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Realizing just how late it is, I wander into my bedroom and throw my phone down on my bed, and as I go to turn away, my gaze catches out the window, finding a familiar bike parked in the shadows across the street.
Fucking Viper.
I let out a frustrated breath. I’ve been seeing him a lot lately, ever since Crew’s murder, and at first, I told myself that he was just checking in on me, but this is becoming ridiculous. Is it because I asked him to install the security system? Maybe I gave him the impression that I was in some kind of trouble. Hell, maybe this has something to do with that text message I received from Crew’s brother. Viper was weird after that came through. Maybe it was a mistake letting him know.
Reaching for my phone again, I quickly type out a new text.
Kyah - I don’t need a babysitter.
Viper - The fuck you don’t. Go to bed.
I groan. This has become a nightly ritual with Viper, whether it’s him or one of his men. There’s always someone stationed outside my apartment as though I need some kind of protection, and no matter how many times I tell Viper to lose the guard dogs, I never seem to win.
Knowing a losing battle when I see one, I do my best to ignore him before striding over to my chest of drawers and finding a new pair of panties and a silk pajama set. I strip out of my clothes, and as I go to step into my new panties, I pause.
I’m too worked up after all of that. I’m never going to be able to sleep like this. I need to calm myself down, and what better way to do that than by having a quick shower?
Strutting through my apartment in the nude, I reach into the shower and turn on the taps before waiting for the water to warm. And just as I expected, as I step in and the water cascades over my body, my overactive mind begins to calm.
I take my time, and as I lather up the loofah and move it across my body, I can’t help but picture Alex, imagining his hand moving over my body. A subtle moan slips from between my lips when a distinct creak sounds in my living room.
My blood runs cold, and my hands fall away, the water quickly rinsing off the body wash as I realize someone is in my apartment.
My hands start to shake, my heart pounding with fear.
Is this my stalker? The asshole who left me the message at the beginning of the week. Has he come to play whatever game it is he’s been waiting to play?
Fuck.
The creak sounds again, and the fear becomes too much as I whip around in the shower, grabbing the taps and turning them off before reaching out and fisting my hand around my towel. I hastily wrap it around my body, and with shaky hands, I open the shower door and peer around through the open bathroom door. “Hello?” I say, my voice cracking.
I swallow hard, and when no response comes, I try it again. “Is someone there? Viper, is that you?”
Again, I’m met with silence, and as I try to convince myself that it’s all in my head, the fear only gets worse. The creak comes again, and it’s all I can take before completely losing my shit and racing from the bathroom. I sprint to the front door of my apartment, not daring to look back in fear of what I might find.
“FUCK. FUCK. FUCK,” I panic, my wet hand slipping on the door handle, certain I’m about to be slaughtered like cattle. After all, it’s always the dumb bitch who can’t work a door handle who gets killed first in all the horror movies.
Then finally, I get leverage on the handle and yank the door open, and with my towel clutched tightly around my dripping-wet body, I race out into the hallway, slamming the door behind me.
22
ALEX
BANG!BANG!BANG!
A heavy pounding sounds at my front door, and I hurry toward it, wearing nothing but a pair of pants after standing in a cold shower and trying to work Kyah out of my system.
Fuck. She was delicious, my new favorite snack, and the way she smelled . . . God. I need to have her again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The pounding sounds again, this time more forceful, and coming with a desperate panic, and I pick up my pace, my brow furrowed. It’s well after midnight, and despite having sent Ky home to bed, the likelihood that it’s her has me moving faster. Nobody knocks on a door like that unless it’s an emergency, which means over the space of the last eight minutes, something must have gone very wrong.
“Alex, please,” Kyah cries quietly from the other side, yet even through the door, the sound somehow speaks directly to my soul.
I all but leap the last step, my hand diving for the handle, and I barely get a chance to tear the door open before Kyah shoves past me, her eyes wide and filled with terror as she grabs the door and quickly slams it closed. Her chest heaves beneath her towel, her body dripping wet, and I immediately move into her, my eyes darting around as if searching for a threat, my military training keeping me on edge.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, my hand clutching her wet upper arms, fear shining through her big blue eyes.
