She giggled. “I know who you are. Doesn’t everyone in town?”
He tilted his head, his tone dropping when he said, “Yet, you’ve never spoken to me before now?”
Sexual chemistry bounced between them like a flame-covered tennis ball. “I didn’t think someone like you would want to talk to someone like me,” she said as she looked up at him from beneath her lashes.
“I can’t think of anyone I’d want to talk to more.”
I lifted one of the shot glasses that the barman had placed down and necked it, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.
“Hey, Jarrid, can I trust you to get my girl home safely?”
He looked at me like it was the most ridiculous question ever. “Of course you can. Scout’s honour.”
“Where the hell are you going?” Amber asked, panic creasing her features.
“Home. I’ve drunk far too much, I’m knackered, and you seem to have met…him.”
She fanned her face, her eyes widening in a knowing look. “But it’s our first night out together. We’re meant to be bonding as besties.”
“It’s fine. Honestly, I’m exhausted and ready for my own bed.”
She turned to Jarrid. “Hana’s new to town, just like me. I’ve adopted her as my BFF. If you murder me, she’ll hunt you down and kill you with her bare hands.”
He chuckled, holding out his hand. “Give me your phone.”
I pulled it out of my clutch and unlocked it. He typed in his number and then pressed call, showing me his phone ringing, so I knew he had given me the right number. “You know Lanton House?”
I shook my head.
“The massive black building down the road,” Amber added. “You can’t miss the eyesore.”
“Well, that’s where I work, so you know where to find me if you need to, but I promise, I’ll protect Amber with my life.” I had no idea why, but I trusted his promise. “How are you getting home?” he asked. “We can walk you.”
“I’m going to the bathroom, and then I’ll get a cab.”
Amber frowned. “You sure?”
“I promise, I’m fine, but I’ll text you when I’m home, and, same goes for you. I want to know when you’re back, or I’ll be looking for you.”
She threw her arms around me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “I’m so glad you moved here.”
I laughed, stepping out of her hold. “Have fun, kids, but not too much.”
5
ROMAN
I liedto Thomas when we met earlier in the week. I had no intention of only fitting cameras on the outside of Hana’s house. I’d already broken in while she was at work, fitting cameras in her open plan living room facing her bedroom, telling myself it was to watch the window to make sure no one other than me could break in, ignoring that it gave me the perfect view of her bed that I could watch all night as she always slept with the door to her room wide open.
Eating noodles with my feet on the desk in the house Thomas had helped me find on the outskirts of town and surprisingly close to one Hana Monroe, I’d watched her come home from work.
She showered, stepping into her room wearing only a towel. I’d expected her to pull on her pyjamas like she usually did after a long shift, but instead, she dried and straightened her hair, applied makeup and then pulled on the sexiest outfit I’d ever seen her in.
Panic slammed through me as I wondered if she was going on a date. Flinging myself up, I grabbed my keys, laptop, and coat and headed to her house, wishing I’d fitted trackers on her phone or her car and praying that I’d get to her before she left.
A few minutes later, I stopped far enough from her house that she wouldn’t notice my car. Pulling open my laptop that had been on the passenger seat, I let out an audible sigh as I logged into the cameras and found her heading for the front door into the waiting cab.
I followed her along the country roads, watching as she climbed out and headed to a house where she vanished inside. My hands fisted the steering wheel, my imagination accelerating into overdrive.
