“What the-” I start to ask.
“Oh shit!” Jason says in a muffled voice.
“Jason! What are you doing?” I hear a familiar voice ask. “Wait, is that Franny?”
“Shh, little bird. Give me a second.” Jason says in a voice I’ve never heard from him before. “We’ll be out in a minute,” Jason says from further away. “It’s safe to turn around now.”
I don’t turn around until I hear his door close, but when I do, I get a good look at the living room. The sofa pillows are littering the floor with Franny and Jason’s clothing. I burst into a fit of laughter with Darius giving me a concerned look. When I’m finally able to control myself, I take a deep breath. “Come on. You don’t find this funny?” Darius shakes his head, ever the serious one. “He walked in on us yesterday and was all huffy and puffy about the situation, but then we end up walking in on him and Franny,” I say while picking up the living room.
Darius puts the pillows on the couch haphazardly. “I think the situations are a little different, Stacey.”
“How so?” I ask, fixing his pillow arrangement.
“I was hired to protect you. I should have never touched you.”
I shrug and kiss Darius’ cheek. “Tomato-tahmato. You and Franny were both on the job… Jason has nothing to be pissed about now.”
Darius’ mouth twitches with a smile. “I guess you have a point.”
“A point about what?” Franny asks, coming back into the living room.
“Jason is being a bit hypocritical.”
“I’m so lost,” Franny says as Jason walks up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
“Lost about what, love?” Jason asks, kissing her cheek.
“Stacey! Is that what I think it is?” Franny shouts, pulling away from Jason to walk over and grab my hand to get a better look at the ring on my left finger.
“Yeah,” I sigh softly. “Darius asked me to marry him this morning, and I said yes.”
“He what?” Jason barks, causing me to look up at him. He’s standing there with his arms crossed, glaring at Darius. I roll my eyes and wrap my arm around Darius, who’s already standing close to me. I’m about to tell my brother where he can go when Franny stops me lifting her palm up to my face.
“I’ve got this, hun.” She says, then looks at Jason and points her finger at him. “You’ve got no room to talk, Jason Lipton. After what you pulled yesterday, you should be happy I’m still here. Now I’m beginning to understand what Stacey just said.” She dares him with a look I wish I could master with her fists on her hips.
“Easy little bird. You don’t understand what’s happening here. I hired Darius’ company to find out who has been threatening Stacey.” He says, stalking toward her slowly, as if not to scare his prey.
“Someone is threatening you?” Franny grabs my hand and gives me a worried look.
My smile slips, and the reality of what’s going on hits me. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. The guy was sending me weird messages and some creepy packages. I thought it was just some socially awkward guy who had a crush on me. After the package I got yesterday, I’m not sure anymore.”
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” Franny says, wrapping me in a big hug.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” Darius and Jason say simultaneously, making both Franny and I laugh.
Everyone is quiet for a moment until Darius’ phone chimes with a message. I watch his expression change from neutral to pissed the longer he’s reading the message.
“What is it?”
Darius looks around at each of us. ”They traced the delivery, but the guy paid in cash. The company doesn’t have any video surveillance, but my guys could get a description.”
Feeling dizzy, I sit on the couch behind me as I listen to Darius. “He’s about five foot eleven, lean, light brown stringy hair and a scraggly beard. His clothes were worn and baggy. My team is going through the security footage from your building for the last month to see if they can find anyone that fits that description.”
“How long do you think that will take?” Jason asks.
Darius shakes his head and sits down beside me, wrapping his arm around my body and pulling me close to him. He kisses the side of my head. “It could take weeks. That’s a month worth of video to get through.”
“Fuck!” Jason shouts.
“The police picked up the evidence last night and delivered it to the crime lab to be tested. Hopefully, they’ll get a hit on something before then. Either way, I’m not letting you out of my reach.”
“What does this guy want with me?”
“Who knows. People like him are out of their minds. It would drive you crazy trying to figure out their motives.”
I stand and grab Franny’s hand. “Want to help me make dinner?”