Unbearable (Undescribable) (27 page)

“And I would tell Slade my reasoning for a new
number is what exactly?”

She lets out a long breath. “I don’t know. Maybe he
won’t ask.” She sounds hopeful.

“He will. Hell, he calls me every time I set the
alarm to away wanting to know where I’m going. The only reason he isn’t blowing
my phone up right now is because I didn’t set the alarm.”

She laughs.

“Where are you heading anyway?”

“I’m on my way to get some new sheets and a
comforter. I threw the others in the trash.”

“And you don’t think he will ask why you did that?”

“Oh, he will. But when I tell him we need to break
them in, he will forget all about it.” I hope. She laughs then gets quiet real
quick. “What are you thinking about?” I ask as I park in front of the home
store.

“Well, I just can’t figure out how she is getting
these pictures.”

“Me either,” I say, biting on my lower lip.

“So far Bridgette has been in all of them, right?”

“Well, no. There have been three pictures so far,
and the one video. The picture I got this morning he was with a brunette. You
couldn’t see who was behind the camera.”

“Maybe Bridgette is in it with Jessica. As far as I
remember, Bridgette really liked Slade.”

“I don’t know why Bridgette would care that Slade
is with me though. Shit, she already got my last boyfriend,” I say with a laugh,
surprising myself. Who knew I would get over Jax? I could care not less who he
ends up with.

“Right.” Holly also laughs. “Let me do some digging
and I will get back to you with what I find.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Holly.”

As I grab my phone and get out of the truck, Vivian
calls me. I speak with her the entire time I’m shopping. She wanted to see if I
was still helping decorate for their annual Halloween party they are having
this weekend.

Slade and I had spoken about this last night. He
told me they pretty much turn their house into a spooky castle and everyone
dresses up.

I am pretty excited about it. I think it will be a
fun time to drink with friends and not have to worry about going out. Vivian
said we could just stay the night in Slade’s old room, and that Holly and Micah
have stayed over every Halloween since they got together. She always worries
about all of us when we go out drinking. She was very excited when she told me
she had purchased several bottles of Barefoot Moscato. So, I have a feeling she
plans on keeping my glass full the entire time.

“Thank you,” I say, paying for our new sheets and
comforter. I bought everything new, from curtains to throw pillows and even a
few rugs that match the new comforter.

“Thank you,” the cashier says cheerfully. “Have a
great day.”

I throw all of my sacks into the cart and push it
out of the store. As I make my way to the back of the parking lot, I notice that
there is broken glass on the ground next to Nadia. I look up to see that more
than half the back window is knocked out.

What the hell?

I get closer to the truck. I pull out my cell and
dial Slade’s number as my eyes scan the parking lot.

“Come on,” I say as I listen to it ring and ring.

“Hello?” I hear a woman’s voice on the other end. I
freeze for a second until I realize I know that voice. Rose.

“Rose. Is Slade there?” I say in a rush.

“Samantha. He’s in a meeting right now. Is there
something I can do for you?” she asks nicely.

“Someone broke into the truck.” I scan the parking
lot again. Do you ever have a feeling that someone is watching you? I have that
feeling right now and it’s very unsettling.

“Oh no. Are you alright?” she asks with worry in
her voice.

“Yes. I was shopping, and then just came out to
find the truck had been broken into.”

“Let me get him for you, Samantha.” I walk over to
the driver’s side door and try to open it. I frown when I find it still locked.
I try the back driver’s side door.

Same.

If someone broke in through the back, wouldn’t they
just open one of the doors to get out?

Rose gets my attention as she speaks on the other
end of the line.

“Mr. Long, Samantha is on the line for you.” I feel
bad for worrying her. You can tell by her voice that I have scared her.

“Tell her I’ll call her back in twenty minutes.” I
hear Slade’s voice. He, on the other hand, must be preoccupied and not notice
the concern she has.

“It’s an emergency.”

I look around again as I hear nothing but silence,
still not seeing anyone.

“Angel,” Slade barks into my ear, “is everything
okay?”

“Slade, I was just walking out of a store and found
that someone has knocked out the back window of the truck.”

“What do you mean knocked it out? And where are
you?”

“I mean it’s shattered. Like someone hit it with a
baseball bat and knocked the entire thing out. But I’ve tried the doors and
they’re locked.” I pull the keys out of my jacket pocket and go to unlock them.

“Don’t unlock them,” he practically shouts. “I’m on
my way. Do you hear me, Angel? Do not get in the truck.”

I roll my eyes as I rub my hands on my arms. “It’s
not like its eighty degrees outside, Slade.” It’s been cold the last week.

“Go back inside the store. I’m on my way.” I tell him
where I’m at before hanging up the phone. I look around one last time before
making my way back toward the store.

Within fifteen minutes, I
see Slade’s car pull into the parking lot. He pulls up next to Nadia and I
watch him and Micah get out. I grab the shopping cart and walk out to meet
them.

“The police are on their way,” he says as soon as
he spots me.

“What can they do?” So far they haven’t done shit
with the break-in.

“You need to file a report.” He looks down at my
bags then back up to me. “What were you doing here anyway?”

I gesture to the shopping cart. “Shopping,” I say,
obviously.

“For what?”

“I bought some new sheets and stuff for the
bedroom.”

“You shouldn’t be out shopping.”

“So now I can’t even leave the house?”

“I would say that’s the best thing until all this
is sorted out.” He then turns around and starts talking to Micah.

I once again roll my eyes. Great, now he is going
to have me on house arrest because some idiot felt like breaking into our
truck.

“Where are the keys?”

I pull them out of my purse and hand them to Slade.
“Go stand by my car.” He nods over to his CTS.

I look over to it and then back to him. “Why do you
want me—”

“Angel,” he snaps, “just go stand by my car.”

I let out a puff of air before I storm off. I watch
as he and Micah get into the truck and start going through it.

They climb out of the truck and Slade calls over to
me, “Did you see anyone else in the parking lot?”

I shake my head, walking back over to them. “No. I
looked around the parking lot as soon as I saw the glass.”

“Well, they had to have climbed into the back of
the truck to knock out this window,” Micah says, looking at the broken window.
“The truck is too tall to hit it from standing beside it.”

Hmm. I hadn’t thought of that.

“Did anyone know you were out shopping?” Micah
asks.

Why does that matter? “I didn’t even know you were
out shopping.” Slade shoots me an accusatory glare. “Why didn’t you set the
alarm to the house when you left?”

I shrug, not wanting to answer that question.
“Holly knew. I spoke with her earlier.”

Slade throws his hands up in the air. “Did you
notice anyone following you from the house?” he asks as he rubs the back of his
neck.

“No.” I frown. “This has nothing to do with the
house and the break-in,” I say, looking back and forth between them.

“Just how do you know that?” Slade snaps, taking a
step toward me.

“Hang on,” Micah says calmly, “we don’t know
anything yet.” He looks at Slade.

Slade turns and speaks to him in a hushed tone and
I am unable to hear what he is saying.

“Hey,” I say, getting his attention, “what are you
whispering about?”

Slade starts to speak, but Micah interrupts him.
“There are the police.”

For what feels like the hundredth time in the past
few weeks, I explain to the police what happened, which wasn’t much since I
didn’t see anything. They asked me the same questions that Slade had just asked,
along with several more.

“Is anything missing out of the truck?” the officer
asks looking over at Slade.

“Micah and I looked through it. Everything seems to
be in place.”

The officer nods. “That is not uncommon. In a
parking lot like this the thieves usually get spooked before they get the
chance to get their hands on what they want.”

They tell Slade they will be in touch soon before
they get in their police car and drive away.

Slade turns to me. “I’m going to let Micah drive
the truck home.”

I nod and start walking over to his car. “Why
couldn’t I drive the truck home?” I question once he gets in.

“It’s not safe,” he says, keeping his eyes on the
windshield as we pull out of the parking lot.

I stare down at my hands as they sit in my lap. Why
do I feel like I did something wrong? “Are you mad at me?” I ask quietly.

He lets out a long breath. “I want to know why you
were out shopping by yourself.”

“Why is it so wrong that I went shopping?”

“Because someone is after you,” he snaps.

“No one is after me. Even the cop said it could be
a coincidence.”

“That cop doesn’t know. He was guessing,”

“Then why did you even call them if they can’t help
us?” I demand.

He doesn’t answer as he pulls into the driveway. I
don’t even bother waiting for him to turn the car off before I jump out and
storm into the house.

I grab myself a bottle of water out of the kitchen.
I can hear Slade and Micah speaking in the garage, but once again, I can’t make
out what they are saying.

I walk over to the door leading out to the garage
quietly, trying to overhear their conversation, when the door swings open
causing me to jump back.

Slade walks in carrying the bags that I had left in
the car. He hands them over to me, and then heads toward our bedroom. I follow
him.

I enter the bedroom to find him standing at the end
of our bed. He looks over at me with a frown on his face. “What did you do with
all of the sheets?”

I bite my bottom lip nervously, as I confess, “I
threw them away.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I thought it was time for new ones. If you
don’t like them, I can return them and get something else.”

He gives me a small smile and moves in front of me.
He reaches up, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “I love them.”

I smile back at him, hoping that this takes his
mind off of what happened to Nadia. “You haven’t even seen them.” I give him a
little laugh.

“You picked them out, I’m sure they are beautiful.”
He laughs. “And very girly.”

“I kept you in mind while I was shopping.”

He pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around my
waist. He lowers his head down to mine and I lift up, throwing my arms around
his neck.

“Why don’t you try on your Halloween outfit on for
me?” His breath falls on my neck, making me shiver.

“No. You only have to wait two more days,” I
whisper, “but I do have something else I can try on for you.”

He pulls away from me and falls onto the bed. He
lies on his side and props his head up with one hand. “What are you waiting
for?” he prompts, cocking an eyebrow.

I laugh as I turn and walk into our closet. I pull
out my Frederick’s bag that I had hidden in the back of the closet from my
shopping trip with Holly last weekend.

I slip on the bright pink lace thong that has
silver rhinestones on it. I then pull out the matching corset and begin to
fasten the hooks together, starting from the bottom working my way up. Once I
finish, I step into the black heels that he bought me for my birthday. I know
how much they terrify him, but they are sexy as hell and add a little darkness
to the outfit since it is so bright.

I open the closet door and stand in the doorway
looking into the bedroom. I frown when I don’t see him. I scan the room a
couple of times and take a step out into the bedroom.

I stand there for a few seconds until I hear his
voice coming from his office. I make my way down the hallway and stop at his office
door. He’s leaning over his desk as he writes something down.

“I can do that. I’m not returning to the office
today, but I will be in first thing in the morning,” he says into the phone. “Yes,
we will discuss the complications of that first thing in the morning.”

I smile as he nods to himself while the person on
the other end of the line speaks to him.

“Absolutely, sir.” He pulls it away from his ear
and hangs up, releasing a sigh. He then sits back in his chair with his eyes
closed as he exhales another sigh.