(CASEY)
_______
For thirty seconds, I stared at Jace in shock, I couldn’t believe that he was right at my doorstep, despite everything that was going on.
"Jace! Why the fuck are you here? What on earth were you thinking coming here?" I demanded as I blocked the entrance with my body, but I was also whispering harshly to keep my voice down. I knew just how curious my neighbors could be.
"Uhm..." Jace flashed his charming smile at , however, I was determined not to fall for that. "Shouldn’t we have that discussion inside?"
"Fuck no! Any discussion that we’re having would be over the phone, that’s the beauty of technology, Jace!" I retorted. "You need to leave, right now!"
"I’m not going anywhere, Casey. I’m here to spend ti with you, nothing is gonna change that."
"What?" I stared at him in horror, "have you forgotten that we’ve got stalkers? What if they followed you down here? I don’t want to be blackmailed!"
Jace glanced around easily, "oh, I’ve forgotten about the stalkers, but don’t you think that keeping out on your porch would help their case?"
I sighed as I realized that he was right. If I was indeed under surveillance, the longer he spent outside, the more they could figure out who he was.
"Fuck..." I muttered as I stepped out of the way and he walked in.
"You can rest easy, Casey. I made sure that I wasn’t followed." He told as he took off the hoodie he was wearing and hung it on the peg close to the door. He also took off his cap and hung it as well, leaving him free and dashing as always.
"Of course," I rolled my eyes as I locked the door behind him. "You’re not supposed to be here, Jace. What the hell were you thinking?"
He shrugged, "ever since you left my office, I’ve not been able to think of much else. You can’t bla , you tend to have that effect on ."
"Don’t try sweet-talking or anything, I’m not in the mood for that, okay? I’ve had a shitty day and I just want to go to bed."
"Go to bed?" He smiled at , "Co on, you’re not such a terrible host, are you? You’re not gonna leave here all by myself."
As he spoke, he opened his hands wide as he walked towards , about to envelope in a hug. However, I imdiately held my hands up, warning him off.
"I don’t think so! You better stay the fuck away, or I swear I’ll kick you right back outside, and I don’t care if the stalkers see you."
He stared at , his fingers clasped together as his face fell, "co on, babe."
"I said, don’t!" I stepped further away from him. "I don’t want any form of physical contact between you and I. There must be distance, at all tis."
"My God, Casey! You’re really going through with this, aren’t you? Why the fuck do you insist on fighting the attraction we feel for each other? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I’m not having this conversation with you!" I told him as I went to the kitchen where I was before he ca around, "Let’s talk about sothing else, like, why the hell are you here? And please, don’t tell it’s to spend ti with ."
"But it is!" Jace followed to the kitchen, "I didn’t like the way we left things off back at the office, I needed to make things right with you."
"Again, it could have been done over the phone."
"Well, I can’t kiss you over the phone can I?" He rasped irritably, causing to pause. I could feel that I was frustrating him with my constant refusal, but it was the least I could do. He didn’t seem to care about consequences, I had to be the one to consider it because I had the most to lose. He pulled the door of my fridge open and glanced through it, "isn’t there sothing decent one can eat in here?"
"In case you’ve forgotten, I only just got back from a trip. Why didn’t you eat before coming?" I asked him.
"Well, I assud I was coming to see soone who loved , my bad."
"If you’re expecting to cook for you, that won’t happen. You can cook for yourself though, everything you could need is right here in the kitchen."
He scoffed at that, "I’m not going to cook! Who the fuck do you think I am?"
"Well then, you could get cornflakes or oatals. You’ll find them in that cupboard to your left, milk and sugar are in the cupboard to your right. Now, leave the fuck alone!"
"That’s not gonna happen, babe," Jace replied as he took out the pack of cornflakes and poured so out onto a plate, he also poured out milk and began to stir it. "I know you’re scared of us, and you’re scared of losing control when you’re with . But honey, I need you to understand that it’s okay to be scared, I’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of us."
I scoffed at that, "You couldn’t stop the stalkers from following us, did you?"
He had a point, but I wasn’t willing to give him that satisfaction. My words hit him hard, exactly as I had intended.
"I’ve told you countless tis that we weren’t followed, and I’ve been extra vigilant since then. The only person who is having trouble seems to be Kira. Casey, this isn’t my first rodeo."
"Hmm..." I muttered as I glanced at him from my laptop while he shoved a spoonful of flakes into his mouth. "Tell , how many girls have you taken to King’s Boulevard?"
"Co on... let’s not go there, okay?"
"Oh... that much? Wow!"
"Just stop it! I can see that you’d do anything to avoid talking about us, it’s all good. We can change the subject for now. Why don’t you tell why you changed your mind about Ethan?"
At that, I closed my laptop as I glanced at him. I was also ready to talk about sothing else. I told him everything about my evening, from going to Paragon Park to learning about Maven. I also told him about Joan’s call and after watching the video, my theory that Kira was also in a relationship. All through my narration, Jace didn’t say a word. He listened as he kept eating his flakes. By the ti I was done, the plate was empty and almost dried up.
He went to the sink and washed the plate he used to eat, I could see that he was in deep thought.
"Well, say sothing!" I cried.
"What’s there to say?" He shrugged, "It’s just the idea of Kira having a boyfriend, I didn’t think of that. You and I assud that we’d be the target of the stalkers, we thought that Kira didn’t have any secrets, but we were wrong. She managed to hide her relationship from , that’s a shocker."
"How can that be the shocker?" I demanded as I sat back in my seat and folded my arms across my chest, "the idea that she’s even in a relationship baffles ."
"Yeah, it’s baffling, but I’m not all too surprising. Casey, Kira is an adult and she has needs just like you and I. This marriage was never going to stop her from taking on partners, so I don’t have an issue with her having a boyfriend." He turned from the sink and stared at , "But you seem to."
"Why won’t I have an issue?" I demanded as I got to my feet. "I’m her best friend! How can she be in a relationship and she won’t tell ? She’s supposed to tell everything!"
"Casey... she can’t tell you everything. It’s the sa way you can’t tell her everything. This is her personal life, and when she’s ready to let you in on it, she will."
"You don’t get it, do you?" I asked him, "You don’t see what is wrong with all this, at all! Kira told countless tis that she didn’t want you to be with anyone else, she threatened thunder and brimstone when she found out who you were fucking! That’s the fucking reason I’m hesitant about telling her to begin with. However, for her to also be in a relationship when she’s actively trying to sabotage yours? Don’t you see the hypocrisy of it all?"
Jace sucked in a deep breath and returned to his seat, "when you put it that way, it does sound despicable. But then, my main issue is you. As long as you and I are together, I don’t care what Kira or Maven does."
I brushed that away, I still wasn’t ready to listen to his declarations of love, "This is just Kira being who she is; a controlling bitch!"
"Well, if she’s going to be the CEO of Beacon Studios, she has to be a controlling bitch." He said. I was about to say sothing else when he shook his head and spoke over , "So, this is why you changed your mind about Ethan, right? It’s not even about finding out who Maven is, it’s about finding out who Kira’s boyfriend is."
"So?" I scoffed, "I’m not a control freak like her, I just want to know what’s so special about this guy that she’s willing to keep him away from . And then, finding out who Maven is will also be helpful because it would be like killing two birds with one stone."
"Honestly, I don’t know what to say. But let’s not get carried away, okay? What is most important right now is finding out who Maven is, not who Kira is fucking! Now, where is the footage Joan sent you?"
I made to speak again, but I stopped myself. He clearly wasn’t in the right fra for such a discussion. I pulled the video clips up on my laptop and slid it across the counter to him. He watched them quietly, and after a while, he spoke, "So these guys used fake IDs, huh?"
"Yeah. The guy opposite Kira’s hotel room and also the guy opposite your room. They managed to get their fake IDs past security. And that is what is bugging , Jace. I rember how thorough security was when lodged there. I couldn’t leave the lobby until they scanned my card and it tallied with what was on the database. How then can they manage to skip not one, but two individuals with fake IDs who were also stalkers? The coincidence is just blowing my mind."
"You’re not the only one whose mind is blown, babe," Jace replied as he caught my eye. "They were just as thorough for , Ethan, and Lena when we checked into the hotel. So, it’s shocking that the one ti they needed that security and privacy, they failed. It’s pretty convenient, don’t you think?"
"Oh my God!" I muttered as I sat up in the chair, "You can’t be serious! Why didn’t I think of that?"
"I guess it’s the sa reason why Joan was washing her hands off the case, their involvent in the case is already too much. They’re only covering their asses."
"Fuck... I can’t believe this!" I muttered in shock, "The hotel was in on it as well!"
The hotel had allowed the stalkers in. It was an inside job!
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