Page 86 of Make No Mistake

Jay rubbed his face with one hand and started tapping on the screen with the other. Soon the message was cleared away.

“The police will already be on their way. Sorry.”

I tugged on his arm until he was facing me. “What are you sorry for?”

He waved a hand in the air. “This. I brought you here so you would feel safe, so you wouldn’t have to worry anymore. It’s been just a couple of days and the alarm has already gone off twice.”

“That’s not your fault. I’d rather be here than in my apartment, Jay. I do feel safer here.”

He nodded once, but I could tell my words weren’t sinking in. I stepped closer until he was forced to open his arms and allow me to wrap my arms around him and rest my cheek on his chest.

Minutes later, two officers arrived. They weren’t the same as the day before. Luckily.

Jay spoke to them before they went off and searched the house. I doubted they would find anything out of place. Part of me wanted to believe the alarm was just having weird glitches, but the more realistic portion was willing to admit that staying at Jay’s wasn’t enough.

I’d put a target on my back, and now this guy wasn’t going to go away until he was finished.

A throat cleared and I looked up to see both of the officers looking grim. The taller one—I’d already forgotten their names from when they introduced themselves—stepped forward and lifted his hand. Jay and I made brief eye contact before he took a white envelope from him.

“We found this tucked under the seal of a window.”

Jay stood frozen, staring at the officer for a few beats before dropping his eyes to the item in his hand. I didn’t want to look, so I kept my eyes on his face. His blank expression flashed fury for a split second before he was expressionless again.

“What room?” His voice was hard as stone.

The shorter officer stepped forward. His eyes bounced between me and Jay. “It was the bedroom upstairs. The one that faces the backyard.”

Not mine. That was the room Aubrey had been sleeping in. Relief washed over me in a wave. I was so grateful she wasn’t here. Our fight was worth it if it had kept her safe.

“Thanks for coming.”

The officers nodded and stepped toward the front door. The taller one stopped in front of us. “We’re going to stay in front of the house for the rest of the night. If you hear or see anything, give me a call.” He held out a card and Jay took it quickly.

The men nodded at each other before Jay shut the door behind them, taking the time to lock it and reset the alarm.

“You’re sleeping in my room.” Jay passed me, turned off the light, and continued down the hall without looking at me.

What? I followed, biting back my question. He walked a guestroom and pushed the door to his bedroom open. He waited in the hall for me to catch up. He tilted his head toward the room and I entered wordlessly.

I’d been in his room countless times, but it suddenly felt foreign. He had a king bed in the center with a flat screen TV directly across from it and a well-worn couch against the far wall. Unsure of what he was wanting me to do, I stood a few feet from the door, frozen. He hadn’t told me what was in the envelope, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Whatever it was made him angry. Or was it concerned? Was he scared? Is that why I was in his room rather than my own?

“Take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

I turned in the direction of his voice. “Why?”

His footsteps stopped. “Why what?”

My eyes searched for him in the dark, but I could only guess where he was. “Why am I sleeping in your room?”

“We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

There was something in his voice that forced me to keep pushing. It wasn’t just exhaustion. He was hiding something.

“No. Tell me now.”

I could hear him sigh. I wanted to turn the lights on so I could see his face, but I didn’t want to distract him from talking to me.

“I don’t want to.” His voice was resigned.