Page 88 of Cross the Line
“What’s wrong?” Christina asks, sticking her face in front of my cell and peering up at me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost…”
“Umm… Tina…”
Snatching my phone from my hand, she reads over the text with a loud tsk at the end, followed by an indignant growl as she types out a reply and then deletes it.
“It’s a prank. A phishing scam. If we reply, they’ll probably message back with some stupid request for cash or nudes…” She grimaces, swiping out of my messages app and locking my phone before she stuffs it in my purse. Linking her arm with mine, she huffs, “It’s a gross bucket of nothing you need to worry about. Come on, Alice and Summer are waiting for us.”
Christina doesn’t give me a chance to argue as we navigate to the Japanese restaurant Jayden took me to the first time he brought me to this mall.
Still, I know this isn’t right, and I can’t put the text to the back of my mind.
“Stop worrying,” Christina says, nudging me with her hip when we enter the restaurant and head to one of the bigger booths close to the conveyor belt with ready-to-pick dishes. “It’d be weird if you didn’t get shit like that.”
“I think I know who it is,” I say, looking over my shoulder again.
“What?” Christina stops. “Who?”
“Ryker Hallman,” I whisper.
“Wait, the creep from the bar?”
I nod. “The other day, he showed up at the studio and?—”
“Wait, you didn’t tell me this.”
“You’re busy with work and school.”
Her scowl says it’s no excuse. “Amish, you are my friend. My closest, bestest friend, and if some asshole is stalking you?—”
“Well, it doesn’t classify as stalking if it’s a coincidental meeting. Jayden’s dad looked into a restraining order, but apparently, there isn’t enough proof that Ryker is harassing me. The photos in the media create a whole story, and it just looks like Jayden, Elijah, and I are creating some kind of narrative for him to make ourselves look better.”
“What the actual fuck?” Christina tugs me out of the way of a waiter. “If he’s sending you those messages…”
“I haven’t received anything before now, and it’s not like the number is on there.”
“Fuck,” she spits at the ground with a shake of her head. Her hand grips my arm tighter. “So, you need to report this now, and then?—”
“Tina, this is taking up so much of Elijah’s and Jayden’s energy already. He woke up with a headache this morning because he spent all last night worrying and obsessing over what to do. Jayden had to stop him from going to the community rink to find Ryker.”
“Babe…”
“I don’t know what to do. Lex is saying we need to go public. Like the three of us. And Jayden’s dad is saying that I should get a bodyguard who can drive me places and watch over me.” Sucking in a sharp breath, I let it cut all the way through my chest, allowing the pain to ground me so I don’t burst into tears again. “I don’t want to be the reason Elijah gets sick. That he and Jayden get into trouble. Lex was talking about how the team might want to split them up and trade one of them because of... us,” I whisper the last part.
“Mightisn’t a certainty. Stop panicking overmightandmaybe, and focus on what you can do.”
“What can I do right now, Christina?”
A grin cuts her face. “For starters, learn to drive. You’re in LA now, and as much as it can be a pain to drive, it’s safer than public transport and Ubers.”
“I can’t learn to drive overnight.” But I like the idea, and it would help with work, too.
“No, but you have two fucking boyfriends that can teach you both to drive and to defend yourself. Eli and Jayden literally rough dudes up for a living. Also, I go to this great Krav Maga class. The instructor is a woman, world champion, and she can teach you the basics of taking down any asshole that comes near you.”
“So I can defend myself.”
“Exactly. No need for a bodyguard-slash-sitter, and if you can handle yourself, maybe it will help put Eli and Jayden’s minds at ease a bit more.”
“You’re right,” I murmur as we start for the table again. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about the self-defense classes.”
