Red Light: A Dark Stalker Romance (Book One) (Dangerous Games Series)

Chapter Twenty-Six - Alanna

Flick Jamey Bassett was in love with me. A fact that made me feel giddy and excited. He had stopped me from saying anything in return, which I was happy about. Apparently, he was telling me so I knew, not so I would reciprocate. I liked that. I liked knowing he loved me with no strings. Just loved me for love's sake. He had left for work early this morning and instead of falling back to sleep, I had been awake all day thinking about how I feel about Flick.

Part of me wanted to say I loved him back, but another part of me felt like I was missing something. Flick was amazing. But now that Wolfe was gone, confirmed by Addie, I was noticing things I hadn't noticed before. Like the fact that he never brought me to his place. Why was that? And the town's disgust with him didn't sit right with me. Anger would make sense for a break in, but disgust? I found myself wondering what he stole. Was it panties? That's what my mind kept coming back to.

What else would make them react that way? And Patty saying I'm the only woman not sleeved out by him. That didn't line up with a break in either. But then again, should I care if he stole panties when he was ten? I mean sure, it's creepy, but he was ten. But if I felt that way, why wouldn't others? And what were the rumors that happened in high school? I'd heard those referenced multiple times over the last few weeks. But those were just rumors right? Hadn't Flick said they weren't true? So should I really care?

Thoughts had been swirling in my head all day, so when Shauna's reminder about book club came in, I jumped at the distraction. I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and threw on a red button up and a leather vest before I grabbed my keys and boots and headed out the door. I'd missed so many book club invites that they had circled back around to Shauna's house. So I punched the address into my GPS and steered my car in that direction.

Given that the neighborhoods were on the opposite side of town than me it actually took me fifteen minutes to find the house. But as soon as I turned onto the street I knew I'd arrived. There were cars parked all along the street, tumbling from the driveway of a house halfway down. I find a parking spot as close as I can and hop out, approaching the house slowly, wondering if I should have brought wine or something. It was my first time at the house after all. But it was too late at this point so I made a mental note for next time and walked confidently up the walkway and pressed the doorbell.

Chatter from inside spills out into the lawn as Shauna opens the door and squeals in excitement. "You came!" She gushes and hugs me like we were old friends. I hug her back awkwardly and she rushes me in the house and past the entryway to a living room off to the right. It's country themed with a white overstuffed couch and several chairs to match, bamboo slatted blinds and a woven coffee table with a glass top. There was a shelf full of woven baskets along the wall and a large wooden sign with "Turner Household" burned into the wood hanging behind the couch.

"What a great space!" I say and Shauna thanks me and shoos one of the fifteen women in the room from the couch so I can sit next to her. I send an apologetic glance at the other woman before I sit down. "Now that everyone is here, I think we all know that our book for the day is actually an article that came out in the newspaper a few days ago. And if she's willing, I'd love it if the author would read it for the group!" She says turning to me.

"Oh! Well...Yeah, I guess I can do that." I say and everyone chatters excitedly for a moment while Shauna pulls the newspaper from underneath the couch and hands it to me. I smile at her and take the paper. It had been years since I read something I wrote out loud. I hope I don't trip over my words. I straighten the paper and take a deep breath before diving in.

"We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet, but the story you should know is the story of Wolfe and Olivia.

I am a new resident of this humble little town of ours, but my family line runs deep. The Carver's were one of the founding families in this town, along with the Foster's and the Winters'. As such, my family has collected many historical documents throughout the years that have aided me in my quest to find the truth.