Page 7 of Cavaliere

I signal to her that I will catch up with her later before I head out the back door and start my walk home.

One of the perks of living in the city is that everything I need is within walking distance, and since my apartment is only a few blocks away from everything, I didn’t see the need to get a car. Every once in a while, I’ll party out at the clubhouse, but Delaney will drive, or one of the guys will pick me up.

Even though I could do this walk in my sleep, I still get a little sketched out walking home by myself at night. You just never know what's going to pop out of the shadows.

It isn’t until I’m about a block away from my building that an unsettling feeling washes over me. You know that feeling you get when you feel like you’re being watched? That’s the one. I quickly look over my shoulder and scan the area behind me. It’s too dark to make out anything, but the feeling doesn’t go away.

Wanting to just get home and off the street, I pick up my pace slightly, ready to break out into a sprint if I need to. I clutch my bag a little tighter to my chest as I slip my hand in to grab my can of pepper spray. You know, just in case.

I round the corner, full-on power walking, like one of the old ladies in the mall on a weekday, when I hear steps fall in line behind me, making me tense. Risking another quick look back, I actually see someone this time. They’re just far enough back that I can’t see what they look like. I can see them staying close to the passing buildings. The shadows are your friend when you’re being a shady fuck.

I’m really kicking myself for leaving my little pocket knife at home.

I can feel the person gaining on me just before I decide to bust into a full sprint. If I don’t end up in a ditch tonight, I’m going to rub this in Delaney’s face.

I hear their feet picking up pace behind me as I push my body to go faster. I can see my building coming into view. I just need to make it there. Mark, the homeless man who acts as a building guard, won’t let him get past. I bribe him weekly with booze and food to make sure I always stay on his good side because you never know what could happen. At least that good karma is about to come back around.

“Fucking bitch,” I hear a man’s voice say through pants behind me.

I quickly slip in through the building door, but not before I signal to Mark behind me, who is already standing up.

“Heard ya pounding my way. I’ll take care of it,” Mark says to me.

I don’t have a chance to thank him if I plan to escape without being noticed. I take the stairs two at a time until I reach my floor. Fumbling with my keys as the adrenaline catches up to me, making me jittery as fuck. Finally getting in and slamming the door shut, I slide down against it again. The feeling of familiarity rushes over me as I’m brought back to the night before, where I ended up in this exact fucking position.

You know what? Fuck this shit.

Pushing up off the floor, I grab the card that the bloody man left on the thrifted coffee table before putting his number into my messaging app on my phone.

Me: Hey, asshole. You can call off your dogs. Having someone follow me home at night isn’t fucking cool.

Chapter

Eight

MATTEO

Ifeel my phone vibrating in my pocket. Taking it out, I open the message I just got.

Unknown number: Hey, asshole. You can call off your dogs. Having someone follow me home at night isn’t fucking cool.

Dogs? Who the fuck is this?

Me: Who is this?

Three little bubbles pop up, letting me know the person is typing, not even thirty seconds after I sent it.

Unknown number: Are you fucking kidding me right now?

Me: No, I’m not fucking kidding you. How did you get this number?

Unknown number: You gave it to me, jackass.

I gave it to them?

Oh, fuck.

Me: Wren?