“Since I’ve moved to Cloud Valley, you’ve become one of my favorite people. I look forward to seeing you all day long. You have this way of smoothing my edges when they’re all out of whack. Of making me feel better after the shittiest day. Besides Madden, you’re my best friend.”
She squirmed in her seat. “Is that how you want to keep things? Friends? I mean, I know you don’t like to get serious with anyone. I respect that, I really do. I don’t want to change you. I just want…heck, I don’t know. I just want to forget all the craziness of the last couple days with someone I trust.”
Well, hell. He hadn’t expressed himself the way he’d wanted, but maybe it was better not to admit that. He didn’t want to stay just friends with her. Even if right now, all she was looking for was someone to take her mind off her troubles.
He could be that person. And then he could figure out if there was a way to open Eve up to the possibility of taking their relationship past the friend zone.
“I’m glad you trust me,” he said. “Now let’s get inside.”
He jumped down and met her at her side. He pressed his hand to the small of her back and ushered her up the porch steps.
She dug in her purse for her keys and pushed open her door.
The overwhelming smell of flowers slammed against Reid like a punch in the gut seconds before he registered that the security system didn’t sound. Alarm bells went off in his brain, and he grabbed Eve’s elbow to lock her in place.
He flipped on the hallway light and anger slammed against him with more force than a charging bull. Hundreds of flower petals filled the living room, as if someone had tossed handfuls of colorful blooms in the air and let them rain down. Clumps ofdirt dangled from stems torn from the ground, and ripped petals were ground into the carpet.
Eve shrieked and turned to bury her face in his neck. He held her tight and vowed to destroy the man who refused to leave her alone.
Panic mixed with the suffocating scent of flowers, stealing the air from Eve’s lungs. She clung to Reid, refusing to believe this was happening.
Refusing to believe Tyson Brown had invaded her home once again, taking her sense of security with him.
Reid skimmed his knuckles up and down her arms. “Listen. I know you’re scared, but I need to make sure no one is in the house then call the authorities. Okay?”
She nodded then took a step away from his protective embrace. The last thing she wanted to do was walk through every room of her house to see if someone had been there—to see if more terrifying surprises waited.
But Reid was right. They couldn’t just stand in the hallway and pretend like the rug hadn’t been pulled out from under her again.
“Stay close. Just like at my place.”
Again, she nodded.
Reid grabbed the gun she knew he kept tucked in the back of his waistband and inched through the house.
She’d been terrified at Reid’s apartment earlier, but that didn’t even begin to describe the almost paralyzing emotions circling through her nervous system. Her body jerked with every groan of the house, every shift of the floor beneath her feet. At the entry of each room, she held her breath and waited for Reid to tell her everything was all right.
He approached her bedroom door, and her heart broke a little. This was not how she’d thought this night would end. With fear and questions and the nauseating scent of flowers permeating her psyche. She’d looked forward to kisses and passion and hopefully the beginning of something more with a man she’d never imagined was in her reach.
Reid pushed open the door and flipped on the light. The sight of red flower petals sprinkled on her bed made bile shoot up the back of her throat. Wind lifted the ends of her curtains, glass shattered on the floor, giving a glimpse into how Tyson had entered her home without the alarm going off.
She stood in the doorway while Reid crept around her space. She pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from getting sick. Her gaze found the painting on her wall she’d always cherished. Now the colorful blooms in the photo would forever remind her of her worst nightmare.
“All clear.” Reid crossed to her and dug his phone from his pocket. He swiped the screen and made a call before placing the device to his ear and ushering her out of the room. “Deputy Silver, it’s Reid. Eve and I need you at her house. There’s been another break-in.”
Disconnecting, he slipped his phone back in his pocket and steered her into the kitchen.
She marched along beside him, her body numb, her senses both dulled and extra sensitive at the same time. Her legs were wooden and stiff as she moved, her mind blank.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Reid pulled out a chair from the kitchen table.
She lowered herself onto the hard seat and stared up at him. “The alarm didn’t go off. We had no idea he’d been in here. Doing that.” She flung her wrist toward the sick offering left for her in the living room.
The familiar wildflowers she’d loved since childhood stared back at her from the attached room, taunting her. Cracking her heart down the middle. Frustrated tears spilled from her eyes.
“Hey, now.” Reid dropped to his knees and gripped her hands. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
“He’s tarnishing everything I love. Everything I treasure. My home. My memories. How can I live here, knowing he’s been inside? Been in my bedroom!”
