Page 101 of Beautiful Villain
Then something cold slid through my chest and lodged there, sharp and unwelcome, like a splinter driven too deep to dig out.
Was someone following me?
I did not sit down.I could not.My lungs felt too tight for air.I grabbed my phone and called Dunn.
He answered on the second ring.“Mikayla.”
“I think someone’s been in my house,” I said, forcing the words out steady even as my pulse climbed.“Things are moving.And I feel like I’m being watched.”
The silence that followed was not static or delay.It was someone thinking.
“I’m on my way.”
Dunn finishedhis third sweep of the house with the kind of focus men usually reserved for war zones.He checked windows.Doorframes.The space behind curtains.He moved like he was reading a map no one else could see.
When he came back into the living room, his jaw was set.
“I think I’d feel better if I put a security detail on you,” he said.
I hugged my arms to myself, suddenly aware of how small this house was.How thin the walls felt.“There’s no need.”
He did not look convinced.
“I’m serious,” I added, rubbing my thumb against the cuff of my sweater.“I don’t need men watching me.I don’t want to feel like I’m back in a cage.”
Dunn exhaled slowly.“You already called me because you felt unsafe.”
“That doesn’t mean I want an army in my living room.”
For a second, he just studied me.Like he was weighing something he did not want to say out loud.
“Would you feel safer staying with us for a bit?”he asked.“Just until we’re sure.”
“No.”The answer came too fast.Too sharp.“Definitely not.”
Dunn nodded once.He knew better than to argue when someone had already decided.
“All right,” he said.“I’ll have two of my best do drive-bys.Random.They’ll keep an eye on things.”
“That’s more than enough,” I told him.“I’ll call if anything changes.”
He looked like he wanted to say more.To warn me.To push.Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
“Promise me you won’t ignore that feeling again,” he said quietly.“If something feels off, you call.”
“I will.”
He hesitated at the door, eyes flicking back to the dark hallway behind me.To the quiet corners.To the places fear liked to hide.
Then he left.
The lock clicked.
I stood alone in the living room, the silence returning the moment he left, thick and patient, like it had been holding its breath.
42
Dunn
