I slowed on the sidewalk, my stomach tightening.
Two police cars seemed excessive for a broken window or a stolen package.
I pushed open the front door and ran up the stairs, my feet screaming the whole way.
Two officers stood near the stairwell, and sitting on the hallway bench between them was Liam.
He looked terrible, his shoulders pulled tight and his hands carefully still. His head was slightly lowered while the officers talked quietly beside him.
For a moment, something inside my chest reacted before my brain caught up with the situation.
Concern.
Protectiveness.
Then Markie’s voice echoed from down the hallway. “BAD DOG. INTRUDER.”
Right.
I closed my eyes briefly. “Fuck,” I muttered.
I leaned against the wall and bent down to pull off my heels.
“Let me take these damn things off before I deal with whatever the fuck is going on here.”
The first one came off easily. The second took effort. I flexed my toes against the floor. Relief moved through my feet immediately.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s do this.”
One of the officers cleared his throat.
“Ma’am,” he said. “Do you know this man?”
I looked at Liam, and he finally lifted his head. The expression on his face landed somewhere uncomfortable in my chest.
Shame.
Regret.
And something heavier underneath both of those.
“Yes,” I said. “I know him.”
“We received a call from your residence reporting a break-in,” the officer said.
From down the hall, Markie shouted again. “INTRUDER.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Of course you did.”
The officer looked at Liam. “Sir?”
Liam sat very still, then he cleared his throat and said, “I brought you flowers.”
Both officers looked confused.
I blinked. “You brought… flowers.”
“Yes.” He nodded slightly toward the hallway. “They’re in your apartment now.”
