“Someone knocked on my door,” I whisper into the phone.
“It’s just an officer,” Beatrice informs me, and my body relaxes.
“Jade? It’s West. Can you open the door?” he calls from the other side.
“Oh, it’s West,” I tell Beatrice.
“I’ll let you go now, hunny,” she says.
“Okay, thank you,” I tell her, hanging up the phone and opening the door for West.
“Oh, thank God.” He breathes a sigh of relief. “You weren’t answering, and I was worried I’d have to break the door down.”
I smile at that protectiveness coming out again. “Sorry, I was on the phone with Beatrice,” I tell him. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”
“I was on my way home when your call came in. I was worried about you,” he says, placing his big hand on my cheek and stroking.
“I’m okay,” I promise, leaning into his touch.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Wren dropped me off, and when I entered inside, I heard footsteps and the slide of my back door slamming shut.”
“Okay. Mind if I take a look around?” he asks, scanning the area.
“No, of course not,” I say, stepping out of the way so he can do his thing. “My doors and windows are always locked, so I’m not sure how they would have gotten in,” I tell West as he inspects the front door.
“No signs of forced entry here, I’ll check the other door and some windows,” he tells me, taking off into my house.
While West searches for clues, I call for Pumpkin, snuggling into her soft fur once she’s safe in my arms.
“I can’t find anything that indicates a forced entry. You’re sure everything was locked?” he asks me, glancing around.
“I’m positive. It’s not something I ever forget or take very lightly,” I tell him honestly.
He watches me like he wants to ask why, and I start to shift, avoiding eye contact.
“Okay. Have you noticed anything missing?” he asks.
My cheeks flush, because I haven’t even looked. “Honestly, I haven’t even bothered to look around. Whatever it was they were looking for, they probably didn’t find it here. I don’t have much for valuables.”
“Well, if you do notice anything, let me know. For now, everything looks good. Windows are locked, and your doors look fine."
“Thank you for checking. I’m sorry if I overreacted.”
“Nothing to apologize for. I’m just glad you’re okay. I want you to know you can always call me. I’ll always come.”
“Thank you.”
I walk West to the door and say goodbye. Once he’s gone, I walk around, rechecking all the locks and latches, and then head to my room, Pumpkin in tow, where I change into my pajamas and push my dresser in front of my door.
Lying in bed but not yet tired, I grab my laptop and check my emails. My pulse picks up when I see another email from an unknown sender with the subject line DOES HE KNOW YOU ARE LYING? Hesitantly, I click on the email. There’s nothing there but a document. With shaky fingers and my heart racing, I scroll over the attachment and click. My ears ring, and my breath hitches. On the screen is my obituary. Or rather, Hadley’s.
Frozen, I stare at a much younger version of myself on the screen while tears begin to build in my eyes. This can’t be happening. Blinking away the tears, I quickly close down my email and put my laptop away. Somehow, someone knows who I am. I’m not sure how this is possible, or why they keep threatening me with West, but there’s only one thing I know I should do. I need to consider calling Nick.
When that dispatch came in for Jade’s house, my stomach dropped. Technically it should have been Garrett’s call, but no way in hell was I not going to be there for her. I wasn’t far from her house, so I spun my car around, and tried to get to her as fast as I could.
Even though I didn’t see anything indicating a forced entry, I’m still feeling uneasy. I don’t care if it was just a petty break in. I don’t like the thought of someone in her house. It’s just a damn good thing she wasn’t home when the perpetrator got in. It makes me sick to think about what could have happened.
