Page 96 of Under His Protection
Everyone is silent for a moment.
“Is this what set off the alarms?” I ask.
“There are motion detectors outside,” Charlie says. “He walked right up to the front door and left this on the welcome mat.”
Mateo pulls out his phone and brings up an app. “The video surveillance caught him, but his face is covered.” He shows me the video. “I doubt you recognize him.”
I shake my head as I look at a figure dressed in dark clothing, wearing a dark mask and hood. Average height, average weight. “There’s nothing to recognize.”
“Are you okay?” Philip asks me.
“He knows where we are. This was supposed to be my safehouse, but it doesn’t feel quite so safe anymore.”
He was here.
Right outside.
Just minutes ago.
* * *
After all the commotion dies down, I head up the stairs to get ready for bed. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so I don’t bother to shower this evening. It can wait until morning. Fortunately, I don’t have any plans tomorrow. I plan to lay low all weekend.
Once I’m in my room, I change into a pair of sleep shorts and a T-shirt and then, with the light off, I walk over to the window and push the drapes aside so I can see outside.
The street is dark and quiet. No one’s out tonight except for one guy across the street who is putting his trash cans out.
Whyme? Why does anyone care enough to want to terrorizeme?
There’s a quiet knock on my door. “Haley? Can I come in?” It’s Philip.
“Sure, come on in.”
When he sees me standing at the window, he frowns. “Please come away from there.”
I let the curtain fall shut, and as I walk toward him, he meets me halfway and wraps me in a crushing hug.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” he murmurs, his lips in my hair. His hand comes up to cup the back of my head. “I know you’re scared, but you’re safe, babe. I promise you. He’s never going to get to you. He’d have to come through me first, and that’s never going to happen.”
I slip my arms around his waist, and when my hand brushes against the cold metal of his handgun tucked into the waistband of his jeans, I flinch and drop my arms.
“Sorry,” he says as he steps back. He reaches behind himself, removes the gun, and lays it on top of my dresser. “The safety’s on.”
He holds his arms out to me, and I return to his embrace. “You’re my emotional support person,” I say as my throat tightens. I press my nose against his shirt and breathe in his familiar and comforting scent. “When I’m with you, I feel safe.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I’m glad.”
“I want to sleep with you tonight,” I say.
He doesn’t even argue. He takes my hand and leads me from the room, pausing only to grab his gun off my dresser.
I’ve never seen him handle a gun before today, and I find it a bit unnerving. I’ve always envisioned him as more of a big teddy bear than a tough guy, but now I realize there’s a different side to him as well.
His words from a few moments ago echo in my head—he’d have to go through me first, and that’s not going to happen.
Great!Now I have to worry about his safety, too.
It would kill me if he—or anyone else, for that matter—got hurt on my account.
