This had to be fake. Another ploy for clickbait.
“Griff.” Tate’s terrified voice shook. I looked up to see she’d stopped singing and was now staring down at her own phone in horror.She started to read out loud, and my blood went cold.
“Local News Report: Grocery Store Robbers Released on Bail—And the Fear Returns.
“Newsom Creek’s rookie baseball star Griffin Silver’s first playoff win should’ve been the start of something great. Instead, it was marred by news that the criminals behind the terrifying grocery store robbery—an event that had left Silver and childhood friend Tatum Grace shaken—are now out on bail.
“The town is buzzing with speculation. Could the robbers be back for revenge? With their release, many fear they’re not done with Silver or Grace. And as rumors swirl, Silver finds himself caught between a budding relationship that’s already under fire and a past that refuses to stay buried.
“The investigation continues, but with the robbers free, the looming threat is impossible to ignore. And the question remains, will Griffin Silver’s future on the field, and his connection with Grace, survive what’s coming next?”
Her voice shook with each word, like it was a nightmare she wished wasn’t true. I knew she was already scared to go back to the grocery store, but I didn’t want her scared to leave the house.
She looked at me and then back at her phone.
“Tell me this isn’t real.”
I glanced down at my own phone, text messages already coming in at rapid speed, and more articles being published.
“I wish I could.”
CHAPTER 27
TATUM
PRESENT
Griffin had stayed the night.Again.
He forced one of the chairs from my dining set under the doorjamb after double-checking that it was locked and that my dead bolt was secured, all while muttering that he was buying me a better lock the next day. Then he turned around, gray eyes searching mine, like he was waiting for me to break. I only glared at him before he told me to go to bed and that no one would make it into my apartment.
A small, very tiny, almost minuscule part of me loved that he cared so much. Okay, fine. I lied. A huge part of me, the one who dreamed of dating Griffin, was jumping up and down and squealing in my head. But I remained stone cold toward him. We were barely friends, not really enemies anymore, but not anything of importance either.
I didn’t think the robbers even cared about little ole me. Sure, I had a decent following on social media, so they could probably assume I had some money, and maybe they wanted to get some payback, but being seen in all the articles with Griffin meant his wealth was now involved.
I truthfully didn’t want to think that any of this was even real. I had hoped they would be locked away for a little bit, enough time for me to find the courage to go back to the grocery store, but that wasn’t my reality, and Griffin was scared,truly and utterly scared,which terrified the absolute shit out of me.
I didn’t want him to know that, though, when he insisted on staying the night and said that there was no way he could leave me alone after receiving news like that. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever seen him this scared. Maybe it was the day he told his dad he wouldn’t stop playing ball in middle school after he kept losing game after game. But even then, there had been a determination in his eyes, like he knew this was what he was meant to do.
Something was different now. Maybe time had aged him, and he realized that we weren’t as immortal as we thought. When we were kids, I remember feeling like I’d never grow up. Time had seemed to stand still. My skin was unmarred from the harsh reality of life, my mind innocent, and my heart forever trusting. Now I was covered in scars, my mind poisoned by society, and my heart was fractured beyond repair.
Naturally I tried to fight him on his decision to stay in my apartment. Lately, all we could do was fight. It was easier than giving in to the feelings, so much easier than the potential of falling for him and losing himagain. I don’t think Millie could save me from that kind of loss.
I reminded him that I had been living on my own for years.
I reminded him that hewasn’tmy boyfriend.
I reminded him I was a grown-ass woman.
What did he do?
Well, first, he called me kitten. And I was starting to love that stupid term of endearment, all because he’d taken the time to think of a silly name for me.No one had ever done that before.
But what he did next left me breathless, confused, and consumed with desire.
He stalked me in my own apartment.
He slowly walked closer to me where I was standing in the kitchen. His gray eyes were dark, a sexy crooked grin turned his lips, and his steps were slow and calculated.
