“I need chocolate, Lina. Stat.”
Lina’s laughter filtered through the phone. “I’d love to help you, but I’m not home yet. Do you remember that gorgeous idiot I told you about, Ben, who used to live in our building?”
“Oh, Lina. No. The guy you made out with during laser tag? That Ben?”
“Yes, but we’re only friends now. Anyway, I’ll be home soon.”
“Is this Ben listening to you talk about him right now?”
“Yes,” a masculine voice said into Lina’s phone, though there was other background noise going on.
Ashley rolled her eyes. There would be no talking to Lina about Chase right now, so she said goodbye and hung up. She groaned and put her head back against the seat as she came to a red light.
Chase was a mystery she wasn’t sure she’d ever unravel.
When she got home, she retrieved all her secret admirer gifts and notes and laid them out on the bed, except for the chocolate, which she’d eaten, and the little flower, which had withered away to nothing in her purse. Grabbing a notepad, she started writing down everything that no longer added up. Chase’s pretend girlfriend. His denial when she’d flat out asked him if he knew who left the worry stone. His announcement that he was going to try online dating the day he gave her the necklace. She wished she’d been wearing the necklace tonight. She would have stuck the little charm in Chase’s astonished face. If he admired her, he sure had a strange way of showing it.
The front door handle rattled and then someone lightly knocked. That was weird, but with a little jolt, she realized it might be Chase, having followed her home. Or maybe Lina forgot her keys. She ran to the front room to check the peephole and froze.
Reid stood there, his hands in his pockets. He’d found her, though why he’d bothered, she wasn’t sure.
Before she did anything stupid, she took a deep breath and a step back. Quietly and methodically, she moved to her bedroom and retrieved her phone from the bed, dialing the local police station. She’d have to be clear and to the point, keeping her emotions in check so she could think straight.
“Phoenix P.D., How can I help you?”
“My ex-boyfriend is at my door. He was abusive, and I’m home alone. Could you possibly send an officer?”
“Yes, ma’am. Let me talk with dispatch to see who’s in your area. Don’t hang up while I put you on hold. Can you tell me your address?”
Reid would probably be long gone by the time they sent an officer, but she knew from having looked it up that she could ask for an emergency order of protection, and they would call a judge and get it fairly quickly. It would be a pain to go into court and file the paperwork for the follow-up, but things had reached a point where she didn’t have a choice.
She walked to the door while on hold and checked the peephole. Nope, still there.
He pounded on the door. “I can see your car, Ashley. I know you’re home. Come on, let’s talk this out.”
She didn’t answer, and he smacked the door one last time with his palm before walking to his car. He’d parked in Lina’s spot, right in front of their apartment. But he didn’t leave. He just sat there.
All the better. She wanted the officer to see him there.
The woman from the police station came back on. “I’ve been told they’re ten minutes out. Are you in imminent danger?”
“I don’t think so. He’s just sitting in his car outside.”
“I can transfer you to 9-1-1 and they can stay on the phone with you until they get there. Otherwise, I need to clear this line.”
“I’m going to call my brother-in-law. I’m okay.”
“Please don’t have anyone confront your ex, ma’am. Wait for the officer.”
“Understood. I won’t.”
She should have been scared, and she was. But she found that she wanted to face Reid again, and this time let him see he couldn’t intimidate her anymore. She wouldn’t let shame hold her back from the good relationships she had now or forming new ones in the future. Maybe Chase couldn’t be that guy, but there was the small hope of someone, someday. Lina would want to throw a party when she told her.
Shaun and Paige lived fifteen minutes away. Ashley called Paige, who immediately handed the phone to Shaun as soon as Ashley explained.
“I’m not going to say I told you so,” Shaun said in greeting.
“This really isn’t the time for lectures, Shaun.”
