Her finger hovered over his name to call him back—until she heard something in the other room.
She looked up at the closed bedroom door.
The creak of a floorboard echoed through the house.
She cracked the door open. “Polly?”
Silence.
With slow steps, she crept into the living room. “Polly? Are you home?”
She glanced around, but her gaze stopped on a photo frame that was face down.
Her heart lurched, all the fine hairs on her arms standing on end.
They’d been here. Her stalker had been here.
Or maybe they still were.
She stumbled back a step. A voice in her head told her,screamedat her, to call for help. To get out and not waste time touching the frame.
She wasn’t sure why she didn’t listen, maybe because her world was tilting and blurring and she didn’t have a tight enough grasp on control. She stepped forward and gripped the frame.
The photo wasn’t in the frame anymore. It had been taken out and torn. Her fingers trembled as she lifted the half that remained.
Polly. And the half that was missing was ofher.
“What the?—”
A floorboard groaned right behind her.
Before she could turn, pain seared her skull as the sound of smashing glass rang through the room. She dropped, her world going black.
Ethan grippedJay’s arms and shoved her away. “What the hell are you doing?”
Her mouth opened and closed. “You didn’t feel it?”
“I’m with Maggie, Jay. IloveMaggie!”
“You still love her? After all these years and everything she did to you?”
“Yes. How many times do I need to say it?”
Jay stumbled back. “But we get along so well, and we have such great chemistry, and she…she’s different from us. I thought?—”
“No. Whatever you thought was wrong. Ihavealways andwillalways love her. You can’t ever do that again.”
“I… I’ve got to go.” She turned and raced off.
Ethan turned back to the bar and scrubbed his hands over his face.
Goddammit. She’d kissed him. She’d fuckingkissedhim.
How? How had he been so blind when everyone else had seen it? His entire team. Even Maggie had warned him.
“What the hell was that?”
He looked at Connor. “I don’t know. Fuck, I don’t know!”
