Page 102 of Faking Ties

“It is, but you look so hot.” Stella’s phone pings and she reads the text on the screen. “Hunter’s here. I’ll give you some privacy to get ready.”

I nod and bypass putting on makeup and instead throw on the leggings and oversized sweatshirt we bought together at Target. I slowly make my way to the living room where Hunter is chatting with Stella.

He stops mid-sentence when he sees me and crosses the living room in a blur of motion, scooping me up effortlessly. My legs lock around his waist, and he spins me in a dizzying circle.

“You look magnificent,” he says, his voice a husky rumble. “It suits you.”

“It does?” I touch my hair self-consciously.

“It’s so fucking sexy.” Punctuating that point, he kisses me as if trying to impart his belief into me.

Stella clears her throat. We pull apart and Hunter slowly drops me to my feet, but not before my entire body rubs against his.

“I’ll just,” Stella says, “go somewhere else for a while.”

“No need,” Hunter says. “We’ll head out now.”

He pulls me out of the penthouse and says, “I can’t wait to get you home.”

Home. I like the sound of that.

The past fewdays of living with Hunter have been seamless, but to avoid a media storm of him being seen with me while he’s still dating Stella publicly, we’ve kept all the blinds closed and I’ve stayed inside the entire time. At first, I slept a ton and baked, but now I’m getting antsy for some fresh air. Or maybe I’m still adjusting to a slower pace. I’m not used to having so much time on my hands, and I’ve forgotten what it’s like to just relax.

But either way, I don’t want to mess this up, not like I did in Shanghai. Jax’s most recent video questions why Stella started wearing the bracelet my mom mademe. It was overwhelming to see how many comments are of people agreeing with him.

In order to help Stella, I’m making her a replica of my own bracelet so that she can wear it and address the rumors. Minnie’s head is on my lap, and I should move her, to make it easier to work, but she’s too cute lying there, so I let her be and soak up the time with her?—

A metallic shriek tears through the silence,like nails scraping a chalkboard.My head snaps towards the front door,eyes wide.A primal scream lodges in my throat,choked by the terror clawing its way up my insides.

Minnie,fur bristling like a live wire,unleashes a terrifying growl that echoes through the house.I rip my phone from the couch cushion and launch myself up the stairs. “Minnie? Upstairs! Now!”

She darts after me,but a frantic rattling at the handle sends a jolt of ice through my veins.Someone’s breaking in. The master bedroom door slams shut behind me,the lack of a lock a cruel joke.

My thumb hovers over the emergency button on my phone.But what then?Explaining this to the police would expose everything we’re working so hard to keep silent.My finger stabs at Hunter's contact,and I type out a frantic plea:Someone’s in the house.

I lean my ear against the door, listening.

Silence.

An unnatural stillness settles,broken only by the frantic thud of my own heart.

Then,a crash.Followed by another,like they're destroying Hunter’s stuff.Tears well in my eyes. I need to get somewhere safe.

I spin around the room, but it offers no refuge,just a gaping closet and a flimsy bathroom door.Heart hammering against my ribs,I scramble into the bathtub and pull the forest-green curtain shut.Hand clamped over my mouth,I wait,the porcelain walls a flimsy barrier between me and whoever is outside.

A floorboard creaks ominously in the hallway just outside the bedroom. Minnie's growls intensify, and a man's deep voice cuts through the silence. “Shut up, mutt.”

Minnie gives him another menacing growl in response, and the same man barks, “Find anything?”

“No, our info was wrong,” another man replies. “There's nothing here.”

“Fuck.” He sighs. “I really thought we'd catch the person who’s been replacing Stella.”

They're looking for me? How? Why? Shivers wrack my entire body. I squeeze my hand harder over my mouth, stifling the whimper building inside.

“Let's get out of here,” the other man says. “I don't want to be here if the police come.”

I count the seconds in my head, desperate to know if they're gone. Minnie's barking and growling offer no answer. It's not until the front door slams shut that Isuck in a sharp breath. My breaths come in short bursts, terror wrapping around me, strangling me. I try to suck in air through my nose, to stay quiet, but the suffocating feeling doesn’t dissipate.

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