Frayed Obsession (The Frayed Trilogy 1)

My stomach hardens, and I turn to Easton, who’s only a step behind me. A black camera is clasped in his hand.

“Is that hers?” I ask.

“I think so.” He frowns.

Desperate for any answers I can get, I hold out my hand for the camera, and he hands it over.

“Find her,” I say, letting authority bleed through my voice.

East is my best friend, but he’s also the company’s head of security. Though, I doubt he would ever let something like this go, even if I hadn’t given him the order. He nods but doesn’t say anything, his expression hard.

Questions rush through my mind as we head back towards the car. From the glimpse I caught of the girl when she glanced at me over her shoulder, I didn’t recognise her, but she was too far away and gone too quickly to make out her features properly, so I can’t say for sure. Why the hell was she following me?

“Stress my ass,” I mutter to myself as I examine the camera.

I turn thedevice over in my hands. The lens is smashed—a few chunks of glass clustered on one side with spiderweb-like cracks spreading out from there.

“What do you mean?” Easton asks, pulling me from my inspection.

“What?” I glance towards him.

He stops mid-stride. His eyes are narrowed at me as he waits for more of an explanation.

“You know what I’m talking about. What did youmean?” Easton asks again, an edge to his voice this time. Sometimes he’s too fucking perceptive.

He’s a couple of inches taller than my six-foot-two height, and I straighten my back, putting myself as close to his height as I can. We have similar builds, and whilst I take care of myself, East keeps to a more rigorous routine.

“I thought someone was watching me.”

“What the fuck? Why didn’t you say anything?” He clenches his fists, and a muscle ticks in his jaw.

I probably should have mentioned it to him, but I had my hands full with Reed Shipping International. And as head of security, Easton was busy placating ourotherclients—convincing them it’s business as usual and nothing needed to change now that I was running things. Some clients were sceptical, whilst others used the opportunity to try to broker new contracts for no other purpose than lining their pockets. I wasn’t going to let that happen. My father built this company from the ground up, and despite the sudden changes, Iamgood at my job, and you don’t win in this business if you let yourself get pushed around.

Money doesn’t faze me. Reed Shipping brings in enough revenue that losing the dark side of our business would scarcely impact me. They need me more than I need them. Although I wasn’t about to let the business my father created fall apart either. So as long as they were getting their shipments on time and intact, most kept quiet enough.

“I never saw anyone. I thought it was just stress.” Hearing it out loud now, I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince more. Him or myself.

“It doesn’t mean they weren’t there! Jesus, Sebastian, after everything that happened?” he bites out before closing his eyes, letting out a deep breath, but when he looks at me again, his eyes soften.

I turn away, refusing to see any pity that might be held in them. I’ve noticed that look too much recently.

“I’m doubling your security,” Easton says. “We don’t know who she’s working for or what they want. It might be connected to…” he trails off, but I know what he’s thinking.

What if it’s connected to my parents’ death?

I nod, but the thought leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and we continue our way back to the car without another word.

Flipping the camera over in my hands, I switch it on. The screen lights up, but the camera itself makes a strange clicking sound. If the lens weren’t smashed, the sounds alone would alert me to the fact the thing is broken.

Just as we reach the car, I find the playback button. Pausing by the passenger door, I make no move to get in. Instead, I squint at the small screen and see…me.

I knew what I was going to see, but I hadn’t really prepared myself for it. My thumb presses so hard against the arrow button, I threaten to break the camera beyond repair.

So many photos. Going back at least a month, maybe two.

Jesus Christ.

Most look like they were taken from a distance and zoomed in close. But some had definitely been taken up close and personal. Easton is in a few of them, but it’s clear he has also been purposely cropped out of a lot.