Page 72 of Deadline for Love

I let out another breath and gently pulled Amara towards the building.

“No, I’m just afraid you won’t feel good if you see or hear something too overwhelming,” I admitted honestly, and she couldn’t argue. Instead, she puffed up her cheeks, and I had to grin because her behavior reminded me of the past. Whenever she couldn’t retort, she would puff out her cheeks or play with her fingers, and right now, she knew I had her beat.

Nevertheless, when we entered the building, the elevator was down again, so we had to take the stairs to the second floor.

Amara was slightly out of breath, so I slowed to match her pace.

When we finally arrived, we opened the door to the hallway and stopped in surprise. A man was standing at the end of the corridor right before Janette’s door. He wore black jeans and a dark green shirt, and his black hair looked familiar—just a little too long and straight. He held a big box in one arm and rang the bell several times, the sound reverberated through the whole corridor—and now I could understand why Janette thought it was so loud at night.

I held Amara behind me and walked with her to my front door, a few feet away from Janette’s. As I fumbled for my house key, the man turned around, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Bella?” Julian Blackwood asked, having recognized me too. He was wearing the glasses he’d been wearing in the bakery the last time, and his hair was falling forward.

“Julian, what are you doing here?”

It remained quiet, and he looked at me a little longer than I felt necessary. His gaze also drifted over to Amara, whom I kept hidden behind me. But then he turned his focus back to me as he answered my question. “Miss Smith ordered a cake, and I was supposed to deliver it by around noon, but unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to be home.” He gestured with his head to the box stamped with the bakery’s logo.

“She isn’t home?”

He nodded again. “I rang the doorbell and knocked, but she was not there. That’s strange, as she specifically told me to come,” he sighed in frustration and tilted his head.

“Maybe she’s out shopping,” I wondered.

“Maybe, but it doesn’t matter now. I’ll come back later or leave a message so she can pick up the cake herself.”

If Janette wasn’t home, then we’d been here for nothing. Amara’s grip on my arm loosened a little, and her shoulders sagged. I looked at her face for a moment, and she looked disappointed.

“Well, we’d better get going,” she muttered.

I nodded my agreement. “We probably should, but let’s go to my apartment for a moment.”

With a sigh, I placed my key in the door, and at the exact moment, Julian moved away from Janette’s door. It looked like he wanted to leave, Amara held my arm tighter, and a thunderous noise roared from Janette’s apartment.

All my blood froze in my veins, and my heart was pounding so hard that it almost hurt. The whole hallway seemed to fill with fear.

“Get inside now,” I ordered Amara, but she wouldn’t let go of me; her arms were tense around mine as she started to tremble.

“Amara!”

She still didn’t move; she was in shock.

Julian turned around, frantically put the box on the floor, and turned to the door. He started knocking again, asking loudly. “Is everything okay? What’s wrong?”

I stepped closer to Janette’s apartment but stopped a few paces further as Amara stopped me. She didn’t want to go any closer and shook her head violently.

Janette started shouting again, but this time, I could hear that she was trying to say something.

Julian banged on the door again, making her words even more indistinct. He tried to break the door open by hitting it with his body, but it held against his assault. It was as if someone was holding the door shut from the inside.

I took another step closer to support him and help Janette, but again, she shouted something unintelligible as the sounds mixed with the banging on the door.

“It’s him!”

Janette screamed her head off, and at some point, Julian stopped everything. His grip was tight on the doorknob, and his head lowered. Feeling as if he had lost something, his shoulders dropped, and he just breathed for a long time.

“What is she talking about?” I stammered.

Somehow, this corridor was filled with infinite cold. Amara even began to chatter her teeth in fear at Janette’s words.

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