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That brought him back to me. His mouth quirked into something close to a small smile. “Pokémon was my shit back then.”
I smiled back at him. “You had to catch them all, huh?”
“Yeah.” His thumb traced the curve of my smile. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this except I want you to understand.”
I nodded. I knew why he was telling me. Tonight had been ugly, an ugly Amir wasn’t going to be able to kiss better or smooth over for me. He needed me to know why he couldn’t turn away from that ugliness, even if it hurt me and other people in the process.
“Thank you for telling me, baby,” I murmured.
His lips touched my forehead. “Like when you call me baby.”
And then he tucked me under the thick cover, pulled me onto his chest, kissed my lips, and whispered good night.
I hadn’t fallen asleep. It had been maybe an hour or two since Amir had drifted off. He’d kept me close. Even in his dreams, his arms never loosened.
My thoughts were keeping me awake. My trip to Oregon was coming at both the best and worst time. I needed to see my dad, to touch the huge, old trees that filled our backyard, take a hike, remember who I was.
But I liked who I was here too. I didn’t want to run away from that. It was just that I was seeing falling for Amir had been flying a little too close to the sun. He lived a lot of his life in the jet black of midnight, but he, himself, was bright. The kind of bright I couldn’t resist. Except now I was feeling a little singed and raw.
A shadow passing under the door caught my eye. I didn’t know why it drew my attention, since there were two other people in the house and it could have been either of them, but something in my gut screamed at me. Something wasn’t right.
The distant sound of breaking glass sent my heart pounding.
Drew?
No, he’s not here. Drew is in a hospital in Oregon. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe Julien broke a glass in the kitchen. It’s probably nothing.
I couldn’t settle. Couldn’t convince myself everything was okay. So, I eased out of bed and tiptoed to the door. As slowly as I could, I cracked it open, peeking into the hall.
And I found someone peeking back at me.
I froze, my gaze locked with one that was wild and crazed. In the back of my mind, I recognized this man, equally frozen at the opposite end of the hall.César.
His arm unfroze. He reached into his pocket, pulling something small and silver out. Asnicksounded, and the object flashed silver. My mouth opened—to scream, to gasp? I didn’t know—but nothing came out.
Because that was a knife.
This wasn’t the first time I’d woken to a man in my home who wasn’t supposed to be there, holding a knife. My dad heard him before he could act, but my dad wasn’t here tonight.
And this man, he was crazed in a completely different way than Drew had been.
Two things happened at once. From behind me, Amir snapped my name. In front of me, the man started toward me, knife raised. I couldn’t be sure which action got me to move, but the next breath, I slammed and locked the door.
“Someone’s in the house,” I whispered.
“Zadie?” Amir sounded only half awake. “Come back to bed.”
A crash against the door made my shoulders jump, and I repeated myself. “Someone’s in the house!”
Amir pulled me away from the door and shoved me behind him onto the bed. Flinging open his bedside table, he pressed the combination of his safe and pulled his gun out. The muscles in his shoulders were bunched as he checked it over in a hurry.
Spinning to face me, he jabbed a finger at me, leveling me with a menacing stare. “Don’t move off that bed. Whatever you hear, you stay in here. I’ll send Julien in. You lock the door and do not come out until I’m back.”
I nodded, fear taking my voice. Everything had gone quiet in the hall. To me, that was even more terrifying than the pounding. At least then I knew where he was. Now, he could be anywhere, and Amir was going out there.
Julien slipped into the bedroom, locking the door behind him. He paced back and forth, tugging at his hair, then slammed his palms on the wood. He probably hated being stuck in here with me. If I could have spoken, I would have told him he didn’t need to stay, that he should help Amir. It would have been a lie. I didn’t want to be alone.
I tucked my knees under my chin, holding them tight to stop the shakes from racking my body.
Julien stopped pacing, taking me in, and exhaled, approaching the bed. “Amir and Marco are handling it. I know you’re scared, but you don’t need to be. Anyone who breaks in and makes all that noise doesn’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”
I nodded, trying to take in his assurance and wrap it around my stuttering heart.
“Okay,” I rasped.
“Just wait for Amir. Okay, Zadie?”
Just wait for Amir.
