Page 95 of Ride or Die

He exhaled silently and rolled his neck. He didn’t believe that violence solved problems, in general, but it solved this one.

And created several more.

Patience, patience, patience. The word was a constant refrain and barely kept the dark at bay. He’d been incredibly patient. Aaron was still digging up information on this fuck, and he’d be coming over later for an update. Saint could wait until then.

He’d feed her. Feed the dog. Take care of them.

And then—no.

She trailed after him to the kitchen, making her way to the counter where her phone waited.

He found a box of linguine and a shit-ton of cheese and figured the carbs and fat would be good for both of them.

He had steak too.

The match broke the first time he tried to light it, and he took a deep breath before it took. The oven had its own starter, thank fuck.

He diced the garlic as fine as he could get it, concentrating on precise cuts, perfect pieces.

“Oh, fuck.”

His grip tightened on the knife before he put it down carefully on the counter. He’d been trained to respond with full adrenaline to a few different phrases, and that was one of them.

“He has my keys.”

Her face went white.

She’d left them at her office, and Saint hadn’t gone back for them.

And just leave her in the truck?

He walked over to her, careful to keep his face soft, shoulders low.

She dropped her phone into his hand like it’d burned her.

Unknown number: where did you go? I’m not done talking to you yet

Unknown number: if you say anything, you’re done

Unknown number: you thought I was a coward

Unknown number: you shouldn’t have said that

Unknown number: seriously where are you

Unknown number: I’ll be waiting

The last message was a picture of the keys in the front door of her apartment.

She squeezed her eyes closed. “I didn’t think—I didn’t know it was him.”

“Didn’t know what was him?” Saint’s blood turned to shadow.

She huffed a broken laugh and gave him a twisted smile. “Another thing I thought I was handling. I’ve had a stalker for over a year. At least it’s just one problem and not two. Banner day.”

He stared at her.

“I’m going to be sick.”