Page 87 of Cross the Line
“I don’t fucking care about what it looks like,” I snap, locking thephone and putting it on the counter beside us. “It looks like the truth, and it was going to come out at some point. Right?”
“Right.”
“Lex told us as much,” I say. “What I care about is the fact that he was there. At your place of work. That he was at the restaurant, and at the bar. He’s clearly following you.”
“Stalking,” Jayden corrects. “He’s stalking you, and that has to stop.”
“He’s not going to intimidate you and—” I stop, wrapping an arm around Jayden’s waist when he starts stomping away. “Where are you going?”
This isn’t his fight. I brought Ryker into his and Finley’s life, and I need to fix it.
“I’m going to call my dad,” he retorts. “He’s an attorney who knows how to get restraining orders.”
Oh.
“What about the photo of the three of us?” Fin asks. “That story’s alluding to Ryker being a spurned lover. Some kind of victim. It’s saying we’re together, having an illicit affair and?—”
“We are.”
Finley’s face drops. “Elijah Benjamin Sylkes, we are not having an illicit affair.”
“I meant that we are together, Finley.”
“The whole world is going to know now.”
“They were going to know at some point.” Clasping her hands in mine, I bring her into my chest and wrap her up in an embrace. I look at Jayden while he texts furiously on his phone. “Right, JJ?”
His stare flashes to mine, and when I wave him over, he pockets his phone and throws his arms around Finley and me. “The whole world was going to know at some point.”
“So what do we do now?” Finley wriggles between Jayden and me, slotting her body perfectly between ours.
I shrug. Jayden chuffs.
I don’t think either of us knows what we do now, except doingus. Being ourselves. That’s enough. The rest will work itself out one way or another, and I don’t care how—so long as we’re together.
CHAPTER 24
FINLEY
Christmas present shopping is a lot less wonderful than I thought it would be. For starters, I keep looking over my shoulder for any sign of Ryker.
Elijah insisted on driving me to the mall to meet Christina and the girls rather than letting me get an Uber. Even though I insisted I’d be okay with my friends, since he left, I haven’t been able to relax.
To add to that awkwardness, after hours of looking for the right gifts, I’ve come up short. Honestly, I’m ready to call it a day, go home, and watch my guys own the ice. The only thing that could make that better is a box of gelato from the place Jayden likes in the food court.
Walking out of the naughty lingerie store Christina loves—and I don’t hate—I check my phone in case Elijah or Jayden have messaged me. I know they’re busy and under a lot of pressure to close out this last run of home games with a winning streak, so it doesn’t surprise me that I don’t have anything from them. What surprises me is the random text from the unknown number.
Unknown
I know EVERYTHING. All your dirty little secrets. Slut. I’m going to ruin your life.
What? My thumbs hover over the keys, trying to figure out how to type the first question that comes to mind above the roar of my instant panic.Who is this?I haven’t shared this number with anyone outside of Elijah, Jayden, our family, and closest friends—which is hardly a couple of handfuls of people.
Except the nagging certainty in my gut tells me there’s one obvious person it could be.
Ryker.
The worry suffocating me from the inside out is too real to push past and ignore.
