Yes, Masters (Book 2 of Desire's Den)

Chapter 38 - Emma

I swallowed, my throat dry and my mind lost for words. I could feel the shock coming from Callan and Mateo as they read what was on the note. They had probably wondered why I'd suddenly gotten so afraid, but I didn't think they could've imagined this.

The words on the paper were scribbled with precision. There was no messy lines or uneven strokes; it looked carefully drawn. It made me sick just looking at the note.

"Well?" Gideon prompted. He was angry, and while I suspected most of it was directed at him, some of it seemed directed at me as well.

"Take a fucking drink, man, and sit down. Can't you tell she's gone through enough without having you yelling in her face?" Mateo objected, reacting to his friend's impatience and fury.

Gideon's hands tightened into fists, but he listened to Mateo. With a sigh that sounded more like a growl, he went to the bar and poured a healthy amount of whiskey in a glass. He brough the drink over to the table and took a seat on the chair opposite us.

"Did you...did you find him?" I asked, my voice small and shaking.

God, I hoped he'd gotten him.

When Gideon's face turned hard, I'd already gotten my answer. I gulped down the rest of my drink, feeling devastatingly defeated.

"He had to have left right after leaving you that note. I'm having the security team go through the security footage and see if we can identify him. I'll go through the videos too just in case I catch something they might miss."

I nodded, but I suspected they wouldn't find anything; he seemed too smart to be caught on a camera. For once, though, I prayed I'd have some luck.

"Emma," Mateo said carefully. "We need to know the truth. This note right here?" he nodded at the slip of paper. "It is serious, and we don't know how to help you unless you tell us exactly what is going on."

He was right. I knew it. I just didn't know where to start.

"As I said, these weeks have been a lot." I clutched the glass, focusing on the melting ice cubes as I began telling them what's been happening. "That day when you guys first began sending me gifts, I got another one in the form of photos. It contained three pictures; it was with me and each of you. Your faces were scratched out..." I told them about the messages written on the back of them, and how I just kept getting more and more 'gifts' from him.

I looked at each of them. Mateo's eyes were wide with shock. Callan seemed to be mostly in his head, working that brain of his. Gideon, well...he looked just as angry as he did a minute ago, if not more.

"Was this why you didn't want us to send you presents anymore, because of this guy?" Mateo asked, apparently connecting the dots of him and the phone call I'd had with Mateo earlier today.

"Yeah...I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I never knew which one was from you, and with one was from him, and it messed me up."

Mateo tightened his hand on mine. I had forgotten I had my hand in his.

"That explains a lot actually," Mateo commented, but he didn't sound relieved about it.

"And that's why you've set up cameras at your place," Callan guessed. He didn't even need me to confirm it. "Has he been in your apartment?"

I nodded. "Once. He'd left a box on my bed."

The atmosphere in the office as I revealed that, was choking.

Callan and Mateo cursed, both of them grabbing a tighter hold on me, but it seemed they did it unconsciously. I snuck another peak at Gideon, he looked deadly calm, and for some reason, that was more terrifying than his fury.