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Ricki didn’t answer right away. Instead, she seethed, her tattooed fingers curled into fists, her chest rising and falling as she breathed in and out as if she’d just done a thousand jumping jacks.
“Yeah,” she finally said, her voice sounding distant and detached as she stared at the ground in front of her shop. “And I think he wanted me to know it was him.” Following her gaze, I cursed when I saw what she was looking at, my whole body clenching as I reached new levels of pissed the fuck off.
There on the ground beneath the window were two furry rats, their naked pink tales standing out against their plain brown bodies.
But neither of them had a fuckin’ head.
“That’s it,” I spat, heading back to the truck and grabbing my phone. “I’m calling the cops.”
“What the hell for?” Ricki asked, her words quiet. “It’s not like they’ll do anything.” Turning her back to the window, she looked from one end of the street to the other, but the night seemed surprisingly empty.
At least it looked that way. But as I watched Ricki scan our surroundings, I realized the two of us, standing there in the dark, were utterly unprepared to deal with the fact that the prick who hurt her all those weeks ago could be hiding in any number of places.
And he probably wasn’t alone.
“Ricki,” I started, lowering my phone and locking the truck. “Let’s get inside. Now.”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ricki pulled her keys from inside one pocket of her hoodie and opened the door that led up to the apartments. Keeping my eyes on the street, I walked backwards until I closed the door behind us, double checking the lock from the inside.
“How many apartments are there in here?” I asked, following her up the narrow stairs that led to a darkened hallway.
“Just two,” she answered, stopping outside the first door we came to. “Violet and I have the one at the front of the building, and the Morrison’s have the one at the back.” Ricki tilted her head to indicate the second door farther along the hallway. “But they’re in Florida for the winter right now, so it’s really just me.”
I didn’t like that shit at all.
“Grab some stuff,” I barked once she had the door open. “You’re coming with me.”
“What the hell, Asher?” she groaned, tossing her keys on the kitchen counter and turning to face me, arms crossed under her breasts. “You don’t just get to come into my apartment and start dishing out orders. Do I look like a woman who gets off on being told what to do?” I opened my mouth to reply, but she held up a hand. “You know what? Do not answer that.”
I felt my mouth twitch, a smile trying to break through, but then I remembered exactly what the hell we had just stumbled across downstairs, and it died on my lips.
“I ain’t tryin’ to tell you what to do, Betty,” I said, trying to be softer, but my gut was churning with stress. “But I am not about to leave you alone in this building tonight when some sick fuck is leaving decapitated rats outside your place like some kind of fucked-up ritual!”
“Decapitated?” she breathed, her forehead scrunched up in confusion.
“Yeah, Ricki. Decapitated.” My chest was tight, sweat beading between my shoulder blades at the thought. “You honestly expect me to just walk away and leave you all alone in this building, knowing whoever the hell is smearing your shop with rat blood may still be out there, waiting for me to do exactly that?”
She blinked, her wide brown eyes full of confusion as she tried to comprehend my words.
“But,” she said softly. “Why do you even care?”
“What?”
“You barely know me.” Turning her back to me, Ricki began to pace up and down the length of the kitchen, her body tense and her movements hurried. “And in the time we have spent together, I’ve been kind of a bitch.”
“Ricki—” I tried to cut her off, but it was as if she didn’t even hear me.
“And then today, you just take in my goat? Like, who does that for someone they don’t even know?”
“Ricki, stop.”
“Then your family is all nice and shit, despite the fact that I look like I fell out of an episode ofMiami Inkor whatever.” Running a hand through her hair, she heaved out a sigh, then spun back around to face me. “No one in their right mind would invite me into their classic country farmhouse for a drink in the middle of the night, Asher. No one.”
“Hold the fuck on,” I said, completely tired of the self-depreciating rant she was spewing. “You can stop that shit right there. Why in the hell would anyone have an issue with you?” She froze, her arms across her chest as she clutched herself tighter. When it was clear she wasn’t going to answer, I pressed on. “I have never for one second thought that you were anything less than delightful, Ricki.” She frowned at me, one eyebrow going up, and I grinned. “Homeless, maybe, but delightful all the same.” Taking a step closer to her, I reached out, resting my hands on her shoulders and giving a gentle squeeze, waiting until she finally relaxed under my touch before I continued. “I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, who has been filling your head with bullshit, but you can let that go right this minute.”
Huffing out an unamused sound, Ricki rolled her eyes.
“Right, because it’s just that easy.”
