You’re Mine by Penny Brooks

Chapter 157

Harper

"Motherfucker, someone's been tracking my ass!"

Easton's voice is deep.

Downright vicious.

He swipes the round disc from the ground and holds it between his fingers, staring at it for a long, silent moment, just before another roar leaves him and he chucks the tracker so hard, it bounces off Ryan's thigh.

"Ow! What the fuck, man?"

my brother yells, glaring at Easton.

Sadie goes to pick it up off the ground, frowning as she examines the round disc.

"What is this? Like a tile thing or whatever?"

"It's one of those Air Tag things,"

Easton says between tight lips, his expression so thunderous it kind of scares me.

"Someone's been tracking me."

"Do you think it was your mom and dad?"

I didn't think his parents were that strict.

They care about his grades and what he's going to do with his future, but the normal day to day stuff? He's kind of on his own and basically does whatever the hell he wants.

So why would they track him? They have Find My Phone like every other parent on the planet.

Isn't that good enough? Easton slowly shakes his head.

"No, it's definitely not them."

"Then who?"

I ask, at a complete loss.

"Aisha,"

Ryan supplies for him, his eyes going wide.

He points at Easton.

"It's fucking Aisha, dude!"

My stomach drops.

No.

No way.

She wouldn't track my boyfriend...

Would she? Absolutely not.

That's taking things way too far.

I turn to my twin.

"What do you mean, it's Aisha?"

"It's her." Ryan nods, already convinced.

He turns to Easton.

"She shows up everywhere we're at, bro.

Like, fucking everywhere.

The pizza place that one time.

Oh shit, remember when we went to the grocery store to pick stuff up for Harp when she was sick, and Aisha was there?"

"Lurking around the bananas like a fucking stalker," Sadie says savagely, clutching the tracker in her fist.

"Or the time we went to Walgreens across town,' I say, my voice soft, my mind replaying the memory in my head.

How Aisha showed up right when we were in line to make our purchase.

How startled I'd been.

What were the odds of her being there? At the time, it made no sense.

I wrote it off to complete coincidence.

Plus I was distracted that night, sick with worry I could be pregnant.

But I wasn't.

And her showing up wasn't a coincidence either.

She's actually been tracking and following my boyfriend.

"That bitch." My voice is so loud I make Sadie jump.

"I hate her."

"She's fuckin' crazy." Ryan nods.

"Let's go to her house right now and kick her ass.

She fucking deserves it for all the shit she's put us through."

Sadie starts for the back door of the Jeep, ready to hop in, but she turns to look at all of us at the last second.

"Should we throw this thing away?"

She holds up the tracker.

"No way." Easton holds out his hand.

"Give it to me."

"Why would you keep it? Don't let her track you. It's messed up, how she knows your every move. Easton."

I grab his arm, giving it a light shake, but he doesn't respond. His body is tense, his gaze distant, and I can tell he's in his head. Furious.

Upset.

Maybe even a little...

Hurt? I hate to think of him with Aisha-gag—and I hate her with everything in my entire being, but once upon a time, these two were sort of a thing.

Gross.

Maybe he feels violated by her doing this.

Who knows how long she's been tracking him? Sadie hands the disc over to Easton and he curls his fingers around it, clutching it tight. "This bitch is going down," he mutters.

"Yes!" Sadie crows, pumping her fist in the air. Ryan grabs her arm, tugging it back down to her side.

"Calm down, babe. We have to approach this situation right."

I frown.

"What do you mean, approach it right?"

"We can't be too obvious,' Easton says, his gaze going to Sadie.

"No ass kicking allowed."

"God, you're no fun."

Sadie crosses her arms in front of her chest, her lips forming into a pout.

"Let's get on the road,' Easton says, the tracker still in his hand.

"We should head home before your parents get back."

All four of us climinto the Jeep, Easton dropping the tracker into one of the cup holders in the center console before he starts the engine.

The mood is somber, all of us lost in our own thoughts, mine filled with stupid Aisha and what she's done to us since Easton and I started our relationship.

The things she said.

The horrible way she's treated me.

Again and again and again.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see Sadie is leaning her head on Ryan's shoulder, her eyes closed.

My brother is staring at his phone, his Air Pods in his ears.

Meaning we don't have an audience.

"Easton," I murmur.

He glances over at me.

"What's up, baby?"

My entire body goes warm at him calling me baby.

I don't want this weekend ruined.

What happened between us yesterday, last night...has been completely tainted by finding that stupid tracker.

"I love you,"

I tell him, just needing to get it out there.

His smile is faint, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"I love you too."

"Yesterday was the best Valentine's Day I've ever experienced."

His smile grows bigger, his gaze on the road.

"For me too."

"That's why I don't want this tracker thing to overshadow our first Valentine's Day together."

I reach over the console, resting my hand on Easton's muscular thigh.

"Let's focus on what happened yesterday."

A ragged exhale leaves him as he grabs my hand and brings it up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my knuckles.

"I love what you're saying, but you gotta know, it's impossible." Unease washes over me and I slowly pull my hand from his.

"What's impossible?"

"Trying to put what Aisha did out of my mind."

His grip tightens on the steering wheel.

"It's fucking insane. She's fucking insane."

"We don't even know if she's the one who did it,' I point out.

He actually scoffs.

"Come on, Harper.

She totally did it.

Who else would?"

"I don't know."

I feel helpless.

Stupid.

"Right. The logical answer is Aisha."

He pauses.

"Or Blake."

I suck in a sharp breath.

"Blake would never do that to you. He's known you and Ryan forever. Why would he track you? Why would he care where you are and what you're doing? Wouldn't he just tag along?"

The triumphant look on Easton's face is obvious.

"Exactly. That's why it wasn't him. It was Aisha. That bitch has shown up everywhere we've been for months. Even the Walgreens, Harper. And no one knew where we were that night. We were ina completely different part of town. There was no reason for her to be over there-by herself. None."

I dip my head, staring at my clutched hands resting in my lap.

"What are you going to do about it?" "I don't know, but I'm going to take care of it."

He glances over at me, a devilish gleam in his eyes.

"I promise."