it was one of the guys, but they said it wasn’t them. We’d gone to the police, but they weren’t helpful in the least. It’s no wonder so many women are hurt or killed by stalkers if they won’t look into a claim before it turns dangerous.

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