She shrugged on her coat before walking over to him to deliver a kiss to his forehead. “Something’s wrong with Valentina. I’m gonna check on her. I’ll be back soon.”
He held on to her forearm, making her unable to leave. “Wait, is she okay? Do you need my help with anything?”
Her heart melted at his concern.
“No, I don’t think it’s to that level. If it was, she would’ve called the police, not me, but I’ll tell you if we do end up needing you.”
He gave a lopsided smile at her full-on business tone. “Okay, go do your thing.”
Emily’s handflew to her mouth after being invited intoValentina’sapartment. The place was a mess. She winced at the broken glass and painting hanging by a wire on the walls as she entered. A crunching sound came from beneath her boots as she stepped farther inside. The televisionhad a crack in the middle like someone had swung a baseball bat straight at it.
Numb to it all, Valentina sunk into one of the couches.
“What—” Emily choked on the million words that wanted to come out. “What happened?”
“Your cousin did.”
Her eyes widened. “Jason?”
“The one and only,” she confirmed with a deep sigh.
Emily took a seat beside her on the couch. “You’re kidding me.”
“Oh, how I wish I was.”
“Why would he do something like this? I thought you guys already called things off.”
Her eyes met Emily’s for the first time since she arrived. They looked exhausted.
“He came by a while ago,” she started with zero emotion. “I was stupid enough to not check the peephole because I ordered Chinese food so I thought it was the delivery guy, but obviously it wasn’t.” A dry laugh followed. “It was him. He forced himself past me as if everything was normal between us. I not so kindly reminded him that it wasn’t, and things turned for the worst. He laughed, just straight uplaughedat me. I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t. He went to get a beer from the fridge, turned on the TV, and with the scariest look on his face, he told me to sit down.”
“Did you?”
“Of course not! I told him to fuck off.”
“Atta girl.”
Her lips twitched slightly at that before it went away just as fast.
“After that, he threw a fit and started breaking shit.” Emily sucked in a sharp breath. “I kept telling him to leavemy damn apartment before I called the cops and he finally did.”
Her voice was now trembling.
“Why didn’t you?” Emily asked.
Valentina hesitated, then pressed her lips together. “Because I don’t think they’d do anything. Look at your case, they still haven’t figured out who sent that package. Mine’s just another nuisance they’d shrug off. And even if there’s a chance they did pursue it…” Her voice dropped. “I don’t want him dragged into legal trouble that could stick with him forever. A record could ruin him. I just wanted him gone, not destroyed.”
Emily’s expression fell in concern. “Still…”
“But him lashing out wasn’t the scariest part, Emily,” Valentina interjected in a low hush. “It wasn’t the fact that he trashed my apartment or had a big ego. Those aren’t new to me when it comes to Jason Evans…”
“Wait, he’s trashed your apartment before?”
“Tantrums here and there, but nothing like this,” Valentina responded.
Emily shook her head. “That fucking brat.”
Valentina took a shaky breath then continued. “What terrified me the most was the fact that he was so convinced that we were still together.” Her lips trembled. “To him, I hadn’t called it quits with him. He made it sound like a cooling-off period. That’s what gave me the chills. That damn certain look in his eyes.”
