Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 31

Carter

My hands slipped to her hips, the brace now covering the deep lies and settling bruises beneath her skin, the ones I could never unsee. Rage boiled in my veins. I needed to go for a run, but I didn’t want to leave her.

“Sleep well, Briar. I’m going to take care of a few things, then I’ll be in the room just past the bathroom you used earlier, if you need anything,” I let her know. She nodded, and I looked away before my eyes could take in more of her. Touching her had been a mistake, so had seeing so much of her beautiful body, exposed and damaged; everything I had found out tonight, filled the wrath of the beast within me. I had to quell the urge to let that surmounting violence out, to bottle it up before I frightened her. Her scent so close up was intoxicating, the scent of honey and wild flowers, mingled with a scent that shouldn’t be there. A scent I wanted to remove. She needed time, I reminded myself, as I padded down the steps and out the back door into the brisk night after grabbing my phone off the kitchen counter.

I dialed the only person I could trust.

“What!” Mazzies perturbed voice hissed over the phone.

“Good to see you’re maintaining your sunny disposition,” I countered her tart hello with uncharacteristic sarcasm.

“Well, you seem in a foul mood yourself there, Mr. Rainbows and Sunshine.”

“It’s been a long day.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not built for this Carter, your route is way too peopley for my pay grade,” she grumbled. “I hope you have called to tell me your special assignment is completed and you will be back to work as usual tomorrow?”

“Not quite, I need a favor.” She made an unhappy sound and I rolled my eyes.

“I need to go in for research tomorrow, I’ll cover the routes, I just need some time in the office.”

“Since when do you do research?”

“Since now, Mazzie! It’s important!” I urged her, my tone stern, it was no laughing matter. She went quiet.

“You’re serious, then?”

“Never been more serious in my life. This assignment has to do with Jake. There’s a lot more to piece together than running off some tourist hell bent on overstaying their welcome.” I gave her all I was willing to elaborate on the subject.

“What do you need?”

“I have her at my place, I need you to watch her tomorrow.”

“Soo, you’re playing house with the suspect, while I’m out here pulling double duty? Are you sure it’s not just your dick talking?”

“It’s not like that, Mazzie,” I only half lied, my dick was for sure tied up in all the feelings this woman brought on, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Sure, and you ‘need’ me to babysit your new toy?”

“Briar is not a fucking toy, get that straight.” I snapped in a growl that shut her down. “I need you to take this seriously, she’s in some kind of trouble and she’s linked to Jake somehow, otherwise, she wouldn’t be here. I need you to make sure nobody bothers her, and if anyone that isn’t one of us comes calling, you know how to handle it. I wouldn’t trust this to anyone else, and I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t have reason to.” Mazzie went quiet for a moment.

“I’ll do it,” Mazzie caved, without any more pushback. 

“Thank you, Mazzie, I’ll be pulling out by six, keep a low profile please.”

“Got it, but Carter.”

“What?”

“Don’t get too wrapped up, you know what his answer to outsiders always is…”

“I can’t explain it, Mazzie, but Briar is different, you’ll have to trust me until I can tell you more.”

”Ok, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Thank you, Mazzie. It means a lot,” I said honestly, and hung up the phone, setting it on the porch table before I let the night wash over me. I took a run around the perimeter of the house and the surrounding woods.

When I returned, I sat on the couch and took the remote, rewinding the news to just before Briar’s abuser had come on. It was a story about two massive companies who were supposed to merge together that suddenly broke it off due to a missing party who organized it, going missing. That must be Briar. They called her Adeliede Anderson, the name she signed at the power office. Briar’s face flashed across the screen, unmarred, she stood in a floor length glittering gown, her arm in his at some gala or charity event. I didn’t catch it, as my attention was focused on her flawless beauty before the image was cast away, and Creedon Macallistar’s pathetic excuse for a face, flashed across the screen. The signs were there: the slightly pointed canines and ears, the flawless visage. He was one of us, and he had destroyed the most precious gift he would ever receive. He was a walking deadman. 

The remote crushed in my grip, pieces falling to the floor. A new story began flashing across the screen. I stood and walked over to the TV, turning it off at the source before depositing the remote in the garbage. I took the dreaded climb up the stairs and found myself pausing at her door that was ajar. I peeked in to find Rosie, all curled up between her feet, and Tucker sleeping on the pillow next to her head. Traitors, but I didn’t mind, as I was sure their presence would give her some comfort. I guess I was sleeping alone tonight. I made my way to my room crawling into the chilled sheets of my unmade bed. My mind was a blur as I ran through every conversation I had with Jake, and the few I had with Briar today, trying to find some correlation. Nothing triggered a damn thing.

Haggard in the wee hours of the morning after barely dozing throughout the night, I rose and pulled on clothes before making coffee. I then pre-set the pot for her. I left a note. 

Briar,

I don’t know how late I’ll be tonight. Stay here and don’t wander off into the woods, we have wolves here. They don’t mind us and we don’t mind them but don’t push your luck with them. If it makes you feel safer, or if real trouble arises, there is a shotgun in the closet under the stairs. Otherwise, help yourself to the food or whatever else you find to pass the time.

See you this evening,

Carter

I scrawled my number across the bottom of the paper, then added the sheriff office for good measure before rifling through the downstairs bathroom for a bottle of Advil and placing it and a bottle of water next to the coffee pot.

My eyes met a pair of green eyes in the underbrush as I pulled out of my spot in front of the house.