Page 37 of Revived
Just as I’m about to disconnect and try Declan, he answers. “Sul?” His voice is laced with skepticism.
“Yeah, it’s me. You got a minute?” I ask while putting the phone on speaker and getting comfortable. My free hand never leaves Elle’s calf.
“Yeah, sure. Everything okay?” I hear a door close on his end, which means he just left his wife in bed for this. That means he’s about to be extra feisty in this conversation. Macloathesleaving his wife’s side unless absolutely necessary. Not that I can blame him after what they’ve been through.
“No, actually. It’s not. The stalker came to Elle’s house tonight while she was there with her gymnastics friends.”
“What?” Disbelief is clear in his deep voice.
“You heard me, Mac. It was him.” I’m barely keeping a lid on my fury, but one look at Flynn reminds me to keep it together.
“Sully, it can’t be him. I fixed that problem forever ago.”
“Yeah, about that. Let’s talk about how you found her in the woods with Declan and never thought to fuckingtellme.” My voice rises slightly, but Elle doesn’t budge.
“Sullivan. I took care of the issue, and you didn’t need to see what I saw that night. No one needs to see the woman they love like that.”
“Obviously you didn’t take care of the issue if he was banging on her goddamn door tonight.” I bite out.
“I’ll handle it, but you’ve got mefucked upif you think you’re going to talk to me like that. I’ll help Elle over and over because she’s family, but I don’t owe you her story. Trust me, Sul. Demanding answers from others when she won’t give them willingly is a sure fire way to fuck up whatever you got going on.” He answers calmly. He’s refusing to get riled up.
“And if it was Lee?” I question, indignation ringing clear just half a second before I watch Flynn smack himself in the forehead and shake his head.
“It was, you idiot. Did you forget all the secrets we had in the beginning? I’m getting off here. Talk to your girl. She’ll tell you what she’s ready to tell you. Let her know that I’m working overtime to get this handled.” He kills the call before I can respond.
I feel like a jackass. I’ll call him tomorrow and apologize. He’s right, I’m not entitled to shit. It’s just so frustrating that he’s the one who always knows shit first. Seriously, he’s known for knowing everyone's secrets before their spouse does. He’s annoying as fuck like that.
“Well, that went swimmingly.” X puts on his best British accent.
Flynn laughs before sobering, “No, but seriously, that was the least productive conversation that I’ve ever witnessed. No way you two are that bad at communication.”
“Both of you, fuck off. I’m taking her to bed. Anyone have any issues with that?” I raise my brow in challenge.
“Nope.” Flynn pops the P. “But I’m crashing here tonight. Stronger in numbers and all that jazz.” He waves his hand dismissively.
“Yeah, that’s cool. You know where your room is.”
I scoop Elle up and cradle her against my chest like she’s made of the most fragile glass. Careful not to wake her, I tip my chin up at X. “You too.” I whisper. I’m not stupid, she’s practically his sister. He isn’t going anywhere either. My house has four bedrooms. Mine, Flynn’s and two spares. Yeah, I’m well aware how ridiculous it is that he has his own room here when he lives twenty feet away, but I don’t care. I have one at his house too.
It takes me no time to get her moved to the bed before I shed my station clothes and slide up behind her, making sure to carefully tuck her safely into my arms. When I saw the text, I immediately called my chief and let him know there was an emergency and I had to go. Thankfully Chief Patton is as understanding as he is broody. It alsohelps that I’ve never called out of a shift and am extremely reliable. So, if I need to leave in the middle of my shift, you know it’s serious.
My shift was over in the morning anyway so they just needed someone to come in and cover those last couple of hours. I’ll need to be back at the station in just over fifty-eight hours from now, and I’m going to use every one of them to be so far up in Elle’s business she’s going to want to hurt me. Too bad I like it when she’s feisty or she may just scare me off.
***
I may have underestimated exactly how feisty she was going to be. I’ve been Elle’s shadow for a little over a full day now, and I’m pretty sure if she had claws, she’d claw my eyes out.
“You can’t follow me to the gym tomorrow, I draw the line after today.” She glares at me with her hands on her hips and a look that would make a normal man wither on the spot. Too bad for her, it just makes me smile because she’s so fucking cute.
“Nothing bad happened today. You know, if I was a lesser man, I might actually get offended.” I mock pout at her, which annoys her even more and causes her to roll her eyes.
“Nothing bad happened?” She yells in exasperation.
“Okay, so a few women hit on me, but I turned them all down. You should be flattered people think your boyfriend is hot.”
“Flattered? I should be flattered that these women want to take you in the gym locker room and fuck your brains out?” She’s stressedabout everything going on, which is reasonable. When she’s stressed, she lashes out like this.
I smirk while moving closer and grabbing her hips before gently tugging her into my arms. Taking my thumb and forefinger, I grasp her chin and tilt her head up. Leaning down, my lips press to hers. After a few seconds, I feel the tension melt from her body as she sinks into my embrace. Pulling back, I can’t help my smile as she lifts up on her toes to try to kiss me again. When she realizes I’m pulling back on purpose, she opens her eyes and glares at me.
