Page 11 of Unexpected

“Good night, neighbor,” I said as I started up the stairs. I was the bigger person, but I couldn’t help calling him neighbor since I knew he hated it. I wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

“Good night, Angel.” He smiled in response. I turned around, halfway through the front door, to ask what that was supposed to mean when I remembered the damn halo on my head.

I knew I was never going to hear the end of that one.

Inside, I threw my purse on the small entry table but not before retrieving my phone from the inside pocket. When I unlocked the screen, the contact Luke had entered was still up. Or at least I’d assumed that’s what it was since he’d entered his phone number under the name “Neighbor” instead of his actual name.

If he hadn’t already done it, I would’ve changed it immediately. Why he felt the need to use a code name, I didn’t know.

SIX

Luke

I was fucking pathetic.Since the Halloween party, I found myself looking for Hazel. When I was in my bedroom, I constantly peeked out my window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. When I pulled into the driveway from work, I looked to her driveway to see if her car was there.

She hadn’t texted me—which I assumed was a good thing—but I also found myself wanting to hear from her.

Like I said, fucking pathetic. But I was never going to get the picture of her face while Chris had her cornered out of my head.

One of his arms caged her in while the other touched her, obviously without her permission. Her eyes were blazing with a rage that directly contradicted the quickness of her breaths and her quivering chin. She was frightened but didn’t want him to see that. Whether she thought she had it handled or not, I wasn’t going to leave without the asshole knowing I had her back.

I was close to flying into a rage and beating the ever-loving shit out of the guy, but I didn’t want to scare Hazel more than she already was. I’m sure watching me almost kill him in his own home wasn’t going to help her.

And then watching her easily slip from nervous and defensive to cheerful when Emmy came up with that silly little headband was eye opening. The woman could expertly switch her emotions and let you see only what she wanted you to see.Like she always had a mask at the ready.

But once Emmy left and I walked her home, all I could think about were the marks under her clothes. She was beautiful in a way that any man—or woman—would appreciate. But I was less concerned about what she looked like. It was hard not to imagine that her body was covered in black-and-blue bruises.There were likely other marks, scars, and untreated injuries that no one could see.

Having seen the marks on her skin, I felt like I understood her better. Especially her behavior. There had been a few times when she’d encountered men that I’d noticed she was, for lack of a better word, uncomfortable with the situation. Even friendly touches or an accidental graze of an arm when they passed by her made her face drop and threw up all of her walls.

That, combined with the bruises, was telling. There was something more behind her pained expressions, fake smiles, and her ability to slyly peel herself from a situation without being noticed.

I needed her to know that I could be trusted. I was one of the good ones, and to do that, I needed to prove myself. I couldn’t be sure what she had experienced but if it was even half as bad as I imagined it was, it would take time to become her friend and earn her trust. Especially since she despised me. But I would make sure it happened.

And after two days of not seeing Hazel even once, I was beginning to get concerned. Until I pulled into my driveway and spotted Josh, Becky and Hazel standing in front of my house, deep in conversation.

I hesitated before getting out of my truck. Hazel looked like she was about to go on her nightly run when she stopped to talk. She was wearing teal leggings that hugged every one of her curves. They were high waisted, and she paired them with a short, cropped top that showed only a sliver of her midriff.

She would have made a paper bag look fucking hot, and I quickly averted my eyes before my dick got any harder than it already was. Josh waved me over to them when I hopped out of the truck and tried to readjust my tighter than usual jeans.

“What’s going on?” I asked. Josh narrowed his eyes at my funky walk while Becky’s face split into a huge, very toothy smile. I dropped my eyes to Hazel, who appeared restless as she tossed her wireless headphones from one hand to the other. She glanced up at me and gave a tight smile before averting her attention back to Becky.

“Becky, tell Luke what happened.”

“Sure, sure. Of course,” she said with a sigh. “I got back from picking Emmy up from school this afternoon to find one of our windows smashed in. It looks like whoever it was stole a few electronics and some of my jewelry. We just all need to be extra vigilant.”

“Did the cops tell you anything? Any idea who it might have been?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. But I’ll let you know when I hear anything.”

“That’s fucking crazy,” Josh murmured next to me. “Glad y’all weren’t home.”

Becky nodded and put her hand over her chest. “Dear goodness, me too! You would’ve heard me scream all the way over at your house, Hazel, if someone would’ve broken in while I was home.”

She covered the hand on her chest with the other and shook her head in disbelief.

“But Hazel, you really should be extra careful running at night and with your fiancé being gone all the time. You don't want to make yourself an easy target.” Although I assumed Becky was actually trying to watch out for Hazel, her Southern drawl and usual condescending tone made it sound like she was singling her out.

“She can handle it,” I said before Hazel had an opportunity to respond.

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