I have never been so fucking pissed in my entire life.

Actually, that's a lie. I have. Why? Because of my sick fuck of a father. No shocker that he's causing this undying rage all over again.

Except for this time, he's threatening my girlfriend. How the fuck did he even find out about her?

Not to mention the cops are no fucking help. They babbled some bullshit about how many people have the initials C.M.

Oh, really? Well, are all of them psychotic criminals with an agenda to ruin my fucking life? Yeah, didn't think so.

It's clear to me that my father is looking for revenge. I didn't help him in court, and that pissed him off, so here we are. At least, that's Rocky and Adelaide's theory.

The only positive to this situation is the fact that Scarlett is staying at my place for now.

Waking up to her naked body pressed against mine is definitely something I could get used to. Plus the fucking amazing breakfast she made us this morning.

After a lot of begging and desperate pleas, I finally got the name and number of my father's assigned parole officer.

I called him last night but got no answer, so I'm headed to his office now. Hey, at least I left a message informing him of my arrival. If he doesn't check his voicemails, that's on him.

Once I park, I quickly hop out of my car and into the old-looking building. I walk down the hall and see Leigh Gates printed above one of the doors.

Bingo.

I knock on the door loudly. He better be here because I'm not fucking around. If my father so much as looks at Scarlett again, I'm going to lose my shit. I don't care what I have to do. I will protect the woman I love.

The door swings open, a tired-looking man holding it with confused eyes. "Hello?"

He's short, maybe 5'7, and his hair is a shaggy blond that falls messily all over his head. He's clad in dark jeans and a knit sweater. He's probably a little older than me. Late thirties, probably. Looks nice enough. Hopefully, he'll take this seriously.

"Hi. I'm Zayn Miller. I left you a message."

"Ah," he says, opening the door further so I can walk in. "I never check those damn things. I figured I'd meet you at some point, though."

"So you know who I am?" I ask. The man just nods, gesturing with his hand for me to take a seat as he sits behind his desk.

"You're Miller's youngest, yeah?"

I nod shortly, clenching my jaw in anger. I wish I fucking wasn't. "Your client is harassing my girlfriend, and I need you to take care of it before I put matters into my own hands."

Leigh's brows raise in shock. "Carlos is harassing your girl? Since when?" He doesn't seem convinced.

I huff, rolling my eyes. "He's fucking stalking her and sending her damn greeting cards as if it's his daily jog." I snap bitterly.

"Relax, Mr. Miller. I can't help you if I don't know the specifics. Carlos has been working at a restaurant as a dishwasher every day for a month now. He's followed his parole guides to a T so far, so if there's something I'm unaware of, I need all the details."

I toss the card on the table and explain all the encounters Scarlett can remember. Scarlett even worried that he was the man that ran into her at therapy and made her drop her phone last month.

Once I finish explaining, and Leigh examines the card, he sighs. "I'll have to talk to him about this. Right now, there's not much I can do until we can prove he's stalking your girlfriend."

"I just gave you the fucking proof," I say in disbelief.

"This is circumstantial. It could be anyone trying to mess with you." He leans back in his chair. "I'll talk to him tonight and give you a call afterward. I can also keep a closer eye on him for the next couple of days. Right now, that's the best I can do for you, Mr. Miller."

This is un-fucking-believable.

I give the officer my number and mutter a noncommittal thank you before getting out of there. I'm afraid I'll do something I regret if I stay any longer.

I'm far too pissed off to go to work, but I have to, so I get in my car and drive off.

Rocky and Talia haven't gotten any suspicious messages, but they've been on their honeymoon, distracted and in love.

Adelaide's been trying her best to help me, but none of us can seem to find my father's location. We're assuming he's in a living community for criminals on parole, but there's a lot in this state, and we're not sure where to even start.

It doesn't help that my father has been adamant about not allowing anyone to give my brother and me any information on his whereabouts.

I spend my entire day worrying about Scarlett. I text her to ensure my father hasn't thrown a sheet over her head to take her off to some abandoned building to kill her. I have a colorful imagination, I know.

She texts me back every time, ensuring me that she's fine and giving me updates on her schedule. We have plans to have her mother over for dinner tonight, which isn't helping my nerves at all. Meeting her mother while my father is trying to harm her daughter? Great.

As far as I know, Scarlett doesn't plan on telling her mother until she absolutely has to. She doesn't want to worry her, which I understand.

Once I get off work, I head to the grocery store to buy Scarlett's groceries to make dinner tonight.

Living with Scarlett has been surprisingly nice. I never pictured myself as one to settle down with someone, but it feels oddly normal. I think my dogs are starting to like her more than me, but I don't really blame them.

It's strange going from "I'll probably die alone" to "I can't live without this girl." I guess that's how it's supposed to be, right? Love doesn't plan itself out; it just happens.

I get home with the groceries and put them away, changing into something more casual. I take the dogs for a quick walk, heading to the mailbox afterward.

When I unlock it and grab my mail, I notice an envelope with my name scribbled messily onto the front.

I head back inside and take the dogs off their leashes, dropping the rest of the mail on my counter as I rip open the envelope.

I feel hot-red rage fill my entire body as I see the greeting card inside. It's a colorful, happy card with the words "Congratulations, Son" printed on the front. When I open it, there's a picture that slides out.

I pick it up, analyzing the old photo. It's a film picture from when Rock and I were kids. We're sitting in front of our old fireplace, each of us on either side of our mother, smiling happily in our Christmas outfits.

The photo should make me happy. It should bring back positive memories of the holidays, but no. My father has scribbled over my mother's face with a black marker.

I look at the inside of the card, ignoring the typical message printed in it and going straight to the message my father wrote in his fucking chicken scratch handwriting.

"Who's next? - C.M" is what he chose to write this time. That's a damn threat if I've ever seen one.

I take a picture of the card and the old film photo and send it to Officer Gates, informing him that my mother is the one crossed out, and she's dead. Obviously, he's saying he's going to kill me. Who's next? That's clearly a threat to my life.

The only response I get back is a measly "thank you for the information." Fantastic.

Before I can dwell on it more, Scarlett waltzes in the door, putting her bags down and greeting me with a smile.

"What's wrong?" She asks when I don't greet her back. I handed her the card and the picture. Her face falls immediately. "Is that your mother?"

I nod, avoiding her sympathetic gaze. "I already informed his parole officer. I don't know if he's going to do anything." I say, sounding exhausted.

"At least he knows. If he chooses to ignore it, then we'll go higher up. Someone's bound to take this seriously."

"I'm sick of this," I groan, resting my head on the counter. Scar comes to my side, rubbing my back soothingly.

"I know, babe. Do you want me to cancel dinner? We can order in," she offers.

I sit up and turn to face her, pecking her lips softly. "No. I want to meet your mom. I'm not gonna let my stupid ass father ruin our night."

Scarlett smiles at that, kissing me again. "I better start cooking then!"

Scarlett greets the dogs, kissing and petting them generously before heading into our room to change. I go to the couch and turn on the news for background noise.

I offer to help Scar cook, but she just shoos me away, saying I'd only distract her. I don't really listen, though. She looks sexy as hell in her yoga pants and light pink sweater. I wrap my arms around her waist, as does her thing.

"Z," she moans softly as I attach my lips to her neck, the spot just under her ear that I've learned is her most sensitive spot. "Stop that."

"That didn't sound very convincing, baby." My fingers go underneath her sweater, teasing her skin and feeling the goosebumps rise all over her body.

She spins around to kiss me, a hungry, determined kiss. She clutches the back of my neck, pulling my hair at the nape of my neck.

I lift her by her ass and rest her on the countertop, her legs wrapping around me as I step in between her legs. Her former protesting disappears as I grope her boobs through her bra.

Before I can rip off her clothes, a knock sounds at the door. We pull apart, our eyes hazy with lust and desire. Fuck.

"You idiot," Scarlett huffs, pushing at my chest, and she hops off the counter. "Now I'm gonna be horny the entire dinner." She whisper-yells the last part, making me laugh.

"My bad, baby." I half-heartedly apologize. She flips me off before opening the door.

Scarlett and her mother gawk at one another, excitedly embracing as her mother praises the delicious scent of Scarlett's cooking.

Once they're done, her mother turns to face me, smiling happily. "Zayn! What a pleasure to meet you." She embraces me, too.

I hug her back, smiling at the motherly energy she emits. "Hi, Mrs. Lee. Scarlett has talked about you so much I feel like I know you already."

"Likewise, sweetie. You can call me Jenny," she says kindly. Jenny is a frail-looking woman, around 5'3, with slightly graying hair and slow-forming wrinkles. Although she smiles brightly, her eyes tell a different story, and it's clear she's got a lot of pain and wisdom in them.

Jenny and Scarlett cook together, conversing with me as I sit and bother them at the counter. Scarlett keeps looking at me like she's proud of me every time her mother and I exchange a few words. It's cute.

Once we sit down for dinner, I'm convinced I've won her over. "You're a very impressive young man, Zayn." Jenny says.

It shocks me for a moment. I just finished talking about my latest case, which I won, not that it's important. "Why, thank you, Jenny."

"So polite, too. Where'd you even find him?" She asks, directing her question to her daughter.

Scarlett laughs, shoving another bite of chicken into her mouth. "He found me, actually."

We shared how we met and talked about the list, leaving out the activities that her mom probably wouldn't find appealing, i.e., skinny dipping.

"Wow. You two are basically a romance novel waiting to happen," Jenny chuckles lightly, her eyes sparkling with joy as she listens to her daughter talk.

Scarlett rolls her eyes at that but laughs with her mom. The rest of the evening goes perfectly. Jenny shares embarrassing stories of Scarlett as a child that only makes me fall in love with her even more.

It's getting harder and harder not to confess my love to this girl as I watch the way she interacts with her mom. It doesn't help that her hair is thrown into a messy bun, leaving her neck and collarbone on display, distracting me effortlessly.

She's so beautiful it hurts.

The rest of the night goes by without a single thought of my father. We say goodnight to Jenny and make plans to have another dinner in a couple weeks.

As Scarlett rinses the dishes and I dry, my phone rings from the other room. I rush to go get it, seeing Officer Gates' name. "Hello?" I answered it in a rush.

"Mr. Miller," he says. "I have some news for you."

"Okay?" I provoke.

He takes a breath. "I hate to tell you this," he pauses. Tell me what? "But I went to see your father tonight, and I've learned that he hasn't been home, or to work, in three days."

And just like that, my night is ruined.

Hi friends :) Expect a lot of updates in the next few days. I'm planning on finishing this story by the 30th so I can submit it to wattys (if all goes planned). I'm so excited for you all to see what I have coming! Thank you so much for reading