Page 62 of Stalker
Lincoln was the one who broke down a solid ass door with his bare foot and shot the intruder, even though I was pretty sure they were related. There was something about the man, Tamen, as Lincoln called him, that was like my boss.
They looked nothing alike, unless you count their dark handsome features, but that was it. Their eyes were different, their body structures, even their continental residences. But something was familiar between them.
I rolled over, allowing myself one last selfish inhale of Lincoln’s pillows, taking in that expensive masculine scent that embodied him,and then forced myself to get out of his bed. I’d never allow myself back into it, so there was no point in allowing my body to get comfortable in it. After dressing in a casual outfit, considering he didn’t pack me anything work related, I took my bag and vacated his room.
My bare feet didn’t make a sound as I looked up and down the empty hallway, trying to figure out what exactly I was supposed to do. Would it be wise for me to head back to my place and start cleaning up the mess? Should I go about my normal work day even if I was late and under dressed? Should I find Lincoln and ask him exactly what he expected from me.
Never mind, I was a grown ass woman who fought off an attacker in the middle of the night, I could go home if I wanted. I slipped from the still quiet house and down the patio steps to my place. The door from the patio sat askew in the frame and I grimaced as I remembered the ear-splitting noise it made as it shattered under Lincoln’s foot.
“Sorry about that, by the way.” A voice called out from behind me and I jumped and shrieked as I swung on the man.
It wastheman from last night. The intruder.
I backed up as he sauntered across the pool deck toward me. Why did he have to look so yummy?
He wore just a pair of black jeans and no shirt or shoes. And he didn’t fucking need them either, for they simply covered the beauty of his body. He was muscular with a perfectly defined six pack and a drool worthy adonis belt right above the low riding jeans. And ink.
A new unlocked kink for me, thanks to Dane apparently.
I stared at him, holding my bag in a death grip as he got closer. He didn’t seem intimidating, as he strolled, with one hand in his pants pocket and the other wrapped around a pink coffee mug with a picture of Mrs. Straight and her kids on it.
“The door,” He nodded behind me and stopped a few feet away. I had been right when he walked through the dark last night, he had to be six and a half feet tall. “I apologize for my brother, at least. Since he’s the one who kicked it down.”
“Broth—brother?” I stammered like an idiot as I tried to imagine tight laced Lincoln Bryce and the tattooed dark and dangerous man in front of me having the same genetics. I mean, I guess when I allowed myself to remember that Lincoln Bryce pulled not one but two guns and even shot one of them at the man in front of me last night, the dark similarities were noticeable.
The man grinned and took a sip of his coffee. “I tend to bring the worst out in Linc. I always have.” His hair was the same dark chocolate color as Lincoln’s, but their eyes were opposite. My infuriatingly sexy boss had eyes so dark you couldn’t even differentiate the pupils most times, but his brother had bright blue ones that somehow made his features seem even darker in contrast.
I glanced at the guest house behind me and then back to the man, “Is that why you came in last night?”
He nodded, “I usually stay in there when I visit. I didn’t know he’d have you all the way out here, though I should have guessed.” He grinned again like there was something deeper meant to his words, and then he closed the gap between us and held out his hand. “I’m Tamen Bryce.”
“Peyton Everett.” I shook his hand, ignoring the way the large thing completely dwarfed mine.
“Has my brother been a terrible bear to deal with in Mrs. Straight’s absence?” He tilted his head to the side and for half a second, I imagined him as Dane. The mannerism seemed so natural to him, and goosebumps broke out over my skin. If it wasn’t for the simple factthat his accent was so thick, I would have nearly believed that he was my anonymous stalker turned lover.
“He’s manageable.” I said, after a long pause. “If you don’t mind, though, I need to get started cleaning this mess.” I motioned toward the mess of my living space and took a step back.
“Say no more.” He bowed gracefully, it was odd how natural it looked compared to the creepy head tilt he gave me a moment ago. How did he master both? “I’ll see you around.”
“You’re staying?” I asked, dumfounded. Mrs. Straight said no one ever visited, let alone anything about a long-lost brother staying for a while.
He shrugged with an amused glint in his eye, “Someone has to keep Lincoln on the straight and narrow.” He turned away and casually tossed over his shoulder, “He’s been known to get himself into trouble when he’s been bored in the past.”
I didn’t reply as I watched him walk back across the pool whistling a tune on a cherry sunny morning like he didn’t have a worry in the world. “Fucking wild twilight zone.” I whispered, and then walked around the front of the house to use the undamaged front door.
As I worked, cleaning up the remaining evidence of the entire ordeal, my mind wandered to Dane and how I was going to get him to talk to me again. I mulled over different tactics than just yelling at my phone, hoping he was watching me, including seeing if my secretive sister Olivia could hack him back. But that would open me up to so many questions I wasn’t ready to answer, so I had to figure out another way.
I was adjusting a picture on the wall that had been knocked askew at some point when I noticed a hole in the wall.
The bullet hole. From the gun Lincoln shot, that made my ears ache with the vibrations.
With a gentle touch, I pressed my finger against the rough, exposed drywall mess, a clever idea coming to mind to grab Dane’s attention.
A sinister smile pulled my lips up as I imagined how terrible the entire thing could blow up in my face if I wasn’t careful, but I was just desperate enough to try, anyway.
First, I needed to go back into town. Next to the post office where Dane sent me my dirty gifts, I noticed a store front with metal bars and cages on the inside of the windows.
I was going to lure Dane back after a stop into Larry’s Sporting Goods and Gun Shop.