Page 27 of Rogue’s Path (Sweet Chaos #1)

Dylan

There’s a knock on my bedroom door. “Breakfast is ready,” Dahlia shouts.

It would be wrong to hide all morning in this room, wouldn’t it, especially after I practically demanded that she let me come over and visit with her.

Her home in the gated community secured by scary men with guns is the only safe place I could think of with my mentally overwhelmed brain.

“Coming.” Dahlia’s gracious. She might just let it go.

Or even better, she might be so far in the newlywed phase that she might not even notice.

Let’s go with that one.

Newlyweds are oblivious to everything.

I climb out of bed, put my robe on, and hit the bathroom really quickly to wash off the streaks of dried tears that I will never acknowledge shedding for Rogue the rogue.

Though it should be more like Rogue the creep.

Rogue the creeper.

Rogue the jerk.

Rogue the cheater.

This is getting me nowhere fast.

That man makes me want to scream or punch something. Him, preferably.

Go eat. The world will seem better once you’ve eaten.

Sweet sugary goodness hits my nose as soon as I step out of my bedroom.

What better to drown your woes in than something like that?

“Morning!” Cheerful newlyweds are almost as sickening as all that icing on those cinnamon rolls.

“Morning. Thank you for doing this. You didn’t have to go out of your way for me.”

“It was no trouble.” Dahlia leans forward and whispers like we aren’t the only two people in the room, “I didn’t even make them today. They were frozen a few weeks ago. I pull them out whenever I want to drive Maverick crazy.” She grins.

“Sit down and help yourself. I’ll grab the fruit out of the fridge. Do you want some eggs?”

“No, this is plenty.” The cinnamon roll is the literal size of my head. Who needs protein anyway?

Dahlia sits down across from me after sliding a crystal bowl of fruit between us. “So, do you want to talk about it?”

No, I don’t want to talk about my stalker. I’m currently in denial mode again. Soon, I have to move to strategizing mode because this ‘head in the sand thing’ isn’t working well.

“I don’t have much…any experience when it comes to breaking up with a man, but I’m great at listening.”

Oh. “We were never really together. There isn’t much to tell.”

Dahlia raises an eyebrow at me.

“Fine, we were almost together. But we aren’t. It’s not an issue.” I shove a huge bite in my mouth, hoping she’ll drop the subject.

“People don’t run away from their friends to hide in another city for non-issues. Now, I want you to be truthful with me. Does Maverick need to visit this guy—"

I almost spew my cinnamon bun at her. Maverick visit? Is that code for beating Rogue up? Because I can’t say I would be completely opposed to that idea.

“—if he assaulted you.”

And that ruins the idea of Maverick pounding on him. “No, Rogue didn’t touch me in any way yesterday.” I need to give her something, or she’ll keep poking and prodding until I slip and mention my stalker. “Rogue was flirting with me while having a woman on the back of his bike.”

“Huh?”

Biker culture isn’t for everyone. “It means he’s dating exclusively or married to someone.”

“That scoundrel. I should ask Maverick to talk to him.”

“He’s not worth the effort.” If only my mind would stop remembering all those kisses. I’m not going to be one of those women who ignore a cheater for mind-blowing kisses.

“If you change your mind—”

“I won’t, but thanks for being a great friend.” Time to change the topic. “Did you know Cordelia’s grass is green all year long and her plants don’t die?”

“What? How?”

“She has this team of gardeners that come and cover her entire yard with this fabric, and underneath they have heaters that keep everything above freezing…”

***

Why can’t I figure out who this stalker is?

There should be a clue. Just one.

But nothing. The last note was the most threatening.

My dearest love Dylan,

I’m coming to save you. We’ll be together forever very soon. Immortalizing our love will be the greatest gift we can leave for the world.

Until we can be united!

Your Only Love.

It sure sounds like he means to kill me or us. Being part of a murder-suicide isn’t on my bucket list.

Hopping from friend to friend isn’t working.

I need someone who has handled stalkers to deal with this.

Taylor always seems to be the obvious choice because he owns a security company. He could protect me. He’d probably even do it for free because he thinks we’re dating, or at least we might be dating. But would that be using him?

Probably.

I could offer to pay him like they paid Rogue’s club.

Rogue’s club. They do this whole protection thing.

Motorcycle clubs won’t be as particular about how they protect me from the obsessed man. They might even solve my problem forever.

Am I hoping they kill the stalker?

A little bit.

Is that wrong?

It totally feels wrong. That doesn’t stop me from wanting this to be over. From wanting to be able to go home and sleep in my own bed.

Not that the million pillows and divine mattress in Dahlia’s guest bedroom aren’t amazing, but I want to stop looking for the boogeyman everywhere.

Time to call the Silver Fox. Only I don’t have his number.

Maverick would have it, but that might involve too many questions.

Mindy!

It’s worth a try.

Mindy picks up on the first ring. “Hey, Dylan. Everything okay? I heard about the breakup.”

Gossip travels fast. “Everything is fine.”

“You want to come over and visit with us on Willow Street? There are so many nice single guys. Then there’s Canyon. He’s funny and sweet in that irreverent kind of way.” Mindy is a meddler and a matchmaker.

I have way too many friends who are…that’s what you get when you have friends. “Actually, I was thinking about talking to the silver fox that was sitting next to Rogue at the dive bar.”

“Oh. OH. Rogue did you dirty, didn’t he? Because dating his best friend is harsh.”

That would be a deliciously evil plan. I’ll use that. “Do you have his name and number?”

“Rogue is going to regret messing with you. I’m sure Maddox knows it. He seems to know everything and everyone. Give me a minute.”

I lean back against the mass of pillows and wait. This is possibly the dumbest idea that I’ve ever come up with. Possibly second to hiking the Appalachian Trail with zero experience. But at least I talked myself out of that zany idea.

You can still change your mind. All you have to do is tell Mindy never mind, and then you call Taylor and offer to pay for his services. You can afford to do that. You have money.

Possibly. Taylor doesn’t seem like he works cheap.

What is your life and happiness worth?

You can always write more books if that’s what it takes.

“Back. Maddox laughed at your deviousness and offered to teach Rogue a lesson if you’d like.”

I kind of want to do the punching myself. Where did all these violent tendencies come from? “No. But thank him for the offer.”

She laughs a little. “He also offered to make an appointment for you if you didn’t want to cold-call Havoc. But I told him a girl likes to do her own revenge flirting.”

Actually… “It would be wonderful if he made the arrangements.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

Absolutely not. “Positive.”

“I’ll text you with the information then. So, about coming to visit Willow Street…”