The soft sweet girls like Zoey never hit on me. It was always the ones who looked a little rough around the edges. Maybe they thought I’d dish out a little pain with what they wanted. To have someone like Zoey wrapped around me feels like coming home every morning. Waking to find her pressed against me like a second skin is bliss.
I fucking love it. I don’t think I could ever live without it now that I’ve had a taste of her. To have a little family of my own and belong to someone. That’s why I have to get this stalker shit dealt with. More emails have come, but Zoey doesn’t know about them. Her sister is getting even more freaked out, and I don’t blame her because of the rate at which the stalker is accelerating. She’s calling me about three times a day. Luckily, we’re on the same page, and we don’t want to stress Zoey out, so we leave her in the dark. I actually think she thinks the threat is gone because I don’t bring it up. I don’t want to bring it up because I don’t want that shit touching her. I thank fuck that Pink has seemed to be able to keep Elle calmed down about it all. The emails have started getting to an extreme sexual level that makes me want to paint the walls in the blood of whoever this fuck is. He seems to be freaking out that he can’t have eyes on Zoey now that she is locked away safe in our home. He’s even started mentioning me in his little fucked-up love notes. He is getting sloppy, which is good news for me. Sloppy gets caught. I just don’t want that slop touching my girl.
She’s so soft and sweet and coated with an innocence I don’t want her to lose. I will be the hard to her soft. If something needs to hit us, it’ll hit me alone. I want to be her shield.
I know this shit has something to do with her work, and the stalker’s obsession with her has started to morph into some fucked-up crush or adoration for her. I can’t blame the guy for wanting her, but she’s mine and nothing will take her from me. I want this shit squashed. I knew I could only keep her locked up in this condo so long, and the days are ticking by. Luckily, her sister is close and that’s helping keep her sweet ass planted at home.
Slowly, I unwrap myself from her body, sliding out from under her and pulling myself from the bed. Leaning down, I kiss her bare back before brushing the hair out of her face. I can’t help but stare at her. I keep thinking this driving need to touch her and be close to her will fade, but it doesn’t. In fact, I think it’s getting worse.
I shake my head at all these sappy feelings I seem to have all the time nowadays. I make my way to the bathroom, stopping to pick up littered clothes and random things Zoey seems to throw around. That’s something else I oddly like. I get off on seeing her shit all over the place, and I get off even more on putting it back where it belongs because it means she lives here. Her stuff belongs with mine.
Making quick work in the bathroom, I slip on some workout clothes before heading to the kitchen. I grab a banana and text one of my men to come stand at the door while I go for a run. I write Zoey a quick note about going to the office we have in the building, even though I’ll likely be back before she wakes up. As I slip out the door, I come face to face with Pink.
“Got a lead you’re going to want to see.” He holds up a file, and I snatch it from him.
I open it up and read the name of a company I’ve never even heard of before: Green Shore. “Who is this? This name hasn’t come up in anything.”
One of the first things we did when we took on the job was look into anyone who might be after the company she is currently consulting for. This company isn’t in competition with Ensore.
“Brand new. They’re going after some government contract that Ensore has tied up. It’s not really a competition for them. Unless they fuck something up.”
I flip through the folder before heading for the elevator. Pink follows me. I hit the button for the bottom floor and keep reading over everything.
“She’s the easiest target. That’s how I look at it. She’s the easiest to get to. She’s just creating the encryption software for a new round of satellites that are being launched midsummer. If the encryption is messed up, no way will Ensore get the project. They’d be done for,” Pink says.
I shut the folder when the elevator hits the ground floor, trying to process everything.
“And I’m sure Green Shore already has their own system set up. They’ll pitch that when Ensore fails,” I say, looking over to Pink.
“From what I gathered, yes. All they need is an invitation to pitch it.”
“So what are we thinking here? Green Shore hired someone to break into Zoey’s and get their hands on whatever it is she’s doing? Either fuck it up or find a way to fuck it up later?”