Desires of a Full Moon (18 page)

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself.

“I don’t know. Maybe. I guess I always thought his notes were where he held his power to intimidate me so he wouldn’t hesitate to leave one along with the pig.”

“Barrett had the lab do an exhaustive search on your purse and they didn’t find anything. No note, no fingerprints.” He’d gotten that report from Barrett before they left the house.

“He’s taking it further, getting more personal. Getting closer.” She grabbed his hand and they started down the sidewalk.

“Haley . . .”

A shrill of his cell phone had him halting. He pulled the phone out of his jeans pocket.

#

Haley watched his face changed from relaxed to somber. He mouthed to her that it was Barrett on the other end.

She stepped away and turned to admire the window display at the cozy boutique. Whoever had done the display had done a great job, mixing the colors of spring into the outfit spotted on the mannequin.

“Hey, you’re that girl.”

Hayley turned at the male voice. It was two college guys dressed in sweatshirts and jeans. Their gazes went from her back to their phone.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re the girl on the advertisement.” They both looked at each other and grinned. “So how much?”

“How much for what?” She frowned as her gut tightened. She glanced at Jayden, but his gaze was fixed on the ground attentively listening to whatever it was that Barrett was saying.

“How much for one hour?”

Haley whipped her head back to the two guys who were suddenly only a couple of feet in front of her. She backed up. Her skin crawled, her private space suddenly invaded.

Jayden must have sensed her fear, because he was suddenly there, stepping between her and the two guys. By this time a few more students had stopped and pulled out their phones. They looked from Haley back to their phones.

“What’s going on?” Jayden asked her over his shoulder.

“I have no idea?”

The two dudes laughed and held out their phone. “Man have you been hitting that? It says she charges by the hour.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” Jayden growled so loud that Haley thought he was going to shift right in front of everyone.

“I want to know how much she charges.” One of the college guys looked over Jayden’s shoulder and winked at her.

Jayden punched the guy in the face. The guy fell back like a tree.

“Hey man, what did you do that for? He was just asking how much she charged. It’s on the university’s Facebook page of things to do.” The other college guy shoved his cell phone in Jayden’s face.

Jayden snatched it out of his hand. Haley peeked around Jayden’s shoulder and looked.

It was the university’s page with a provocative picture of her and an advertisement for sex. Blood drained from her face as a rush of nausea washed over her.

“I never took that picture. I haven’t been on Facebook since I moved here,” she whispered.

“Call Braxton now.” Jayden shoved his phone at her. With trembling fingers she pulled up Braxton’s contact info.

“You need a little help?” Braxton shoved his way through the crowd and stood on the other side of Haley. Braxton appeared before she even dialed. “I was watching.”

Jayden shoved the college guy’s phone at Braxton whose face became serious.

Jayden faced the crowd of college students that were gathered and now gawking at her. “This is not Haley. And she sure as hell didn’t put it on Facebook. Her account and the university’s have been hacked. And the next asshole that says something to her about it will have his dick ripped off and shoved down his throat. So you need to make sure the word gets out. We clear?” The group of college students stared at Jayden wide-eyed and nodded furiously. They all quickly backed away.

“Call Barrett and tell him to get someone to check out the university’s account as well as Haley’s. He should able to track back to see if he can find the stalker.”

Braxton kept Haley positioned between them while he dialed Barrett and Jayden stood in front of her as a shield. The group quickly dispersed.

Tears burned behind her eyes and she fought not to cry. Not now, not in front of everyone. Somehow she knew her stalker was out there in the crowd watching and waiting for her reaction. That’s what he wanted. A reaction.

She would not give him the satisfaction.

Jayden turned and looked at her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

“Let’s get her outta here, man,” Braxton said in a low tone.

Jayden pulled her close to his muscular chest and she sighed against his warmth and his strength, her legs threatening to buckle.

They hurried back to his car, with Braxton staying close behind them.

The temptation to cry was overwhelming. But it wasn’t fear she was upset over. It was anger. Anger at how a stranger had taken her control away.

“Fuck.”

Jayden stopped short and Haley almost stumbled. She looked up and followed the line of his gaze. Right to his car.

“Oh my God, Jayden.” Her stomach lurched.

“Motherfucker.” Braxton added his sentiments as they all stared at Jayden’s black Mustang, completely destroyed.

Every window had been bashed in along with the hood and doors. The tires had been slashed and the black paint job had been marred with white spray paint with vindictive words like
bitch
and
whore
written for everyone to see.

Jayden spun her around and tugged her into his chest, blocking her from viewing the car.

Her stalker was now trying to hurt Jayden.

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

#

Jayden gave his report to the police as he kept his eyes on Haley. Braxton stood a few feet away and nodded, assuring him that Haley was safe.

Jayden had never wanted to kill anyone more in his life than he did right now.

He glanced over at his ruined Mustang. He’d only had her less than two years and now she was ruined. But that’s not what really bothered him the most. He was most bothered about the reaction he had seen on Haley’s face.

She had looked utterly terrified.

He narrowed his eyes at the cops as they took pictures of the damage.

He wasn’t sure who had called them, but he didn’t like it when humans interfered in his business.

A loud rumble, like an eighteen-wheeler echoed through the near empty parking lot.

An oversized truck that resembled a tank came rumbling to halt in front of him. It looked like an RV on steroids with massive tires and bulky exterior.

The driver’s door opened and Barrett Middleton climbed out. Barrett nodded in Braxton’s direction before heading over to Jayden.

“I got here as quick as I could.”

“Which is pretty fucking quick. We called you less than an hour ago.” Jayden checked his watch.

“I was on my way when you called.” Barrett cast a worried look in Haley’s direction. “How’s she doing?”

“Terrified. Aside from a psycho leaving her notes and a dead bloodied pig in her purse, he’s now moved his game up to cyberbullying her on Facebook. Now the entire campus thinks she’s a prostitute for hire.”Barrett turned his glare on Jayden. “I got Zane tracking her account as well as the university’s. He put a block on both accounts to prevent anyone from accessing or posting anything on her page. I also made sure to send out a warning that her account had been hacked to the entire university student body. And if they knew who did it they needed to contact the number I left.”

Jayden nodded in appreciation. Hopefully that would stop a majority of the students from harassing Haley. And if it didn’t, he’d tear their fucking heads off.

“Why are you wearing a pink shirt?” Barrett sneered.

“It’s not pink. It’s coral.” Jayden shook his head. He picked the perfect night to change his wardrobe.

Jayden arched his brow at Barrett’s ride. “What the hell is that thing? Looks like it needs to be in the military.”

“It’s the Behemoth. It’s a specialized expedition vehicle. It will go anywhere in the world, desert, jungle, mountains, you name it. Most importantly it has a space for my Harley.”

“And it’s here because?”

“Because I had to bring some company with me and there are not enough bedrooms in my house.” Barrett’s mouth thinned just as the familiar thunder of approaching motorcycles filled the parking lot.

The sound made him long for his Harley, especially now since his car was wrecked.

Jayden followed Barrett’s gaze as five Harleys pulled up behind the Behemoth.

He immediately recognized his fellow Guardians, Damon, Zane, Lucien and Jaxon and another rider with the signature Harley Breakout. He would have sworn the fifth Harley was his, if it wasn’t for the goofy-looking sidecar.

His gut tightened as the occupant in the sidecar took off the bug-eyed goggles and helmet, revealing gray hair and wrinkles.

“What the fuck is Granny doing here and why is she in that sidecar?” Jayden glanced at Barrett for answers.

The leader took a long-suffering breath before opening his mouth. “She wouldn’t quit bothering me about where I had sent you. Plus, I needed to get your Harley to you. I figured it would be good for Haley to have someone else’s company besides yours.”

“Wait, that’s my Harley?” He jerked his head back to the motorcycle, his gaze running over the sleek frame.

“Yes.”

“So which Guardian is riding it?”

Barrett snorted.

The rider, dressed all in black leather, killed the engine and dismounted. Jayden frowned. The full-face helmet hid the identity, but he knew right away from the slender frame of the driver, that this was no Guardian. He was too skinny.

The rider pulled off the helmet and a cascade of black hair spilled out.

“Ava?”

“You looked stunned.” Damon came up, shook his hand and turned his attention back on Ava.

“When the fuck did Ava learn to drive a motorcycle?”

“Apparently she’d been taking them out for a while now. Just not bothering to tell me.” Damon growled.

Ava walked up with a smirk and dropped the keys to his bike in Jayden’s hand. “You can thank me later.”

“For what?”

“Bringing your bike.” She nodded at what used to be his car. “Looks like you need some alternate form of transportation.”

“It’s got a fucking sidecar attached.” Jayden couldn’t wrap his head around that concept.

“How else was I going to get Granny here?” Ava crossed her arms as Damon pulled her close.

“How about she ride with Barrett in that thing?” Jayden jerked his finger over his shoulder.

“I tried telling her that.” Barrett glared. “That woman has a hard time listening to the rules.”

“Are y’all going to stand there staring or is someone going to help me get out of this contraption?” Granny yelled from the sidecar.

Ava hurried back to the bike. “Sorry, Granny.” She held out her hand and the older woman took it.

“Don’t rush me. I’m an old lady.” Granny unfolded herself from the sidecar and climbed out. She tugged her white plastic purse out and slung it over her shoulder.

Jayden was shocked to see her dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. He’d never seen his Granny wear anything other than muumuus.

“You’re not old, Granny.” Damon sighed and shook his head like he was running out of patience.

Jayden inclined his head to his fellow Guardians. “You drove all the way with Granny riding in a sidecar? How long did that take?”

“We left this afternoon. We would have gotten here earlier if we didn’t have to stop at every rest area for her to go to the bathroom. I swear she’s got a bladder the size of a peanut.”

Jayden stared at his bike and shook his head. “Dude, there’s a sidecar on my Harley.”

Damon slapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, brother. It comes off.”

Thank God for that.

“Jayden!” Granny rushed forward and pulled him into a fierce hug. She pulled back and frowned as she eyed his car.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t tell me anything. Your car has been vandalized.” Granny turned her eye on Barrett. “Is he on some kind of dangerous mission here?”

“He’s always on some kind of mission, Granny. Part of being a Guardian.” Barrett glared at Granny. But Jayden knew the old lady wasn’t scared of her new Pack Master.

“I’m going to speak to the police.” Barrett called over his shoulder and headed toward the cluster of cops eyeing their motorcycle group with suspicion.

Jayden started to say they were not going to tell him any information but to his surprise, Barrett whipped out something that looked like a badge and flashed it to the nearest cop.

The cop straightened and immediately led him over to the investigator in charge.

Jayden shook his head and made a mental note to ask what kind of badge Barrett had whipped out.

Zane, Jaxon and Lucien secured the perimeter of the parking lot. Jayden knew they were trying to pick up any lingering scent or clues the stalker might have left.

“Why haven’t you called?” Granny’s asked.

Guilt surged in his gut. Granny was his only living relative and had practically raised him. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t called. Ever since the night of the rescue he’d been pulling back from those who cared about him, needing to protect them from the hell he’d been through.

“I’m sorry, Granny. This mission had my mind focused on other things. I should have called. I’m sorry.”

Granny’s frown softened and she glanced over his shoulder. “Are you sure? Would Haley have anything to do with why you are so distracted?”

Jayden shook his head.

“Why not? I see the way she looks at you.” “She’s too young for me. She’s still in college.” Those words made his throat ache.

Granny cocked her head. “And she’s probably the most mature of all the girls I’ve seen you date.”

“What?” Jayden snapped his head up.

“You heard me. Those other older women were silly and were not good enough for you.” Granny’s gaze rested on Haley. “Now, Haley, on the other hand, seems very grounded and knows what she wants. It seems your taste in women has finally improved.”

Jayden’s mouth dropped. He expected his Granny to tell him Haley was too young for him and how she needed to live before settling down.