“You should sleep tonight.”
I let out a tired little laugh. “Oh wow. Why didn’t I think of that?”
One side of his mouth lifts into a small grin. Then his expression grows more serious. “The apartment building.”
There it is. The tension slips right back into my chest. “What about it?”
“I want additional security there tonight,” he insists.
I cross my arms immediately. “Alexei.”
“Maggie.”
The way he says my name makes my stomach clench.
“There’s already a patrol vehicle outside the building,” he continues calmly. “But I’m not comfortable leaving things as they are.”
I stare at him. “You already put security outside my apartment?”
“Yes.”
My eyes narrow. “Without asking me?”
“Yes.”
I open my mouth, then close it again. While part of me is irritated, another part feels so relieved I could cry, which is probably its own issue.
Alexei steps close enough that I can smell the spice of his cologne.
“I know you dislike this,” he says. “But until I understand who’s escalating this situation, I’m not leaving you unprotected.”
The sincerity in his voice steals the argument right out of me. I nod once. “Fine.”
His shoulders loosen a tiny bit before he opens my truck door and steps back. “I’ll call you later.”
I glance toward the SUV, where Ivy already looks half asleep in her seat. “Tell Ivy goodnight for me.”
“I will.”
Then he pauses. His eyes hold mine. “Thank you for tonight.”
The gentleness in his voice catches me off guard. “For pie?”
“For making Ivy smile like that again.”
Emotion tightens my throat enough that I can’t answer him right away. Before I can respond properly, he reaches out and tucks a strand of loose hair behind my ear. My entire body reacts to it.
Then he steps away. I stand there watching him walk back toward the SUV like an absolute fool.
The drive home feels quieter than usual. By the time I take the elevator to my apartment, exhaustion sinks deep into my bones.
I unlock my apartment door and pause, my pulse kicking harder when the silence inside hits me wrong for a moment. Not because anything looks out of place. The lamp beside the sofa still glows, my books remain stacked crookedly across the coffee table, and the blanket I left tossed over the armrest this morning is exactly where I abandoned it before rushing to the shelter. Everything looks normal.
Yet, I stand there scanning the apartment before finally letting out a slow breath.
You are officially losing it, Maggie.
I lock the door behind me and kick off my shoes before heading toward the kitchen, but movement outside the window pulls my attention. A black SUV sits parked across the street, with one man inside, quietly watching the building.
