SWNOVELS Dirty Goals: Chapter 6
BECKETT REWINDS the video one more time at the request of the detective, who’s already viewed it at least three times. It shows a woman wearing a black fedora, a black trench coat, and her face out of view entering the codes on the front door to gain access to the house. After that, she could disarm the alarm inside of the house. From there, it’s unknown what occurred while she was inside of the house because there are no cameras in the main living area of my home.
Detective Kendal runs his hand along the white stubble on his chin. “How do you think she could get the access codes into your home?”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure. There’s not many who know the codes since we put the new security system in place.”
One side of the cop’s mouth pulls down into a frown. “Change them immediately and give them to no one that doesn’t absolutely need access to your home. It will help us eliminate connections to your stalker.”
“All right. I’ll have Beckett change them, and only the three of us will have them from this point forward. I’ll arrange it that my staff has to be let in by Beckett until this mess is taken care of.”
“Good.” the cop says and then turns to Beckett. “Email me the surveillance footage so I can add it to the case file. If you find anything else, send it to me as well.”
I glance down at my phone and grimace when I notice the time. It’s almost two in the morning, and Vivi has to be on the set in a few hours, and I’m too amped up to fall asleep right now.
Vivi drops her head and then leans it back while pushing all of her hair out of her face in frustration. “I can’t believe she was in here.”
“Me either,” Beckett agrees as he sits across from me in the white armchair. “I can’t believe she would hurt Dobby. He’s the sweetest dog.”
Listening to how uneasy both of them are feeling about the situation lets me know they’re just as worried about Annabelle returning to this house as I am. The woman doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything and will go to great lengths to get access to me. Her having that kind of mindset worries me, because I know she’s got her sights set on Vivi, but I’m also worried she may try some shit with Beckett as well.
“Maybe you should stay with us here for a while, B. Your place doesn’t have this tripped out security system this place has, and now that only the three of us know the codes, I’m sure she won’t be able to get in here again.”
Beckett waves me off. “I’ll be fine. The crazy woman isn’t after me, just you, and any woman who comes within a few feet of you.” Beckett shoves himself up from the chair. “I’m going to head home and try to get some sleep. I think the two of you better do the same.”
He tells us goodnight and heads back over to his own house, leaving the two of us alone. I stand and then extend my hand to Vivi to help her up. After setting the alarm, we walk in silence to our bedroom, where we both strip down to our underwear and we crawl into bed. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her body against mine. Our skin touching comforts me, and I know as long as I’m by her side, I’ll keep her safe.
I called off today, which is something I never do, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Vivi’s side—not after the shit that went down last night. I explained to the Devils what happened with Dobby, and they seemed to understand about the situation. My brain has been overloaded for the past twelve hours with thoughts about Vivi, Beckett, and Dobby. The fear of someone taking one of them away from me is very real, and it has my anxiety on high alert.
There’s a knock on my driver’s side window and I roll the window of my Jeep down to greet the delivery driver. “Here you go.”
I hand the young, dark-haired guy two twenty-dollar bills as a tip, and his mouth drops open as his eyes stay fixed on me. “Holy shit. You…you’re…”
I nod and put the cash in his hand as I reach down and take bags containing mine and Vivi’s lunch from him. “Yep. It’s me.”
“Damn. No one is ever going to believe I met you. Can we talk a selfie and will you sign my hat?” he asks.
“Sure, kid,” I tell him.
He quickly leans down and snaps a photo of the two of us before he whips off his baseball cap with the Florida Devil’s logo on it and hands it to me to sign.
He flashes me a mega-watt smile when I hand him his hat back. “Thank you so much! This means a lot. I’m a big fan of yours and I know you’re going to win this next game and take us to the Super bowl. Three in a row, baby!”
“That’s the plan,” I chuckle at his enthusiasm.
This year marks my tenth season with The Devils, and if we keep winning, this will be our third trip to the biggest game of the year, The Super Bowl. It’s really fucking hard to make it this far, and we’ve done it three times in a row now. We gained a lot of fans since we’ve been winning so much, but we’ve also gained a lot of haters—people who say we’ve won enough and it’s unfair we’re so good. There’s only one last game standing in our way.
I set the bags of food on the passenger seat as I wait for Vivi to come out of the long, white trailer she and Bella are working in. I’ve gotten a lot of odd looks when people have noticed I’ve sat out here in my vehicle all day, but I really don’t give a shit if they think I’m crazy. I’m here to monitor Vivi and make sure Annabelle has no shot of getting near her.
“Thanks again!” the delivery drivers says as he heads back to his vehicle.
I tap my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing on the radio while I while for Vivi. Another song plays as I spot the door opening and Bella and Vivi heading outside. They’re laughing about something, and I take a moment to soak in Vivi’s beauty. It’s been a few days since I’ve seen her smile, and it wasn’t until right now I realized how much I’ve missed it.
Bella elbows Vivi and nods in my direction when she spots me. Vivi’s eyes widen and her mouth drifts open a bit as she walks over to me. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be doing football practice-type stuff?”
“I am, but I let them know I wouldn’t be able to make it there today. I couldn’t leave you alone here, so I stayed here to keep an eye on everything. Plus, I’m waiting for the vet clinic to call and update me about Dobby. I would’ve been useless to the Devils today. My mind isn’t right, and in football, when you’re not fully focuses, you get hurt,” I tell her.
“I get it. I’m not fully focused on my job today either, but it’s been good to come here and get a break from all the bullshit we’ve been dealing with over the last few days.” Her eyes flit over to the bags of food sitting on the passenger seat. “It smells fantastic in here. What were you eating?”
“Nothing yet, but I ordered grilled chicken salads and soup for me, you and Bella for lunch. I hope that’s okay?”
“You are too damn good to me.” She leans in through the window and then gives me a quick peck on the cheek.
The two women take me to a large, white tent with several tables and chairs set up where they eat lunch every day. My presence earns a lot of curious stares in our direction, but no one questions why I’m there. It was nice to feel like a normal guy visiting his lady at work during her lunchtime. No one bothered me or asked for me to sign anything, so it was great.
I shoveled down my salad as I sat and politely listen to Bella and Vivi gossip about their workplace drama. I don’t have any clue who the people are they’re talking about, so I have little to speak on to join in their conversation.
After we’ve all finished our food, I stand and begin gathering up all the trash.
“And he cleans?” Bella feigns with mock shock. “He’s a keeper, V.”
“That he is,” my woman agrees and a warm rush of love circles around in my chest.
I smile at her and then take everything over to the trash can. It’s there I spot that dickhead director, Harry, at the other end of the tent. My eyes narrow as I watch him speak to a short lady with glasses and dark hair.
What I wouldn’t give to put my hands on the guy and smack him around a while for the shit, he said to Vivi. But, I won’t touch him. The dirt bag isn’t worth all the trouble kicking his ass will bring on me. I’ve got enough problems and I don’t need to add to them right now, not to mention it would create a colossal mess for Vivi, and I don’t want that. As much as it pains me, I have to be on good behavior.
It’s like he can feel my hatred of him from across the way, and his head snaps up, causing his gaze to lock with mine for a moment. Not wasting any time, he turns on his heel and begins walking in the other direction away from me while the woman he was talking to trails behind. Clearly, she wasn’t done with whatever they were talking about.
“What a little weasel,” I mutter loud enough for only me to hear as I walk back to the table Vivi and Bella are still sitting at.
Vivi turns to me and pokes her lower lip out in an obvious pout. “Our break is over.”
I brush a lock of her hair away from her face and say, “I’ll be waiting outside in the Jeep if you need me.”
“You seriously don’t have to wait in your car. I have another five hours of work yet before we can leave.” She tells me as we all stand up and start walking back to where I parked.
“I’m not leaving,” I tell her. “I can study game film and plays in the Jeep, so it’s not like I don’t have things to do.”
“I know, but I don’t think Annabelle is crazy enough to come here,” Vivi says.
“I wouldn’t put it past her, considering how brave she was to come into my house with the all the cameras, not to mention what she did to Gia and Dobby. I won’t be giving her an opportunity to get anywhere near you.”
“She seems to attack when someone is alone, and I’ve got Bella with me the whole time I’m on set. The girl couldn’t possibly take us both on at the same time.”
“Yeah,” Bella agrees. “Don’t let these skinny arms fool you. I’ve got brothers and know how to defend myself thanks to years of wrestling with them.”
“While I don’t doubt the two of you aren’t a dynamic duo together, let’s not take any chances. I would rather air on the side of caution and keep watch while the two of you are busy working,” I tell them.
“The man’s a keeper,” Bella says with a dreamy sigh to Vivi. “He loves you a lot.”
“That I do.” I wink at Vivi as I take her hand in mind.
Bella tilts her head and then stops in her tracks as her eyes latch on to something in the distance. “Zayn, did you know you have a flat tire?”
“What?” I grumble as I shove my hand through my hair. “Fuck. How in the—” I stop myself mid-sentence when I spot the other read tire is flat as well. “What in the hell?”
I walk around my Jeep and notice all of my tires are flat—the valve stems cut on all of them. I scrub my hand down my face, and then I hear Vivi’s voice.
“Um, Zayn. You better look at this.”
I step around to the front of the vehicle, to where Vivi and Bella are standing, frozen in place with their eyes glued to the windshield. My blood runs cold in my veins as I read what the note placed under my windshield wipers says.
‘The codes don’t matter. I can get to you whenever I want. Nothing will keep us apart.’
I glance around, suddenly fearful of being under Annabelle’s watchful eye and worry about all of us being so out in the open. “Let’s get inside the trailer. We need to get the cops here.”
The girls take off running, and I jog behind them, keeping a lookout.
Vivi’s chest rises and falls at a rapid pace as she peels back the blind to peek outside. “Do you think she’s still out there?”
“I don’t know,” I admit.
I notice Vivi clenching and unclenching her fist at her side, so I take her hand into mine to try and settle her down. “Keep calm. I’m here and I’ve got you.”
I’m fucking scared, but I can’t show it. Annabelle Rogers, or whatever the fuck her name is, is unstable, which makes her unpredictable. Unpredictability is dangerous.