Page 94 of Doing It for Love

The guy waiting for the elevator pushes inside before we can get out.Geez, buddy…and I almost say something out loud, but he’s huge and got a bag full of laundry or something, a guitar case, and a laptop, and I don’t want to get whacked. Alec puts his hand on the small of my back and moves me around elevator guy and onto the floor. I pull out my keys, but something catches my eye halfway down the hall and I stop dead. Alec takes a few steps ahead of me before stopping too.

“You okay?”

“Theresa’s door is open.” I point to the cracked door, darkness inside, and my heart kicks up in an offbeat pattern.

Alec grabs my elbow when I start marching over.

“No,” he says, and then moves in front of me to go first.

“I’m still coming with you,” I hiss back. I’ve got a pocketbook full of change I’m willing to swing in anyone’s face if I have to.

He takes cautious yet determined steps forward, nudging the door open wide and finding the light. I draw in a sharp breath, heart now beating through my ears. Theresa’s apartment is trashed; drawers open in the kitchen, balcony door open, and the storage unit spilling contents. I don’t even get out any words before Alec is charging down the hall toward the back bedroom. He trips over discarded belongings and shoes and what-have-you, bouncing off the walls, so I flip on the lights as we make our way to Theresa’s bedroom.

I have a feeling that elevator guy was not carrying laundry.

Chapter 30

Alec does a sort of Superman burst-open-the-door maneuver and smacks the overhead light on. Theresa’s room is just as bad, but a flood of relief warms behind my pounding heart when she sort of whines and stretches on her mattress, blocking her eyes from the sudden brightness of the room.

“What the hell?”

I rush to her side and pick her up in my arms. My hands are shaking, and I feel Theresa’s relaxed posture suddenly tense.

“Where’s Landon? Is he okay?”

I nod, and her eyes widen.

“Jace?”

I nod again, and her gaze drifts to Alec, eyebrows drawing inward.

“Uh…” he starts. “Your front door was open.”

Theresa drops out of my hold, arm reaching at the mattress next to her. The events of the night start to dawn on me, and I’m praying that she had no emotional attachment to the guy who obviously banged, burglarized, and bailed.

“He must’ve left it open when he left.” She lets out a laugh at the both of us. “Y’all are such worrywarts. Let me go back to sleep.”

“Theresa…” I shake my head. “Your place is a mess.”

“Thank you, Mom. What else is new?” She laughs again. Alec takes a step forward, and her smile starts to fade when she sees the concern laced with anger in his eyes. I actually have to do a double take because I’ve only see him look that way a few times and it’s a little frightening.

“It’s ransacked,” he says. “Shit is everywhere, and I’ll bet you there’s missing shit, too.”

“What?”Theresa tosses the comforter over my head, and I feel her scramble off the mattress. When I uncover myself, Theresa’s only in a large T-shirt, digging in her nightstand, shaking her head and saying, “No-no-no-no-no.”

“What are you looking for?” Alec asks, stepping up to watch helplessly as Theresa comes up short.

“My necklace. I was wearing it tonight, but I took it off before we…shit.”

“What necklace?” I ask.

“Christmas present. I didn’t have it for long, but…I liked it.”

She and Alec share a look, Alec’s eyes getting angrier and angrier, but then they break contact and she shoves her way down the hall. We follow, stopping behind her as she stares at her belongings strewn over her floor.

“That rat bastard!” she says, moving everything off her side table. “He took my laptop, too.”

“Do you have your phone?” I ask, thinking it when Alec pulls out his own. Theresa shakes her head.

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