“I’m about to drag her ass to my house and lock her in the fucking bedroom,” Barron said.
“Look, we don’t know anything for sure. All we do know is some uneasy feelings, enough of a problem at work for her boss to give her some time off with orders to lay low, and an off color remark from Emmalyn that seems to play into the scenario we’re thinking could be happening. It’s easy enough between us all to find a reason to be with, or drop in on, or pass by unexpectedly, Emmalyn or anyone or where she might happen to be. We need to keep this to us for several reasons, not the least of which is Emmalyn running off to keep us out of her business. And if we’re right, and she’s being stalked, whoever is watching would follow her and we’d have less of a chance of protecting her away from here than we do right in the middle of our own territory,” Brandt said.
“Truth,” Havoc said, “girl’s stubborn as fuck.”
“Barron?” Brandt asked.
“Agreed,” Barron answered. “Don’t you have her here?” he asked, tapping his temple.
“I do, but most of the time she has me shut out unless it’s convenient for her to send me a thought all of a sudden. She’s never here physically, so it’s not really been a big deal.”
“Until now,” Barron said.
“Until now. I need to make it a point to all of our clan that we need to enhance our connections telepathically. Our parents do it, and it’s been a big plus to their bond as a clan. We need to do the same. It’s not utilized enough. We’ve gotten used to phones and not strengthened it like they have.”
“Fine. When are you going to do it?” Barron asked.
“Let’s have a thing, get everybody in the clan there, bring it up and make sure it’s understood,” Remi said.
“What about Kiernan, Abby, Addie and Shawn?” Christian asked.
“Them, too. Gives me more of a handle on what they’re thinking and feeling anyway. And if they choose not to stay, we can break the bond. As long as they’re here, they need to be connected.”
“Gives us more sets of eyes to keep an eye on the clan as a whole, too,” Remi said. “They’re good people. I like them.”
“The males anyway. We can’t let the women know because we don’t want the stalker, if there is one, to notice differences in behavior. If he’s been watching since Christmas, he’ll be familiar with our routines by now.”
“This is a lot of preemptive shit for something that may not even be real,” Ronan said.
“Kind of tells you something, don’t it?” Brandt said.
“You think it’s a legitimate threat. You don’t think it’s just being overly cautious,” Ronan said.
“No, I do not think we’re just being overly cautious. What do you think, Havoc? Since you’re the one who knew she was told to lie low,” Brandt asked.
“I think I’m going home right now to make sure my house and my family are safe. This is not a drill, people. Whatever is happening here, whatever it becomes, it’s followed Emmalyn here and anyone Emmalyn loves is being watched by defaultwhile Emmalyn is being watched,” Havoc said. “Y’all let me know if anything else needs to be done. I’m going home.”
After Havoc left, the remaining clan members sat solemnly considering all that’d just been laid out before them.
“When are we going to get everybody together?” Ronan asked.
“Tomorrow. Dinner at my house,” Barron said. “I still think we need to let our parents’ clan know, though.”
“Everly knows, and she knows not to be alone. And she’s watching. If things become more tense, we’ll let Kaid know. He can keep control, for the most part, if necessary. But it can’t be common knowledge to everyone for the same reasons we already discussed,” Brandt said.
“Why not tell him now?” Barron asked.
“This is our problem. We’re handling it.”
“That’s almost as arrogant as Emmalyn trying to deal with this herself,” Ronan said.
Brandt looked at Ronan with a look that might possibly kill.
“Respectfully, just saying,” Ronan amended. “But I’m not wrong.”
Brandt glared at him.
“I’m not!” Ronan insisted.
