The Shifter’s Prisoner

by T. S. Ryder

  Chapter Four

  When Hayden woke up in the morning, his first thought was, what did I do?

  He’d wanted to kiss her, sure. But he shouldn’t have. Not without talking to Gabby first. Not without making sure Kaelyn was really interested because now there was no escaping her. She’d kissed him back, yes. But what did that all mean?

  Usually, there was some time after a kiss like that: a half-drunken, unexpected, off-the-cuff, without-much-thought kiss. He needed time to process and figure out what he was feeling. But she’d be there. As soon as he walked out of the room, she’d be there.

  He sucked it up and walked downstairs. The smell of coffee and bacon was making his stomach growl. Kaelyn was already sitting at the small table in the breakfast nook, sipping coffee. She looked up when he entered and her cheeks went pink.

  “Morning,”he said.

  “Morning.”

  He poured some coffee and sat across from her. A few minutes later, his cook came in with a plate of eggs and bacon and set them down on the table in front of them. Hayden didn’t waste any time digging in, but Kaelyn ate slowly, pushing her food around her plate.

  “Everything okay?”he asked.

  “Yeah.”She set her fork down.“Or maybe not. I don’t know. Did I make a fool of myself last night?”

  “No? Why would you think that?”

  “I drank a little more than I intended, I guess, and then when we…”

  So, apparently, they weren’t just going to ignore it. Better bring it up and get it over with, then.“Well, I kissed you. If anyone was inappropriate, it was me.”

  She blinked at him.“Do you wish you hadn’t?”

  “It’s not that. It was a great kiss.”He stuck a piece of bacon in his mouth, looking for the right words.“I just think maybe it was fast? We didn’t really discuss that at all and with you staying here...”

  “Yeah. It is kind of awkward.”

  “It is.”

  She chuckled.“So maybe we don’t hook up unless we discuss it first?”

  “Or maybe when we’re not living together?”

  “Right.”She nodded.“Agreed. No more kissing until I move out and we discuss it.”She breathed out a hard sigh.“That makes it better. No pressure.”

  He did feel relieved, even if he was somewhat disappointed. He’d enjoyed kissing her. But it was better this way. They could wait a few months, then see what happened when she had her own place.

  ***

  After they got past the initial awkwardness and set the boundaries for their relationship, things got a little better. That next week, Kaelyn started her new job. They went back to being friends, though they did tend to flirt a lot. They had never done that back in high school. When he walked by her, he could feel the sexual tension between them.

  He became grateful for their no kissing rule. So many times he wanted to kiss her and wondered if he could or should. Then he remembered that they’d agreed not to, and it made things simpler.

  That morning, they’d had a nice breakfast together, crepes and ham, and they had talked about her first week of work. She was enjoying her new job as a database administrator. Working with computers all day was what she’d gone to school for and was good at. She thought it would only be a month or so until she could save a bit and look for a place.

  Kaelyn had headed out for the day to meet some friends for shopping and Hayden was pulling on his shoes, meeting his own friends for a game of basketball at a local gym. He picked up his keys and gym bag and headed toward the garage.

  Before he could leave the house, though, someone knocked on the door. Usually, he let the housekeeper answer it, but he happened to be nearby, so he peaked through the window beside the door. He made a face to himself when he didn’t recognize the man outside but pulled the door open anyway.

  “Can I help you?”he asked, with a slight edge in his voice. If this guy was selling something or belonged to some media outlet, he’d curse himself for not letting the housekeeper answer. And if he was at the door, it meant either someone had given him the pass code to the gate that protected the property, or he’d gotten it some other way. Once or twice, his passcode had been hacked. Probably someone at the security company selling information, they’d told him the last time it happened.

  “Is Kaelyn here?”

  This took him a bit by surprise. Not that she wasn’t allowed to have people come to the house. That didn’t bother him. But he thought she might have mentioned it.

  “She’s out at the moment. Can I tell her who stopped by?”

  “I’m Will. I’m her boyfriend.”

  Hayden kept a straight face, but the jealousy raged in his chest. Was she dating someone? Had that happened before or after their kiss? Was she ever going to bother telling him, or just lead him on, letting him think that maybe they had something?

  “Boyfriend, huh? I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

  Will grinned.“We’re in love. But she doesn’t like to tell too many people. Doesn’t want to seem like we’re bragging about it or anything.”

  Hayden pressed his lips together.“Right. I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

  Were they in love? Was this guy for real? If that was true, then it couldn’t be new. At least not within the last week. Which meant she’d been dating him when they kissed. And the whole time they talked that night, she hadn’t bothered to mention him once?

  By the time he slid behind the wheel of his Jag and backed out of the garage, the rage and jealousy were warring with each other. This happened to him sometimes. Shifters tended to be somewhat hot-headed by nature. It was something in their biology. He ground his teeth together and wished he could run Will over with his car. The little weasel had already left, though.

  He found himself driving too fast in his rage and had to force himself to take his foot off the gas. The whole time he played ball, he found himself throwing the ball too hard, taking more risks than he normally did. His teammate missed a shot and he nearly took his head off yelling at him.

  “What is your problem today?”Lee asked.“This level of aggression is not necessary. It’s a hangout game. It’s supposed to be for fun.”

  “Whatever.”Hayden took a hard sip of his water and tossed the bottle back in his bag.“You could still get the shot.”

  “I’m gonna call it a day,”Doug said.“It’s getting late anyway, and I have stuff with the kids to take care of.”

  Two of them left and it was just Lee and Hayden. Lee grabbed his own gym bag and slung it over his shoulder.

  “Go out and have a drink or something, man,”Lee said.“You’re wound up.”

  “It’s nothing.”Hayden snatched his bag from the ground and threw it over his shoulder.“Good game,”he muttered and walked out.

  Kaelyn wasn’t home by the time he returned, so he showered, the hot water doing nothing to ease his frustration. In his head, he kept going over everything Will had said and everything Hayden would say to Kaelyn when he saw her.

  He was in his office, trying to work and failing, when Kaelyn finally came home. He closed his laptop lid, took a deep breath and walked out of his office. Kaelyn came from the garage with bags in her hands.

  “Hey,”she said cheerfully.

  He didn’t smile back.“Have fun?”

  “Yes. It was really great. I got some new work clothes and a few things for when I have my own place.”

  “You get anything for date night?”

  She pulled together her eyebrows.“Date night?”

  “When you go out with Will. I assume you dress up nice for him.”

  Her face fell and she dropped the bags.“Will?”

  “You know, the boyfriend you forgot to tell me about.”

  “Boyfriend?”Her lip started to quiver. Her reaction made no sense unless she was upset that he’d found out.

  “He stopped by today. Told me how you two were so in love.”Hayden crossed his arms.“Nice of you to tell me that before I kissed you. And spent the last
week flirting with you.”

  “No, it’s not like that.”She put her hand to her mouth.“He came here?”Her voice cracked and she looked like she was about to cry.

  “Sure he did. Why didn’t you tell me?”He was trying very hard not to shout. But he wanted to scream at her so badly.

  “He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t know how he got this address, but he shouldn’t be coming here. I didn’t tell him where I live. And I’m certainly not in love with him.”

  Hayden dropped his arms.“I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  She shook her head and wiped away a quick tear.“Nothing. I just have to go take care of something.”She picked up her bags and was several feet from him before she turned back and said,“Is there a way we can stop him from getting onto the property?”

  “You really didn’t give him the passcode to the gate?”

  “No.”Her eyes were wide with horror.

  His anger melted into concern. Something was very wrong about this situation.“We need to change it, then. Kaelyn, who is this guy? What’s going on? Is he causing trouble for you?”

  “Please change the code. No, it’ll be fine.”She hurried up the stairs and into her room.

  Chapter Five

  Kaelyn got to her room, closed the door, dropped her bags and leaned back against the door, breathing hard. She wiped tears from her eyes, but she was trembling. How had Will found out where she lived? And how had he gotten the code for the gate? What other info did he have? Was her phone or some other account compromised?

  She went to her laptop and began opening accounts and changing passwords. She changed the password for every login she could think of. This was too much. Her brain whirled and she felt vulnerable in a way she never had before. He’d said they were in love? The thought made her shiver in disgust.

  This was getting so much worse. And it had only been a week. She’d thought it would stop. Thought someone at work would be able to do something about it. She would add this latest incident to her report at work and, in the meantime, maybe now the police would take this more seriously.

  When she’d first talked to HR about Will, they hadn’t been too helpful.“It sounds like he’s just trying to be friendly,”they’d said, about the fact that he kept coming to her cube, even when she asked him not to. When he’d gotten her phone number—who knew how—and started calling her, they’d said they’d talk to him. Well, if they had, it hadn’t worked.

  Maybe she should change her number. It was such a hassle that she didn’t want to bother, and she hoped that HR talking to him would scare him off, but now this? If the notes he left on her desk weren’t enough, now he’d found her address and the passcode for the gate. He’d come here—the balls!—and not only that, told Hayden that he was her boyfriend and that they were in love.

  This week, the things he’d done had been a nuisance and only of slight concern. But today, this escalation had her afraid. It's only been a week. She’d met him on her first day of her new job. She’d smiled and been friendly. Somehow, Will had taken this to be something much more than the first-day camaraderie. She’d turned him down for lunch that day and dinner two more times that week. Why didn't he get the hint? Why didn’t he leave her alone?

  Kaelyn put her head in her hands and cried. Everything had been going so well. Her new job was great, and she was here staying with Hayden, which was like being in a resort. Things had gotten a little hot between them and her feelings kept growing. Now Will was going to mess everything up.

  He might have already ruined things with Hayden. He’d made it seem like she was hiding things and kissing him while she was dating someone else. And why should Hayden have to deal with any of this? If he knew what was going on, he might ask her to leave. He might say he didn’t want to deal with some stalker coming around his house. He had enough of those types of things himself. People got crazy when it came to lots of money.

  There was a soft knock on her door and she sat up and wiped at her eyes.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s me,”Hayden said.“Are you okay? Something is weird about this situation, and I don’t like it. What’s going on?”

  She went to the door but didn’t open it. What could she say?“It’s fine. I just have to take care of something, and he won’t come by like that again. I must’ve forgotten I gave him the address or something.”

  “Kaelyn. You can tell me what’s going on. I can help you.”

  “It’s fine. He’s just…an old boyfriend that won’t give up is all.”That sounded somewhat better.

  “Okay. Well, let me know if I can do anything.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  She pressed her forehead against the door, letting the silent tears run to her chin. He was going to think she was nuts. She picked up her keys and got her purse. When she left her room, she looked around, making sure Hayden wasn’t in the hall somewhere. She didn’t want him to see how upset she was.

  She got into her car and drove to the local police station, where she’d been earlier that week. Will hadn’t done anything than that they could do anything about, but hopefully, this would be enough.

  Kaelyn stood at the desk, waiting for the officer to finish his call.

  “Can I help you?”he said.

  “I was here a few days ago about a stalker. There’s been another incident that I need to report.”

  He took down her name and information, then pulled up her file. She waited until someone was available to speak with her. An officer came out to the waiting room and shook her hand.

  “Officer Reid. Come with me, please.”

  She shook his hand and followed him into a small, brightly lit room.

  “Tell me about the new incident,”the officer said.

  He took notes as she recalled how Will had shown up and what he’d said.

  “And you don’t know how he might have gotten the address and passcode?”

  “No. I never gave him my phone number, either, but he still calls me all the time and texts me.”

  “Have the calls or texts changed in nature since this report was filed?”

  “No, he still just says how much he loves me and wants to be with me.”

  The officer looked over his notes.“Unless we can prove that he got this information by illegal means, there’s unfortunately not much we can do. He hasn’t threatened you in any way or done property damage. The best we have to go on is that he stole information, but we need some sort of proof or at least something to go on for that.”

  “Can’t you search his computer and see how he got it? Maybe there’s something there.”

  “That type of investigation requires a crime to have been committed. I know that this isn’t easy for you, and I don’t mean to downplay what you’re going through, but he hasn’t done anything illegal yet. There’s not much we can do about it. You can file a protection order, but it will be very limited since, again, he hasn’t threatened you or damaged anything.”

  Kaelyn nodded.“I understand. But it’s on record at least, right? In case something does happen.”

  “It is. At this point, I’d suggest that you change your phone number and look for a new job.”

  Her mouth hung open.“A new job? I just got this job. Why should I have to find a new job when he’s the one causing the problems?”

  “Have you talked to HR at work?”

  “Yes. They said he hasn’t done anything to be fired over yet.”

  He held up his hands as if this answered the question.

  “This is unbelievable. He can stalk me like this and I just have to deal with it or rearrange my life to get away from him?”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Woods, but until he commits an actual crime, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t arrest him for liking you.”

  She breathed out hard, her cheeks hot with anger.

  “Get yourself some pepper spray. Maybe take a self-defense class,”the officer said.

  “Right.”Kaelyn got to her feet.“Thank
you for your help,”she said a little too curtly and walked out.

  The pepper spray wasn’t such a bad idea. And she probably could change her number without too much hassle. But find a new job? It’s not like top paying positions in computer science were easy to find. This was a really good job and it had taken her months to get it. She didn’t want to start over, trying to find something new. And she shouldn’t have to.

  Maybe there was a way she could make things hard for him, make him want to quit or make her undesirable to him. She tried to think up ideas, but other than showing up for work looking all frumpy, she couldn’t think of a way to get back at him. And she shouldn’t have to.

  Chapter Six

  All weekend Hayden kept an eye on Kaelyn. She just wasn’t herself. She wouldn’t talk, and he couldn’t get her to crack a smile. He’d always known her to be open, but somehow, she was completely shut down and shut off to him. He was starting to worry.

  On Monday, when she ate breakfast before work, she seemed so tense. He’d come into the kitchen and startled her so badly that she screamed and jumped. Then he thought she was shaking as she picked at her breakfast, which she barely ate.

  “Everything okay at work?”he asked later that night.

  “It’s okay.”

  He raised an eyebrow.“Just okay?”

  “I just need to settle in. It’ll be fine.”

  That was all she’d said before she disappeared to her room. So, today, he’d decided to do something for her. He wanted to cheer her up and make work a little better. He thought maybe some flowers would brighten up her day.

  He called from his office to order them.

  “Where should they be delivered?”the woman on the phone asked.

  He hesitated.“Actually, I’ll pick them up.”

  He didn’t get to leave as soon as he wanted to, but late in the afternoon, he went to the flower shop and picked up the bouquet of brightly colored flowers. He drove to the building she worked in and when he casually mentioned his name at the security desk, they let him up to her floor. It always amazed him how well just his name worked to get him things. The world shouldn’t be that way.