“That’s in Old Thirty-Three—I thought she lived in an apartment. There are no apartments in Thirty-Three.”
“She moved, this morning.”
During our date last night, she said nothing to me about moving. Maybe there wasn’t a good opening, or she didn’t feel comfortable sharing. I don’t have time to wonder about this as I climb out of bed and throw on pants and a shirt.
“I’ll be there in fifteen,” I say to Buster before hanging up. I don’t want him worried about keeping me updated when he should be focused on keeping Madison safe.
I call Seth as I take the elevator down to his floor.
Even though it’s four a.m., he answers immediately. “What’s happening?”
“Someone’s breaking into Madison’s place. Grab two comms—I forgot mine.”
When the elevator chimes, he’s already stepping out of his apartment. Wordlessly, he passes me an earpiece. I put in my earpiece and open the communication app on my phone. A second later, it connects.
A woman screams. Madison. My heart stops in my chest until Fletch’s voice comes through my earpiece. “You’re safe, Ms. Greene. Wait here. We’re taking care of the intruder, and the police are on their way.”
Protocol dictates the police would’ve been called before Buster called me. They’re following our method to the letter—that’s why I put them on this job. They’re among our best.
A loud thud follows—furniture or a body has fallen.
I press against the elevator door, eager to get out. This is a horrid kind of torture. Seth and I are able to listen to everything going on, while we’re trapped in this fucking elevator taking forever to reach the garage.
As soon as the elevator stops, we rush out. My car’s closer. Through my earpiece, Madison screams again.
MADISON
There are at least three men in my house, and I don’t know who any of them are. One of them spoke to me. He came through the door behind me and called me “Ms. Greene” like he knows me or something. He reassured me just long enough to keep me from fleeing into the darkness of the back yard—a dangerous idea, because I don’t know my way around yet.
Two more men came from the front—where the sound of breaking glass came from. One chases the other, who rushes upstairs.
The man who came from the back hurries past me. “Stay put,” he says again.
Why should I? I don’t know what’s happening and I’m scared and maybe the best place for me would be…away from here. Just the same, I stay put. My limbs lock up and I don’t think I could move, anyway.
Loud bangs come from the floor above me. I cringe at what is unmistakably the sound of someone punching someone else. They’re fighting up there, and I don’t know who they are or why they’re doing this.
A crashing bang echoes, and I scream.
“It’s fine!” a male voice calls down the stairs.
Fine for who? What the fuck is happening? I steal a glance toward the back door. As soon as I can move again, I’ll take my chances in the great wilderness of my back yard, because this is bullshit.
Red, white, and blue lights flash through the front windows, reflecting against the walls around me. Thank god. The police are here.
The sight of the emergency lights cures me of my frozen state. Flooded with adrenaline mixing with relief, I rush to the front door and fling it open. Officers spill out of two patrol cars. An ambulance speeds up the drive behind them.
One of the officers gestures me forward. I hurry out of the house, but something stabs my foot. The sting is sharp and immediate. I look down—I just walked through broken glass. I hobble the rest of the way down the porch steps, dodging the shards and walking on the side of my foot so as not to embed the glass farther in.
“There’s an intruder,” I shout to the officers and gesture behind me. “Maybe three? I don’t know what’s going on, it’s just so fast, there’s all these guys in there, and they’re fighting and?—”
“Come here, you’re bleeding.” A female officer with short, blond hair strides up to me and offers me her shoulder to lean on. “The EMTs will patch you up while we figure out what’s happening inside, okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
As the officer helps me limp to the ambulance, another car speeds up the drive. Two men get out of the car—two men I never expected to see. Not here, not like this.
Damiano and Seth.
