The minute the door closed, she took a deep breath. Just being around them was hard.
“Holy crap, Serena. He has a gun.” Bridget was staring at the door.
“He’s a bodyguard. It’s kind of part of his uniform.” Serena looked down and found her hands were shaking. She wanted to walk right back out and beg one of them to hold her. She wanted to sink into their strength and let them surround her. She wanted to feel Adam’s hands in her hair, hear his voice promising her that he would take care of everything. She wanted Jake to kiss her. When Jake dominated her mouth, she didn’t think about anything but them.
But she couldn’t do it. Even if they would let her, she wasn’t sure it wouldn’t simply lead to more heartache.
Tears formed in Bridget’s eyes. “Why? Why is this happening? I don’t understand.”
At least she had Bridget. It was easy to hug her, to put her arms around her best friend and bring their heads close together. This woman was so dear to her. Bridget was brutally misunderstood because she didn’t quite know how to filter her words. But deep down, Bridget was loyal to the core. She knew how to be a friend. She knew how to love. If everything fell down around her, Serena was one hundred percent sure that Bridget would still be beside her. “I’m going to be okay.”
Bridget sniffled. Not many people understood just how emotional she could be. “You have to be. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you, Serena. I really do. I know they hurt you, but you have to listen to them. You can’t take chances. You’re too important. To me. To Chris. And no matter what this asshole is saying, you have a ton of readers who think you’re important, too. Remember the signing we did where that woman thanked you because she read your books while she was going through chemo? You were important to her. He’s just sick. You can’t listen to him.”
“I know,” she said, though the tears just wouldn’t come. She loved Bridget, too, but she felt horribly bottled up as though she simply couldn’t let go. The tears were right there, but she blinked them back. Maybe one day she would be able to cry again. But not today. Today she would be strong. She would hold it all in until Jake and Adam were gone, and then she could wail all she wanted.
But now she would be strong.
Bridget released her, wiping her eyes. “Sorry. I’m just worried.”
“I know. I would be worried about you, too, sweetie.” She crossed to the sink and ran some cold water. “Can we just hide here for a while?”
Bridget chuckled. “Well, I’m sure they’ll come charging in when we’ve taken too long. I’ll be right back.”
Bridget disappeared into the larger of the two stalls. Serena stared at herself in the mirror. She looked tired and hollow. Just last night she’d sipped wine while Adam had brushed her hair. She’d felt like a princess. Was she being dumb? Should she just go out there and ask them if they could start all over again? Maybe it wouldn’t work, but maybe it would.
“Dumbass,” she said under her breath to the girl in the mirror. Not three hours after they’d ripped her heart out, she was looking for a reason to throw herself right back in the deep end of the pool.
The door to the stall was thrown open, and Bridget walked back out, her eyes wide and an envelope in her hand. “It was on the back of the door. I guess Adam just opened the door and made sure no one was inside. I didn’t want to open it. I still don’t want to. Oh, god. I touched it. I shouldn’t have touched it.”
Serena felt her heart flutter. Bridget held a plain white envelope in her hands, a piece of tape still sticking from the top. Whore was written on the front. Yep. That was probably meant for her. Without really thinking about it, Serena grabbed it. It was like pulling a bandage off. She wanted to just know. If she called Jake and Adam in, she might never actually see what the man who wanted to kill her had to say.
A couple of clipped news articles were attached to the single sheet of the computer-generated letter.
Please read the articles I have attached. You are ruining marriages with your disgusting words. You are tempting good men to do bad things. I love my wife, but I’m going to fuck you. You want it rough, bitch, then I’ll give it to you good. You’re a whore. You prove it with your words.
As you can see, I know your habits, so don’t think you can hide away with your hired guards. I’ll be patient. I’ll wait and I will find you.
Whores don’t deserve nice things. I’ve read your filth. You say it’s your fantasy. I’m going to make your fantasies come true. All of them. Especially the nasty ones.