Page 77 of Claiming Lily

My pulse starts to race. The same way it has been at every unexpected noise, every car door slamming, every shadow moving past the window. I’m getting tired of living on the edge of a tripwire.

The guys exchange glances over my head before Gage stands. “I’ll get it.”

“We’ll all get it,” Hudson corrects, helping me to my feet.

Through the small window in the door, we can see Officer Trina in her uniform, her expression unreadable in the porch light. Gage opens it cautiously.

“Evening, folks. May I come in? I have some updates about your case.”

My heart hammers against my ribs as we lead her to the small kitchen table. The chairs scrape against the vacation-rental-grade luxury-vinyl plank floor as we sit. Tension pulls tight as the officer settles across from us in her seat.

“First, the good news,” she begins. “We were able to track down and interview Matt yesterday.”

The old wooden chair creaks when I grip the edge of my seat. Even though we all suspected it was him, hearing his name in this context makes it real in a way that steals my breath.

“Based on our conversation with him and some inconsistencies in his story, we obtained a search warrant for his residence.” She frowns. “The IP address from the threatening emails traced back to his home internet connection. We also recovered a laptop that contained deleted files matching the photos and messages you received.”

The room spins around me. “So it was him?” I whisper. In a way, I’m relieved to know who it is, but at the same time, betrayal punches through me.

Trina nods grimly. “The evidence is overwhelming. We found additional photos on the laptop. . . surveillance shots of you at work, at the grocery store, photos of all of you taken from outside the house windows.”

Hudson’s jaw ticks beside me, anger rolling off him in waves. I’m right there with him.

“Did he confess?” Everything she’s shared is undeniable evidence, but some part of me still needs to hear it, needs the confirmation that someone I trusted for two years could do something so twisted. That Matt is so out of control he’d resort to violence.

“No, he didn’t.” Her voice is professional but not unsympathetic. “He’s claiming someone else must have used his internet connection and that the laptop isn’t his, despite it being found in his bedroom. But the evidence is quite damning. Photos, emails, browsing history showing research into stalking methods and intimidation tactics.”

My stomach lurches. What the fuck, Matt?

“He also had what appears to be a detailed schedule of your daily routines,” she continues. “When you leave for work, which grocery store you frequent, even notes about your friends’ schedules.”

Disbelief ricochets through me. That’s next level unhinged. What was he planning to do with all that information? How far would he have gone had he not been caught?

Gage scrubs a hand over his face. “Jesus Christ.”

“Due to the nature of everything, he’s being held without bail pending trial. Given the escalation to animal cruelty and the threatening nature of his recent communications, he’s looking at serious time.”

Relief floods through me so quickly my head spins. As easy as that, it’s over? The nightmare that’s consumed the last few weeks is finally finished. I can wake up. Take a deep breath. Go on about my life without looking over my shoulder. Simple things I’ve taken for granted are suddenly vitally important.

“The good news is you’re all free to return home whenever you’d like. Any questions?” Officer Trina looks at each of us in turn.

The four of us shake our heads. There’s nothing we can ask that she’d know the answer to. Plus, I think we’re all still in shock to learn that it really was the person we all thought we knew. The guys walk her to the door, their voices low as they discuss some final details. I trail behind them on unsteady legs while my mind tries to process everything and make it make sense.

That’s the thing about crimes of passion, though. There’s nothing logical about them.

The door clicks shut, and then I’m surrounded by warm, solid bodies. Hudson, Gage, and Cole envelope me in their arms, creating a cocoon of safety. I breathe their scents in, a mix of pine and fresh rain. The comfort of a warm fire on a snowy day. They give me the deepest sense of security. The world could end and I’d still feel like they could save me.

“It’s finally over,” I say, though it comes out more like a question.

“Yeah, baby,” Gage murmurs against my hair. “It’s done.”

“Can we go home?” I ask, fighting tears of relief. “Please, I just want to go home.”

“Of course we can,” Hudson says softly. “As long as you promise us something.”

I pull back slightly to look at him. “What?”

“That you won’t ever leave,” Cole says, his icy blue eyes more serious than I’ve ever seen them. “That you’ll stay with us.”