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As she moved past the refrigerator, she slammed into Spence, who was hurrying toward her. Her body pressed against his, and he reached out to grab her shoulders. Steady her.
Heat flooded her body. She wanted to curl into the hard planes of his chest and abdomen. Wrap her arms around him and hold on. Be safe.
She lingered a couple seconds longer than necessary, finally easing away from him. Swallowing, she asked, “What was that?”
“Not sure,” he said, his jaw working. “By the time I got the door open, I didn’t see anyone. The only things different were clumps of mud on the stairs. Like they’d been tracked up here by someone’s boots.
“Just as I opened the door, I heard another door click below us. I listened for a long time but didn’t hear anything else.”
Suddenly chilled, Zoe wrapped her arms around herself. “What do you think it was?” she whispered.
“No idea.” Spence’s lips thinned. “I doubt it was the maintenance crew, because it’s only six a.m. Kind of early for them to be working.”
“This is the top floor of the building,” she said. “So it wasn’t anyone trying to get to a higher floor.”
“I noticed last night that the staircase ends here,” he said.
She nodded. Glanced toward the door, and Spence turned and closed it. Locked it, as well.
“Could have been a cable company, installing or repairing something,” he said. “Or a city inspector, making sure everything was up to code. Could be a lot of things.”
Staring at her bare feet, she curled her toes. Nodded. “Yeah. Could be.” She looked at Spence and held his gaze. “But did you ever hear of city inspectors or cable guys working at six a.m.?”
A muscle twitched in Spence’s jaw. “No. You’re right. It wasn’t someone working in the building.” He drew in a deep breath. “But it could have been Davies, looking for a way into your apartment.”
Zoe swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. Before she could answer Spence, he set his hand on her shoulder. His warm fingers were reassuring. Proof she wasn’t alone in this.
She took a deep breath. Steadied herself. “He’d need a key to the garbage room in the basement, next to the parking garage,” she said. “And he’d have to know which floor I live on.”
“Yes. But he could have guessed it was the penthouse. Generally, that’s the only apartment that has its own elevator. And he’d know that one was yours. He would have been watching.”
Spence set his hands on her shoulders and stared down at her. “This isn’t a big surprise, Zoe. It’s what I’d expect him to do. Try the lowest risk approach first. He probably has some lock picks. He’d use them to get into your trash room. Then walk up the stairs until he was a couple floors past the lobby. Then grab the elevator to the highest floor below yours. Walk up to your apartment and try to get in. The door wouldn’t open, because I stuck one of your skewers into the lock. He wouldn’t have been able to turn it, even if he had a key. Maybe he was frustrated when he couldn’t get in. Maybe he kicked the garbage can, and that’s what we heard.
“He’d run down a couple of floors, exit into the hallway and take the elevator to the first floor. Walk out of the building, nodding to the doorman as he left. The doorman would assume he’d stayed the night with a resident.”
Zoe stared up at Spence and saw his resolve. His determination.
He was calm. Not freaked out. Not like she was. The thought that Ethan had been outside her back door a few minutes ago? Terrifying.
“I’m going to get a new lock for your back door today,” he said, squeezing her shoulders. “A digital one, where you need to enter a code to unlock it. They usually need four numbers or letters to unlock. I’ll find one that needs six. Make it harder to guess randomly.”
He removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. “I need a place to park my car. I left it on the street last night, but I suspect that’s not allowed long term.”
“I have a guest spot in the parking garage,” she said. “I bought it when I bought the condo. You can park there. I’ll ask whichever doorman is on duty to get me a guest transponder to open the gates. You can leave it in your car for as long as you’re here.”
“Perfect.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds too long. The flutter in her chest reminded her that it had been far too long since she’d had a date, let alone slept with anyone. Then a cool breeze blew across her bare legs as the furnace kicked in, and she pulled the lightweight robe tight across her chest.
Looking down, she realized the robe didn’t cover much. It hit mid-thigh, and now the hem was fluttering in the stream of cool air from the vent. Lifting the edge of the robe.
She looked up to find Spence watching the movement of that robe. When he felt her gaze on him, he slid his toes over her instep, sending shivers up her spine. Then he moved away.
Heat swept over her, and she cleared her throat. Swallowed. “I’ll, um, go take a shower.” She waved her hand around the kitchen. “There’s the coffee maker, and it’s pretty easy to use. Help yourself. I’ll be right back.”
She fled the kitchen, silk sliding over her legs as she hurried toward her bedroom. She closed the door too hard but didn’t stop moving. She tossed her robe and tee shirt onto her bed, then stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
A cold one would be a good idea, but she sure as hell wasn’t showering in cold water. She wasn’t a fan of cold against her skin. Thank God she lived in Seattle. It got colder in the winter, but they rarely had the bone-chilling deep freeze of Illinois.
