His breath was sour. His eyes glinted meanly in the stray light. He wasn’t drunk. He was deliberate.
“I don’t know what you want.” I tried to reason while everything inside me screamed to escape. I tried to pull away from him as much as he held onto me, his fingers digging into my flesh. “If you just tell me what you’re looking for …” My voice cracked as I tried to twist free.
He shoved me harder, my shoulder blade screaming against the plaster. “Don’t play stupid, you bitch.”
I wanted to fight, but panic clouded everything. My knees trembled. His face was shadowed, but I couldn’t see anything familiar about him that would give me any indication that I knew him. Was he the same man from the bar? I just wasn’t sure. This was the sort of thing that I would have expected from my ex. Ransacking my house in the middle of the night wouldn’t be totally out of the realm of possibility, but it definitely wasn’t him.
Just as I’d tried to respond, a voice cut sharply through the night. “Lila? Are you home? Is your power out?”
Sage. I nearly cried with relief. I still might. Thank God for good friends and neighbors who looked out for each other.
A second later, a flashlight flickered through the livingroom, the beam just reaching the hallway where I was pressed against the wall. “Oh my God. Lila! Someone broke in? Lila, are you in here?”
I whimpered as the man cursed under his breath, the sound ugly and frantic. His grip loosened.
“I’ve called the police!” Sage’s voice carried strong and steady, braver than I could ever sound right then. “They’re on their way if someone is in here. Lila!”
The intruder’s hand fell away. He shoved me once more, hard enough that I stumbled, before bolting past toward the back door. It banged open, a rush of rain and wind flooding in before slamming shut.
My knees buckled. I caught the wall, breathing ragged.
“Lila?” Sage’s voice came closer, hurried now, her garden clogs sounding against the floorboards. She appeared in the hall, her auburn hair damp from the rain, her phone in her hand. Her eyes widened when she saw me slumped against the wall, cheek flaming, chest heaving.
“Oh shit.” Her face crumpled. Sage was more tender-hearted than most, and I loved that about her.
“I’m fine.” The lie came out weakly. “I swear.”
“No, you’re not.” She was already at my side, steady hands gripping my arms. “Sit. Here.” She guided me toward the couch, the afghan still crumpled on the floor. I let her steer me because my legs wouldn’t work properly.
Tears prickled my eyes, but they refused to fall. I needed to pull myself together first so I could understand exactly what had happened. I was pretty sure that Sage had called her brother or, at the very least, the police. Someonewould be here asking questions, so I wanted to provide them with as much information as possible.
Sage crouched in front of me, scanning my face. “I heard someone. I called my brothers.”
My skin throbbed where his hand had landed. “I’m not sure why they were here. I don’t have anything.” I felt numb. “I’m fine.” I probably said that already, but it was more to reassure myself. “Thanks for coming over. I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t.” Just the thought scared the daylights out of me.
She gripped my hand in hers. “I wasn’t sure why your lights were off. It was weird. Nobody else’s were, and the door was open.”
“You’re the best bestie ever. Free cookies for life.” I leaned back against the cushions. Sage already got free cookies, just like I got free flowers. We had a quid-pro-quo-bestie relationship.
She huffed a little laugh as the sound of a siren grew in the distance, slicing through the rain. Relief warred with humiliation. The whole town would know by morning. They would know that someone had broken into my house. They would know I had been pushed around like a rag doll.
Again. Just like with Derek. I sighed. The gossip mill would be strong on this one.
Sage squeezed my hand. “It’ll be fine.”
I wanted to believe her.
But my chest still held the echo of his shove, the burn of his palm, the demand in his voice. I wasn’t sure what hewas looking for. There wasn’t much of material value that I had.
The wail of the siren cut closer, then stopped right outside. Red and blue lights flickered through the rain-smeared windows, painting my living room in jolts of color.
Sage stayed kneeling by me until the knock came. She rose quickly, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead, and went to the door. My pulse hammered as I listened to the murmur of voices, the heavy tread of boots across the porch.
Then Wade Holt stepped in. His uniform was darkened by rain, his expression tight and sharp. His gaze swept the room in a quick, practiced scan before locking on me. His mouth hardened.
“You alright?” His voice was clipped, official, but his eyes softened when they landed on my cheek.
“I’m fine.” I forced my chin up.
