Page 28 of Unspoken Confessions
11
Jameson
“Look, we’ve been here over two weeks and there’s been nothing new,” Austin said after he’d pulled me into the office and shut the door. “I don’t like it.”
I agreed with him. Not that I wanted something to happen but whoever was sending the letters hadn’t made another move. I actually hated that this person chose to send them through the mail. If they had been emails, we would have had a better chance of tracking them down. Jen had given a list of names to Remy of people that might have a grudge against Nick, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t anyone on that list. No, this was classic stalker behavior and I was worried when it was going to escalate from notes and letters to something more serious. More dangerous.
“Should we talk to Jen about letting Nick know about what’s going on?” Austin raked his hand through his hair, a sign that he was a little lost on the next move to make. “I don’t like that we’re keeping him out of the loop. He should know the possible danger he’s in. And besides, what if there’s someone else he can think of that isn’t on the list? Or an incident that made him feel uneasy.”
“I don’t like it either,” I said gruffly. Austin looked shocked at my words, and not just the fact that I’d spoken them. “But Jen knows him the best and he thinks it’s better that Ni-Mr. Sterling doesn’t know about anything going on.”
“What do you want me to do?” He looked at me and I raised a brow. “Keep doing what we’re doing. Got it. I’ll shut my mouth then.”
He shook his head and went to walk by me to get to the door.
“Austin,” I called his name hating that I’d said it out loud. It was probably the first time I ever had.
Yep, by the way he whipped back around and blinked at me, he was even more shocked than I was.
Before I could get whatever out that I had meant to say, the door burst open and in walked Jen.
He eyed me up and down, not in a sexual way this time, then gave a firm nod as he closed the door.
“Having a little secret meeting?” Jen asked in a snarky tone as he walked further into the office and flopped down on the chair in front of the desk closest to the door.
“Just trying to figure out what’s going on,” Austin said. “Has there been anything new?”
Jen shook his head and his bubbly, playful personality was tucked away for the moment. His gaze went lost as he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and started gnawing on it.
I snapped my fingers to get him to stop. Hey, it worked.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Da- um, my friend tells me it’s a bad habit of mine.”
I cocked a brow as I looked down at him. Think that thing went so high it was nearly touching my hairline.
Jen blushed. I would have said I didn’t know him all that well, but I didn’t think he was the kind to blush from embarrassment easily. It was clear it had been a slip of the tongue and I had caught onto what he’d nearly said. And all I could say was that it was more his tone that gave it away.
Then, a rarity for me, I smiled to set him at ease.
Luckily, it worked and his shoulders relaxed.
“What did I miss?” Jen asked, clearly not happy about being left out of the discussion.
Austin and I shared a look. I shrugged, letting him know that it was fine to share everything he had just talked about with me.
“Silent Fuck and I agree that something isn’t sitting right. There’s been nothing new while we’ve been here. I’m a little worried that we’re missing something bigger.”
“You think this person is watching?” Jen asked a little shocked and he looked around as if he was trying to spot some hidden person lurking in the corner?
“Yeah, I do.” Austin paused for a second as if he was thinking about how much he wanted to say. “Yesterday, I noticed some grass stomped down like someone had been standing in that one spot for a while. But it was just outside the property so there’s nothing on the camera feeds. I asked the neighbor to the back if they’d seen anything, but they weren’t any help. And of course they didn’t have cameras because everyone feels so secure in here with the gate and security and all.”
Austin rolled his eyes.
“Nick doesn’t go out much, just for a jog every morning,” he went on. “I would think that if it’s someone that lives here, then they would have noticed. And since you haven’t said anything, I assumed there’s been no one following along when you’re out with him.”
That was true. We had run into a few other early morning walkers, but none that set me on alert. Austin’s eyes went a bit wonky and I knew he was doing that thing where he worked everything out in his head and out loud at the same time. It was best to let him ramble on.
I made the decision right then that starting tomorrow, I’d be taking Nick out of the neighborhood for his workout. I thought keeping him within the safety and security of this community was better. But what if I’d been wrong? What if the threat was just around the corner.
