Page 126 of Capturing You
He took his time finishing his dinner—mostly to irritate Lenny, assuming the man was still watching him—then shifted and pulled into traffic.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Brooklynn stepped back into her apartment and froze.
Something wasn’t right.
She wasn’t safe.
She didn’t know how she knew and didn’t pause to evaluate.
Silently, she ducked back into the stairwell.
A voice stopped her.
“Come on in, Brookie. It’s too late for that.”
If she’d been worried before, Lenny’s voice sent her anxiety spiking.
She considered continuing downstairs to the gallery, but she wasn’t in costume, and as much as she loathed her ex-boyfriend, she couldn’t let herself be seen by anyone else in town. If she climbed back to the attic, he’d just follow her. He’d probably been up there already. Back when they’d been dating, she’d shown him the space. How long had he been in her apartment, waiting like a spider for its lunch?
The thought brought a shudder, but it was Lenny. He was a jerk. He was possessive to the point of creepy. But he wasn’t trying to kill her.
She stepped into the living room, where he was sitting on her couch, arms stretched across the back, feet propped on her coffee table as if he belonged.
“What are you doing here?”
“I saw the light on.” He dropped both feet to the floor. “Since I didn’t think you were home, I figured I’d better check it out.”
She’d left the light on?
No.
She hadn’t touched the lamp, and it hadn’t been on when she’d walked in earlier. It was now, though, which was what had alerted her that something wasn’t right, though she hadn’t registered it at the time.
“You’re lying.” She crossed her arms. “How did you know I was here?”
“Believe it or not, Brookie?—”
“Don’t call me that.”
“—you make mistakes, just like the rest of us. You left the light on, and I saw it from outside.”
By his attitude and his tone, he might as well have said,stop being irrational and trust me. I’ve got it under control.
All too familiar.
How many times had Lenny deceived her to her face and then pretended she was crazy when she called him on it.
She’d had it with being lied to and treated like a fool. She should’ve known better than to trust him. She should’ve known better than to trust Forbes.
Nobody could be trusted.
“I’m calling the police.”
“Iamthe police.”
“Not when you’re committing a crime.” She pulled her phone from her pocket.
