A Piece of Heaven (Allendale Four 1)

My eyes bulged when I comprehended what he was saying. “Oh. Gah. Sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” he said, kissing me one more time. “That was about you, not me.”

I leaned my forehead into his, feeling my heart racing in my chest. The good kind of racing, the natural kind. Just like his hands, his mouth, it felt amazing.

Later, after we pulled into my driveway and I felt less frenzied, I leaned into the open car window. “Next time it’ll be about you,” I promised.

He smiled, wide and full of love. “Oh, don’t worry, I plan on getting my piece of Heaven soon.”

He reversed and shot down the street, the loud engine of the car echoing long after the tail lights disappeared.

Chapter 18

Despite all outward appearances of only having one boyfriend, my stalker didn’t stop. In fact, once me and the boys got in a good, easy rhythm with one another the photos escalated.

“I don’t get it,” Jackson said. It was 11 p.m. on a school night and we’re talking over a private chat group on the school-issued laptop. This had become a routine for us since everyone was busy and my mother was a little more hover-y than usual, post-panic attack. It was a nice way to say goodnight. It also didn’t hurt that half the time the boys were ready for bed, fresh from the shower and often shirtless.

As soon as the notifications started, Hayden linked us all up.

Jackson studied his phone, his jaw clenched, ticking with anger. “How come we never see this guy? He’s fucking everywhere.”

“Or girl,” Anderson adds.

“It’s a guy,” I said, having zero doubt about that.

“Maybe it’s a ghost.” Hayden shoved a piece of pizza in his mouth. “The kind on that show Heaven likes…the one with the hot dudes and the car.”

“It’s called Supernatural and it’s a classic. And if I’ve learned anything from that show, it’s that there has to be cold air and flickering lights for it to be a ghost.”

Everyone stared blankly into their screens, obviously at me and Hayden. What? I’d shared my love of Dean, Sam, and Cas with him. I had no shame.

“Anyway,” Jackson said, “in the event it’s not a ghost, I can’t wait to get my hands on whoever it is and kick their ass.”

Anderson frowned at his phone. “Where were you guys when this was taken?”

He held the phone up. The photo was of me and Oliver, kissing in the front seat of his Mustang earlier that week. The image doesn’t tell the whole story, thank goodness. No one can tell his hand was up my skirt. Can they?

“Three days ago. I was giving Heaven a ride home from Anderson’s.”

“So a spontaneous stop?” Jackson asked.

“Totally spontaneous.” He winked at me and my whole body tingled at the memory.

“It’s fucking weird,” Oliver said.

“And creepy.” They all looked at me worriedly. I held up my hands. “I’m fine, but it is. Whoever is doing this has a problem. A big one.”

Jackson put down the phone and looked into the webcam. “I think we need to stop it once and for all.”

“How are we going to do that?” Anderson said. “Like Hayden said, he’s pretty much a ghost. A corporeal ghost, but…well, you know what I mean.”

Jackson’s response surprised me. “I’ve been working on a plan. It’ll take all of us but if everything goes right, we’ll catch the fucking bastard.”

“And then what?” It’d been going on for so long, I didn’t think catching whoever was behind it would matter. I also wasn’t sure about provoking whoever was doing it.

“Then he deals with the Allendale Four,” Hayden replied. “And he’ll regret the day he ever messed with our fifth.”

Chapter 19