Page 142 of Nothing to Fear

She wouldn’t let it touch these gracious and good people. These people she’d summoned to her, possibly into the path of this crazy.

“Crimson Palace it is then,” Roxie declared.

“Good shout,” Tripp agreed. “No one gets to the higher floors without clearance.”

“They’re strictly ours and have their own elevator,” Roxie said. “It won’t move without clearance. Trust me, I know from experience.”

“I can’t put anyone else at risk.”

“Good luck to them scaling seventy-something glass floors,” Tripp said. “There’s only safety there.”

“We can have officers in the building,” Chapman said.

Roxie laughed. “Oh, I don’t think so, sir. You can wait outside.”

“We’re officers of the law—”

“Who couldn’t do your job in the first place,” Roxie said. “This person, whoever they are, they’re fixated on someone we love. How would you feel if your loved one was burglarized? If their home was invaded? This maniac has been watching her, everything she does. He knows where she lives, knows what she’s doing and who she’s doing it with. Don’t you get how terrifying this is? This crazy person knows everything about her life, and the people she cares about.”

The people she cared about… If the same person broke into her old place, her new one, went through her panties, left the chocolate in the fridge… She met Darroch’s eye, resisting his effort to capture her too tight in his arms.

“If he followed the move, and followed you here, Savanna,” Acre said. “He could be watching right now.”

All the things that happened to her, the perpetrator watched. That meant he saw her and Darroch kissing in the street. Saw Darroch take the lead moving her out of her previous apartment and setting her up in the new one.

“He hurt you,” she whispered.

Roxie was right, coincidence was unlikely.

“What’s important is he doesn’t hurt you,” Darroch said. “Set it up.”

“You can’t go back to the house,” she said. “If this person is watching—” Just being in his arms was a bad idea, yet when she tried to free herself, he yanked her body to his. “Darroch. He could see us.”

“I don’t give a shit if he’s watching. Let him watch. This fucker thinks I abandoned you. We should never have been apart.”

“Stop,” she said, wriggling out of his forceful embrace. “You have to be safe.”

“We’ll keep him in the tower too,” Tripp said.

Roxie nodded and opened a hand to her Breckenridge bestie. “Phone.”

Tripp slapped his onto Roxie’s palm; the beauty reversed through the others to dial.

“We’ll increase security at B House too,” Acre said.

She couldn’t take her eyes from—this person, this criminal, might have scared her, but he could’ve killed Darroch. How could he stand there like it was nothing? He could’ve lost his life, and for what? Just for being with her?

FORTY-EIGHT

“ANYTHING YOU WANT, you’ll get,” Astrid, one of Roxie’s young assistants said as they traversed the sleek, carpeted hallway high in the Crimson building. “Roxie’s made that clear. To everyone. Your comfort and safety are our highest priority.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s a directory in the phone that will link you to anyone you need. We’re twenty-four hour equipped, none of our services close. And only a trusted few are allowed on this floor. If you want spa services, Roxie’s people will come to you, day or night.” Astrid stopped by a door. “Tripp is the door we just passed.” The young woman indicated that way. “My number is in the directory too, don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. You want an outside line, dial nine, though Rouge logs every call in and out of the building, just to make you aware. If you want to make a private call, you’ll need to come upstairs.”

“Which is…?”

Astrid smiled. “Only Roxie and Zairn’s is above us.”

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