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He muttered to himself, too low for me to understand what he was saying. It was when he went silent that I started to worry. My steps were quiet as I walked up behind him, peeking over his shoulder to see what he was doing.
“Are you suddenly a security expert?” he bit out.
“Is everything you say aggressive?” I questioned, crossing my arms and staring him down. I’d perfected my mask of indifference a long time ago, but I swear this man was hellbent on cracking it.
This time his muttering started back up, but I could catch words about frayed wires or something crazy before too long. He pulled out his phone, barking orders into it.
“Jordan, something’s wrong with your sensors and the window. No, she didn’t unplug it; something’s wrong with it.”
Easton hung up, crouched down to get a better look. He started toying with it before I heard a zap of electricity, and he hissed as he shook his hand out. My mistake was letting out my laughter, even if it was quiet. His glare turned absolutely furious.
Thankfully, Jordan was pushing through the door a few minutes later, breaking the tension. Theo trailed behind him. My eyes ran over both of them, but it was the dark coloring at the end of Theo’s hands that caught my attention, especially when he nervously scratched his nose, leaving a streak there.
Jordan gave me a nod of his head as he passed me, and I tried not to soak in a deep breath of his scent—the crème brûléeand bourbon scent making my mouth water even with the brief flash that I got. He bent down in front of the windows, listening for a second as Easton pointed out before gently shoving him out of the way and taking over. It didn’t take long before he was cursing.
“Did anybody come over yesterday after we left?” he asked, turning to me.
“No, I locked the door behind you and went to bed.”
He looked at Easton. “It might be time to talk to the landlord. She needs new keys.”
“Why?” I asked, and my voice was shaking, and there was no hiding it this time. Was he insinuating that someone was in here with me while I was sleeping?
Jordan’s eyes were dark as he turned to me, studying me for a moment before finally answering my question. His gray eyes were stormy, the streaks of blue and gray warring within them as if he was barely containing his emotions, though I couldn’t exactly identify what they were.
“Someone messed with this since we put it up. This didnotlook like this yesterday, and it’s not simply short-circuiting. This was cut discreetly. Someone was trying to turn off our sensors so they could get to you.”
“Fuck the landlord. We don’t need his permission to change these locks. If someone else has a key, that’s a problem, and the only other person that could have handed him that key is the landlord,” Theo’s words were said in a harsh rush, and Easton opened his mouth ready to say something before closing it and nodding once.
I half-expected him to argue, to let it go and see what happened.
“Stay with her while I go get a new set,” he said before rushing out of the room. The tension in the room dropped several degrees when Easton was gone. I sat down on the couchand let out a breath. I didn’t bother turning on the TV or picking up a book, I just stared at the coffee table as my thoughts tumbled around in my head.
Inside, I knew it was not Warren. He wasn’t that bold or aggressive, and the contrast in small notes and breaking in was vast. I was more than a little confused and unsure.
“Hey, hey, breathe.”
My eyes snapped up to Theo, who was crouching down in front of me. His brown eyes were full of warmth and concern, which was strange since he seemed so distant before.
“Take a breath.”
I couldn’t follow his command. I tried to breathe in, and it was only then that I realized I was panting. My breath was coming in short gasps as panic took over.
I turned to Jordan, his eyes frantic. The alpha moved closer, but in my state of panic, I couldn’t convince myself that he was safe. I curled in on myself, the panic worsening until Theo cursed and pushed him away.
“What happened to you?” Theo said more to himself than me, but at the same time, he grabbed my hand, putting it against his chest. His breaths were exaggerated, and he encouraged me to match the movement.
“And breathe in with me, Tori. Let it go, breathe out. You have to calm it before you pass out.”
Already, black dots were dancing in my vision, and I tried to do as he said, even as I failed over and over again. He didn’t call me on it, he just kept encouraging me in that calm, unwavering voice until finally, I was breathing normally again.
My chest was tight, my head was pounding, and I felt dead on my feet.
“We’re going to change the locks,” Jordan said. “You’ll be safe here. We’ll make sure of it.”
“Okay,” I said, my voice quiet. They didn’t leave me while we waited for Easton to get back, but they didn’t talk, either. This time the silence wasn’t tense, but I could still feel their unease.
That and the fact that having Theo sitting next to me on the couch meant the scent of his smoke, parchment, and cedar was seeping into every breath.
