My Protector

Chapter 37: Caught in the Act

Loren's POV

I tossed over in the plush bed for the fiftieth time tonight, ending up on my back once again. I stared at the blank ceiling that stared right back at me, emotionless, mocking me for second guessing Killian. 

Stop it Loren. Killian is a business man. He was doing business in London. 

I glanced over at Killian who was sleeping so peacefully beside me. Before I could even stop myself I was slowly getting out of the bed, tip toeing towards the door. I quietly opened the door and gently shut it. Past the most difficult part, I quietly and quickly made my way downstairs. 

And there it was, in the same place I last saw it; Killian's cell phone. 

I glanced around at my surroundings to make sure I was alone and sat on the floor, my back resting against the sofa. 

The screen of the phone blinded my eyes as I tapped on the screen. Four missed calls and three text messages, all from the same unsaved number. I didn't recognize the area code as it wasn't local but I had a hunch of where it was for. 

A pit formed in my stomach as a screen for a passcode popped up. Apparently sneaking out of the bedroom wasn't the most difficult part of this mission. My brain sorted through all of it's files trying to figure out what this four digit code could be. 

I decided on his birthdate which was... wrong. I shamefully tried my birthday which was also wrong. Feeling slightly ashamed but also hurt, I racked my brain for anything else. 

Then it came to me. Over the top of the entrance to his building was the year he and Adam established their company, 2015. 

I hesitantly typed in the four numbers and to my surprise the phone unlocked. I sighed in relief as I was now past the most difficult part. I opened the messaging app and scanned through the texts between him and this unknown number. 

Something happened, call me back.

Hello?

Dammit. Call me ASAP.

There were no other messages before that. Either he had deleted them or they didn't even exist. I scrolled through the other texts and the only other ones that existed were from George, Bertrand, and myself. 

Thinking about you.. missing you.. hurry home pls. xx

I paused as I read my message and quickly exited out of the texts and clicked on his recent calls. Nothing except for the four missed calls. 

I looked in his emails and only found anything business related. I opened the web browser and was met with a flower delivery website, the screen thanking him for his order. 

Guilt rushed over me as I stared at the screen. Tears filled my eyes from imagining Killian, wherever he was, ordering me flowers after reading my text to him. 

I locked his phone and quietly set it back on the table. Wiping the tears in my eyes, I stood and quietly made my way back up the stairs before I could get caught. 

Killian laid in the same position I had left him. I gently entered the bed again as multiple different theories ran through my head. 

The following morning I awoke to the smell of pancakes and bacon. I turned over as my hand searched for Killian but he was already gone, his spot still warm. I frowned as I opened my eyes. 

I rolled back over to the other side and got out of bed. I made my way down the stairs and my eyes glanced over to where I sat last night, the coffee table now bare. 

I walked into the kitchen which was empty except for a plate on the counter holding three chocolate chip pancakes and three slices of bacon. Killian's hushed voice travelled from the dining room into the kitchen. I grabbed my plate and moved closed towards his incomprehensible words. 

He hung his phone up as I stepped foot into the room, taking the seat across from him. 

"Good morning Princess" He looked up and smiled from behind his coffee cup.

 "Morning" I mumbled as I cut into the pancakes. After a few seconds of silence he spoke again. 

"How did you sleep? For some reason I couldn't sleep at all, jet lag I guess." 

My stomach turned over as he shrugged his shoulders. 

"At one point, I'm not even sure if I was dreaming or not, I saw you looking through my phone!" He set his cup down and looked right at me, studying the expression on my face as I stopped chewing the food. 

"Sounds like a weird dream" I mumbled as I poked at the pancake, pushing it back and forth in the pool of syrup. 

"Yeah I thought so too" he muttered and went back to his phone. 

As I was getting ready to take another bite he slid his phone towards me. A video of myself trying to log into his phone played on the screen. I put the fork back down on my plate and looked up at him as his dark eyes stared back at me. 

"That was, until I saw this video in my email." He paused. "My phone takes a video when the passcode is guessed incorrectly." He spoke again after noticing the pure confusion and shock on my face.

I felt my face turn bright red as I realized what had happened. 

"Loren... why were you looking through my phone?" The pair of dark green orbs burned through mine. His jaw neither clenched or loosened. After I didn't answer for a few seconds, he leaned back in his chair, still holding his stare. 

"I- I wanted to know what you've been hiding from me..." My stare dropped down to the phone on the table.

"Hiding?" his left eyebrow rose.

"I-" I paused as I tried to choose the right words to say. "I have this gut feeling that you weren't in London for just business. I needed to find out if you have somebody els-" 

"Somebody else that I'm seeing?" Killian cut me off and scoffed, shaking his head. "Oh my god, Loren."

"What??" My voice rose in defense. "What else am I supposed to think? You're being so secretive and weird, I'm left to imagine the worst. You're getting phone calls and weird texts from unsaved numbers, you're moody, you leave on these last minute trips without explanation."

I sank into my seat as Killian got up from his chair, the legs screeching against the wood floors.

"Come with me" he spoke as he turned around towards the main room. 

I followed him into his office as he sat at his desk, typing furiously onto the keyboard. After a few more clicks he looked up at me and motioned for me to come to his side of the desk. 

My breath hitched and my heart stopped as I stared at the screen. 

Welsey.

Oh my gosh you guys, we're almost at 4K reads! Holy cow. I feel like I say this at the end of every chapter but I am beyond grateful for all of you. 

So, what do we think Killian has been doing? Do we thinks he's close to getting justice for Loren?