Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kurt
Fucking Valentine’s Day.
The day had me on edge. Plus we had this bastard stalker we were dealing with. I hadn’t told Sawyer about the additional attempted threats. So far, we’d intercepted all the mail.
The messages just got worse. This time felt different than when we’d received threats in the past. I wasn’t sure if it was because the woman I’d fallen for was the target and she was pregnant, but I wanted this nutjob found. NOW. I’d contacted Garrick’s security head to have him put a team in place. So far, they were worth their weight in gold. And Sawyer wasn’t affected.
If Sawyer asked, I would tell her. So far, I’d been able to steer the conversation away anytime it led that way. I hated not telling her everything, but what good would come of it besides worrying her?
My feet hit the concrete harder as I thought about the note we’d received this morning. This person sounded vengeful and unhinged. And we assumed it was most likely a woman. The latest threat was a picture of a hand holding a bloody heart and a body with Sawyer’s head pasted on it and its heart cut out in the background. Fucking disturbing.
This crazy person wanted Sawyer dead and sent images of how she wanted to torture her. We needed to catch this bitch before we made an announcement about the baby. The images haunted me. I fisted my hand to the point of pain. No one was getting near my girl.
The cops were involved, but we had zero leads.
No fingerprints.
No video footage.
Nothing.
And my staff knew I was getting more agitated with each passing day. Even Garrick’s men had come up with nothing so far. My morning runs were good to clear my head. I’d been reading some pregnancy books that said excess stress wasn’t good for Sawyer or the baby.
We still had her parents to deal with. They’d maintained radio silence. Bastards. But I knew it still bothered Sawyer. The memory of how cold they’d been only fueled my fury. At some point, they’d make contact again.
Then there was my father. On top of everything else, he’d be reaching out soon for his yearly mindfuck. I used to have a yearly meeting with him to remind myself why I didn’t do relationships. Now it scared me. I couldn’t let Sawyer go, and I would do anything I could to protect her.
George ran beside me without a leash. He loved our runs and was learning to be off leash. When we got closer to the bus, I pulled up short to see Sawyer handing Edge a handful of sticky notes and some sort of paper that looked like someone had shit a rainbow on it. The sight of her made me smile. This woman rocked my world. I would slay any dragon that came our way.
I used my shirt to wipe my face as I got closer. “What’s going on?”
“Operation Connect Two Lovebirds.” She gave me a cheesy grin.
Oh double shit. I should have known she would not let the Edge and Nina drama die like I’d warned her to. “Sawyer—”
“Oh, shush. I’m only righting a terrible wrong.” She pecked my lips to distract me.
Edge gave a nervous chuckle. “If this works, your girlfriend will be raised to hero status.”
“You better be glad you didn’t say zero to hero. But it’ll work. Don’t push, but don’t take no for an answer.”
For a second Edge stood there, and then held his arms out on each side. “Like that’s not confusing as fuck.”
Sawyer laughed, and I swore it did something to me every damn time. I felt lighter with her around.
“Okay, listen…she’s going to be in the restaurant, and it’s going to be completely rented out. I don’t care what you have to say; just get her to stay without being demanding. Shed a damn tear, pretend to faint, sprain an ankle…anything, but do not become some overbearing alpha male pushing her to stay. Capisce?”
“Pretend to faint?”
I chuckled. I couldn’t help it.
Edge pointed at me. “Watch it, motherfucker.”
Sawyer snapped her fingers. “Do what you have to. Capisce?”
“Capisce.” Edge nodded. “I got this. I’m going to get this.”
With a glance at her watch, Sawyer continued being a drill sergeant. “You need to be there before she gets there. The maître d’ has instructions where to bring Nina. You need to be there, waiting with the red rose when she enters the room. Be sweet but not assuming. Even if things go amazing and she wants sex, you can’t have it.”
“What the fuck? If she—”
Again, I chuckled, but I stopped when Sawyer sliced a look my way.
Sawyer pointed to Edge with a tone I’d only ever associated with a teacher. “Mister Winkie can subsist on bread and water for another day. Do you want a quick fuck or do you want a relationship?”
“Shit, Sawyer. You kiss Kurt with that mouth?”
Beaming, she leaned over and pecked me on the lips again. “Why yes, I do. And he loves my dirty mouth.” Edge began to say something else, but she gave three claps and said, “Romance. Romance. Romance. Drill it into your head.”
“Okay. Okay. Okay. You are worse than a mother hen.”
It was funny as hell watching Sawyer manhandle Edge. He scared the living shit out of most people with his ripped clothes and intimidating posture.
As if he were a little kid, she turned him and gave a little push. “And I’ll be your hero soon. Now off you go. Get a shower. Wear the outfit I had sent to your bus.”
“Men do not wear outfits.”
She kills me.
Flicking her wrist, Sawyer sighed. “Whatever. Go. Now. Do not be late.”
Sawyer beamed at me, and I could only stare at this woman. I cocked my eyebrow.
Shaking her finger, she said, “Don’t start. I promise if you’d heard what Nina told me, you would support this.”
“If this goes bad and she leaves, you’re going to get closely acquainted with sewing.”
“And if it goes right and they’re blissfully happy?”
She was a cocky little thing. “I’ll give you lots of orgasms?”
“No, I get to pick the nursery theme. If I lose, you can choose.”
Oh, this was serious. If the baby was a girl, we’d have tutus and all sorts of frilly shit. But if I had some input, things might be tamer. I held out my hand. “Deal.”
“Deal. I’m going to go inside for some hot apple cider. You want some?”
Hot apple cider? What is this? Fall? Maybe a craving. “Sure. Hot apple cider.”
I probably should have planned something for Sawyer today. But this holiday was the worst day of the year. Not for the obvious reason most guys hated it, though. It was the day Dad walked out on Mom and me. Not something I wanted associated with Sawyer in any way.
What do I do? Any time I opened my mouth, I froze. As we climbed the steps, I bought myself some time. “I’m going to take a shower.”
George hurried up the steps to his water bowl. Sawyer yawned. “Sounds good. I’m tired from dealing with Edge. My word, he’s worse than a girl.”
“What do you want to do tonight?” I asked. Man, I am such a pussy. It was like I had done everything I could to be gone today. Suck it the fuck up.
We walked onto the bus, and I stopped, confused. Skeletons, bats, witches, and other weird shit decorated the bus. “What’s going on?”
Sawyer gave me a brilliant smile that lit up her hazel eyes. “Well, I know you hate the V-word day. So, I figured we would pretend it was Halloween.”
“I should have done something.” I felt guilty as fuck.
Sawyer walked up to me. “You show me every day how much you care. What I mean to you isn’t based on a day.”
“But you arranged all that for Edge.” I should have done something. Fuck.
Handing me some sort of drink that had fog coming out of it, Sawyer said, “That’s wooing. And he really fucked up. He needs to do something big to get her attention.”
I took a drink and grimaced, and of course, Sawyer laughed. I noticed the plates of Halloween food. There were plastic hands filled with popcorn and candy corn, Frankenstein cupcakes, and eerie music playing over the speakers.
“So, are we trick or treating?”
“Better! I made all sorts of goodies. We have scary movies to watch. And…I have a naughty nurse costume.”
Pulling Sawyer to me, I captured her lips. “You know you mean more to me than anyone ever has.” Then it occurred to be what she’d said. “Wait. Naughty nurse costume? Where?”
“Go shower, and then I’ll show you.”
I started for her, but she held out her hand. “Shower first. You’re sweaty.”
Like lightning, I showered quickly, barely taking time to dry off before I threw on my sweatpants. My hard-on was a damn tent in my pants. Whatever. There was no reason to try to make it go down, so I didn’t bother. The moment I saw Sawyer, I would tent right up again anyway. I practically ran back to the living area, where Sawyer leaned against the counter.
“So, about your naughty nurse costume?”
Sawyer stepped back, smirking at my crotch, and reached for the tie on her sweater dress. When she pulled the dress open, I nearly came in my pants. “Fuck me.”
The dress dropped to the floor, and Sawyer stood there in a very naughty nurse outfit. Her tits nearly spilled out of the top. And her ass wasn’t even covered.
With a sway in her hips, Sawyer took a few steps toward me. “Mr. Hendrix, I heard you need a checkup.”
“Yes, I’m feeling very sick. It’ll need to be thorough. Are you up to the task?”
She grabbed my cock through my sweatpants. “I think so.”
I hissed through my teeth as she dropped to her knees. My dick sprang free, and she licked the tip. “Fuck yes, baby.”
She stood and took a step back. “I think I know what’s wrong.”
“What?”
“You need to come. Hard. Inside me.”