Paxton's Promise by L.P. Dover Read Free Book Online Page A

tonight, but I’ll let you know.”
    As soon as he hung up the phone, I tiptoed back to my room and gently shut the door. What the hell was Delaney’s track? Searching through my phone, I found an address for it, but not a website. It was only ten miles away. What could he possibly be doing there? He was the one who wanted me to stay here with him and now he was acting like I didn’t exist? I don’t think so. Whatever he was doing, I was going to find out. This shit was ending tonight.
    Paxton’s footsteps thundered across the floor on down the steps until they completely went silent once the front door shut. Quickly, I threw on my jeans and tank top and ran my hands through my hair. How the hell did I fall so low as to resort to stalking? Ashleigh would get a kick out of this if she knew what I was doing.
    The sound of a revving engine and squealing tires caught my attention, but I didn’t get to the window fast enough to see him leave. I did, however, see the tire tracks on the driveway. Thankfully, the Hummer was still there which meant I had access to a vehicle. Rushing down the stairs, I bounded out of the house and made sure to lock the door. Paxton had a habit of not locking the doors. That had to be a man thing, because Bradley was the same way.
    With the address in the GPS, I was ready to go. Apparently, I had to go right by my apartment which was good considering I needed to check my mail anyway. When I got there, I quickly opened my little mailbox, and of course, it was full of junk. Still, if I didn’t get all that crap out, my mailman would just shove more and more in until I couldn’t get any of it out. Since I had about twenty minutes to spare, I parked and raced up the stairs to my apartment to use the bathroom. I was actually nervous, which wasn’t normal for me.
    Bolting up the steps, I took two at a time and had my keys ready to unlock the door. I stopped dead in my tracks and choked when I noticed not one, but two black roses by my doorstep. You have got to be kidding me. Hesitantly, I took in my surroundings and didn’t notice anything else amiss. There was a note attached to the roses just like the other day. From the looks of them, they’d been left there for a while. I hadn’t been by in three days.
    Gently, I picked them up and unlocked my door, opening it wide. The other black rose was still on my counter, dried out and shriveled with the note I left beside it. I opened up the new note.
     

     
    This shit was getting beyond weird. Sliding my phone out of my back pocket, I dialed up Ryley’s number. Luckily, he answered on the second ring. The last thing I wanted to do was worry Ashleigh when she needed to stay calm for the babies.
    “Hey, what’s up?” he answered.
    I threw the roses in the trash and held both notes in my hand. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.”
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, concern etched in his voice.
    “I’ve been getting flowers at my apartment. Today is the second time they were left on my doorstep.”
    “Oh, is that it? It’s probably your douchebag ex wanting you back. Why don’t you tell him to fuck off?”
    Sitting down on the couch, I sighed and peered down at the two pieces of paper. “Well, it’s probably because it’s not him. Bradley isn’t the type to leave black roses.”
    “Black? Who the hell would leave you black flowers? Was there a note?”
    I nodded like an idiot knowing he couldn’t see me. “Two of them, actually. The first one came with a single black rose. It said one is for the beginning.”
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    “How the hell should I know? But then today, I found two black roses with another note. This one said, two, there is nothing you can do. Kind of creepy if you ask me.”
    “Shit. And you have no idea who it could be?”
    “I’m clueless, Ryley. I just know I don’t like it. I get that weird spidery feeling when I think about it.”
    “Where’s Paxton? Ashleigh told me