Page 67 of Filthy Player

I scanned the other letters, fury and fear fighting in my brain giving me a headache. All my muscles tensed.

You will never be happy with her.

She will ruin you.

I will always be here for you.

I will always love you.

Get rid of her.

More threatening, more angry. It wasn’t the typed letter that was the worst.

It was the photo she’d scanned into the last letter of Paige standing outside Halloway Motors. Hands on her hips, sunglasses covering her eyes. Her standard skinny jeans and work shirt.

Smiling at Mike, her head thrown back in laughter.

I had no idea when that photo was taken, but the letter was dated four days ago so it had to be recent.

“Holy shit.” I rubbed my chest. The pain didn’t go away. My heart was pounding.

“She’s following her?”

“Like I said, Beaux, we’ve notified security. They’re going to be here soon to look over these with local police. I think it needs to be looked into.”

“Looked into? This crazed nut job is stalking my girlfriend.” I waved the last letter in Shelly’s face. “At her family’s garage.”

“I know you’re worried, Beaux. But don’t forget this happens all the time. It could be nothing.”

My common sense fizzled. Visions of Paige spread out, sleeping on my bed, curling into me at night flashed in my mind. Her smiling and laughing over dinner. Drinks with her girlfriends, coming to me tipsy and dropping to her knees with that smile still in place. Taking care of her father with all the sweet patience I’d ever seen.

Could be nothing, my ass.

“I want someone on her. Even if I have to hire a security guard myself. She needs a driver and someone on her at all times.”

Paige would kick me in the nuts for it. I didn’t care.

I had athletic cups I could wear when I told her.

“How about we wait until we speak with the police and see what they recommend?”

“Oh. I’ll be talking to them, but I want it anyway.”

There were private security firms we’d used before. I already had a couple of numbers. Jaxon Hayes was my next phone call.

“When are the police coming?”

“Any minute,” she said, checking her watch. “Until they get here, I have something else to talk to you about.”

“Jesus. Something good, please.”

She laughed at my joke, but I didn’t. I couldn’t get the photo of Paige out of my head. It was one thing for a professional athlete to be photographed, even though it was rare. It was a completely different thing for my girlfriend to be noticed by a stalker within days of me being with her. Which meant the woman had been stalking me first, then moved on to Paige.

Terrifying freaking nut jobs in the world and all of it slammed against my brain, I barely paid attention to Shelly as she asked me to do an interview.

“Who?” I asked, even though I know she’d already said it.

“Curt Banner,” she replied. Her eyes were soft, her faint smile even more so. She knew I wasn’t listening to her and had no problems repeating herself.

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