I watched as he rode away down the street with a faint smile pulling at my lips before I turned and started heading for home. I picked up a fast pace; the evenings were getting cooler now that we’d hit September and I was beginning to wish I’d brought a jacket out with me.
I jogged the last block, heading into our apartment with a sigh of relief as I pulled open the door at the foot of the stairwell.
“We didn’t finish our chat,” a deep voice came from behind me and I flinched in surprise as I turned back to the street. There, standing beneath the flickering streetlight was none other than Mr Expensive himself.
Terror coursed down my spine and sent my heart into overdrive.
I didn’t waste time on chit-chat with the stalker as I turned and bolted for the stairs, my heart thundering in my chest.
I could hear his footsteps behind me and my mind filled with images of my broken body abandoned in a dumpster, food for the rats and a one-liner in the newspaper tomorrow.
Holy fucking shit on a cornflake.
“Stop!” He called and for some unknown, utterly terrifying reason, I did.
My lips parted in fear as he gained on me and I managed to shake off the desire to stay still as I bolted again. I made it to the fourth floor, sprinting towards our door at the end of the corridor with the upside down seven hanging from it.
I heard him cursing a moment before his solid weight collided with me. I was fast and had a good headstart, so how the hell had he caught up to me? He shoved me back against the door to our apartment and released a huff of irritation.
I opened my mouth to scream and his hand slapped down over my mouth.
The corridor was abandoned, even nosey Mrs Ergu from next door hadn’t stuck her beak out to moan about noise or cooking smells or goddamn trash collections and for the first time ever I wished to see her narrow-eyed glare.
“I’m Professor Orion. I’m not going to hurt you and you’re not going to scream. You want to let me in.” He released his grip on me and stepped back as I stared up at him, fear still strangling me but the desire to scream for help gone.
I opened my mouth to tell him I absolutely didn’t want to let a random stranger into our apartment at midnight on a Sunday but my hands seemed to have other ideas. I shoved my key in the lock and turned it before I could stop myself.
“Come in,” I said sweetly. What the hell? I wasn’t sweet, especially with strangers. Especially, especially with stalker strangers.
Fancy-shirt stepped right into my personal space, offering me a flat smile as he followed me inside and pushed the door closed behind him. My heart was pounding, my palms slick and I was filled with the feeling that I’d just let a fox into my chicken coop.
I WAS SNUGGLED up on the couch in my favourite pyjamas when the front door opened. I turned away from the episode of Breaking Bad where I'd maybe （not maybe） been taking mental notes on ways to solve our current predicament. Hope bloomed inside me as Tory walked in, but my smile fell away as I spotted two disturbing things: her bitter scowl, and a complete stranger marching into our apartment behind her.
I clung to the edge of the couch as the man side-stepped Tory, taking in our small apartment with a single, sweeping look. Heat invaded every cell in my body as his eyes fell on me, coal-like and dark as sin. He looked like a quarterback squeezed into a nice shirt and grey pants. His sleeves were rolled up to reveal muscular forearms and that trend continued from his biceps to his battering-ram shoulders.
A short beard clung to his chin, but he had an air of youth about him which suggested he was only a few years older than Tory and I. That could only mean one thing…
“Hell no.” I stood up, pointing at the couch which converted into the only bed in our apartment. “Go to his place, Tor, are you crazy? Are you really expecting me to clear out so you can defile our only bed?”
Tory shook her head, her lips pinching together tightly as she gave me a stare that said I'd gotten the wrong end of the stick. “Obviously not. This guy just…well he wanted to come in alright?”
“And that's acceptable why?” I asked in utter confusion.
I realised Mr Shoulders was staring at my pyjamas with an expression that said he was wholly amused.
“What are you staring at?” I demanded, but heat slammed into my cheeks beneath my defensive facade.
“I thought I was coming here to collect a couple of eighteen year olds. Must have gotten the wrong apartment, little bunny.” He laughed at his own joke and I cocked my head, fury bubbling up inside me.
Bunny? I glanced down at the bright-eyed rabbits lining my PJs and planted my hands on my hips. My mouth dried up. Damn, why did I pick these today of all days? I quickly went on the defensive, wanting to divert as much attention away from my cutsie PJs as possible. “Who the hell are you? And why are you in my home insulting me?” I looked to Tory again and she gave me an apologetic shrug before turning to face him.
I moved to join her, slipping off of the couch and standing shoulder to shoulder with my sister. We were a wall, barring him from stepping a foot further into our apartment, but up close he seemed even bigger and I could have sworn those muscles were getting twitchy.
“You were getting me a drink,” the stranger shot at Tory and she promptly walked into the kitchen and poured him a glass of water.
What on earth?
I stared at him, his gravelly tone suddenly sending a bolt of recognition through me. Crap. My mouth opened as the penny dropped. “You're a cop. You were there today.”
He gave me an innocent look, a dimple puncturing his right cheek. “Where exactly?”
“Don't play dumb with me.” I pointed at him as my heart rate ratcheted up. I could almost see the walls of the prison surrounding me and my cellmate Patrice cracking her inked knuckles.
Tory returned, thrusting the water into his hand with a strange look on her face. I wondered why she'd bothered. It wasn't like her to comply with the orders of strangers. Or anyone for that matter.
The guy took it with a word of thanks then tipped it into his mouth. Glug glug glug. I watched his throat the whole time, lined with stubble, moving up and down.
When he'd drained the glass, he sighed satisfactorily and placed it on the kitchen counter. I dug my nails into my palms as I watched him take his time to make the arrest. Was he enjoying this? Or was he really just that damn thirsty?
Maybe I should run for the door. But I'm not going anywhere without Tory. And besides, I can't see any handcuffs. Maybe he's off duty. But then why is he here?
“I've been chasing around after you two all day.” He strode to the couch, throwing himself down in my spot and stacking his hands on his stomach.
“Just leave Tory out of this. I was the one who took the cash.” I glanced at her and she gave me an accusatory look for incriminating myself with the admission.
“Except you didn't get the cash, you dropped it,” she pointed out and I pursed my lips.
“You mean this cash?” The guy lifted his ass and tugged something out of his back pocket, waving it above his head. And there it was: the wad of our beautiful two thousand dollars now bound together by a rubber band.
My heart did backflips as I stared at the impossible sight before me. Tory strode forward and snatched it out of his hand, perching on the coffee table as she counted every last note. He hadn't even tried to stop her.