Page 85 of Twisted Hearts

“Trashed?”

“Worse than that actually.” I stopped outside her door. “You ready to see?”

She swallowed thickly and nodded.

Without saying anything else, I opened the door to her apartment and stepped back so she could see the destruction.

She stood still in the doorway, not entering, and her mouth fell open.

After several moments where her wide eyes took in the broken television, the shattered dishes, and the torn-up couch cushions, she finally turned to me.

“Guess I know that not only is Daniel still looking for me, he’s found me.”

26

Addi

Isomehow managed to pack all the clothes I could find and empty the drawers that hadn’t been upturned without having a nervous breakdown.

My apartment was trashed. Liketrashedtrashed. I couldn’t even comprehend what had been done to it to the fullest extent. And what would have happened had I been there? Was it coincidence that they struck while I was out? Did they know? Did Daniel have people watching meall the time, or had they gotten lucky?

After I packed a bag and Shawn threw all the stuff he could find into his own duffel, we waited until Mason showed up. Shannon arrived a bit later while Mason was slowly inspecting every single piece of furniture.

“I’m so sorry,” I told Shannon.

“Don’t be silly.” She pulled me in for a hug that was almost warm and strong enough to settle my nerves. “I’m sorry this happened. This stuff in here is stuff. That’s it. It’s not a problem.”

“How’s Oliver?” Shawn asked her.

His face was granite, had been since we stepped out of his truck and he noticed something was off.

“Pissed.” She quickly glanced at me. “But not at you. He’s just pissed it happened.” Shannon took another glance around the apartment. “Are you calling in a report about this? Or do you want me to?”

Mason’s head jerked up from where he’d been crouched down by the broken television. “No cops. Jaxon wants this off record given who we’re dealing with.”

“Okay.” Shannon shrugged. “Then no insurance report. They won’t do anything without an official break-in report.”

“We can take care of that,” Mason said, pushing to his feet.

Shannon shook her head and squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. Oliver and I will handle it.”

“It’ll cost a crazy amount to refurnish this,” I said, a ball sinking like a lead weight to my stomach. “I…I’m so sorry I brought this trouble to your door, to your business.”

I thankedGodthey hadn’t damaged anything downstairs.

“I knew there’d be risks. It doesn’t change anything for me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” She gave me another hug and pulled her keys out of her pocket. “But I should get home. Bridget hasn’t been sleeping well, and Oliver has an early day tomorrow. You take care of you and we’ll work the rest of this out later, okay?”

There wasn’t much I could say to that. Shannon had gone over and beyond what was necessary to help me out. There was no way I could ever repay her.

“I’ll walk her down,” Shawn whispered at my temple. “Stay here.”

He brushed his lips over my skin and gave my waist a squeeze. While they went downstairs, I stayed rooted to the spot by the door where we’d been standing and watched Mason.

“Anything?” I asked him.

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