Page 19 of Make Us Yours
I nod and mull over his words. “It’s not the first time she has gotten one. Yesterday at Ford’s, she received two messages over dinner. They were strange numbers, like those you’d expect from a burner phone. She didn’t open them, but she looked spooked and paled just seeing them pop up.”
“What do you think it could be?” Gabe asks, a sense of worry lacing his tone.
I shrug. “A stalker maybe? I really have no clue. It could be a lot of things.”
“Well, whatever it is, she should tell us about it if it’s affecting her that badly. I’m sure we could help in some way.”
“Does Veronica look like the kind of girl who talks about her life openly? And do you really think she would come to us if she had a problem, out of everyone?” I give him a ‘you should know better’ look.
“Okay, so we ask the guys. Maybe they’ve heard something through their wives. And if not, then we get Ronnie to trust us enough until she tells us,” he delivers his plan.
I mean, it’s a pretty good plan. Although getting her to trust us enough to divulge her secrets might take a while. “Yeah, okay. Let’s ask the guys first, then we can move on to plan B and what exactly that would require.” I push off the counter and walk out of the kitchen. “Jumping in the shower now. Get ready.”
“Ooh, you want me to join you?” he teases childishly, but it still pulls a smile out of me.
“Fuck off.”
I finish my last set on the bench press and sit up, wiping my forehead with my towel. I then stand from the bench, wipe it down, and head over to where Burkley and Hayes sit while taking a small break from their workout. A minute later, Ellis and Ford join us.
“Ellis, not your best work today. What’s up?” Silas leans in to get a better look at Gabe.
He’s a good team captain; I get why he got the position. And there’s no doubt when he retires, Clay will be taking his spot if he’s still playing. Those two are always attentive to every player and helping out.
“Just a rough night and an extra workout earlier.” Gabe shrugs.
“Jesus, I’m too old to be working out twice a day,” Clay murmurs as he stretches out his shoulders.
“What’s the matter? Age catching up to you, old man?” Greyson chuckles.
“Shut up, doofus. You’re only two years younger than I am.” Clay furrows his brow in his direction.
Silas laughs at their exchange for a moment but then grows serious and turns his attention back to Gabe. “Rough night or wild night?”
“I wish.” Gabe smirks. “Nah, just couldn’t sleep. It happens from time to time. Nothing to worry about.”
Silas nods, but Clay watches him carefully. He can tell there’s more to the story, but like always, he doesn’t say anything unless he absolutely has to.
“You know if there’s something going on, you can talk to us,” Silas offers Gabe, and by the way Gabe’s jaw ticks subtly, I can tell he’s getting annoyed at having their attention on him. I decide now is the best time to change the subject from him.
“Actually, there is something we wanted to bring up.” They all lean in, waiting for me to elaborate. “Have you guys noticed anything strange going on with Veronica?”
Their brows all furrow in confusion.
“Uh, no. Not really,” Silas says with a head shake.
“Honestly, I don’t pay Ronnie enough attention to notice if something was off,” Grey adds with an apologetic shrug.
“That’s because you’re too focused on Emma to even notice anything else happening around you.” Clay smirks.
“Oh, shut up. Like you guys are any better.” He rolls his eyes as we all laugh. He’s right, though, these guys are all obsessed with their women. I guess Gabe and I can kind of relate.
“But seriously, not even a weird face when she’s on her phone? Nothing? What about your girls? They haven’t mentioned anything?” Gabe questions.
They all shake their heads at the same time.
“If something were going on, Aubrey would probably be your best shot at finding out. They live together after all,” Greyson says next.
He’s right. But I have a feeling that if Veronica didn’t mention it to the girls, then it’s because she doesn’t want people to know. We can relate to that.
