Beloved Prey (Beloved Series #1)

Sixteen

Patrick

The alarm on my phone cruelly buzzed and I snapped awake. I turned it off and rolled back onto my side and strummed my fingers down Ari's back. She nestled her head closer to my chest and put her arm around me.

"Hey," I whispered in her ear. "Time to wake up."

"Nooo," she whined and pressed her head tighter against me.

"You're sure you're rested up enough to go to work today?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I spent most of yesterday sleeping, remember?" She walked into the bathroom. A moment later I heard the shower turn on.

After our shower, she took over the bathroom so she could do her hair and makeup while I went to the closet to pick my outfit for the day. I selected a light blue dress shirt to go with my dark grey suit. I finished dressing and went downstairs to the kitchen to make coffee. I read emails on my phone while the coffee brewed and once it was done brewing, I brought our cups upstairs. I walked back into our room as she emerged from the bathroom, her body still wrapped in a towel.

I had just started brushing my teeth when she walked by carrying her shoes in her hand. She was wearing a light green dress that hugged her body. She tossed her long curly hair behind her and flashed a smile at me as she walked by.

"Hurry up, slowpoke," she teased.

She was sitting at the breakfast bar eating a bowl of cereal when I walked into the kitchen. I grabbed my own bowl of cereal and sat down next to her.

"So, how's the hunt for our perfect office going?" she asked.

"I have two in Seattle that look promising. I'm waiting to hear back on a couple in Palo Alto. I should hear back by the end of the week."

She nodded. "Nice. Can't wait to hear about them."

After breakfast, she grabbed our laptop bags while I cleaned up our plates. I walked into the hallway and grabbed my suit jacket which I had hung over the bannister as she stood at the bottom of the stairs putting on her black heels. She walked to the mirror hanging by the doors to the living room and checked her reflection. She turned me to with a smile.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yep," I replied. I had the car keys in my hand and turned to open the front door.

As I approached, I caught a flash of something black on the porch; something that didn't belong. Thankfully she was rummaging through her purse as she slowly followed behind. I put my arm up to stop her. Her head shot up and looked at me with her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wait here," I muttered.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just stay here for a second, please."

I opened the front door and looked down at the porch. "What the fuck?"

"Patrick, what's wrong?" she asked, moving quickly to stand next to me. She froze and her eyes widened.

Black roses had been thrown all over the porch. The long stems were trimmed so only a few sprigs of leaves remained on each rose, which told me they'd come from a florist. It also told me it wasn't a random coincidence. Someone was trying to send her a message.

"Oh, my god!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She walked back into the house and sat on the stairs.

I closed both front doors pulled out my phone as I turned to her. "I'm calling the cops."