“Ladies.” Jimmy strides across the floor like he means business. “I need you to go to my office and lock the door. No questions asked. Just do it.” He slaps his keys into Kendall’s palm. “Crusher will escort you and stay with you,” he adds as Kendall’s eyes flit to mine.
Alarm bells are ringing in my ears, but I keep my expression calm and nod at my love, silently conveying it’s okay. June and Viola exchange worried looks with Kendall, but they do as they are told, quietly trailing Crusher out to the small hallway that leads to Jimmy’s office. “What’s going on?” I ask the second they are out of earshot.
“I spotted someone climbing up the fire escape toward your apartment.”
“Who?” I ask, immediately racing toward the exit.
“It’s too dark to tell,” Jimmy says, running behind me with Boner in tow. The guys in the ring stop sparring to stare at us, but I ignore them, yanking the door open and sprinting outside.
“I bet this has something to do with my father,” I say through gritted teeth as I take the stairs that lead to my apartment two at a time. He’s been way too quiet lately, and that makes me nervous. It’s not inconceivable to consider he has heard I’ve received, and accepted, an offer to attend the art program at Yale and I’ve submitted an application for financial aid.
Quickly opening the door to my apartment, I burst inside, just as I see a shadowy black figure escape out the window. I’ve got a split second to decide whether to go out the fire escape after him or try to catch him on the ground. Choosing the latter, I sprint past Jimmy and Boner and race back down the stairs, jogging past the boxing club and around the corner to the rear of the property and the parking lot. I arrive in time to see the guy jump on a motorcycle and kick-start the engine. Frantic, I look around for something, anything, I can throw at him to knock him off, but the lot is empty except for a few trucks and a couple of dumpsters.
The guy revs the engine, and I have to jump out of the way as he comes at me. I land on my side on the gravel-lined asphalt, narrowly missing being knocked down. “Vander!” Kendall screams, and I lift my head to see her leaning out the window of Jimmy’s office. “Are you okay?”
I climb to my feet, brushing gravel off my training top and sweats. “I’m fine.” I walk to the window. “Someone was in my apartment. I want to check it out, and I’ll come back for you then.”
Behind her, Viola and June look concerned while Crusher wears a “what the fuck” expression on his face.
I trudge back up the stairs, silently cursing myself for not following the guy out the fire escape. When I enter my place, Boner is placing a long sheet over my latest oil painting of Kendall. I finished the drawing, and Kendall loved it. It’s definitely one of my best pieces, but it helps when I have intimate knowledge of the subject. It felt like a waste to confine her beauty to a page on a sketch pad, so I transferred it to a large canvas, and I’ve been working on it all week.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Boner says, looming in front of me and snapping me out of my head. “And it’s not exactly a shock.”
My brows climb to my hairline.
“I helped clear out your old place, and I saw the other paintings you had of her. When you were getting ink, I could tell you two were close. I saw the way you were looking at one another, and it all stacked up.” He clamps a hand on my shoulder and smiles. “She’s sweet and hot. Good for you, man.”
“We have more pressing concerns,” Jimmy says, walking through from the apartment side of the space. “I can’t see anything out of place.”
“He wasn’t up here long enough to cause damage,” I surmise, stepping into my apartment and raking my gaze over my living space. “We disrupted him before he could do what he came to do.” I spend a few minutes checking things, but it doesn’t look like anything is missing.
“There have been a few break-ins in the area,” Jimmy says as the front door opens and Kendall walks in. Concern is etched upon her face as she stalks toward me, her head darting sideways when she passes my studio, and lines furrow her brow.
“She wouldn’t stay put,” Crusher says, ambling in the door behind her, followed by Viola and June. “She was freaking out you were hurt.”
“What’s going on?” Kendall asks, skimming her gaze around the room.
“Jimmy spotted someone climbing the fire escape, and we came to investigate. The asshole got away, but it doesn’t look like he took anything,” I explain, wishing I could pull her into my arms and kiss her worries away.
“I’ll install an alarm system and some security cameras,” Jimmy says. “I’ve been meaning to get around to it. Now seems as good a time as any.”
“I’ll pay for them,” I offer.
He shakes his head and waves his hand in my face. “I’ll write it off as a business expense.”
Now isn’t the time to argue with him, so I drop the subject. But it’s got me thinking, and I need to have a private conversation with Kendall. I glance over her shoulders at her two friends, who are quietly taking everything in. “We’ll have to call it a night, and I need a word with Kendall.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow at the office,” Kendall says, turning around and yanking June into a hug.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch,” Viola says. They quickly embrace, and then everyone leaves.
“Come here,” I say when the front door is closed. She falls into my arms, and I hold her close. “I’m okay. Don’t worry.”
She fists my top as I smooth a hand down her hair. “But I do worry. Was it your dad?”
I exhale heavily as I steer us toward the couch. “I don’t know. Could be, or it was a thief. Apparently, there have been some break-ins in the area.”
“The security cameras are a good idea either way.”
