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What would he do now that he saw me? Should I run? Should I dial 9-1-1? My jaw dropped open, and I tried to scream, but no sound came out. It was like a nightmare where you knew all the things you were supposed to do, but you couldn’t move, scream, or even wake up.
The only thing I heard was the rapid pounding of my heart in my ears. The man stepped around the counter, menace in his gaze, and I finally snapped out of whatever spell I was under.
I gripped my cell phone tightly and ran.
I wasn’t sure where I was going, just that I needed to get away. I needed to hide. In the back of my mind, I knew I still needed to call the police somehow.
The alarm hadn’t been going off when I’d gone inside. Had he silenced it somehow? I ducked down an alley and peeked out onto the sidewalk to see if he’d followed me.
He hadn’t. My hands shaking, I finally punched in the numbers to call the police. Fumbling, I hit dial and raised the phone to my ear.
My lips were dry, my throat tight. “9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”
“There’s a man in my bakery—Sophie’s Sweets. He broke in,” I whispered.
“Where are you?” The woman’s voice was steady.
“I ran. I’m in an alley. I don’t think he followed me. He’s still inside, or he ran out the back.” Which meant he could easily circle around and find me.
Wouldn’t he want to get rid of any witnesses? I’d seen his face.
“Get somewhere safe. I have police en route.”
The streets were quiet. It was still dark. No one was walking their dog or out jogging this early. I was on my own until the police showed up.
A chill ran up my spine. Everything was locked up for the night. Most people lived above the shops or on a different street.
Not knowing where to go, I checked one more time to make sure the man wasn’t on Main Street and took off for home. I didn’t want to stay in that alley. He could have come up behind me. God knows what he would have done.
My breaths came in short pants, and I developed a stitch in my side. I kept going because it felt like my life depended on it. I looked over my shoulder every few feet to make sure no one was following me.
When I hit my porch, I stabbed the key into the lock. I got it open, then slammed it shut behind me, locking it. I didn’t stop until I ran to my bedroom, where I paced.
I’m safe. I didn’t lead a crazy man to my apartment. I chanted those words over and over again, still not quite believing them.
Looking down at my phone, the call was still active. “Hello?”
“Are you somewhere safe?”
I sucked in a breath. “I’m at home.”
“The police just arrived at the bakery. They’ll want to talk to you.”
“That’s fine.” I gave her my name and address. Then I got off the phone. I felt relatively safe, although I probably wouldn’t fully relax until the police caught the man, but he was probably long gone by now.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my heart in my throat, waiting for word. I could have called Ellie or my dad or even Mark, but it was still early. I didn’t want to worry them when I didn’t have much information to pass on.
When a knock came thirty minutes later, I almost jumped out of my skin. I should have been expecting the police, but I’d been sitting rigidly on the bed, frozen and unable to move.
I checked the window to see two uniformed officers. When I opened the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Colton.”
“Are you okay?” Colton’s arms hung loosely by his side, but the other guy, presumably his partner, had his hands on his duty belt, and his gaze was alert.
“I am now. Did you find him?” My gaze darted from Colton to his partner, searching desperately for answers.
“Can we come in?” Colton gestured inside my house.
“Of course.” I stepped back, letting both officers inside.
