Except she’s, my neighbor. And I told those assholes she was, which means I made it my problem whether I meant to or not.
I drink my beer and try to convince myself I did the right thing.
Try to convince myself I won't do it again.
The buzzing in my ear says I'm a liar.
Through the wall, thin enough to hear through, apparently, I catch the sound of movement. Footsteps. A cabinet opening and closing. The quiet sounds of someone trying to feel safe in a space that isn't safe anymore.
I finish my beer.
Tomorrow I'll mind my business. Tomorrow I'll go to work and come home and pretend I never saw Nora Hayes getting cornered by men in tactical black.
Tomorrow.
Tonight, I stand at my window and watch the parking lot until the sun finishes dying and the darkness is complete.
Just in case.
Chapter 2 - Nora
I press my back against the door until the wood bites into my spine.
My heart won't slow down. Won't stop trying to punch through my ribs like it's looking for an exit that doesn't exist. I can still feel their hands reaching for me. Can still hear the way they said Mr. Castellano's name like it was supposed to make me obedient.
Like I'm property he misplaced.
My legs give out. I slide down until I'm sitting on the floor, knees pulled to my chest, trying to remember how to breathe like a normal person.
Marcus Cole.
Unit 3B.
My neighbor.
I had no idea. In a week of living here, I've heard him through the walls—his voice, deep and low when he talks to his brother. Footsteps heavy enough to feel through the floor. Doors opening and closing at odd hours. But I never saw him. Never wanted to see anyone.
And now I can't unsee him.
Six-foot-four of solid muscle. Dark hair, darker eyes, a jawline that looks carved from stone. Scars across his knuckles and one splitting his left eyebrow. The kind of man who makes a room feel smaller just by existing in it.
The kind of man who stepped between me and Castellano's men without hesitation.
*Problem here?*
So calm. Like confronting armed men in a parking lot was just another Thursday.
I should have said more. Should have explained. Should have done something other than stand there like a terrified idiot while he risked himself for a stranger.
Except we're not strangers anymore. He knows my name. Knows men are looking for me. Knows I ran from someone I was supposed to marry.
He knows too much.
And Castellano knows about him now.
My stomach twists. Oh god. Those men saw Marcus. Heard him claim me as his neighbor. They'll report back and Castellano will—
I press my hands over my face.
