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As they stood there, neither willing to back down, Hannah's phone started ringing again. Something was wrong. Mama Rosa wouldn't call twice in a row unless something was wrong with Connor.
She made her decision. Lucy was an adult. If she wanted to go with Jake, Hannah couldn't stop her. She turned and rushed to her purse behind the counter, reaching her cell phone just before it went to voicemail.
"Hello. Rosa? Is everything okay?" Hannah looked up as she answered her phone. Jake's eyes bored into hers and she shuddered under the weight of his gaze. She momentarily zoned out until he turned, pulling Lucy out the door with him. They were gone.
"Did you hear what I said, niña? There are three men here in your apartment. I saw them pull up and they were snooping around. They must have got in through the side window because I can hear them through the connecting door. Want me to call the police?"
Hannah's mind raced. If Jake hadn't just left, she would have assumed he was the one breaking into her apartment. She had nothing of real value—other than his ledger.
"What do they look like?" Even as she asked, she knew it was crazy to care. She should call the police.
"Handsome. They don't look like the normal hoodlums I've seen in the neighborhood. All tall, muscular… body builder types," Rosa said.
Dylan.
She stood frozen, thinking about her options until Mama Rosa prompted her. "Hannah? What do you want me to do?"
"Nothing. I'm on my way." She hung up. Mia was standing in front of her, a worried look on her face and tears in her eyes.
"What's happening?"
"Some guys are at my apartment. I need to go," Hannah said.
"Wait. What are we going to do about Lucy?" Mia had reached out to grasp her arm, holding her back.
Hannah was torn. She'd do anything for Mia, but Lucy was another story. "What do you want me to do about Lucy?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe go after him and get her back?" Exasperation infiltrated Mia's tone.
That was a ridiculous suggestion considering how strong Jake was. "Right. Like it's that easy. Listen, she's a big girl. She made her decision."
"Don't give me that shit. She's in trouble and you know it," Mia said.
"Unfortunately, I do. But I can only deal with so many emergencies at one time. Right now, I need to go deal with what's happening at home. Maybe you should call the police."
"Oh yeah, like you did after he hurt you?"
Hannah didn't want to argue with her best friend, but there was nothing she could do to help Lucy. She hugged Mia goodbye before rushing out into the midday heat, praying her car would start.
* * *
Hannah
Hannah drove too fast across town. She pulled into the driveway just as Dylan and two other guys even bigger than he was walked out of her front door as if they belonged there. Between the stress of Jake and now Dylan pursuing her without regard for her wishes, Hannah had just about had enough of being pushed around. An anger she'd been pushing down consumed her as she got out of her car, slammed her driver's side door with a loud thud, and marched full steam up the sidewalk. She confronted the handsome man, who looked comically surprised to see her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You've been trying to convince me that you're this good guy trying to protect me, and now you go and break into my house? You have some nerve!" she stormed at him.
They had reached each other at the halfway point of the sidewalk. Hannah made sure he got the message, taking both hands and shoving his chest with all of her strength. It was like hitting a brick wall.
"Whoa. Hang on there. I can explain." He pulled her into his arms to keep her from flailing at him. The tighter he held her, the harder she struggled to be free.
One of the big guys with him stepped closer to talk softly. "Let's take this inside. We're attracting too much attention out here."
Before she knew what was happening, Hannah was being shuffled along towards her front door, sandwiched between Dylan and a hulk of a man who looked a lot like him. They had to be brothers, the thought of which intrigued her. The third guy, the tallest of the three, jimmied open her door in just a few seconds, telling her that her security was a joke.
Thanks asshole. Tell me something I don’t know.
Her small apartment seemed downright petite with the three hulking guys filling the space. Mama Rosa had been right in her description of them. They were all strikingly handsome and it was throwing her off. As big as they were, she didn't feel threatened by them, which didn't make any sense at all.
