He winced, his eyes crinkling. “I really need some stuff out of there, and I have appointments tomorrow. Any chance you could let me through for just a moment? I remember the combination for his lock. I’ll be quick.”
She glared at his hopeful smile, suddenly thinking about that SUV she’d seen across the street. And Amber’s palpable fear over her abusive partner. This guy could be anyone, and she wasn’t about to let him in.
“The office is closed. I’m not allowed to let anyone in after six p.m. without a code. No exceptions.” That wasn’t quite true. But she’d be damned if she’d take any chances this week.
She watched the man run a hand through his dark hair, but it fell back over his forehead immediately.
“No exceptions?” he pressed.
“None,” she answered, not bothering with any apology this time. It was dark, she and Everett were alone, and she wanted him gone.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
She crossed her arms and watched until he backed up and turned around. Then she watched the cycle of all the security cameras to make sure he was truly gone. Creep.
Unwilling to deal with more stress, she locked everything up tight again, then tapped on Everett’s door. “I’m going to bed early with a book. Lights out at nine thirty tonight!”
“Got it,” he called. She successfully resisted the urge to open the door and give him a tight hug that he’d try to squirm out of. He hadn’t brought up his dad or his eavesdropping, so she wouldn’t either.
Two glasses of wine later, her own lights were out at 9:30, and she fell into the dead sleep of a woman who was no longer smuggling other human beings on and off her property.
The cordless phone in her bedroom woke her at ten. Since it was the business line, she ignored it and let it go to the messaging system. When it rang again five minutes later, she silenced the ringer, but past the closed door of her bedroom and the front door of the apartment, she heard the line ring again. And again.
Every speck of sleepiness vanished as worry shone a bright, merciless light into her brain. She thought of the SUV across the street, the man at the gate, the woman in the trailer, the police detective and whatever had him so worked up.
Two minutes later, she finally snatched up the phone. “Who is this?” she growled. When there wasn’t an immediate answer, she let her anger out. “What the heck do you think you’re doing, calling over and over? If you’re outside my property, I’ll call the cops right now.”
“Lily,” a voice murmured, all hush and gravel in her ear.
Frowning, she turned on her bedside light and sat up. “Who is this?”
“It’s just me. It’s fine.” His voice cleared up on the last words, as if he hadn’t used it for days. And she knew exactly who it was.
“Jones?” she croaked, her own throat going dry as a bone.
“Yeah. Hi.”
Her hands tingled. Her breath came too fast. The light she’d turned on seemed to multiply and spin around the room. Yes, he’d called her a month ago, asking about Everett, but he hadn’t sounded like this. Like he was hiding somewhere in the dark. And before this, he’d only called twice in two years.
“What . . . what are you doing? Why are you calling again? You can’t . . .”
“Oh, you know. Just checking in.”
She shook her head. “You can’t call me. What if they’re listening? They’re going to think I’m . . . This isn’t safe. A cop was just here. Right here.”
“It’s okay. It’s an internet call. They can’t trace it.”
“Trace it?” she snapped. “I’m not worried about you, you arrogant asshole. If you get me into trouble again . . . No. I can’t do this. I haven’t even gotten out of the bottomless well of shit you threw me into six years ago, and I can’t do this.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just . . .”
“Just stay away.”
“What if I can’t?”
“What?” She was endless anger now, the fear all burned away. “What does that even mean?”
“Nothing.”
Lily groaned, unwilling to dance in circles with him. “What the hell do you want, Jones?”
“You know what I want.”
Her anger dipped into uncertainty. She had no idea what he was talking about. “I don’t know. I have nothing, so I couldn’t give you anything even if I wanted to. And I don’t want to.”