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After they left, the security guards on duty at the front gate offered to stay with me until Tristan came. She and Saint were the only people I trusted here. I was cool with a few coworkers, but I didn’t want to be around any strangers. Honestly, I didn’t want to be around Tristan either, but it didn’t matter. Her ass was in Bali on vacation and hadn’t bothered to tell her damn husband.
I knew Saint would get to me as soon as he could, so I’d been trying to keep my composure until he arrived. As much as I didn’t want to, I called Raven to see if he could come and wait with me, but he didn’t answer my calls. That moment made me sit in the finality of us being over. Before this morning, all of my calls to Raven’s phone went straight through. Tonight, they were going straight to his voicemail.
My hand shook as I palmed my face. My nerves were shot and nothing was helping. I hadn’t even bothered to call my mom. She would only ask a million questions and make me feel worse. I didn’t want to think about it at all, but it was hard to get images of Ashley out of my head. Him standing over her. His finger squeezing the trigger. Those bullets entering her body…
Standing, I paced. I didn’t want to be in my apartment, but with the security guards being here, I felt okay. Everything around me felt violated, and I didn’t know when that would change.
“Car!”
At the sound of Saint yelling my name, my eyes instantly watered as I raced toward the front door. He was so country, yelling while he walked toward my front door, but that was what I needed to put a small smile on my face. Rodrick had put my door back up and did a maintenance request for a new lock to be installed, but I didn’t think that would be enough to make me feel safe here. I opened the door and quickly made my way into my brother’s arms.
“I’m sorry it took me so long,” was what he said, like he hadn’t gotten here in record timing.
I’d called Saint maybe six hours ago, and I wasn’t expecting him to arrive tonight. I guess that was yet another perk of being a celebrity. He had friends with jets that he could borrow.
“I’m just glad you’re here.”
Before I could stop them, more tears fell. Saint wiped my eyes and led me back into my apartment. His first question was if Ashley was okay, and I didn’t know. I wanted to reach out to her parents, but I also wanted to give them space. In the morning, I would call to check on her. Before the detectives left, one of them told me she had been rushed to surgery, but they had no updates on how it had gone.
“Are you up for explaining what happened, or do you want to wait?” Saint asked.
I looked back at Rodrick and Yoncy, then shook my head. “I really don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m exhausted, but I don’t want to stay here.”
“Yeah, you wasn’t going to stay here whether you wanted to or not. You said that nigga took your ID?”
With a sigh, I wrapped my arms around myself, needing comfort. Saint caught on, wrapping his arm around me and leading me over to my couch. I’d broken one of the legs off, pushing it in front of the door, so it was leaning.
“Yeah. I might as well just tell you now and get it over with,” I decided. “He broke into Ashley’s place. I’m not sure what, if anything, he was able to take. The sound of them fighting woke me up out of my sleep. I called the police and went over there with my bat. At the sight of Ashley on the ground, I yelled. He looked at me, and she snatched his mask off.” My eyes snapped shut and jaw clenched. “He…” My hand wrapped around my throat. I couldn’t even say the words. Not again.
Saint took my hand into his. “It’s okay. What happened after that?”
Opening my eyes, I released a shaky breath as my leg shook.
“I froze for a while. He put his mask back on and came after me. I ran back over here and put the couch in front of the door, but he got through it.” I paused as my watery eyes fluttered. “When he made it to my room, he took my money and my license, so he knows my name and, of course, where I live. He told me if I tell the police anything, he will kill me.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Just the basics. She was robbed, I walked in on it, he came after me.”
“Do they know you saw his face?”
“Yes, but I didn’t tell them what he looks like.”
“I need you to tell me.” I nodded, unsure if I wanted him involved. “Are you comfortable staying at my place alone, or do you want to come on tour with me? Until we know who this nigga is and what he’s capable of, I think it’s best if you lay low. Clearly, he ain’t afraid to pull that trigger.”
“I agree. I don’t even want to be here anymore.” Sniffling, I covered my face. “I want to gohome.”
Saint pulled me into his side. “Then we’ll get you home to Memphis. I’ll stop by the police station and talk to the detective handling the case. See if there have been any other burglaries in the area.”
“What if he’s watching now, Saint?” I asked, lowering my hands from my face. “What if he follows me to Memphis? If he thinks I snitched on him, there’s no telling what he will do.”
Saint shook his head. “I doubt if he stuck around, sis. Even if he did, he won’t be able to follow you to Memphis, or anywhere else, for that matter. I think it would be wise for you to stay away from the apartment, though. I can’t really protect you until I know what we’re dealing with.”
“Okay,” I agreed. I genuinely didn’t want to be alone, and I had no idea what my mental state would be like when I finally got to sleep… if I was able to even sleep. I knew Saint had a life and career… priorities outside of me… but I was glad he was able to come and see about me.
“I guess I’ll pack a couple of bags, then draft an email to my supervisor for in the morning. I hate to leave you all shorthanded at the bar.”
Saint chuckled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Covering your shifts is the least of my concerns right now. I just want to make sure you straight.”
