Easy for Jayla to say. She wasn’t the one whose life had just been upended. Again. For months, Chloe had hidden in this apartment, jumping at every noise, her stomach curdling every time her phone rang, even though she’d gotten a new one with a different number. She’d had groceries delivered, online shopping had become her best friend, and even her therapy sessions had been done via Zoom.
When she’d finally felt well enough to step outside, he had to show up and ruin everything. Her taste of freedom had been all too brief, and while her heart thumped a hard beat in her chest, her hands trembled, and her palms were clammy, she was also angry. No.Livid. Jackson Savoy had once taken everything from her. She wouldn’t let him take this from her, too. Not again.
“Should we call the cops?” Back in New York, when everything had gone to hell, she hadn’t gotten them involved because Jacksonwasa cop. He’d been well-liked and respected. She’d been afraidthat she wouldn’t be believed, or that his actions would be swept under the rug. But she wasn’t in New York anymore. The cops here didn’t know him and weren’t his buddies.
Jayla tore her attention away from the show she was watching to look at Chloe. “Is that how you want to handle it? Any evidence we have right now is circumstantial at best.”
In other words, she could file a report, but there’d be little the police could do. She’d been down that road before.
“What do you suggest, then?”
“Let us handle Savoy.”
Jayla returned her attention to the TV, and Chloe tried to do the same, but her thoughts were in such chaos that she couldn’t focus. She needed to do something…
Jayla’s phone rang, and Chloe jumped, startled by the unexpected sound. “Easy,” the other woman murmured. “It’s just my partner checking in.”
Right. The other unknown member of the two-person protection team, which General Davies had sent to keep an eye on her as a favor to her father. Whoever they were, Jayla had called them right after she’d called the general, to let them know about the rose on her car and that she’d had to come clean about being there to protect her.
Chloe listened in this time, too, but could only hear Jayla’s frustratingly uninformative side of the conversation.
“Hey.”
“Yeah. We’re good.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. Hey, listen. Can you grab some food? I’m starving.” Jayla looked at Chloe. “You want something to eat?”
Her stomach rolled at the very thought of eating anything, and it must have shown on her face since Jayla patted her knee sympathetically before saying to her partner, “Grab something for Chloe, too, in case she gets hungry later.”
Chloe was about to point out that she had plenty of food. Her cupboards were stocked, as well as her refrigerator, but Jayla ended the call before she could.
“You want me to change the channel?” Jayla picked up the remote again. “If this show doesn’t do it for you, I can find something else.”
“This is fine.” Whatever it was… Chloe was too deep in her head to pay attention to anything anyway.
Twenty minutes later, when the buzzer sounded, announcing someone at the front door, Chloe startled again. Even knowing Jayla’s partner was on their way, that they would have to be let in, the noise still made her overstressed nerves jangle.
The other woman looked at her phone. “Yup. It’s him. Ooh! He got Panera!”
Him. While Jayla bounded off the couch to buzz her partner in, Chloe gave that some thought. Jayla was the only new addition to this apartment complex, and she lived alone, so her partner musthave moved in somewhere close by. Maybe the building across the street.
Mildly curious to see if she’d recognize whoever he was – maybe she’d caught a glimpse of him when she’d been outside, leaving to go to work or coming home – Chloe stood and faced the door. But when he finally appeared, his name left her lips in a whispered rush. “Erik.”
“Hey, Chloe.” He looked her over as he passed the big bag of food to Jayla. “Are you okay?”
She laughed. She couldn’t seem to help it. The sound just emerged from her involuntarily. Of course, it was Erik. She’d pegged him as a soldier at their first introduction. It wasshewho had assumed he was no longer on active duty because of his scars. He’d never said that. Now that she thought about it, he’d evaded saying much of anything when she’d touched on his time in the military, hadn’t he? He’d changed the subject.
Cautiously, he moved closer, almost as if he thought she’d run away screaming. Did she look fragile to him? Probably, considering she’d just laughed like a hysterical loon. Taking it as a challenge, she raised her chin a notch and squared her shoulders. “I’m fine.”
Erik nodded, taking her at her word. “Good.” He motioned to the couch. “Sit down, please. We need to talk.”
When she did, he didn’t take the seat next to her, but settled on the front edge of the recliner. Leaning forward, he braced his forearms on his thighs. “We’re going to get him, Chloe. But weneed to know exactly what we’re dealing with. You need to tell us everything. From the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”
Her heart pounded like a drum in her chest, and her mouth suddenly went bone dry, her tongue feeling too thick to form words. She needed a drink. If she was going to do this…
Jumping up from the couch, she went into the kitchen and dug into her cupboard. Chloe typically avoided alcohol, but she kept a bottle on hand for the rare occasions when her father or General Davies visited, and tonight, she needed it. Locating the bottle of Glenlivet, she poured herself a healthy measure. Knocking back a mouthful, she cringed, shivered, and then coughed.
