Page 53 of Crossing Lines

Nina’s phone alarm jolts us both awake.

“Fuck,” she mutters. “I’m late.”

She’s out the door saying something about supporting Elodie at her pop-up this morning before I have time to process anything. I slept, truly slept, for longer than an hour or two. Was it because I was exhausted? Or because of Nina?

I stare at the side Nina was sleeping on and press my hand against the still-warm sheets, already missing her. But I have too much to do today to spend time on that. After getting ready, I send a message to Zeki and ask him to come over before finding Nate and giving my statement to the police officers.

“What the hell is happening?” Zeki asks, staring at the officers getting into their cars. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, but the house was broken into last night.”

Zeki curses under his breath before pulling me into a strong hug. “Are you sure you’re okay? Nina?”

“We’re not hurt. We’re okay.”

“Thank fuck,” Zeki says, voice thick with emotion. I do a double take and he shrugs. “What? I’m terrified, okay? How are you so calm?”

“I…” I never told Zeki about being robbed at gunpoint all those years ago. I didn’t want to worry him oranne. It happened right afterbabadied, and we were all reeling; adding that kind of danger to our lives felt cruel. None of us were in a good place, and part of me was afraid of how they would react. What if they didn’t care? What if their response fell short of what I needed? I guess I’ve been holding it back for so long because I didn’t want to face the disappointment of feeling alone in my fear, of realizing that, in their grief, they might not have room for mine. Without overthinking it, I blurt out, “I was robbed at gunpoint just afterbabadied.”

“What the fuck?” Zeki explodes. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me? Tellanne?”

“Someone had to be strong for all of us during that time.”

Zeki frowns, but before he can respond, Nate walks into the kitchen.

“Any updates?” I ask him.

“The intruder got away,” Nate says, “but we’ll get them.”

“We need to make sure something like that never happens again,” I say.

“Agreed,” Nate says. “We need to move our base of operation into the pool house and to turn the main bedroom into a version of a panic room with bulletproof walls, doors, and a complex lock system.”

“And where would Nina stay?” Zeki asks me. “If you take the pool house away.”

“I offered to find her somewhere else to live, but she refused. So, I’ll give her the master bedroom, especially if it’s the safest.” I turn to Nate and ask, “How long will the installation take?”

“A couple days.”

“That won’t do,” I say. “It needs to be finished by the end of today.” I need to make sure Nina is the safest she can be before allowing her to spend the night here again.

“I’ll get a team in and work around the clock,” Nate says. “And I’ll also clear out the damaged room and get a bed delivered for you. We can work on upgrading that room, too, but it won’t be finished today.”

“That’s fine. Did you put security on Nina?”

“Yes,” Nate says. “The team is sending updates every five minutes. Give me your phone and I can connect you to the new system I’ve created.”

I pass him the phone and say, “Thank you.” Nate’s stepping up and not waiting to be told what to do. He’s proactively doing it, and that’s a quality that’s not so easy to come by.

“Do you think it’s Mert?” Zeki asks. “Any updates on his whereabouts recently?”

“There’s a high possibility,” Nate says. “We’ve beencombing through all of his movements over the past two months, and it turns out he was in Skyrise right after the Super Bowl win.”

“What the hell was he doing here?” I ask.

“We’re still trying to figure it out. But since then, he has kept to New York City, Istanbul, and Nova.”

“Fuck,” I mutter. “Why can’t I get rid of him?” It’s one thing to think it’s Mert based on our history together, but it’s a whole other to have him be a real suspect. To have him be in my city, so close to me. Did he meet with Stonehaven? Is he behind everything? It would make sense. He knows me, knows that targeting my reputation would hurt deeper than anything else.

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