Page 54 of This for That (The Edge of Retaliation 1)
Frustrated, and wondering how the hell I forgot them, as they’re usually in my bag, I go to the spare key location. Jo is terrible for leaving her keys places, so she showed me her secret spare key spot, which is in the garden under a rock. It’s well hidden, and unless you were digging around for ages looking, you wouldn’t find it. You’d have to have some determination to do something like that.
I find the spare and unlock the apartment, head in, and shower before dropping into bed. I text Tanner before I go to sleep, and he wishes me a good night, with a whole lot of sexy talk beforehand. My heart flutters and I smile as I drift off into a nice sleep.
I wake to the sound of a door creaking.
For a moment, I wonder if Jo is home, maybe her and Pat had a fight? I sit up in bed and call out her name, but nobody comes in. A door creaks again. This time it’s mine. I see a dark shadowy figure in the doorway, and my whole body freezes. “Jo?” I say again. “Is that you?”
The figure disappears.
There’s someone in my house.
My heart races and I feel like my whole body has gone into frozen mode. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I can’t do anything but stare at the slightly opened door, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do. My fingers tremble as I turn to reach for my phone. Something smashes in the kitchen.
Oh God.
I grab my phone and fumble to unlock it, dialing Tanner. His sleepy voice answers after a few rings. “Everything okay, darlin’?”
“There is someone in my house,” I whisper, terrified.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I heard someone come in, there was a crashing sound, and I saw them at the door. I’m scared.”
“Are you sure it’s not Jo?” he asks me, and I can hear him rustling around.
“I’m positive.”
“Okay, sit tight. I’ll be right there.”
I don’t move, my eyes firmly fixed on the door, just waiting for someone to bust through and do something horrible. Is this the person who has been tormenting me? Are they here to make things worse? Or is it someone else? Someone just breaking and entering? How come I didn’t hear them trying to get in? How did they even get in? So many questions, all of them I’ll answer when Tanner is here and I’m safe.
I reach over and I take the lamp from the bedside table. It isn’t much, but if someone comes in here, I’ll be able to, at the very least, fight a little.
Then, I just sit tight like he told me, eyes on the door, and I wait.
I wait and I wait.
I don’t hear any noises until finally, about ten minutes later, I hear Tanner’s truck arrive and a moment later, the lights in my house are flicking on and he appears in my doorway. I didn’t realize just how scared I was until this moment. I close my eyes and my bottom lip trembles. I release the lamp and it falls onto my bed. Someone was in my house; anything could have happened. I take a deep breath and get it together, and then I open my eyes to see Tanner standing at the end of my bed, wearing a pair of denim jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.
“Couldn’t see anyone out there, but I want you to sit here so I can search the place, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He disappears, and then about five minutes later, comes in and tells me, “Darlin’, there is nothing to indicate anyone was in your house. No broken windows. Nothing seemingly stolen or smashed. Are you sure you weren’t dreaming and just became disorientated?”
“No, no, I was wide awake. I heard something crash out there. I saw a figure in my door. I’m sure of it, Tanner.”
He nods. “Well, your front door was unlocked, so if someone came in, it’s possible they just left the same way. Doesn’t make a great deal of sense, though. Why would someone come in here and do nothing?”
Because someone is messing with me.
Someone is trying to send me over the edge.
Someone is playing games.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I do know I locked that front door.”
“You sure?”
I try to think back. I was really tired. I remember looking for the spare key. I remember coming in, but maybe I didn’t lock the door behind me. No matter how much I wrack my brain. I can’t seem to remember if I did or if I didn’t.
“I don’t know,” I say, my voice low. “But I wasn’t imagining that, I swear it.”
He nods, and walks over to the bed, kicking off his boots and grabbing his shirt and pulling it up and over his head.
“What are you doing?” I ask, bringing the blanket to my chest.
