Page 95 of Doing It for Love

“Doubt it.” She grapples for a pair of jeans and shoves her legs in. “I’m going to cut off his nut sack.”

I set my jaw. I’ll hold those nasty balls in place while she snips, but Alec steps in front of us.

“You’re not going.”

“Move,” Theresa demands, eyes blazing like she’ll injure Alec just to get to the burglar banger.

He shakes his head, leans against the door, and brings his phone to his ear. Theresa gives him a hard punch to the shoulder and he doesn’t even flinch.

“Hi, I’d like to report a robbery,” Alec says, and I’m glad one of us has our head, because if elevator guy is also the guy who took off with Theresa’s stuff—most likely—then we’d have no chance in hell of holding him down. Unless I use my pepper spray and Theresa uses her Taser. I imagine an assault record wouldn’t look good to the in-laws, though.

“Yeah, it’s apartment 7G at—”

“What the living hell?”

Alec shoves off the door at the outburst, pausing in the middle of Theresa’s address and letting us pass him to look down the hall. Josh Happerfeld in 7J is staring at his door, his phone pressed to his ear, and he yells, “Someone kicked my damn door in!”

That heart pounding starts up again, and I look across the hall at 7H. The door looks fine but it’s ajar, just like Theresa’s. I jerk my head toward my apartment, feeling queasy and panicked, and when I look at Theresa, her mouth is slightly open in apology. As if this is her fault.

“Landon’s movie…” I say, and I’m not even sure it’s coherent, but I take off down the hall, praying my door isn’t kicked in or open. But if it is, the burglar could’ve cleaned the whole house out and I wouldn’t care…as long as Landon’s movie is still safe. It’s an impossible wish, because Landon was working on it last night. Glasses on his adorable work face, and that laptop was sitting on our card table, right by the door.

I’m shaking so bad I can’t get my key in. The door wasn’t bashed in or open, but I’m not ruling anything out until I see inside.

Finally jamming it in the lock, I twist and shove my way in, expecting to trip over a mess or to have my entire world pulled out from under me…but the floor is as spotless as I left it, the TV still hung on the wall, my laptop perched on the coffee table, and I run to the card table toward the hum of Landon’s computer. I pick it up, hug it to my chest, and crumple to a complete heap on the floor.

“Oh, thank the Lord,” Theresa says somewhere near me. I sit with the laptop and try to get the warmth of it to calm my crazy heartbeat. She takes a spot next to me, and I don’t know why I’m the one getting emotional since all my stuff is still here, but I start to tear up, squeezing the computer so hard I make imprints on my arms.

“He would’ve lost everything,” I whisper.

“Well, now we know what you would save in a fire.”

I manage a laugh. It takes a few minutes for me to gain control of my senses, but I finally do, getting to my feet and following Theresa back to her apartment. I won’t let go of Landon’s laptop, though.

The cops show up, and Josh Happerfeld gives a very detailed inventory count of what was stolen from his gaming collection.Skyrim,Injustice,ForzaMotorsport4and5,MassEffect3,ResidentEvil6, and about a billion others that I’m not sure how the police woman keeps up with.

Theresa reports her missing things, and then gives a description of Johnny, “If in fact thatishis real name,” she says. “He’s the big douche bag with the word ASSHOLE tattooed on his forehead.” Needless to say, Alec was much more helpful in describing the elevator guy.

We all have to give reports, and I stick Landon’s laptop on my lap and use it as a desk while I write up mine. I refuse to go anywhere without it.

I hand in my account of what happened to Officer Dawling, someone I’d expect Theresa to flirt with under normal circumstances, but Alec has hovered over her since we found her in bed, and she doesn’t even seem annoyed by it. So I sit back a little bit and be the friend she needs when she needs me.

Something bangs down the hall by the stairwell, and Officer Dawling puts his hand on his gun but stops and goes back to organizing our reports, so I don’t move from my spot on Theresa’s floor.

“I can’t believe I’m so stupid,” Theresa says, pacing in front of Alec while he leans against her counter in the kitchen. “I’m going to have to background-check everyone I bring home.”

“You’re not stupid,” he says. “Maybe you were just drunk.”

She pinches his arm, he laughs, and I chuckle.

“I was actually sober tonight. Nice to know my judgment is just as bad with or without alcohol.”

“Did you love him?” Alec asks. Theresa snorts in answer. “Well, then,” he continues. “Just be happy he didn’t steal your heart and your clock radio.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Liz!”

I jolt at Landon’s voice, scrambling to my feet. His sprint down the hall sounds like a stampede of elephants, and he nearly takes Theresa’s front door out when he plows into it. The largest sigh of relief I’ve ever heard escapes him when he sees me, crosses the carpet, and takes me in his arms.

---