9. Eddie

Chapter nine

Eddie

T he next morning, Brock took me back to the hotel, if you could call it that. It was only a few rooms above a bar, but it had a kitchenette with a microwave and a tiny refrigerator and felt like an out-of-the-way place to stay. The owner was cautious about privacy, so it seemed like it would work out. But, while I was at Brock's, someone had broken in. They had to have been watching the place and slid in when the owner was away.

I shoved the open door wider to find my clothes strewn everywhere. I dashed over to my laptop. It was open as if someone had been trying to get in. I was pretty sure I had closed it up before I'd left. What the hell?

Maybe they were testing the security system. It was a state-of-the-art new technology and required biometrics to get into. That didn't make sense to me, but my brain was spinning again. Panic crept up my throat, and I rushed to grab clothes off the floor.

"That does it. You are checking out and staying with me until we figure out what's going on." Brock pulled his cell out of his pocket. "I'm calling Nate."

"No. This place should have been safe. It's my fault. Don't call anyone. I'm worried about putting you in danger. Putting a target on anyone who gets involved. Besides, I have too much stuff to carry on your bike." My brain normally went into problem-solver mode in heated or stressful situations. Now, it felt like it was only churning up more issues. "I'll get an Uber and meet you there. Don't tell anyone." I needed to be strong, to show Brock I wasn't helpless.

"No way. First, I'm not letting you out of my site. I'm getting Jackie over here. I've known him since we were kids, so I know he'll help. We'll load up his car, and he can drive the Harley. He's the only one I trust with it anyway. But second, Nate needs to know what happened. This is his place."

"Fine." Everything was closing in on me, and I wanted to get out of there. I sat on the bed and rubbed my hands over my face.

Brock stepped in front of me and grabbed my wrists, gently tugging my arms out. "Hey. It's going to be okay. Don't do anything for a moment. Just breathe, okay?"

My throat felt tight, and it was hard to think, but I latched on to a current that told me I could trust Brock. He was right. I gave him a nod and tucked my fingers under my legs, listening while he called the owner. "Nate, yeah, it's Brock." There was a pause. "No, someone broke into Eddy's room. I don't think anything was stolen, but they left it in shambles." Another pause. "Okay. Okay. Right." He tapped his phone to end the call. "They're on their way."

"They?"

"Yeah, he's at the lake with Kit."

"Who's Kit?" I asked, not wanting any more people here than necessary.

"Not sure, but I think he's Nate's new helper here, and maybe they have something going." He tilted his head back and forth as if contemplating. "Anyway, I'm calling Jackie."

I huffed. "Too many people are getting involved, Brock."

"Don't worry, babe. These are people I trust."

I loved that he called me babe . Something about that settled my heart. I took another deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling a little calmer. "I trust you, Brock. If you say you trust them, I do too. But I don't want any of your friends to be hurt. I don't want you hurt. This break in is-is…beyond alarming."

"I know. But we've got this." Brock didn't seem to be afraid of anything. But I had enough fear for the both of us. He tapped on his phone, and I assumed he sent a message to his friend, Jackie.

Despite what he said, I started picking up clothes again and throwing them in my suitcase. I only stopped to start packing my laptop. It didn't take long, maybe twenty minutes, for Nate to show up with Kit in tow.

Nate pushed the door open and looked around. "Wait. We should call the police." He was big and brawny, reminding me of a lumber jack, and the way he crossed his arms told me he wasn't going to argue about it. Kit slid in behind him. He was slim and tall, cute with curly brown hair that fell around his shoulders and soft blue eyes. And one more person stepping into the line of fire.

I threw my hands in the air. "No. They're not going to believe me."

Brock pulled me into a hug, and I dropped the shirt I had in my hand. "I believe you, Eddy. They will too. I mean, look at this." He held his hand out to indicate the mess that was still there. The bedding was on the floor, the desk had been pulled away from the wall and the chair turned over. A pair of jeans that I missed was sticking out from under the bed.

"It doesn't prove anything. And that's what I need. Proof." I tugged the denim, pulling it out and tossing it toward my suitcase.

"I'm calling the sheriff, guys." Nate looked fierce as he examined the door. "Fuckers broke my lock. That's going to cost time and money." Damn, I didn't want to be on his bad side, and this was my fault. Nate tapped on his phone. I could hear it ringing on the other end, but when someone answered, Nate put the phone to his ear. "It's Nate from Pints 'n Pool. Someone broke into one of my rooms." Then he stepped out into the hall.

I kept packing. No way was I going to be here when the police showed up. Brock had other ideas and grabbed me again. "Stop, Eddy. Please. Clay is the best sheriff. He'll help us."

"I don't care. I can't do this. Without having proof, making a police report isn't going to do anything." The panic clawed up my throat like acid. "I have to go."

Someone else poked his head in the room. This was going from annoying to full blown chaos. Was the ceiling getting lower? This new person was a redhead, and not what I expected at all as a friend of Brock's. Jackie was a little shorter than Brock and had a smaller build. Plus, he had red hair and freckles that made him look younger than he was. Brock said they were best friends since they were kids, so they were the same age or close to it, but Jackie appeared younger and had a bit more of a wild look. He also had that same mischievous glint in his surprising green eyes. He held his hand out to me. "Jackie Corbin. Nice to meet ya."

"Eddy Queen." I gripped his hand as firmly as I could, not wanting him to think I wasn't capable. It was bad enough that I was asking a stranger for help. "Thanks for coming." I finished packing the last of my stuff and was more than ready to go. The walls were closing in, making it harder to breathe.

"Well. If Brock is here instead of opening the bookstore, it's important." He winked at me. "But I wasn't busy. Just cleaning guns and getting ready for a hunting trip."

"You don't own any guns, Jacks." Brock crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you plan on hunting?"

Jackie's laugh was infectious and calming, taking my mind off my anxiety. "Not those kinds of guns." Jackie grabbed his crotch. "…and I'm going to the city this weekend, hunting chicks and stags." Brock laughed, but I wasn't sure if it was with him or at him. But I thought it was kind of funny, and I liked him. But dragging more people into my mess wasn't ideal.

After a little more chit-chat, Jackie dropped the keys in Brock's hand. "Go easy on the breaks. They need new pads or something, but it'll get you there."

Brock handed over his set to Jackie. "Go easy on everything. If you so much as scratch my baby, I'll kill you."

Jackie chuckled. "Don't I know it." Then he stuck his tongue out at Brock. "I never have. Never will. Got your back. Come see me later." He pointed the key at Brock before turning to me with a kind smile. "Nice meeting you. Good luck."

"Thank you. Really. I appreciate it."

He winked again. "No problem." He pointed a look at Brock that had every indication of them talking about this more later when I wasn't around, and the unspoken yet clear communication reminded me of my brother. We used to be like that. When had it ended?

Nate came back inside the room. "Clay is sending a car over."

"I'm not sticking around." I grabbed the handle of my suitcase.

Kit, who had been lingering in the back of the room, not saying a thing, shouldered past Nate. "Hey. I get it. You don't trust the cops, but these folks are trying to help you. Everyone needs help now and then." His voice was soft yet commanding, and he spread his arms out in a welcoming gesture. I did understand they were trying to help, but that only made my need to get the fuck out of there worse.

"Sorry, Nate. I'm checking out. Effective immediately." I headed out the door with my laptop sitting on top of my suitcase. I rolled it to the stairs and stopped, unsure what to do next.

Brock stepped up next to me, taking the luggage. "Come on. I've got this." I followed him down and out the back, where we loaded into Jackie's car.

I was quiet on the drive back to Brock's place because I couldn't stop thinking about Greg. In all of this, he was the one factor that hurt the most. How had we grown that far apart? And when had it happened? Was it to the point where Greg wanted to hurt me? Kill me? And why? What was Kurt telling him behind my back?

As we pulled into the driveway at Brock's, he said, "Jackie agreed to open the store the next few days, or he'll call his little brother to do it. My cousin Paige can come in, you know, in the afternoons. But I'm not going in. I can be here with you."

"I don't want you ruining your business for me." Upending Brock's life was the last thing I wanted. He'd already helped me so much. Hell, simply being near him helped. I felt so much calmer and more in control when I was with him.

Brock waved me off as he got out of the car. "Not sure I'm keeping it anyway."

"Woah. I hope that's not a decision based on me."

"No, no. Fuck." He leaned against the car and ran his hands over his face. "Pops would be pissed to hear me say that. And I tend to act like I don't care. Like it's only a casual thing. Or I tell myself that, but I do love that bookstore. I grew up there as much as the house, you know? It's more home than this." He flung a hand out toward the house. "But it's not making money. And if I don't sell it, I may end up losing everything."

I didn't know what to say to him. I put my suitcase down and stepped closer so I could rub his arm, wanting to comfort him.

"Fuck." He chuckled. "You don't need to hear my shit. You have your own problems."

"If you're helping with mine, I get to help with yours."

Brock grabbed me and pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly. "Thanks." He kissed the side of my head. "Just hearing that helps." We stayed like that for a minute, and when he started shuffling around, I stepped back. He grabbed my bag with a shrug. "I need to make some changes in the store. That's difficult but has to happen. Anyway. Jackie and Paige can cover for a few days. They know I can't pay them anything but coffee and sticky buns. And they're fine with that."

"Don't they have jobs?"

"Paige doesn't. I mean, she works a couple mornings in town, but if she didn't pop in the store in the afternoons, she'd be sitting around doing nothing and being bored. And Jackie, well, he's some kind of blogger. He can work from the store if he needs to do anything."

"Ah…so you're actually giving them something to do, huh? Like helping them out."

"Something like that." He gave me a smug little smile as if he was kind of proud of himself. "Come on."

When we got inside, I peeked out the front windows, worried about whether we were followed, but I didn't see any vehicles around. It made me look paranoid. I didn't normally have those tendencies, but I couldn't shake these feelings lately. This was something different altogether. It had to be. I didn't like the alternative. Even staring out into the empty road left me with an eerie feeling. More was going on and I was only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I had to go deeper. Who else could I call at the company to help? Nobody came to mind.

Well, Arnold had been the only one to step up and tell me about the rumors, but did that mean he could be trusted with this? Maybe I needed to do some hacking. My skills were a little rusty, but I could figure out something, surely. I'd been called a genius numerous times, so now I had to prove it.

I grabbed my laptop case and unzipped it. It was time to get to work.