“What the fuck was that about?” I ask, going to her. I take the bag from her hand and pull her into my arms.
“Nothing. He’s just a punk-ass bitch I have known forever.”
“Are you sure?” I question her.
“Yeah. I am sure. Nothing I cannot handle.”
I take her bag into the bedroom, and she immediately heads for the shower.
While she is in the bathroom, I sit on the bed and watch some TV. A phone goes off on the nightstand. Since we have the same phone, I am not sure whose it is. Picking it up, I see that it is hers. The call is from an unknown number, so I let go to voicemail. Seconds later, a text comes through from another unknown number.
I told you to stay away, bitch. I fucking…
That is all I can see on the screen since it’s locked, but it’s enough to piss me off.
Who the hell has been threatening my girl? Before I have a chance to investigate it further, she comes out of the bathroom and roots around in her bag. Grabbing her hairdryer, she goes back into the bathroom, and I hear it turn on.
I decide that this is the perfect time to run an in-depth background on Brynn. Grabbing my phone, I start the process with my guy, Ivan. The older man had been an NYPD officer for thirty years. He is now in the private sector. He has a lot of contacts and can get the job done discreetly.
As soon as she comes out of the bathroom, I grab her phone again.
“Who the fuck is threatening you, Brynn?” I demand.
“What are you talking about?” she asks coolly.
“The threat on your phone. I only got a glance at it, but it doesn’t seem like it’s the first one.”
“You went through my phone?”
“No. Just saw the lock screen.”
“I am sure it’s a wrong number,” she lies. I can tell she’s lying. She won’t look me in the eye, which is a classic sign of lying.
I decide to drop it. I’ll have information soon, but she’ll tell me when she is ready. Until then, I am just going to love her and show what kind of life we could have if she would just let go.
Chapter 10
Brynn
The threats have started up again. How the fuck did they know I was back, like for sure? It just makes no sense. I am nobody. Hurting me won’t affect the day to day operations of my family’s business. Surely, anyone who knows what they do knows that. That has me thinking it must be personal, but for the life of me, I cannot think of anything I have done that would piss someone off to this point. Every day, I have gotten a threatening text message. It is too hard to worry about that now though. I am so full of love. I cannot stop thinking about Brendan, even when he is two feet from me. It weighs heavily on my mind that I have not told him about my family yet. Maybe he should meet them first, then I will tell him. Maybe he will just figure it out. We are pretty stereotypical if you ask me. With the exception of my brother Bartolo, the men in my family pretty much live in either tracksuits or hand-tailored suits from Italy. There is no in-between.
The following Monday morning after an entire week of getting to know each other, Brendan had to go back to work. Last night I called Bella and asked her to come over today since it is a day off of school. I need a ride to Atlantic City. I want to pick my car up as well as a few other things like pictures, my diploma, and a laptop. My teaching certificate would be good to have too. The intercom by the door buzzes and I approve Bella to come up. As soon as I open the door, I am engulfed in a huge hug.
“Where the fuck have you been, sorella?” she asks as soon as we pull away from each other.
“Language, sorellina,” I reply laughing.
“I’m eighteen now, Brynn. I can say whatever I want,” she says rolling her eyes.
“I guess you can, Bella Luna. I cannot believe that I missed your birthday,” I say, hugging her again.
“I did not do anything to celebrate yet. I was waiting for you.”
This girl has been my best friend since I was four years old. Since the day she came home from the hospital, I have been glued to her side. The first five years of her life, I slept on the floor next to her bed to protect her; Even though I had my own room down the hall. During a mega blizzard that year, she let me get in bed with her. After that, my parents let us share a room, which we did until I was fifteen. I would do anything for her, including disappearing for an entire year to keep her safe. Her birthday was a month ago. I called her, but it was not the same.