“Yes, sir,” he said with a smile.
While he got undressed, I took a couple of ibuprofen. I knew if I didn’t, I’d be hurting in the morning. I turned off my bedside light and lay down, waiting for him to join me.
Greg turned off the light on his side and got into bed, sliding over to lay his head on my chest. I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close. “This is nice.”
“Yes, it is,” he replied quietly.
I ran my fingers through his silky hair. “This isn’t exactly how I planned for our date to end.”
He snuggled in closer to me. “I don’t mind. It’s nice to only cuddle. I haven’t done that in…” He paused thoughtfully. “Ever. Wow, that’s just sad.”
I kissed the top of his head. “I’ll cuddle with you anytime you want.”
“Thanks,” he said on a yawn. “Sorry. I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”
I stroked his back with my free hand. “That’s okay. Just relax.”
I drifted off to sleep with the comforting weight of Greg in my arms.
I wasn’tsure what woke me at first. I only knew my whole body was instantly alert. I lay still, listening for whatever it was that had yanked me out of a deep sleep. Then I heard it—a faint scraping of metal on metal. Like the sound of someone trying to pick a lock. The only lock within hearing distance for me was Greg’s apartment door.Fuck.
Greg had turned on his side and spooned against me, so I had to move slowly and carefully to avoid waking him. Once I’d gotten my arm from underneath him, I sat up, still listening. The sound was still there, a little louder and seeming more determined. “Motherfucker,” I whispered.
I reached for my gun, but stopped. Instead, I made my way to the chair and got my jeans. If I had to shoot someone, I didn’t want to have to talk to the cops with my junk hanging out. Once I was semi-decent, I picked up my gun and headed for the apartment door.
The would-be burglar was still at it, and I swore I heard someone curse on the other side of the door. I thought aboutcalling the police, but I knew they’d never get here in time. I also knew I couldn’t do anything unless whoever it was actually got into the apartment. I was sorely tempted to open the door and drag their sorry ass into the apartment, but that would just land me with assault charges.
I waited with my gun aimed at the door for what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes. The scraping finally stopped, but there was no accompanying click to indicate they’d been successful at picking the lock. There was just complete silence on the other side of the door.
I waited for a while until it occurred to me that I could look through the peephole to see if anyone was there. “Bonehead,” I muttered.
I lowered my gun to my side as I approached the door. When I looked through the peephole, no one was visible on the other side. Of course that didn’t mean the person was gone.
I waited a bit longer before slowly and quietly turning the deadbolt lock and the doorknob lock. I eased the door open, staying behind it until it was open wide enough for me to see into the hallway. As I suspected, it was empty. I slipped my gun into the back of my jeans and turned on my phone’s flashlight, aiming it at the deadbolt keyhole. Sure enough, there were fresh scratches in the metal.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. First of all, how had they gotten into the building without a key? And if they lived here, how the hell was I going to protect Greg? I scanned the hallway ceiling looking for security cameras. I noted one at each end. Whether they worked was another question altogether. I would have to put Michael on it.
“Tony? What’s going on?”
Greg’s voice startled me into almost dropping my phone.Shit. I didn’t want to scare him, but I wasn’t going to lie to him either. He’d had enough of that in his life. I stepped into theapartment and closed and locked the door behind me. He had turned on the living room light, so I took his hand and led him over to the sofa. I took my gun out of the waistband of my pants and set it on the coffee table. “Have a seat.”
“Why do you have your gun out?” There was a tremor in his voice that I hated hearing.
I let out a soft sigh, sat beside him, and took his hand in mine. “I woke up because I heard someone trying to break into your apartment.”
His hand reflexively tightened around mine. “You heard it? How? I didn’t hear anything.”
I shrugged. “Years of being a cop and then a bodyguard. They were trying to pick the lock. They were obviously an amateur because they gave up after a while and left. What I want to know is how they got into the building.”
He clenched his jaw. “People are constantly propping open the inner door so their friends can come in without them having to buzz them up.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. I had to fight to keep from demanding that Greg move into my apartment tonight. There was no way he would take that well. I blew out a frustrated breath. “Would you mind if I made a couple of suggestions that might make you safer in your apartment?”
“Okay,” he replied tentatively.
“The easiest thing to start with is a door jammer bar. They’re cheap and easy to install. Even if someone manages to pick your lock, they won’t be able to open the door.”
He nodded slowly. “I think I know what you’re talking about. I can do that.” He tilted his head. “What’s the other thing?”
