Page 47

"Evening, sleepyhead." Craig spoke, drawing my attention to where he sat working through footage on his computer.

Wrapping his blanket around my body, I stood from the bed and moved to stand beside him.

"Did you find anything?"

"No," He sighed. "Whoever hacked the systems at the center made sure the loop was sent to my backup instead of the live footage."

"What does that mean?"

Craig turned his chair to face me, his hands settling on my waist. "It means they put the cameras on a loop before they broke in, not after, to cover their tracks."

Before I could ask any more questions, my cell phone rang. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I began to look for my pants. They'd been thrown across the room without care in the heat of the moment. I found them and retrieved my phone, seeing Tiffany's name just as the call went to voicemail.

I knew she would show up at the manor if I didn't call her back, so I hit the call button. She answered on the first ring.

"Bitch! Guess who I ran into!" She squealed into the receiver.

"Hey, Tor," I heard Noah say in the background.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Avalon Park. I was here with G.G. and we ran into Noah. Weweregoing to go to dinner somewhere, but we decided why not have an impromptu hang with our favorite girl?"

"Tiff…" I said in warning.

"Tory." she replied dryly. "Don't even say it. I already know you're going to say the Warden won't like it, but fuck him. I stand by what I said before. Keeping you locked away in the manor isn't healthy and it isn't protecting you from anything."

"They're doing what?" I heard Noah growl before he took the phone from Tiffany. "We're coming over right now, Tor. If those guys are holding you hostage in your own home, I have some things to say about it. Like it being against the law, for starters."

"It's not like that," I shot back, my eyes flitting to Craig, watching me curiously from his chair. "You know Tiffany likes to exaggerate things."

I could hear the sounds of the phone being jostled as it exchanged hands again.

"We'll be there in twenty." Tiff said. "We can leave Noah behind if you want." I could practically hear her scowling at him through the phone.

"I'd really rather have dinner another night, Tiff. It's been kind of a shit day and I just want to hole up in my room and read."

"Even more reason for us to come now. Besides, you know you can't say no to me." She laughed.

"Time with your friends would be a good idea," Craig added, causing me to narrow my eyes at him. "I haven't had a chance to cook for anyone outside the manor in ages. It could be fun."

Scowling at him, I mouthed 'traitor' before sighing into the receiver. "Fine, see you soon."

Tiff squealed in delight before saying goodbye and ending the call. I glared at Craig as I scooped my clothes from his bedroom floor. He shrugged, an easy smile playing on his lips.

"You need some normalcy, Bunny. After this morning, having your friends come here is not only the safest option, it's a good distraction."

I flipped him off with my free hand before storming into his en suite bathroom to dress. It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with my friends; I just wasn't ready to put on a brave face and pretend that everything was normal. Someone had destroyed my office at the center and left a clear threat to Tiffany as a means to scare me. And Iwasscared.

The note left with the gift was still in my jeans pocket. A potent reminder that someone was stalking me. Staking a claim they had no right to and threatening the people I loved to force me into compliance. When the strange text messages started, I'd thought one of the men meant to protect me was responsible, but they wouldn't have acted against the center. Evenifthey weren't above making threats against my friends, I'd seen how much they valued the youth center. Knowing the texts couldn't be them and telling them about them were still worlds apart. I already suspected they'd become even more insistent that I didn't leave the manor because of the attack on the center. I would not give them more ammunition by telling them I was getting creepy texts.

Craig had already left his room by the time I'd dressed and tamed my hair. As irritated as I was that he seemed to side with Tiffany's insistence that I needed company, I couldn't help but smile at the small glimmer of excitement I'd seen in his eyeswhen he talked about cooking for others. His love for the craft was endearing in a way I hadn't expected.

"What have you been up to,Petit Démone?" Leighton asked, waggling his eyebrows and surprising me when I stepped out of Craig's room.

"I don't think that's any of your business." I replied tersely, continuing toward the stairs.

Leighton's face fell, his brows furrowing in confusion. "You're still mad at me?"