Page 20 of Scar

Simone got off of the couch. Tally knew it was Simone that stood because of the slight cracking of her knees. Tom was much smoother when he stood. “Tally. You said a man was in your apartment tonight. You can’t expect us to just leave you. Mark’s right. If you don’t want to go back to his place, come home with us.”

Tally shook her head. “No, Si. Look, I’m embarrassed enough as it is. Iknowsomeone was here, but obviously he’s not anymore. I just… I just want to forget the whole thing.”

And maybe if they left he would come back and she could learnhowhe got into her apartment. She needed sleep, but this was more important.

“Tom, she’s doing the thing again where she’s acting like she’s an inconvenience to us,” Simone whined.

Tom’s chuckle was light. “Tally, for the sake of my sanity, please come home with one of us or I’m going to have to hear about it for the rest of the night.”

Tally made a face. Fucking guilt trip. “Nice try, Simone. Seriously, I’m fine.” She felt Mark’s hand on her shoulder and turned to face him. “I promise,” she told him softly. “I just want to go to bed and forget this ever happened.”

Mark’s voice was gentle as he said, “I know you have some freaking spidey senses, Tally, but I’m struggling to understand how a man could get in and out of your apartment the way you described.”

The police had checked her windows in the living room and the bedroom, but neither had been tampered with. There was one in the bathroom, but it was high and too small for an adult to fit through.

The words felt like acid on her tongue. “I must have imagined the whole thing.”

“You’re working too hard.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “Why don’t you take a day off this weekend and let me take you somewhere? We haven’t been on a real date in a long while.”

“You know weekends are my busiest time. I can’t just ‘take off’, Mark. You said you understood.”

He let out a long sigh, the hot air from his mouth blew on the loose strands that had fallen out of her braid. “I know what I said, Tally, and I do understand, but it’s been months since we did anything together.”

Either he didn’t count the quickies in her office or his car, or he was specifically not mentioning them in front of Simone and Tom. It wouldn’t have mattered if he did or didn’t. Tally had already told Simone and Simone would have told Tom. Still, the discretion to not flaunt their sex life was appreciated.

“I took off for your birthday bash,” she reminded him. “Just…give me some time to figure out a schedule or something.”

“You’re a rotten liar, Tally,” Mark mumbled under his breath. “Fine. I’ll go, but this isn’t the end of this discussion. We are going to have to have a serious talk soon, baby.”

Tally scrunched her nose. “I know.”

Mark put a hand on her cheek to guide her face to the right a little more. His lips pressed gently against hers. “Stay safe, Tally, and call me if you think someone is in your apartment.”

From the way he said it, she had a feeling ‘someone’ really meant ‘ghost’.

Simone approached her after Mark left. “What’s going on between the two of you?”

“Nothing,” Tally said quickly. “And I meant that literally. I’ve just been really busy and I think he’s feeling neglected.”

“You really are a rotten liar, Tallulah Meacham,” Simone said as she put an arm around Tally’s shoulder. “But it’s one of the things I love about you.Pleasecome home with us.”

Tally shook her head. She knew she was being stubborn, but shehadto know what was going on. “No, I’m fine. I promise.”

Simone grumbled something under her breath before saying louder, “If you get murdered, I’m going to be really pissed.”

Tally chuckled. “That’d make two of us.”

That was part of what she needed to figure out. The man had not attacked her on the sidewalk or in her apartment. So what did he want? Why was he here? And how fucked up was it that she wanted her friends to leave her apartment on the off chance that he would return and she could find out?

* * *

[WiseWave620: I never slept with the Honeys. You guys think I did but I didn’t.]

* * *

Scar stoodoutside Tally’s apartment building. He’d watched the police leave and then a single man and then a couple. There was clearly a lot about Tally’s life that he didn’t know from the small file he’d compiled on her when he’d first learned that Alpha had a daughter.

The woman had guts, he’d give her that. It was refreshing to witness.

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