Chapter 27

Caleb

I left her standing with Holly and got into the car.

“ Sorry sir it took us a while to get here, Lacy put up a fight and the Chief asked us to help restrain her. And Mr DaSilva was locking up the house “ , Max said

“ First her house, then the cafe and her apartment were thrashed. Now the cafe goes up in flames. Who the fuck is doing this?”, I asked him.

The car door opened and Ryan got in.

“ Okay what the fuck is going in this town Caleb?, someone is out to ruin her and they won't stop until they do” ,He said looking at me.

“ I'm taking them back to New York with me” I Said looking at him.

“ And then what ,Caleb?. You know Catherine isn't going to give up until she's behind bars and someone is dead. Jason is another threat not just because of the business but because now he's her stepbrother ”, Ryan said looking out the window.

“ Fuck , What am I supposed to do now?. Max and Nathan can't find a clue. This person is smart”,

“ Does she have to run the Cafe?”, he asked me.

“ Not really. It's just because it was her mothers. I'll rebuild it and let her have Holly or one of the others run it. In the meantime, tomorrow morning, I'll Talk to Matthew, Arch and Gertrude and have Josh and his crew start rebuilding her place, My way” , I said

“ That's okay, Let's go Max. Holly gave me.the keys to her place ”,

On the Way we both noticed it and so did Max.

“ Sir ? Are you seeing this?”,

“ Oh,I see it alright. Don't try to shake them. Call Nathan, Aria has a bike let him use it. Head towards my place then we'll go towards phoenix ”,

“ Yes Sir “ ,

“ He doesn't have a license plate ”, Ryan said

Who the hell was this now?. Catherine and Jason were headaches but nothing like this. How can such a Small fucking town have this many issues or was it because I was here?.

“ Wait, Max. Take me to the airport, I'll have the jet take me back to New York. Ryan, you'll stay here and watch what happens. If the problem continues then it's her they're after and if it stops then the problem followed me”,

“ Okay ”.

Aria

I was sitting on the sidewalk looking at the smoldering remains of what used to be my cafe. Holly was sitting next to me holding my hand. I saw Chief Mathew and the others talking amongst themselves. Gertrude came over to me.

“ We'll get to the bottom of this sweetie ”, she said, patting my hand.

Why? And who ?. I looked around and saw it by accident. A Black SUV parked a few cars away. It was as if he was waiting for me to See him. When I saw his face, Tyler Benson smiled at me then rolled the window up and the alvar drove off.

I pulled my phone out and called Max.

“ Are you okay baby?”,

“ No. Tyler Benson was sitting in a parked car, when he saw me looking at him he smiled then left. So you think he saw us leave the apartment?”,

“ No ,the entrance is hidden and it was only when it got crowded in the streets that I left. I'll have Nathan check the surrounding area for cameras and I'll let you know. Ryan will talk to Holly,Josh will meet you tomorrow, I'll explain everything”.

“ Okay “, I said, ending the call. I looked at Holly.

“ I kept the Cafe up and running because Of Grace and Mya. Besides it was a good place to hangout,now look at it. Can't be lacy because she's in the lock up. It has to be Benson ”, I said looking at her.

“ Whoever it is, we'll figure it out. We'll rebuild it”, she said, squeezing my hand.
All the pictures were gone , destroyed. When we got to Holly's place,I couldn't sleep,sleep wouldn't come. I laid staring at the ceiling.

The next morning,Grace and Mya showed up at the crack of dawn.

“ We're sorry, I was out on a date ”, Mya said, hugging me.

“ What happened and who is doing this shit?”Grace asked.

“ I'm Married to Caleb Cross “, I said,I don't know why but I just blurted it out.

“ So that Crazy Ex if his is targeting you?”, Mya said.

“ We should get that bitch and bury her out in the mountains ”,

Holly and I were looking at each other.

“ Umm I said Caleb and I are married ”, I said, waiting for them to get what I was saying. They looked at me.

“ We heard you the first time, but we still have to figure out who the hell is coming after you, if it's his ex or someone or ithat fucking Ex of yours” Mya said

Don't you want to know why I never said anything

Maya just looked at me with a don't be an idiot look on her face . “ Sweetie, the first day Cross came to Payson he was just quiet, he sat in that Cafe not looking up, his face was in One direction and that was on his laptop . When you walked in I saw his reaction even though Lacy asked me multiple times ,I never said shit but I knew, Cross was coming there and it was for you”, she said smiling.

“ Don't worry, we're the only two that noticed. I noticed it the day when you told that idiot you'd give him a chance. I saw the look on Cross's face then the smirk when you showed him your neck ”, Grace said laughing.

Mya held my hand “ Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us. Don't worry it'll never leave my mouth. You've got my word ”

“ Mine too” ,

Holly just held my shoulder.
“ Now we start figuring it out”, Grace said.

Caleb

I got back to New York at the crack of Dawn. When I walked into the house my mother was pacing nervously.

“ What's wrong?”,

“ The Message Cassandra left for me. Aaron is Aria's father. I'm worried About her, Caleb. What If he finds out about her?. Worse, if Diane Campbell finds out about her , I've heard the stories about what she's done to the women that Aaron has had affairs with. They've all disappeared but there's nothing linking her to their disappearance. What do you think she'll do to Aria if she finds out that's his daughter?”, she said looking at me.

I told her what happened. We sat down in the living room quietly when Cindy walked in. I told them everything that has happened to her since I met her.

“ You don't think Jason knows about her?. He probably Saw the interview and went to Payson to see Why you were there or sent someone to check “, Cindy said looking at me.

“ Ryan is there,so is Max and Nathan. I'll have them check ”, I said

I went and grabbed a shower and headed to the office. When I stepped out of the elevator Tyler Benson was sitting outside my office.

“ Ahh Mr Cross, just the man I needed to see”, he said as he stood up.

“ What can I do for you Mr Benson?”,

“ How about we have this conversation in your office?" he said, smirking at me.

I walked into my office and he followed me . I took a seat and looked at him.

“ I'll Get straight to the point. Earlier yesterday you mentioned Ms Garcia's husband. Who is her husband? And have you met him”, he asked.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Holly's number. My phone vibrated and I knew she answered.

“ Ms Garcia's husband?. I met him Once on my first trip to Payson. He's a service man. He's a soldier in the United States Army, Why?”,

“ What's his name?”,

“ If I'm correct and remember clearly it was Aiden or Jayden, something ending in that”. I answered, uninterested.

“ I've had someone check and there's no marriage certificate for Ms Garcia “, he said.

“ Okay and what does that have to do with me?. She has a Cafe where the ladies like to gossip plus I like hanging out with them.”

“ Because Ms Garcia is interesting and I'm trying to win her over. What do you know about her?”,.

I hid the anger I was feeling inside, under the desk my phone was about to get crushed.

“ Nothing, Just her name is Aria Garcia, she's married, her uncle is the police Chief, that's her Cafe and Those are her friends that work there “. I said

“ I see. Well Thank you Mr Cross”, he said standing up.

“ Oh , Mr Benson one more thing “, I said looking at him. He turned around.

“ Yes?”,

“ I spent Three weeks in Payson and I heard a lot of rumors and gossip in that Cafe. But the one that stood out was about Ms Garcia's husband”,

“ Oh What is it?”,

“ Well , according to the rumors,her husband is a high ranking official. She had an ex boyfriend that would harass her and he ended up in. Car wreck , both hands and feet damaged. Also any other men that have harassed her in any way,they all end up in the hospital. According to the ladies he's away on deployment so they don't know how it's been done so that's why the men of Payson stay far away from the cafe. Didn't you notice that day?”, I asked him

“ I see ,so that's why there were only females present. Thank you for the information Mr Cross ”.

“ Sure and Mr Benson,you didn't hear it from me”, I said looking at him. He nodded and walked out. The minute the door closed I grabbed the name plate and flung it across the room into the door.