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“I do,” I demanded. “Tell me.”
Brian huffed and rubbed a hand over his face. “There was a custom sex doll in his bedroom. It looked exactly like you.”
“What a sick, fucking bastard,” Ethan hissed.
My stomach rolled, and I held a hand over my mouth. “Oh my God. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s pretty messed up,” Brian added. “From the look of things, he’s been stalking you for a while. He picked the lock to get into your apartment.” He rested a hand on my shoulder. “But don’t worry, he’ll never be free again, Peyton. Once he’s out of the hospital, he’ll be sent to prison.”
“Son of a bitch,” my father growled. “I’d have given anything to be there and snap that fucker’s neck.”
My mom huffed. “Same.”
Brian focused on me. “I’ll keep you updated when we find out more. But, until then, stay away from your apartment. The reporters are salivating over this whole ordeal. They’ll be dying to hear what you say about it.”
“I’ll lay low,” I promised him. “Trust me. I don’t want to be dealing with that craziness right now.”
He said his goodbyes to everyone, and I turned to Ethan. I’d known him a long time, and so many emotions were warring across his face. Taking my hand, he led me outside to the back patio. The second we were away from everyone, I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.
“I’m so tired, Ethan. I’m so damn tired right now. I think the adrenaline is long gone.”
I felt safe in his arms.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you stay there by yourself. I should’ve been there.”
“It’s not your responsibility to protect me,” I whispered.
A low growl rumbled in his chest. “I would’ve killed him, Peyton. When I heard what happened, I was so fucking pissed and scared.” He held me tighter. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Slowly, I stepped back and looked up into his eyes. There was something that’d been on my mind since the break-in happened.
“You don’t think Nikolai Michelson had anything to do with this, do you?”
Ethan’s gaze darkened with pure rage. “So, help me God, I’ll kill the fucking bastard if he did.” He blew out a sigh. “But honestly, I don’t think so in this case. This Peter guy was obsessed with you.” His jaw clenched. “But I wouldn’t put it past Nikolai. He’s a magnet for psychotic, deranged pieces of shit. Look at what happened to Reagan and Braden.”
That was true. Nikolai had tried to keep his hands clean by using others to get his revenge on our families.
My phone began to ring, and I looked down at the screen. “It’s my agent,” I said, glancing back at Ethan. “Someone must’ve told her what happened.” He nodded and I turned away to answer it. “Hey, Marisa.”
“Oh my God, Peyton, are you all right?”
“Physically, yes. Mentally, no.”
She sighed heavily into the phone. “I thought I’d have a heart attack when Barry called me.”
Barry Drayton was the producer of the romantic comedy we had just finished filming. He was a night owl, so it didn’t surprise me he’d be up at three in the morning watching the news.
“How insane is it right now? I haven’t turned on the TV.”
Marisa scoffed. “Honey, it’s all over the place. Hundreds of people must be out in your apartment's parking lot. With that being said, everyone knows where you live right now.”
I loved that apartment. There were so many memories there with Reagan. It broke my heart to leave it with a bad memory.
“I’m not going back there, Marisa.” My whole body felt so tired I didn’t know if I had the strength to walk around anymore. “All I wanted was time to rest, but I really just want to get away right now.”
“Maybe I can help with that,” Marisa said, her voice low and soothing. “I was going to call you when I knew you were awake, but it sounds like this might be what you need.”
“What is it?” I asked.
