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My entire body was numb. Ryan got out and wrapped a towel around his waist before he gently lifted me out of the tub. I was unable to move. The idea that someone had broken into our home and was in our bedroom…it was too much. Too damn much!
I was barely aware of Ryan drying me off and slipping one of his T-shirts over my head. Barely registered him asking me to lift my legs so he could help me don a pair of panties. When he lifted me again and carried me in his arms, only then did I notice he’d tugged his sweats back on.
Setting me gently on the sofa, he kissed my forehead. “Let me make you some hot tea.”
I nodded, then dropped back against the sofa and watched Ryan move about in the little kitchen. Before I knew it, he was handing me a cup of tea.
“What was in the bedroom?” I asked, my voice wooden.
Ryan looked away and drew in a long breath before he exhaled and focused his attention back on me. “It was a heart.”
I gasped. “As in…a real one?”
He nodded. “Detective Billings said it was taken from a deer or some other animal, according to the kid who broke in and left it.”
I covered my mouth with my hand to hold back the bile that was building.
“There were also some rose petals thrown onto the bed and a note.”
I closed my eyes and focused on breathing slowly so I wouldn’t throw up. When I opened them, I softly whispered, “What did it say?”
He swallowed hard and pulled out his phone. “Billings sent it to me. It said, um…” Clearing his throat, he went on. “When I see you with him, you rip my heart out. I love you, and I know he has blinded you. So I’ll wait a little longer for you to see the light.”
Ryan closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and finished, “Tick-tock goes the clock…until you’re mine, Morgan.”
Tears streamed down my face. Ryan tossed his phone to the coffee table, sat down beside me, and pulled me onto his lap, holding me tightly.
“He was in our apartment!” I sobbed.
“No. It wasn’t him. Blayze tackled the guy right as the police showed up. It was a young kid who said a guy offered him five-hundred dollars to break in and put all that shit on the bed. He didn’t see his face, said he had it covered with a ski mask. At the station…he also told the detective that the guy had given him a hand-drawn layout of the apartment, so he’d know which room to put everything in.”
I looked at Ryan in horror. “How does he know the layout of the apartment if he hasn’t been in it?”
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. Detective Billings is going to start questioning all the construction guys who worked on the apartment.”
Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temples to ease the headache that was building. “I can’t believe this. It’s been so quiet…I thought maybe he’d forgotten about me and moved on.”
Suddenly remembering my feeling in the bathroom, I jerked my gaze up to look at Ryan. “He’s here,” I blurted out.
With a confused expression, Ryan shook his head. “No, Rose was here earlier, but that’s it.”
I frantically shook my head. “No, Ryan, he’s here! I felt someone watching me through the windows in the bathroom. He’s here—or he was. Watching. I know he was. I felt it in my core.”
Ryan reached for his phone and hit a number.
“Did you see anyone following us?” he asked into his cell. “Morgan thinks he was watching her. Fuck! Well, he might be here anyway… Yeah. I’ll meet you outside.”
He hung up, kissed me on the mouth quickly, then lifted me and deposited me on the sofa. “Stay inside, Morgan—and put some pants on.”
“Wait! Who was that? Who are you meeting outside?”
“I’ll explain in a bit. Don’t come outside—do you hear me? No matter what, do not come outside. And lock the door when I leave.”
Swallowing hard, I watched Ryan reach for his bag, and then gasped when I saw what he pulled out. “Why do you have a gun?” I asked, panic filling my voice.
He returned to the couch and kissed me again. “I’ll explain everything once I come back in. Please don’t come outside. Promise me.”
“Ryan, you’re scaring me.”
His expression softened as he cupped my cheek in his hand, his thumb moving softly over my skin. “I’m being cautious. That’s all.”
And just like that, he turned and rushed out the door.
I jumped up and locked it, then stood there for a moment, listening. The sound of a car door shutting had me racing to the window. There was a car parked beyond the range of the outdoor lights, so I couldn’t see who got out, but it was definitely a man. He was a bit taller than Ryan. They spoke for a couple of seconds, then both of them went off in different directions.
