“I am sorry,” Maggie said, poking me in the stomach until I looked at her. “The last thing I want to do is make you feel unwelcome.”
“It’s really okay,” I said with conviction. “I’ll just stay away from the guys as much as possible.”
“We’re gonna find out what’s going on. I promise,” Maggie said.
I let her give me a hug before she went upstairs.
It took me a long time to fall asleep. I’d been picturing the man’s face, reconstructing it in my mind. There was something familiar about him. Or maybe that was just my mind playing tricks. Flashbacks of my fathers were also haunting me, things I’d suppressed and didn’t want to face. But that night it was Nathan who kept me awake.
I woke to the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs. My heart jolted into my throat, and I sat up, clutching the covers around me.
The door burst open. Maggie was still in her pajamas, her hair as wild as the expression in her eyes. “Oh my god, you’re okay,” she said, sagging against the doorframe in relief.
I let my breath go in a long exhale, trying to calm my pulse. The light around the curtains was dim; it was either very early or very late. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Maggie’s face turned grim. “I found this slipped under the front door,” she said, passing me a piece of paper.
It was innocuous at first glance. It almost looked blank. But then I saw one sentence scrawled in the middle of the page. “Are you keeping your promises, Bridget?”
My skin crawled as I detected the faint scent of blood.
“There was also a… a dead animal on the front porch. A pig,” Maggie said with disgust. “It scared the shit out of us.”
My stomach lurched in horror. “A dead pig?” I swung my legs free of the covers and tried to get out of bed, but Maggie put a hand on my shoulder.
“You don’t want to see it. Trust me.”
“Oh god. They know you’re cops.”
“Seems like it.” Maggie sank on the bed next to me.
“Call Nathan and warn him. Tell him not to go through with whatever plan you’ve come up with.”
“There’s no indication he’s in any danger,” she said. “But you might be.”
I looked down at my hands and twisted my fingers together. I felt like a trapped animal, like the door had slammed shut on my life without me even realizing.
“Lachlan is going to set you up in a safe house. He has some connections in private security,” Maggie said, and I heardher voice as if it was coming from a different plane of existence. I was in a state of panic so advanced it felt like I was vibrating.
But I couldn’t go to a safe house with a bunch of strangers. I’d lose my mind. What if I had a flashback? What if I had a panic attack? I could feel one coming on just thinking about it.
But then, suddenly, a solution struck me.Private security. It was insane, but living with strangers was worse.
Also, there was a small, secret part of me that was thrilled to have an excuse to get closer to the two men I still couldn’t stop thinking about.
I cut off Maggie’s explanation of where I was going to be staying and asked, “Could you bring me my phone?”
Chapter 18 - Gabriel
It had been almost a week since Bridget called us with the revelation that Dr. Davis was an unethical hack, and I had expected to hear from her by then. Granted, I didn’t know her well, but she didn’t seem the type to just disappear.
We were still in the downtown apartment. Andrew and I hadn’t discussed it, but he wasn’t ready to leave the city without speaking to Bridget again.
The week passed slowly. Andrew was sinking back into the depression that had gripped him after his injury. He was putting on a good show, but he couldn’t hide from me; I could feel it through our bond.
His pain had returned, bad enough that he sometimes had trouble walking.
“Is it worse than before?” I asked. I was worried that the treatment had done worse damage.
