Page 141 of Nothing to Fear

That was another woman’s voice. One that forced her to twist, though her fingers stayed coiled tight: Rox.

The cohort of others came into view. Roxie and Alice weren’t their only audience. Caber, Axon, Acre, the corkscrew guy Roxie brought to her apartment.

“You—all of you—”

“Forget about them.” Darroch planted a hand on either side of her head and brought her eyes to his. “Tell me what happened. Why are you here? The fridge? The underwear? Talk to me.”

“It was stupid. I thought it was stupid. It wasn’t anything. I was just freaked out at being in the apartment by myself. I told myself I made it up… In the hallway, when the front door was open—

“You went into the apartment when the door was open?”

“Unlocked. I didn’t know it was—”

“Why put yourself in danger like that?

“What choice did I have?” she asked. “It wasn’t danger. I didn’t think it could be danger. Why would it be danger for someone like me?”

“You should’ve called me.”

“It was pathetic.”

“Not if it brought you out here. You were scared enough to leave the city.”

“I just needed a few days. I thought I would calm down. My head’s been such a mess. I don’t know what I thought—”

“Someone’s tracking her,” a Breckenridge said.

“That’s helpful, Acre. Yeah, thanks, freak her out even more.”

“Tracking her?” Darroch said, searching her.

“Something scared her today,” Acre continued. “That’s why she called. These things happened at her apartment, and she came out here. Something else happened here that scared her, something bigger. That’s why she called you.”

Her fear was real, but in this room of such strong, resilient people it was feeble to let something like this triumph over her. She should’ve handled it alone.

“It’s nothing.” She tried to pull his hands from her face. “I overreacted.”

“Don’t tell me it’s nothing. I’m not going anywhere,” Darroch said, the crease of his brow proving his resolve. “What happened?”

“It’s on the bed,” she said. “A message. Someone called the motel and left a message for me.”

He spun around and went straight for the loose piece of paper teetering near the end.

“Still watching you? We’ll be together soon.” His horror struck her before it became anger and landed on someone behind her. “What the fuck is this?”

How could he be angry at people who hadn’t known anything about—

“Mr. Breckenridge…” that was a new voice. She spun around to find Detective Chapman, the same cop who’d come to her apartment the night it was burglarized. “We can only investigate crimes we’re aware of. Did you contact the police department, Miss Mayden?”

“Don’t put it on her,” Roxie was quick to jump in. “If you were doing your job right, you would know who’d gone through her things. Maybe stolen from her. Did you follow up? Did you keep an eye on her? It’s your job to keep her safe.”

“Protective custody?” Axon said.

Acre shook his head. “Don’t trust it.”

“You can stay at the house,” Alice said immediately extending her hospitality.

“No,” she was quick to answer. “I’m not putting any of you at risk. If there is some lunatic out there…”

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