Page 68 of Stag

“Can we just take a breather here? Are we literally making assumptions that this lady is going to physically assault her own sister? This isn’t some stranger obsessed with a person. She’s her family. Would she take it that far?”

Grease laughed, but it was a sharp, brittle sound.

“Do you want me to give you the stats on stalkers, and the different personality types that lead to the delusions that make them think there’s a connection when there isn’t? Want to consider how much more inflated that gets when they’re blood related? Even worse, they’re twins. This isn’t just some peeping tom we’re talking about. This is the person who knows her best, who’s known her since before birth. The person who may be connected to her in ways we’ll never understand. Are they the kind of twins who feel each other’s emotions? Feel when the other is near? Are they the kind of twins who’ve always felt competition with each other? Right now, all we know is this sister of hers is obsessed to the point that she’s been tracking her, verbally abusing her, and… I hate to say it, but I won’t be surprised if she’s done things like doping her at nights to keep her where she wants her.”

“Fucking hell!” I blurted out, wanting to wrap Claudia in fucking bubble wrap or something, because if this sister of hers was this insane and infatuated with her own sister, she could strike at any time, in any way.

“This is the weirdest situation we’ve had to deal with so far, but it’s fixable,” Micro said firmly, squeezing my shoulder gently.

“First things first, she needs to be locked out of any form of communication, secondly, we need a watch on the house, and at least one of the club with Claudia if she’s out and about. Stag, you need to talk with her about these protection orders, and any other legal options. The one thing we know about people who get obsessed and stalk people is that they can and do escalate, and we don’t want her doing something that can’t be undone.”

Fuck me. This is getting terrifying.

“Why don’t I take her out of town or something. Stay away while we resolve this.”

Micro eyed me sadly. “How long for, brother? This isn’t going to go away in a few days. Even the legal means could take months to force any form of change. I’d suggest the sister gets therapy, but we’re not in a position to make that happen.”

Grease suddenly interrupted. “That’s it! Forced psychiatric hold. What if we can get her into some facility to try and help her?”

Jesus. Suddenly it seemed like we were talking about actions that couldn’t be undone, and I was starting to freak out myself.

“Stop!”

Silence fell, and it struck me that it’s what she heard all the damn time. My poor fucking woman, maybe protected from my stupid mouth, but missing so much else. My eyes burned and felt scratchy, and I rubbed at them aggressively.

“Jesus.”

“Grease, focus on the tech stuff for now, and we’ll get back with you.” Micro ended the call, and guided me onto the sofa, while Harley nodded, and left the room, heading toward where Claudia was still merrily doing whatever the hell she was doing.

“Breathe, Stag. Nothing happens without her consent, and yours.”

“It’s just so much so fucking fast,” I breathed out, feeling like a pathetic piece of shit for getting overwhelmed about stuff that wasn’t even mine to make decisions about.

“I get that, brother. It’s a shit ton to deal with, and she’s been going through it alone, but now she has you. You’re giving her strength to keep living her life. Doesn’t mean it won’t hit you too. Talk to me.”

Talk. Yeah, the one thing I do really fucking well.

“I’ll just fuck everything up.”

Micro chuckled, glancing over my shoulder and nodding to someone. Harley leaned past me and set a glass of water on the table, and disappeared again.

“Look, you’ve gone from being a happy, single guy to being in a relationship, and dealing with all this obsessive shit that’s threatening her, and that’s a lot. We can all see it’s taking a toll on you, but we’re your family, yeah? You need help, you tell us. Doesn’t matter what the fuck it is. It’s all good.”

Why were his words threatening to break what was left of my fucking sanity?

“What if I’m not enough,” I practically whispered, watching him frown and lean a little closer.

“Enough for what? For her? She’s got stars in her eyes when she looks at you, brother. She’s falling hard, and I can tell you are too. Just keep doing whatever you’re doing, because it’s already enough for her, yeah?”

Enough. Yeah, like the fact that I hadn’t even had sex with her yet. The one thing I thought I was waiting too long for, and suddenly it stopped mattering when she needed my help.

“I’m kinda all the way out of my comfort zone, Pres. I can do numbers. Apparently I can do being a prick. This is… how the hell do I not mess this up? She deserves the best of me.”

He grinned widely at me, which was a dickish move since we were being so serious.

“So give her the best of you. Only you can make that happen.” Fuck.

Claudia returned then, carrying a large plate with sandwiches stacked on it. I tried to take it from her and she shot me a sassy glare that’d break a lesser man. Okay. Honesty time. I barely survived it.