Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

HARPER

T he sound of crashing glass from downstairs startles me from a deep sleep. Declan is up and pulling on his shorts before I’m even fully aware of what’s happening. I hear the thunder of feet on steps as I pull on the closest clothes near me, my shorts and one of Declan’s hoodies.

“Ouch, fuck!” Declan yells. “Damn it!”

“Let me see,” Emerson says.

When I get down to the bottom step, Cy throws his arm in front of me, halting my progress. Shards of glass litter the floor, sparkling in the light thrown around the foyer by the chandelier. Blood is dripping from a cut on the bottom of Declan’s foot.

I still can’t comprehend the scene around me until my eyes land on a large brick with a piece of fabric wrapped around it with a rubber band. Cy follows my gaze and walks over to it, gingerly avoiding stepping on any of the large shards. He picks it up and pulls an envelope from the other side of the brick.

It doesn’t take more than a passing glance to know it’s from the same person as the others have been. He tears it open and pulls out the letter while Emerson argues with Declan about needing to go to the hospital to see if he needs stitches. I’m torn between worry for Declan and dread for the contents of the letter.

“Let me see it.” I hold out my hand.

Cy hesitates but relents when I cock my eyebrow and look down at my outstretched hand. My blood runs cold as I read the message.

Dearest ,

I’m deeply disappointed that you have chosen the life of a whore. I’ll remember that when I finally have you. For ruining your body, I’ve ruined something of yours in return. Remember I’m always watching.

Ruined something of mine? What is he talking about? My mattress? I rack my brain trying to think of anything that means that much to me. I don’t care about material things.

Cy takes the letter back from me, and that’s when I realize what the letter means. I snatch the brick from his hand and pull the fabric out of the rubber band. A dark brown stain covers one side of the cream-colored fleece.

Bile rises in my throat when I turn the quilted piece of blanket over and see an embroidered A. It’s one of Annie’s saddle blankets. The only one I was able to keep when everything was confiscated by the government.

“Annie,” I gasp, tears immediately rolling down my cheeks. “He hurt Annie. ”

“What?” Declan snaps as he pushes an irritated Emerson away and crosses to me.

I hand him everything and look at Cy.

In that one glance, I know he is on the same exact page as I am. Before either of the other two can say a word, he’s lifting me into his arms and carrying me through the house into the mudroom where I slide on the first pair of shoes I can find. He does the same and before Declan or Emerson can stop us, we’re out the door and into the garage.

He tosses a helmet at me while the door opens and he puts his own on. Then he’s on the bike and revving the engine as I slide on behind him. He leans back and opens my visor.

“I’m going to drive fast so hold on tight.”

I catch a glimpse of both Emerson and Declan looking royally pissed at us as we fly down the driveway past them. But I can’t worry about that. Declan needs to have his foot checked, and I’m safe with Cy. Most importantly I have to get to Annie.

He wasn't lying. A drive that usually takes at least thirty minutes, took us eighteen. It’s three in the morning, so there was no traffic but now we find ourselves locked out of the stables. All my shifts are during the operating hours, so I don’t have the code to unlock the gate .

“I’ll boost you up.” He crouches down and interlocks his fingers.

“Thank you.”

I put my foot in his hands and grab as high as I can on the wrought iron bars. He boosts me up and holds me steady until I can swing myself over. As soon as I’m on the ground, he climbs up like breaking and entering is his favorite hobby. I’m slightly horrified at just how easy that was for him, but we don’t have time to talk about this.

I grab his hand and start running over the gravel toward the barn her stall is in. Cy guides me around any of the motion sensor flood lights as we go. I never would have thought not to run through them.

Curious horses poke their heads out of their stall doors as we run past them. There’s a handful of whinnies and spooked snorts mixed with the pounding of our feet. When I finally get to Annie’s stall, she’s not standing like I hoped. She’s lying on her side with her face toward the corner.

I can’t tell if she’s breathing or not through the sheen of tears in my eyes. I pull the door to the side, and her head pops up. Her ears are pinned back as soon as she sees Cy, but nothing looks amiss.

I hold my hand up to stop him. “Don’t come in here, she doesn’t like men. ”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. I need her to stand up, so I can check her out. Do you see a bag of treats on the bench out there?”

He disappears from view as I run my hand along her flank. Her tail swishes back and forth calmly, so I think she’s okay.

“These?” He holds up the bag.

“Yes.”

As soon as she hears the treats rustling in the bag, she’s up on her feet. I grab the bag and feed her one before handing them back to Cy. There’s just enough light for me to walk around her, checking her for injuries. When I’m absolutely positive that she’s unharmed, I wrap my arms around her neck and break down into sobs.

She rests her head against my back, embracing me in the only way she can as I breathe in her scent. I’ve never been so grateful for anything in my life. She tenses against me as Cy comes into the stall.

“It’s okay, girl. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly as he approaches. “I brought treats.”

“Put them in your palm.” I wipe my eyes as I let go of her.

“Like this?” He holds his hand out, and Annie looks at me first before hesitantly accepting the biscuit.

“Perfect. Bribing her with treats is always the best plan.” I wipe my nose on the sleeve of Declan’s hoodie. “Why would he make a threat like that? What kind of monster even considers hurting an animal?”

“I don’t know.” He looks around the barn. “We should probably go before someone finds us and you get fired.”

I don’t want to leave her. If it were up to me, I’d sleep in here tonight. I lost her once, I won’t let anything happen to her again. After a few kisses to her nose, I finally let Cy drag me away. Once again we stick to the shadows and he boosts me over the fence.

It’s not until I’m back on the bike behind him that I start to think about everything that could have gone wrong. Was it smart to just take off the way we did? Absolutely not. I’m sure that the guys are going to be pissed. They’ll have every right to be.

Goosebumps race along my legs as we drive back home. The days in late September are still warm, but the nights are getting cooler. I slide my hands under Cy’s shirt to warm them and am surprised when I feel a gun tucked into the front of his pants. I was in such a rush to get to Annie that I didn’t even notice him carrying.

Part of me was hoping that Emerson would have convinced Declan to go to the hospital and get stitched up while we were gone and that they’d still be there. Unfortunately, they’re both home, sitting on the couch and looking furious when we walk through the door.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Declan roars as soon as Cy walks through the door.

I look over his shoulder at Emerson, wondering if he’ll tell Declan to calm down, but his face is just as serious. Both of their mouths are set in hard lines and aggression seeps from their bodies. Declan’s muscles are tightly coiled, as if he’s ready to lunge across the room and knock some sense into us.

It occurs to me that this is usually something that would frighten me. Walking into a room this charged with male anger used to make me wilt. But I’m not afraid. I can see all their emotions swirling around them, but I know I’m safe, even in their maelstrom.

“You could ask about Annie.” I step out from behind Cy.

“I don’t really give a fuck,” Declan snaps.

“How is she?” Emerson asks at the same time .

“Fuck you!” I toss back at Declan, anger getting the best of me.

The whole room goes pin silent as the three of them stare at me like I grew three heads. All of a sudden, I feel like shrinking. Fear wars with shame as my cheeks flame and my heart beats erratically.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, stepping away with my head down. “I can’t believe I said that. I was so out of line.”

“Stop.” Cy grabs my shoulders. “Look at me.”

I slowly meet his gaze.

“He deserved every bit of that fuck you. ” He looks over his shoulder at Declan.

“I probably do,” Declan confirms reluctantly. “But truly, I care about you. I can replace a horse. I’d buy you an entire herd, a hundred herds if I had to. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” He turns his attention to Cyrus. “Same goes for you, asshole.”

Cy puts a hand over his heart. “You’d buy me a herd of horses? How sweet.”

Emerson shakes his head and stands. “What you two did was incredibly reckless. Whoever threw that brick could have been waiting outside. It could have been a trap. ”

Cy pulls the gun out of his jeans and lays it on the table. “I was prepared.”

“You were.” Emerson holds his gaze. “But was she?”

“I trust him.” I slide my hand in Cy’s and link our fingers. “I would have done anything he told me to do.”

He drops my hand only to cup my cheeks and press a long kiss to my lips. It doesn’t matter that he and Emerson were together tonight or that Declan and I were. His tongue slides into my mouth in a slow, deep sweep. I don’t want it to end, but it does, all too soon.

He rests his forehead against mine. “You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”

“It’s true,” I whisper back.

“That’s sweet,” Declan says sardonically. “But we have bigger issues to deal with right now.”

“Starting with whether your foot is okay?” I ask.

“I already compromised with Emerson that I’d go to see our trainer first thing in the morning. He pulled the glass out and bandaged me up.” He lifts his foot so I can see.

“Okay.” If this is the most Emerson can get out of him, I’m sure I can’t do better.

“Did you check the cameras?” Cy asks .

“Yeah.” Declan grabs his iPad and hands it to him. “Walked right up to the house, waved at the fucking camera, and threw the brick.”

I watch the video several times on a loop with Cy, trying to see anything that sticks out. Unfortunately, the man is in all black with gloves and a ski mask on. There’s no way I’d be able to figure out who he was, if I’ve even met him.

“Does anything look familiar?” Declan asks.

“No. Nothing.” I rub my hands over my face. “Did you see a car or anything on any of the other cameras?”

“He walked onto the property from down the street.”

“Should we go to the police now?” I ask. Surely they can help do something. “Maybe they can ask for Ring camera footage from neighbors or something.”

“I’ll see what Dad says when he calls me back. I’m surprised I even had to leave a message, he doesn’t usually sleep well.” Declan checks his phone again and then pats the empty space on the couch between him and Emerson. “Sit.”

I do as directed and sit down. Emerson pulls me to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders until I relax against his chest. Declan lays his head down in my lap and puts my fingers in his hair. I take note of the request and start running my fingers through the dark, wavy locks.

“I can’t believe you said fuck.” Declan chuckles. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Guess there’s a first for everything. Especially when someone makes me mad.”

“You look so tired.” Emilia drops down beside me on a desk and pulls out her laptop.

“Yeah,” I say around a yawn. “Didn’t sleep well last night.”

As much as I like her, I’m not going to open up about everything in my life. Not about the guys. Definitely not about the stalker. I just don’t see how anything good can come from telling anyone.

“Any reason why?”

“Nothing in particular. Did you do the essay for this week yet?”

“Yeah, did you?”

“Yep. Do you want to trade proofreading before we turn them in?”

“That sounds great. I always miss the most ridiculous errors when I check my own work. ”

The professor walks in and begins class. I breathe a sigh of relief that changing the subject worked. It’s not like I don’t actually need someone to proofread my work, but I know I could ask Declan or Emerson.

They’re both obnoxiously smart.

Declan should have had his foot looked at by the athletic trainers by now. I slide my phone out and send him a text.

How’s your foot?

He responds right away.

Declan

Had to get ten stitches

Oh no! How long will you be out?

Two weeks

That’s not too bad

Missing any time is bad

Emilia’s elbow jabs my ribcage, dragging my attention from my phone to my surroundings.

“Care to share with the class what’s so important, Miss Flynn?” the professor asks.

My cheeks burn as I lower my eyes and shake my head. “I’m sorry.”

“Let this be everyone’s only warning. If I see anyone on their phone moving forward, you will be asked to leave class. Am I clear?”

The class murmurs yes, and the professor goes back to tonelessly droning on about the points listed on the power point. For the rest of class, I keep my eyes focused on the presentation and my computer. I never want to be called out like that again.

“Do you want to grab lunch?” Emilia asks. “There’s a really good cafe just off campus that has the best wraps.”

That does sound good, and now that I have a little spending money from working, I could treat myself.

“Is it okay if my roommate, Cyrus, comes? He’s meeting me after class. ”

“Of course, bring them all if you want.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

The innuendo makes me irrationally jealous which also feels hypocritical. We didn’t really discuss whether they’d continue to see other people as well. I don’t want that, but I’m not sure I really have the right to ask them not to.

Cyrus is waiting in the hall when we walk through the door. Butterflies launch within me when I meet his eyes, and he grins at me. He stops short of embracing me when he notices Emilia.

“I’m going to have lunch with Emilia before we go home. Do you want to come along?”

“Yeah, where are we going?”

Emilia rattles off the name as we start walking in the direction of the little downtown area. She strikes up a conversation with Cy while I make sure to keep both eyes on my surroundings. I’ve obviously been missing something with whoever this guy is that’s stalking me. Maybe if I stay vigilant, I’ll notice something.

Every person on the street could be the one watching me. Or someone sitting in a parked car, pretending to be on their phone. Paranoia creeps through me, a thief of the peace of mind I was just finding.

It doesn’t escape my notice that Cyrus also keeps subtly looking around. When we come to a crosswalk and have to wait for traffic, he grazes the back of my hand with his. His touch brings me back to the present, like an anchor in rough waters.

He waits at the counter to grab our orders when they’re ready while Emilia and I go outside to grab a table. Just as I’m finally relaxing, a loud bang from the street rings out. I jump out of my seat, ready to run, but as I look around, I realize I’m the only one standing to run. Everyone is looking around, startled, but no one thinks it was a gunshot like I did.

“Whoa.” Emilia stands and grabs my hand, pulling me back down. “You’re so jumpy. I think that was just a car backfiring.” She runs her hand up and down my arm in an effort to calm me.

“Thanks.” I give her a forced smile. “Must have scared me more because of being sleep deprived,” I joke.

“If it’s something that becomes chronic, I can get you gummies to help you sleep.”

“Gummies?” My eyebrows pinch together. I’ve never heard of gummies that help you sleep. “Like gummy bears?”

She laughs and shakes her head. “You’re a trip, Harper. Marijuana gummies. ”

I lean forward. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“Only if you get caught.” She winks. “My cousin always brings me a new bottle when she comes to visit.”

“Brings you what?” Cy asks as he sets down the tray with our food.

“Gummies.”

“Oh, nice.” He looks at me. “Is that something you want to try? I can get some.”

“No.” I shake my head as I put a napkin in my lap. “She was just talking about how they could help me sleep.”

“I know some other tricks we can try.” He says the words so casually, but under the table, his hand runs up my thigh, his fingertips stroking the soft skin just beneath my shorts.

The lunch conversation stays mainly between Emilia and Cyrus as she keeps asking him questions about everything from his art studies to how he ended up here when he was born in Greece. She bats her eyelashes and laughs a little too loud at his jokes, but I can’t blame her. He’s charming and so unfairly hot. Between the piercings and tattoos, tan skin and quick smile, he’s a walking, talking orgasm.

The fact that he never moves his hand from my leg doesn’t hurt either.