Page 12 of Grey (Little River Stallions #2)

The sound of the library’s front door opening broke through Tatum’s thoughts, and she quickly straightened in her chair. Mrs. Fielder walked in with a big, warm smile. “Good day to you, Tatum,” she said with an exaggerated bow.

“Hi, Mrs. Fielder. How was your night?”

Mrs. Fielder gave her a curious look and then smiled. “I think yours was better than mine, you’re positively glowing. I take it you had a good night with your man?”

Tatum’s cheeks heated and she couldn’t help the happy giggle. “I did. His friends were so sweet and kind to me, and I just felt like I belonged there. It was amazing.”

“I’m so glad for you,” she said, patting her hand.

She hurried off to the breakroom and Tatum turned her attention back to the computer where she was logging in the stack of books she’d collected from the drop box outside. When she was finished, she walked back outside to get the rest.

Her gaze stopped on a vehicle driving slowly down the street. The windows of the old green sedan were tinted, but she swore she could feel the driver watching her. And she was very sure she’d seen the sedan in the lot when she’d been outside earlier.

Wariness crept in, but she shook the feeling off.

But as the morning progressed, that feeling kept coming back. She’d be among the shelves putting books away and feel like someone was watching her. She never saw anyone out of the ordinary, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.

When she came back to the front desk after her break, she happened to look out the glass doors and saw that same green sedan, but this time it was parked on the street and not in the parking lot.

Her pulse quickened. Even with the glass doors and distance separating her from the sedan, she felt vulnerable and exposed.

Her phone buzzed in her skirt pocket, and she pulled it out as she hurried to go behind the desk.

Grey’s name flashed on the screen and she felt relieved.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey, sweetheart. I wanted to check in and see how your day is going. I miss you like crazy.”

“You’re so sweet.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice immediately deepening with concern.

She looked around; Mrs. Fielder was off shelving books and a few patrons were milling around the shelves.

Keeping her voice low, she said, “I feel like I’m being watched, it’s the strangest thing.

” She told him about the feeling she had in the library and also seeing the same sedan three different times.

There was a long pause, and Grey said, “Don’t go outside again, and don’t panic. I’ll be there as soon as I can and will hang out until you’re finished for the day.”

“Do you think something’s wrong?”

“I think if your gut is telling you you’re being watched, then I need to be there to keep you safe. I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, thanks.”

The call ended and she put her phone back in her pocket, wondering if she was overreacting. But Grey telling her to trust her gut reinforced her feeling that something was wrong and she should be careful.

Sitting behind the desk, she looked around the library and told herself that she wasn’t alone in the building and she was safe there. But she sure as heck would feel safer with Grey around.

Far shorter than it should have taken Grey to get there, he walked into the library and smiled at her. “Ford is here too,” he said.

“Oh, why?”

He rested his hand on hers and gave it a squeeze. “Because we don’t go anywhere alone. He’s going to hang out until the library is closed. He’s in the truck scrolling social media.”

“The library doesn’t close for two more hours.”

“It’s okay, this is what we do for family. I’m going to take a stroll around inside and then outside as well. The green sedan is gone from the street and it’s not in the parking lot, just so you know.”

She nodded. “That’s good to hear.”

He nodded and walked away, and she didn’t see him again for almost an hour. Then he stayed at a table near the front desk and kept an eye on things, and she found his presence to be a big comfort.

When the last patron was gone and the work was done for the day, she introduced him to Mrs. Fielder.

“You’re the reason she’s been smiling so much lately,” she said with a knowing wink.

Grey grinned. “I sure hope so. She makes me smile too.”

“Oh, young love. Well, I can relive all that in my romance novels. You two have a good night, I’ll see you tomorrow, Tatum.”

“Have a nice night.”

Tatum turned off the lights and locked up, and then she got into the truck and greeted Ford.

“Thanks for waiting for so long, sorry I couldn’t leave.”

“It’s honestly not a problem, Grey would do it for me in a heartbeat. Plus, I used the time to order supplies online and finally tracked down a replacement part for the stand mixer that Tris uses.”

Grey looked at Tatum. “I need to tell you about a problem our herd has been having, and it’s most likely related to what was going on today.

And I also want you to come stay at the farmhouse.

I know you don’t want to move in right now, so this can be temporary and you can have one of the spare bedrooms. But I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay at the cabin, not until we know for sure what’s going on. You can pack a bag and stay with us.”

“Even if you stayed with me?” she asked.

Ford interjected, “We’d want someone to be watching out for you two, and we don’t have that many herd members where we can spare another person for the night.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay at the farmhouse.”

When they got to her little cabin, Ford got out of the truck and walked around, and then came back to the truck. “Someone tried to break into the cabin. It doesn’t look like they were successful, but this just reiterates that it’s not safe here right now. Let’s be quick.”

She and Grey got out, and she saw the busted doorframe, but thankfully the cabin was still locked.

She let them in, and after Grey said the cabin was safe, she packed a few days’ worth of clothes and toiletries in a bag and hurried back to the truck.

She kept looking over her shoulder and wondering if they’d see that creepy green sedan.

Grey stopped on the porch and stuck something up under the overhang. A tiny green light glowed. “I had some spare mini motion cameras, so we can see if someone comes back. While you were packing, I put one on the back door and on two of the trees pointing at the house.”

“I hope they don’t come back,” she said with a shiver.

When they were on the way again, Grey told her who he thought had been watching her in the green sedan and trying to get into her cabin.

“Colton Kane is a stallion, the alpha of his herd. They’re from Virginia and came up here asking for sanctuary after they lost most of their herd in a battle with humans.

They felt their home was vulnerable to discovery.

He’s Avi’s cousin but they’re not close, so Crew offered them the storage barn and apartment until they found a place of their own.

But it quickly became clear that Colton didn’t want to start over; he wanted to take what we had and push us out. ”

Ford let out a grumbling growl. “He set fire to the field, laid traps where Crew’s mate Zara ended up getting hurt, and he and his people set fire to the barn and almost kidnapped Zara.

He’s dangerous, and we hadn’t seen any evidence of him skulking around until the feed store’s delivery truck tires were all slashed and we were sure it was Colton and his people.

If he was watching us, he most likely saw you and Grey together. ”

She swallowed hard. “This is so creepy.”

Grey put his arm around her. “You’re my mate, Tatum. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

When they arrived at the farmhouse, Grey led her inside and took her to a spare bedroom that he said Tris had gotten ready for her.

“My room is two doors down,” he said. “So we’re close if you need me.

” He gave her a long look. “We have security protocols in place. I promise you’re safe here, and I won’t let anything happen to you. ”

She looked around the neatly appointed room, with the bed covered in a quilt and a vase of wildflowers on the nightstand. “I do feel safe,“ she said. “Which is weird because I feel like I should be freaked out. But it’s because I’m with you that I know I’m protected.”

He hugged her tightly and she inhaled his masculine scent as she hugged him back. She definitely felt safe with him.

They sat down to a meal with the herd, and no one mentioned someone watching her at the library or trying to get into her cabin; they just talked about their days until Ford headed out to patrol for the night.

Despite the danger that seemed to be looming, she was glad to be in the farmhouse, thankful she’d seen the sedan and had alerted Grey to what was going on.

She’d moved to New Jersey for a fresh start and found her soulmate, and as weird as it was, her stallion was the best guy she’d ever been around and she knew she could trust him with her heart as well as her safety.

She fell a little bit closer to full-blown love with him as they said goodnight and went to their separate bedrooms.

It was tempting to go to him, but she said she hadn’t wanted to move in just yet, and here she was moving in, even if it was only temporary. As she settled into the soft bed, she missed Grey immediately and his warm, strong presence.

But what if she didn’t want it to be temporary?

She needed some time to think.