I took a deep breath and turned my phone off. I couldn’t let this distract me and get me angry all over again. I had just nearly fallen asleep but suddenly I was wide awake, anger bubbling beneath the surface.
I had to get up. I tossed my towel aside and dove into the pool. I started swimming laps, drowning out everything else but the repetitive motion of stroke after stroke. I’d get to the other end, do a turn, kick off the wall, and continue to the other side. Over and over I swam, not too fast but not too lazy either. I wanted to tire myself out, work some of the tension from my muscles. I wanted to feel sore by the time I was finished, sore like the ache between my legs that lingered from Carter.
It was impossible not to think about him, at least a little bit. He kept sliding into my consciousness, getting past my defenses, inserting himself into my mind. I resented that a lot, that I could just swim laps without thinking about that asshole. He wasn’t so important that I had to obsess about him, that arrogant ass.
I didn’t know how much time passed, but I just kept swimming. Eventually, I could feel the fatigue setting in. I felt heavy in the water and my strokes came harder with each new lap. As I hit the wall and turned to start another lap, I noticed someone standing at the side of the pool.I stopped swimming and looked up, surprised to see Carter himself standing there, gesturing at me.
“What do you want?” I called out to him.
“Get out of the pool,” he said. “I need to talk to you.”
I made a face. “You don’t order me around.”
He shook his head, an urgent look on his face. “It’s important. Did Cox talk to you?”
“Cox?” I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Did you notice all the extra security?”
“What?” I did see some extra guys up at the house, but it hadn’t really occurred to me what that meant.
“Emily, please. I need to show you something. It’s important.”
His mention of security grabbed my attention. Under other circumstances, I probably would have blown him off and ignored him completely, but I could see something important was going on. Reluctantly, I got out of the pool and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around myself.
He was sitting on the chair next to mine, facing me. He had some papers in his hands that looked like they were written by a serial killer. They used that cheesy cut up thing where each letter was cut from a different magazine or some crap like that.
“We got this one today,” he said, showing me the paper.
I frowned, shaking my head as I read it. “What’s it mean?”
“I don’t know. But it specifically mentions that you’re in danger.”
“Is this connected with the dog?”
“Probably,” he admitted. “There’s more.”
“What?”
“I got this one after we . . . “ he trailed off. “You know. In the bath.”
“Yeah,” I said and took the paper from him.
I felt a cold dread in my stomach as I read the note. I had to read it a few times before the weight of it really settled in.
“What does this mean?” I asked him softly.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It means that someone knows something, or maybe they think they know.”
“Who sent these?”
“I don’t know that, either.”
“You got this after we had sex,” I said slowly.
He nodded, his eyes sad. “Right after. Cox called me into his office.”
It hit me then and I nearly wanted to cry. It seemed so obvious, but how could I have possibly seen this happening? Suddenly all of my brooding and anger felt stupid and childish, like I was some spoiled brat. From my perspective, he had been a complete asshole and had used me. But this new information told me a different story.
“Do you get it now?” he asked.
“This is why you wanted to talk last night,” I said.
“Right. I thought . . . “ He shook his head. “I wanted to protect you. I tried to explain.”
“But I ran off.”
“Yeah, well. I can’t blame you.”
“I thought you were just tossing me aside.”
“No,” he said. “I’d never do that.”
“Never?”
“Maybe to others. Maybe in the past. But I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“This is serious, Carter.” I handed the paper back to him. “Someone is threatening me.”
“I know. That’s why I had Cox double security again. And he’s supposed to be with you.”
“I don’t see him near here.”
He nodded gravely, looking away. “I’m aware of that.”
“What are we going to do?”