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“No reason.” She jumped to her feet. “I have to go, um, deal with this. I promise your T-shirt is in good hands.”
“Thanks, Cate,” Brody said while staring at his laptop.
Once she was out of the room, she leaned against the wall. Her hands were shaking.
She was nervous about all of these strangers in her house.
Well, Rhodes’ house.
But he’d told her that it was her house as well.
Cate wished she was better at just going with the flow and accepting change. However, that wasn’t the case. Having a routine helped make her feel safe. It stopped her from panicking and hiding in her closet.
Which was where she wanted to go now.
Right after she dealt with this stain.
5
Ethan felt a crazy urge to follow Cate.
To anyone who wasn’t watching her carefully, she might have appeared uninterested and detached.
But he’d seen how she’d pulled in on herself after realizing that they’d all heard her ask Brody if he was spanked. He’d also noticed how she kept looking at Rhodes for reassurance before talking or doing something.
And how she’d practically rushed out of the room with Brody’s T-shirt. Clutching it tightly in her hand as though worried someone might snatch it away. Stone tried to stay focused on what everyone was discussing, but he still kept an ear out for Cate.
Just in case she needed him.
Lord. He was an idiot. Why would she need him?
“So, Rip, you’re good with Seth and Ethan staying here?” Ink asked. “Brody and I will probably leave tomorrow night.”
“Perfect,” Rhodes said. “I appreciate you fitting me in. Kevin wanted a local company to handle this, but I trust you, Ink. And I can’t have just anyone living in my house. And Cate feels better knowing it’s your team here.”
Ink nodded. “We got you, man. You know that.”
“I probably wouldn’t have taken those letters seriously if someone hadn’t tried to break in.”
“I told him those letters were red flags,” Kevin said.
“Yeah, but unfortunately, I didn’t believe it,” Rhodes said with clear regret. “Cate was here alone when the stalker attempted to breach my security. I was away for the weekend with my girlfriend, Samantha. Cate tries to pretend that it didn’t shake her, but I can tell it did.”
“That would be scary for anyone,” Ethan said.
“Do you know how the stalker found out where you live?” Seth asked.
“I think I can answer that.” Brody stood up and carried his laptop over to the table. “I’ve been doing some research into you. There’s a blog devoted to you.”
“There’re several of those,” Kevin scoffed.
“But none quite like this one.” Brody turned his laptop screen around to display the blog. There were several photos of Rhodes, taken from a distance and obviously without his knowledge.
“This site is devoted to discussing sightings, speculation, and just regular gossip about you. But one of the posts includes a photo of your gate outside. It doesn’t list your address, but if someone puts in some time, they could find it.”
“Fuck,” Rhodes said. “I know that site. I’ve tried to get it taken down, but the guy I hired to investigate basically said the person who owns it has hidden themselves well. And the web host won’t take it down.”
Brody frowned, nodding. “I’ll keep diving into it.”
