Chapter 8

Bailey

It had been weird going so long without talking to Phantom.

I didn’t know him, per se, but he was my friend, someone I usually spoke to daily.

It wasn’t until he’d disappeared for a week that I realized how much I looked forward to our chats.

How much I depended on him in both Realm Crusaders and my personal life. There was no one else I spoke to as frequently.

I itched to reach out to Thunderbolt, since they were supposedly brothers, to ask where he was, but that seemed silly. We didn’t really know each other, and just because I lived a sad, lonely life didn’t mean everyone else did. He probably had a girlfriend or wife anyway, and simply talked to me because of our shared interest in Realm Crusaders.

So why did it feel weird that he’d just disappeared?

I was in bed, doodling on my phone, when the notification popped up that Phantom had responded to the message I’d sent him on Discord.

@Phantom: Hey, how are you? Sorry I’ve been MIA. There’s been a lot going on.

@Empress: I wondered what happened to you.

@Phantom: Actually, I need to talk to you about something.

@Empress: Sure. What’s up?

@Phantom: Promise you won’t be mad?

@Empress: Why would I be mad?

@Phantom: Well… I guess there’s only one way to say this, so I’ll just say it and hope you don’t freak out.

@Empress: You’re already freaking me out. What’s going on?

@Phantom: I think I saw you last Sunday. At Casa del Papaya. You were with a big group, celebrating a little girl’s birthday party. I’m the really big guy you locked eyes with right before you left. I was sitting a few tables away with my mom.

My heart started thundering against my ribs.

How the hell did he know that?

Was he stalking me?

Holy shit, had he somehow tracked me to my house?

@Empress: Are you serious? That was you?

@Phantom: Yes. Look, my real name is Jensen and I’d love to talk to you some more. I feel like we have this connection and when I saw you there, at a Peppa Pig party, as a woman on crutches, I couldn’t believe it. Was it you?

I was alarmed and intrigued and horrified.

I didn’t know what to say or do so I clicked out of the app and just laid there, trying to get my breathing back under control.

Phantom Knight was the guy with the gorgeous blue eyes?

Jensen .

His name rolled around in my mind even as I struggled with myriad emotions.

How had this happened?

Was I in danger?

Had I somehow given away my location and/or identity?

Impulsively, I texted Sage.

BAILEY: Are you awake? I really need to talk to you. It’s important.

A moment later my phone rang.

“He found me!” I blurted out.

“What?” She sounded confused. “Who?”

“Jensen—er, Phantom Knight! The guy from the video game. He was at Casa del Papaya. He saw the party theme and?—”

“Bailey, stop! What are you talking about?” Sage asked. “Are you okay? Are you safe? Do I need to call 911?”

“No.” I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and gather my thoughts. “I mean, yes, I’m safe. I just… he found me. I saw him. Oh my god, I actually saw him in real life.”

“Hon, I was just dozing off when you texted, so you’re going to need to give me time to catch up by starting at the beginning.”

“The guy I told you about. The one I game with. Phantom Knight.”

“Okay, I kind of know who that is.”

“The day of Valentina’s party, I told him I was going to a birthday celebration for my niece. I didn’t tell him where or anything, just that I’d be on crutches trying not to die at a kid’s Peppa Pig birthday party. I was trying to be funny.”

“Okay. Still confused.”

“Remember I told you there was a cute guy at the restaurant?”

“Yeah.”

“It was him. I mean, he just messaged me to tell me he thinks he saw me, that he was at Casa del Papaya and we locked eyes. He recognized me from the Peppa Pig stuff and the crutches. But I didn’t tell him where I was going!”

“Wow, talk about a coincidence.”

“What if it’s not?”

“What do you mean? If you didn’t tell him anything specific, and you still have all your malware and spyware programs in place, how would he have known where to find you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m freaking out!”

“Breathe, Bailey. Unless you got hacked, and he’s stalking you, it was an amazing coincidence.”

“But what if he did?”

“Then call someone who specializes in security and have them come out and check everything.”

“Right.” I was a nervous wreck and wound up getting out of bed and beginning to pace.

“Bailey, breathe. It’s going to be okay.”

“What if it really was a coincidence?” I asked.

“How did you leave off with him?”

“I closed the chat.”

“Like… without saying goodbye or anything?”

“I panicked.”

“Geez, Bailey. I get that you’re nervous, but you have to relax. You’ve got a top-of-the-line security system. You have firewalls and spyware and all that stuff we’re told we need to protect our privacy online, so chances are, it was a very interesting coincidence.”

“But what if it wasn’t?” I countered, still pacing.

I felt like an idiot, but I was also afraid.

Afraid he was a lunatic who knew where I lived.

Afraid he was exactly who he appeared to be and that there had been a brief but unmistakable attraction between us.

Afraid I’d just ruined everything by essentially hanging up on him with no explanation.

Afraid I was losing my mind.

“Have a glass of wine,” Sage said gently. “Really. And call that cyber security firm you used when you bought the house. You paid them a fortune and they’re supposed to be the best in the business. Hell, you could probably call now.”

“They have twenty-four-seven tech support,” I said. “Okay, I’m going to call them. I have to go. Do you want me to call you back?”

“Only if you find out you’ve been hacked. If so, I’ll come over and spend the night. Otherwise, I need my beauty sleep.”

“Sorry! Bye.” I disconnected and went to my computer to look up the information for Carruthers & Westfield Security. I dialed the emergency number, and it rang twice before a deep male voice answered.

“Good evening, Ms. Walker. This is Rage. How can I help you?”

“Your name is Rage?” I demanded, nervousness making me blurt it out before I could stop myself.

He rumbled out a laugh. “My name is Elliott Rageis. Everyone calls me Rage because it sounds tougher than Elliott. And also because I used to be an MMA fighter and that was the name I fought under. Now, what can I do for you? I’m assuming you didn’t call to ask about my nickname.”

“No. I…” I took a breath and told him everything.

As Sage had pointed out, I’d paid them a fortune to set up my security system as well as handle all of my cyber security. If I was just being crazy, well, they made the big bucks to put my mind at ease since I paid them a monthly fee to monitor everything. Which, of course, I’d forgotten until just now.

“Totally understandable,” he soothed after I finished. “Let me pull up your account and see what’s what. Are your doors all locked and the alarm engaged?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then try to relax. Keep your phone nearby and I’ll call you back shortly.”

“Thank you…Rage.”

“You’re welcome.”

He disconnected but I knew I was never going to get any sleep until I heard from him.

So, I opened my laptop and pulled up the script I was working on.

The buzzing of my phone woke me, and I sat up straight, realizing I’d fallen asleep on top of the covers with my computer on my lap. Rage had called me back around four in the morning to tell me that I hadn’t been hacked, my computer was locked up tight, and that @PhantomKnight had no access to me beyond our conversations within the game.

I’d fallen asleep feeling equal parts relieved and mortified.

I was safe, which was the most important thing, but I’d been rude to Phantom.

Jensen .

His name was Jensen.

And it fit him.

Well, it fit the man I’d briefly locked gazes with at the restaurant.

I looked down at my phone to see a handful of messages from Sage.

SAGE: Well, what happened?

SAGE: Are you seriously leaving me hanging?

SAGE: You better be asleep! If I don’t hear from you by noon, I’m coming over to check on you!

It was 11:50 so I called her.

“Sorry, I fell asleep around four. According to Rage, I’m safe and haven’t been hacked.”

“Yay! Told you.”

“Anyway, sorry I bothered you last night. Thanks for listening.”

She chuckled. “That’s what friends are for. Now go tell Phantom you’re sorry.”

“His name is Jensen.”

“He told you his real name…that’s a good start, I guess.”

“Look, this is dumb. I was freaked out last night because I was afraid he was some kind of stalker, but now that I’m calm, it’s not a big deal. I’ll explain that I was nervous about my safety but I’m okay now, and we can just go back to being online buddies.”

“Why would you do that? I mean, you saw him. He’s hot and you guys did that eye-gazing shit… why wouldn’t you want to meet him for real this time? See what there is to see?

“So he can see the washed-up crippled used-to-be I’ve become?”

“Stop it! You’re not crippled. Yes, you have a limp, but if you wear those shoes with lifts, it’s barely noticeable. You lug around those damn crutches to mask the limp too, so you can do it that way until you decide if you like him or if it was just a momentary thing.”

“He might recognize me.”

“So? You act like you did something wrong. It was an accident. They happen all the time.”

“He’s way out of my league looks-wise. A guy like that won’t want to go out with someone like me.”

“You make me crazy, girlfriend. I love you, but this oh-woe-is-me routine is getting old. You have your whole life ahead of you. If you want to spend it alone, I can’t stop you, but you need to think long and hard about what you’re doing.”

“I’m protecting my heart.”

“Why can’t you just meet him before you jump ahead to him breaking your heart? You don’t even know if you’ll like him!”

But I did know.

I already liked him.

Even when he was nothing but a nameless, faceless avatar in a video game, I enjoyed talking to him. Now that I knew what he looked like? He was the kind of guy I could get stupid over. And I was done being stupid over a guy.

My relationship with Dirk had cost me everything, and I couldn’t afford to lose myself in a man again.

Not even one with broad shoulders and striking blue eyes.

If I was smart, I’d deactivate my account on Realm Crusaders and walk away.

But I’d never been all that smart when it came to men.

And I was a sucker for blue eyes.