Page 40 of Mischief Mayhem
My blood ran cold and I sat up straighter. Alarms blared in the back of my head, skidding down my spine to churn in my gut.
No, it couldn’t be . . .
“You look more beautiful than ever.”
Chills erupted over my body, tensing my shoulders, and I almost closed my laptop to break the connection. I didn’t want to confirm nor deny that whomever this person was had seen was me, but I also needed to know if they were who I thought they were.
I’d left my entire life in Manhattan behind because of him. I’d come home to the safety of my family because of what he’d done to me. How did he find me? He didn’t know my real name or where I’d been from. He’d seen my face, that had been unavoidable, but I didn’t know if that was enough to track me down.
“Tell your father I’m coming for you, Verona,” the next message said. “Tell them all.”
I exited the app and slammed my laptop shut, jumping out of my chair so fast it fell over behind me. My heart pounded and my hands trembled as I ran them over my face into my hair. Memories from my former life bombarded me: the look in Curtis’s eyes when he shoved me around his apartment, the pain that erupted through my face when he’d smacked me to the ground, the way the knife had slipped and cut into my fingers when I’d hit the bone in his leg. I closed my eyes, and I wasn’t in my room anymore. I was in his tiny apartment, weeping as he threatened to keep me as his forever.
Compared to some abusive relationships, it wasn’t nearly as violent as it could have been. But I’d been terrified, and the thought he might pop up again to finish what he’d started had stayed with me since that night.
I’d thought I’d left him behind. I thought I’d gotten away.
He’d found me.
No. No.
Get yourself together, Montgomery.
I wouldn’t be scared of him, not anymore, and I didn’t even know if this was him. This could just be someone fucking with me. I’d ask my brother to look into it. Castor was a computer genius, and he could find any information about anyone.
But . . . if this really was Curtis and he really was trying to find me, taking it to my brother would mean I’d involve the Roses. They would track him down and gut him alive, and I wanted to pretend the whole thing had never happened.
I texted Castor, asking where he was, and when he replied he was on his way to my house, I dressed in sweats and waited for him in the living room.
“I need a favor,” I said when he came through the front door, carrying a paper bag that had better be full of the groceries he promised to replace.
He narrowed his dark eyes and raised an eyebrow. “A favor for my little sister? Hmm. That’ll cost you.” Laughing, he swept past me to the kitchen, unloading a box of cereal and a bag of chips before going to the fridge.
“This is serious,” I told him. “I need you to do something for me and not tell anyone . . . not even Dad.”
That got his attention, and he straightened before turning to face me and shutting the refrigerator door. “Verona Marie . . . do you have a secret?”
My cheeks burned as I punched him in the shoulder. “I have a billion secrets from you, idiot. Now, are you going to help me or not?”
“All right, all right, damn.” He rubbed at his shoulder as he nodded to my laptop and sat down. “You hit harder than Pollux and Bear combined.”
“I got a creepy message on my cam channel this morning.” I opened the computer and signed in so he could see what I was talking about. “Would you be able to find out who this is? Or if they’re just fucking with me?”
Castor pursed his lips and started typing on the keyboard, narrowing his eyes as he read over the asshole’s words. “Jesus, V. Who the hell are you talking to on here?”
“I’ve vetted all my clients, Cas,” I said. “I don’t work with people I don’t know.”
“Do you have anyone from your past that would be looking for you?” He asked the question mindlessly as he continued to pound away on the laptop’s keys, pulling up screens I’d never seen before.
I rubbed the back of my neck and kept silent, ignoring how hot my skin became. The stabbing pain in my chest snaked down my spine and the back of my legs, a stark reminder people want me dead, and some would do anything possible to get that outcome.
“Looks like they bounced off a VPN in Greece, but it was shitty work.” Castor paused and looked up at me, raising an eyebrow while he waited for my response. “Who’s after you, V?”
“An old client,” I said. “Someone from Manhattan.”
My brother gave me an incredulous look while he waited for me to elaborate.
“If I tell you, promise me you’ll keep this between us.” I couldn’t have this getting back to my father, not after what happened to Pollux. The SRMC already had enough on their plate with Leo and the Caputis. Adding my drama would only complicate things.