Chapter Twenty-Four

Danica

I hop out of Jay’s SUV with a flourish. It has been a long week and I am so glad that it’s over, that I didn’t even protest when Jonathan showed up at the end of the day and insisted on driving me home. After everything that went down, he has been much more overprotective than usual. He wouldn’t tell me what his team found from the security footage, or if they have even completed examining it, but it’s clear that this whole situation has him on edge. I know that he blames himself; at least in part. I have been dealing with the stalker situation off and on for years but despite their best efforts, they haven’t been able to make much headway in the case.

Both Finn and Jonathan offered to let me stay at either of their places while we try to sort this whole mess out, and Caleb has gone from slightly overprotective, to absolutely ridiculous, calling me several times a day to check in, and insisting at least once a day that he is going to make me move back home so he can keep a closer eye on me. It took all the energy that I had last night after work to convince him to just trust in Jay’s team when Caleb dropped the bomb that he was going to hire a round-the-clock bodyguard for me.

“Bye Jay, thanks for the ride!” I raise my hand to blow him a kiss, and he shoots me a wink before I turn on my heel and walk to the front door. He probably would have walked me into the building, all the way into my apartment, but I insisted that enough is enough. I will not let them coddle me. I already have over-the-top security features in my apartment (not to mention the new features they installed in my place of business), with the rooms on either side of me being currently rented out by Finn’s men. I have even upped my self-defense lessons, and I am just over it.

Fuck this stupid stalker. At least before, the notes were sporadic enough and vague enough that I could get by with moderate concern and levels of paranoia from all of the overprotective men in my life. Now, thanks to this recent fucking shitshow, I am drowning in their concern. I breathe a sigh of relief as I make my way onto the elevator and watch the doors slowly close. All I need is a nice warm bath, a glass of wine, and I can just . . . breathe.

With a soft chime, the elevator doors open, signaling we have reached my floor. I adjust the bag on my shoulder and try to roll the tension out of my neck as I step out into the hall. My footsteps falter as a tingle of awareness creeps up my spine. I pause, listening, but hear nothing and a quick glance behind me shows no signs of anyone else in the hall. Weird. I could have sworn I was being watched. With a soft shudder, I hurry my pace as I make my way forward, to the far end of the hall.

I reach out to place the key in the lock and feel that tingle of awareness once more. My handshakes slightly, but I move to the next lock with determination. A breath of air comes over me, causing the hair on the back of my neck to rise, and I hear the soft footsteps a moment too late. The gloved hand that reaches out to grab my shoulder causes me to freeze momentarily, before my years of training kick into high gear.

Running on instinct and adrenaline, I quickly spin, lifting my arm up and locking it around the arm of my assailant, pinning their wrist in place while grabbing their forearm. Using my other hand, I grab just above their elbow, throwing my weight into the maneuver to force their arm down, bending them down over my knee with a slight twist, and quickly forcing them to the ground before they have a chance to react.

With a gasp, I desperately try to catch my breath and calm my racing heart. A muffled sound comes from the ground where I have forced my assailant’s face into the carpeted floor. Through the pounding in my ears, I hear a faint “Jesus, it’s me!” Instantly, I let go, taking several steps back. As I do so, the door to my right bursts open and Roberts, one of Jay’s men, quickly makes his way out of the apartment next to me, gun drawn and pointed to the figure on the ground.

“You okay, Danica? I heard a commotion.” His words are directed at me, but his eyes never leave the man on the ground, who is slowly forcing himself up off the floor. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay on the ground asshole. ”

On his hands and knees now, I slowly register the familiar profile, the dark hair, and the chiseled bones of his face. My jaw drops.

“Oh my God! Theo?”

He is on his knees now, hands raised in the air above his head.

“It’s me! Jesus, kitty cat. Put away your fucking claws, will you?”

I blink, trying to process the fact that I just tackled Theo to the ground. Turning my head slightly to look at Roberts as I continue, “It’s okay, Roberts. I know him. You can stand down.”

Roberts’ face is stony as he continues to point his gun at Theo. “You sure, kiddo?”

“I’m good, really. Theo won’t hurt me.” At least, not like that. My heart, however, is on shaky ground. I take a step forward and hold out a hand to Theo as Roberts lowers his gun, but stands firm. “Sorry, you startled me.”

He glares at my hand for a moment, but takes it anyway, letting me help him up off the ground. “Yeah, I can fucking see that. Jesus. Didn’t you hear me say your name?” My brow furrows. No, I didn’t hear him say my name, over the racing of my heart. I don’t reply.

Roberts comes closer, his footsteps sure as he stands directly at my side. “I’m Roberts. And you are?”

Theo just glares back at him, unwavering.

With a huff, I make begrudging introductions. “Roberts, this is my . . .” I hesitate. If I introduce him as my ex, that is only going to leave Roberts on high alert. “. . .my old friend Theo. Theo, this is Roberts.” I turn to face my protector. “I’m good, really. He just startled me is all. But we’re good. You don’t have to stay here.” Roberts seems dubious as he eyes Theo, taking in the dark and brooding man before me.

“You sure?” I nod. “Alright, well. I’m right next door if you need anything. Anything. Give a shout if you need me.” With that, he holsters his weapon and slowly retreats into his assigned lodgings.

I turn to fully face Theo, smacking him on the shoulder. “Jackass! You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing here?”

He rubs absentmindedly at his bicep, where I had applied the full weight of my maneuver to force him to the ground. “I was coming to check on you. Jesus, what did you think I was doing?”

Hands on my hips, I glare at up at him. “Well, obviously I thought you were someone else, didn’t I?” Not wanting to wait for a response, I brush past him and move to finish unlocking my apartment, opening the door with enough force that it bounces off the wall as I step inside and disarm my security system. Theo just takes it all in, watching my jerky movements through his narrowed gaze before following me inside. He stops abruptly in front of me.

“I didn’t say you could come in.” My exasperation filters in through my words. I feel like I am drowning, the subtle scent of his cologne in my space suffocating me even as I try desperately to suck in air.

“And I’m not a vampire in one of your dark romance novels. I don’t need to wait to be invited in to cross the threshold.” He quirks a sardonic brow at me. “Besides, is that any way to talk to your friend?” Dammit. Of course he would throw my own words back in my face.

My tone is biting as I snap, “We aren’t friends. I just said that so Roberts would back down.”

He steps closer, crowding me, and I match his movement, stepping back until my back is pressed into the wall. “Not friends, and yet, you don’t want your guard dog to shoot me.” Theo’s grin is icy, his tone almost as dark and brooding as the man himself.

“Just because I didn’t want him to shoot your ass, doesn’t mean I care about you. Maybe I just didn’t want to deal with having to clean up your blood from the carpet.” I sniff, haughtily.

Theo bends slightly, getting in my face and I tense under the weight of his gaze. With one quick movement, he is running a finger gently down the side of my face, brushing back a loose strand of hair behind my ear before replacing his finger with his lips, gently running their smooth surface across the outline of my ear as he whispers “Mmm, my naughty diavoletta.” His finger brushes against my racing pulse, “You never could lie to me.” And yet, you were always so good at lying to me. With that, he straightens abruptly, and I sag against the wall, trying to catch my breath as I fight to still my racing heart.

“Why are you here, Theo?” My words come out with a slight tremble, and I hate myself for letting my emotions show.