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Page 17 of Until Presley (Happily Ever Alpha World)

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

HAM

P resley has kept the agents away, not wanting to go over everything again. It’s been a couple of weeks, and all I can think about is keeping her close. She’s staying with me all the time now.

Her parents called right after the hospital visit and weren’t happy that we didn’t call them right away. When I tried to talk her father into hiring her some security, he told me there is no evidence that she’s being watched or followed.

I’m going to reach out to a friend of mine to see if he can help me out.

For now, I drive her around wherever she needs to go.

I have the shared location function on her phone turned on.

I also have her call me throughout the day when we’re apart.

She still needs to work, and so do I. Otto is getting frustrated with me, but Walker understands after everything he went through with Hanna.

I’ve decided to gather everyone together today for a snorkeling trip. Presley has taken over my office to work on her studies. She’s currently in there studying for an exam, so I give her a couple of hours before interrupting her.

“Okay, baby, time to stretch. You’ve been sitting too long.”

“Oh, thank goodness. My back is killing me.”

She stands up and stretches before walking over to me. I lift her up, and she wraps around me as we kiss. I press her into the wall and contemplate cancelling so I can finish what we’ve started, but I don’t want to let my friends down, and she needs this.

The only time Presley has been in or around the water, other than pools, has been when her team heads out to retrieve the satellite trackers from the sharks or dolphins.

She has decided to continue Leah’s studies, and she’s had more focus on dolphins than on sharks.

But I know she’ll miss her sharks if she changes her area of research.

“Come on.” I pull away from her neck, stopping myself, and let her go. “Go put on a swimsuit. I have a surprise for you.”

“Are we leaving the house?”

“Yep, so some kind of cover-up or shorts are needed too.”

“Okay.”

She rushes off, and it’s good to see her happy and not stressing out.

When she comes back down, she’s in a green tropical print one-piece with shorts on. She turns, and I about swallow my tongue. The back hooks at the top of her shoulder blades, then laces up from the bra strap to down under her shorts.

I walk over to her, and sure enough, hanging out the bottom of her shorts is the yellow string tying her suit together.

“You’re really trying to kill me here, babe. I’m already contemplating cancelling, but I don’t want to. Then you come down in this scrap of fabric that’s going to have me hard as fuck the rest of the day.”

She dances away from me and smiles as she bends over, showing me her ass as she slips on her green Converse. I’m fucking lost for this girl.

I move up behind her and press my hard cock into her backside, and she moans.

“Save it for later, big boy,” she coos before wiggling her hips and moving away from me.

I grab the bag I packed for us, and we head out to the Jeep.

We make it to the marina where Walker chartered a boat.

“Where are we going?” She looks at me, and for the first time, I see trepidation in her eyes.

Her arms are folded across her chest, shielding herself. Her leg bounces anxiously, and I know she’s moments away from an anxiety attack. We saw a specialist, who she’s talking to and working through some issues with.

I reach into my bag for a piece of sour candy and hand it to her. She opens it immediately and takes a quick bite. It’s one of the tools she uses to refocus her thoughts.

“Baby, we’re going snorkeling out at the lighthouse. You love the water, and I hate that you fear it now. Come on.” I get out of the Jeep and grab my bag. By the time I reach her side, she’s calmer and takes my hand.

“Thank you,” she says as I lead her to the slip where the boat is. Otto, Walker, Hanna, and her parents are all waiting for us. Walker and Hanna’s boys have life jackets on and are bouncing with excitement.

We set off. Once we reach our destination, the captain puts up the dive flag, and everyone gears up.

I stand with Presley, holding her hand, as she jumps off the dive platform. When she comes up, she’s got a smile on her face, and her eyes are bright.

I was right about her suit, it’s worse than I thought. Her hip is exposed through the ties, and I’m seriously considering taking her away from the boat to have my way with her.

She dives under, and her ass comes up. I follow along behind her. She points out different fish, and we both wear ourselves out before swimming back to the boat where the others are waiting for us.

We enjoy a late lunch together and then head back to Key West. Presley hasn’t stopped smiling. When she tips her head back, letting the wind blow across her face, I lean over and kiss her cheek. She squeezes my hand, and I know in this moment, I’m falling in love with this woman.

Presley

M y body feels light, and I’m calm for what feels like the first time in weeks. I look over to Ham as he drives us back home. Today was perfect.

“Thank you so much for not giving up on me. Today was exactly what I needed.” I reach over and touch his thigh. He turns to look at me.

“Baby, I’m never giving up on you. Ever,” he says, looking me directly in the eye, his chin lowered a bit and his tone firm.

I can feel words I don’t want to say yet right there at the surface.

I’m about to say something when Ham’s whole demeanor changes.

His fists clench around the steering wheel, and the leather lets out a small groan.

His muscles flex, and I follow his gaze.

Sitting in front of his house are the agents I’ve been avoiding for two weeks.

“Stay here, babe,” Ham orders as he pulls into the driveway.

I reach across and hold on to his arm. “It’s okay, honey. I need to talk to them. I can’t hide away from the truth.”

“Okay, but we do this together.”

“Yes.”

The agents meet us at the back of the Jeep.

“I guess you needed to talk.” Ham grits out.

“There was another body.”

I close my eyes and feel Ham press a sour rope into my hand. I open it and take a bite before walking toward the house. Part of me worries this woman is dead because I didn’t talk to them, but I know that’s not true. This can’t have anything to do with me.

This time, when we sit down around the coffee table, I’m prepared and ready. I wait to see what they are going to say before I offer any information. My father was upset I spoke to the police without counsel, but I know they don’t think I’m involved.

“How are you doing, Presley?” Special Agent Brownley asks me, and I shrug.

“I’m still dealing with the reality that several women I knew—and my best friend—are all dead.”

“We did some digging and found the police report and restraining order regarding your attack. You don’t need to explain.”

I look at Ham, who I just told a few nights ago how I got the scar. I’m lucky she had no clue the femoral artery is on the inside of the leg, or I’d be dead. That had been her intent. I didn’t tell Ham I know who instigated the attack. My parents have no clue what happened. I kept it to myself.

“Like we said, there was another victim. She was found in a canal in Miami. Just like the others were found in waterways too. And like the others, she was injected with tetrodotoxin.”

“Puffer fish poisoning?” I stand up and pace over to the sliding glass doors that look out at the pool.

The reality of the situation isn’t lost on me.

If anything, this is more serious than they know.

I turn back around. “You know that only a handful of marine biologists would remove tetrodotoxin from a puffer fish. You have to kill the fish in order to extract the toxin. It’s against everything we believe in.

Everything I believe in. Plus, that biologist would have to know how to centrifuge.

” I pause, trying to think if anyone I know would do this.

“We know. That’s why we came to you. Do you know anyone that could do that?”

“A marine biologist that isn’t just that but a chemist too.” I shake my head. “I honestly can’t think of anyone right now.” I think of what Leah went through. The poison is so dangerous; there are no countermeasures for it.

“Was it a lethal dose? Is that what killed them?” Ham asks as he stands up and moves to my side. I lean into his body, scared.

“We think that’s how he gets them under his control.

Leah had the highest amount in her system.

She died within moments of the injection.

She still had undigested food in her system from what you claimed she ate on Saturday night.

Her friend from that night said she went to the restroom and never returned.

He thought she just decided to leave on her own. ”

“Wait.” I push away from Ham and shake my head. If I hadn’t left her, she could still be alive. “I don’t understand. I thought you were inferring I was a target, but I was there too. I could have been poisoned too.”

“No. She disappeared about an hour after you left.” Harkness stands up and faces us. “I’m with the BAU. We think the guy responsible is obsessed with you.”

My body locks up, and I can feel the panic rising again. “No.” I shake my head as fear sets in. “That’s not possible. I’ve never done anything to attract anyone this dangerous. Wouldn’t I notice a stranger following me?”

“We don’t think this is a stranger. Think about it carefully. He’s going to be in his forties or fifties. He is overly kind to you, almost to the point of familiar. He’ll probably be highly educated.”

“Do you know how many men that describes? My father could be on that list. No, it isn’t a marine biologist. Not at all.” I turn away from them, not wanting to listen anymore.

“Please look at this photo and try to deny this,” Harkness says, and Ham gasps. I turn back to look and can’t believe what I’m looking at.

“I don’t know her.” I turn away again to face the pool. Trying to get the image out of my mind.

“No, you don’t. She’s not from around here. She’s from Seattle. She was here on vacation at Disney when she was kidnapped. There is only one reason for him to kill her.”

“No. I didn’t do this. I don’t know anyone that crazy.” I wave my hand toward the picture of the woman who could be my twin. The resemblance is so striking I can’t get it out of my mind.

“Presley, please understand we aren’t blaming you for this. We need your help. We have to leave the Keys for a bit and will be back in a few weeks. If you need us, we’ll leave you our cards.”

I hear them talking quietly to Ham as I stand there wanting to deny what I just heard and saw. I try to shake the images from my mind. Someone is killing people who hurt me or look like me. What could I have done to attract such a sick individual?

Ham wraps his arms around me, and I lean into his embrace. He leans down and kisses my neck. I turn and try to use his body to forget everything I just learned, and he lets me.