“I need you to tell me about the guy that’s following you.”
She seems more alert now when she answers me. “I promise you it’s not a big deal. I can handle it.”
I lean over her and search her face in the darkness. “You have me, May. You don’t have to handle this. I got your back. There’s no way I’m going to just let this go.”
I think she realizes it too when she blows out a breath and starts to talk. “His name is Mike Lassiter. He’s a doctor at the hospital, and he doesn't seem like he wants to take no for an answer. I've tried to turn him down a few different ways. But I think that he thinks I'm just playing hard to get or something. He shows up where I'm at all the time. I've already talked to the administration at the hospital, and they said that nothing really has happened but that I can file a complaint on him, so we're sort of at a standstill.”
“Fuck that,” I say to her. I put my hand on her cheek and look at her. “I want to go in with you to work tomorrow.”
May starts to laugh. “No, you are not.”
I smile. She has to know I’ll give her anything, but I can’t let her have her way on this. “Yeah, I am. I'm not going to embarrass you or cause a scene or anything like that. I just want to make sure that people know that you have somebody at your back, that somebody is taking care of you and that I'm not going to stand by and let this Mike Lassiter make you feel like you're unsafe.”
She seems to weigh what I’m saying. I expect her to argue with me, but when she agrees, I know that there's more to this story that she's not telling me. It makes me think that she's really been in fear lately, and I hate that she’s kept it from me. I kiss her forehead. “Good night, baby. I love you.”
She tightens her hold on me. “I love you too, Aiden.”
Shortly after that, she drifts off to sleep. I try to do the same, but I can’t because I'm now thinking about this man Mike Lassiter and all the ways I'm going to stop him.
I also can’t stop thinking of Colt. There’s no way I’m going to hold that punch against him. I get it; he loves his sister, but somehow I’m going to have to convince him that I do, too. We’ve been like brothers, and I hate that he feels like I've betrayed him. In the end, I know that I don't want to come between him and his sister. But I can't let her go. I'm going to have to work this out with him. I know I have to.
And then there’s the whole stalker issue. I need to talk to him so we can figure this out. He and the rest of the guys on the Ghost team will help with whatever needs to happen. This is the shit we’re trained for. Whatever Colt’s feelings are for me right now, he’s going to have to put them aside because the most important thing right now is May and her safety. I won’t let anything happen to her... with or without her brother’s help.
8
MAY
“This isn't necessary,” I tell Aiden for the hundredth time. He got up early this morning and fixed us breakfast and then followed me to the hospital in Jasper.
We're walking inside the hospital, hand in hand. “Where's the administration office?”
I try to change the subject. “I hate that you have a black eye and you were hurt, but I have to be honest with you. It’s kind of sexy. You’re putting off all kinds of sexy, dangerous vibes.”
He kisses my forehead. “Nice try. Where is it?”
I want to argue with him and put a stop to this, but I know he's right. I know that this needs to happen. I point down the hallway that we're walking on. “Last door on the right.”
He just gives me a nod and walks to the end of the hallway, and when we get to the door, he knocks on it. Mr. Johnson, the hospital administrator, waves us in.
“Hey, May, it's good to see you. What can I do for you today?” he asks me as he tentatively looks at Aiden. I'm sure he's wondering what he’s doing here with me, and Aiden definitely looks intimidating.
“I was hoping that I could talk to you about Dr. Lassiter.”
Dr. Johnson shakes his head. “We've already talked about this, and I told you that there wasn't enough information—”
Aiden's voice booms in the room. “Dr. Johnson, my name is Aiden. I work for Walker and Hunter Nash, do you know them?”
Dr. Johnson nods his head as his eyes get wide. Of course he knows who Hunter and Walker are. Everyone in Whiskey Run and Jasper knows who they are. Not everybody knows what they do, but everyone knows that you don't mess with them.