Page 23
I laughed.
“I had a bad week. You caught me on a really rough morning.”
“Why?” I took a drink of my beer.
She paused for a moment like she was debating whether or not to elaborate. “Well, you know Miguel quit on me. And my period was pretty crappy. I haven’t really been sleeping, and that morning I met you, someone tried breaking into my house—”
“Wait, what?” My mood changed in an instant. I sat up and set my beer on the coffee table. “Someone tried breaking in here? Who?”
My reaction seemed to surprise her. “Look, you can’t tell Brandon about this. Sloan doesn’t know. She’s all into these crime shows and her imagination would just run wild. I don’t need her freaking out on me.”
“Did you call the cops?”
“Of course.”
“Did they catch him?”
She shook her head. “They found a couple of cigarettes in the backyard and a beer can. It was three in the morning. Stuntman started barking. I walked the house and came around to the back door just in time to see the doorknob jiggle. The door was locked and they took off when I turned on the porch light. What?”
The look on my face must have been as pissed off as I felt. This was not fucking okay. She was here by herself, all 110 pounds of her, and somebody tried coming in here to do God knows what to her. “Do you have an alarm system? A gun?” Why was she so fucking blasé about this?
“No. But soon I’ll have a Tyler. Nothing better than an armed Marine, right?”
I frowned. “You shouldn’t be here alone.”
“I’ll be fine.” She waved a hand at me. “I didn’t tell you to get you all worried. I just wanted you to know why I lost it on you. It was kind of the final straw in a week from hell. There was that and then Miguel quitting, and I was just exhausted and annoyed and you’re such a bad driver, hitting people at intersections—”
“Have the police followed up with you? Has anyone else reported break-ins?”
“No. But last night—” She stopped like she caught herself.
I waited. “Last night what?”
“I found another can and two cigarette butts out there this morning.”
My jaw clenched. That was it. “I’m staying the night here until Tyler comes back.” I was dead serious. And no wasn’t an option.
Her face went soft. “While I appreciate the gallantry, you’re at the station half the time anyway.”
“And on those days, you go to Sloan’s. If you don’t, I’m telling Brandon what’s going on.”
She blinked at me.
“Look, if this were one of my sisters, I would hope that someone would do the same thing for her. You shouldn’t be here by yourself with nothing but the dog equivalent of a rape whistle to protect you. This fucker obviously knows you’re here alone. What if he would have gotten inside? Or grabbed you while you were walking the dog?” I got up.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re going. I’m not leaving you here while I run home.”
“Run home for what?”
“To get my gun.”
EIGHT
Kristen
Josh put a hand out to me, his face stern. I didn’t take it.
