Page 91 of Until Bax

“Oh my God.” Olivia breathes, pressing her hand against her stomach while I reach for her, wrapping my hand around her hip.

“This morning, the suspect struck again, only the woman woke up and said that something felt off when she heard someone in her house since her roommate works the overnight shift at a factory. After her break-in, her father got her a handgun and took her to the shooting range, so when a man she did not know entered her bedroom, she shot at him without warning, and he took off.”

“Is she okay?” Olivia asks, and I hate the fear I hear in her voice.

“Scared as you can imagine, but okay. The suspect was gone by the time the police arrived, but he left blood at the scene from where she hit him. They are currently running that evidence through CODIS to see if this is someone who has any priors and to confirm that he is the same suspect from the other two cases.”

“Do you think he’s after me?” she whispers, my fingers digging into her side as my skin suddenly feels too tight.

“We wish we knew,” Detective Hammer says softly. “Right now, Cobi and I are just going with our guts that these cases and yours are linked. That hasn’t even been confirmed across departments. And your situation was a little different since money was taken.”

“So it might not be connected?”

“It might not, but he could have just seen the cash out in the open, knew that it would be impossible to trace, and taken it. Right now, we just want you to be aware of the possible danger that you are in.”

“I appreciate that, but it still doesn’t make me feel good to think that someone might be after me or my friend,” she says as her weight settles heavy against me like she can’t hold herself up under this new information.

“I’m sorry,” Cobi says quietly, holding her stare. “We’re going to do everything we can on our end, and I know that Bax won’t let anything happen to you.” His eyes come to me. “It might be smart to get her a gun.”

Turning to me, she starts to shake her head. “I’m not carrying a gun.”

“We’ll talk about it.”

“We won’t,” she says, looking panicked. “I would probably shoot myself on accident if I had a gun.”

“I’d take you to the range and show you how to use it.”

“I’m not carrying a gun,” she repeats, and my jaw clenches. I can tell just from the look in her eyes that she’s not going to be swayed, and I’d never want her to do something that makes her uncomfortable, even if it makes me feel better.

I look over at Cobi when I hear his stool scoot across the wood floor. “We’re going to take off.” His gaze moves to Olivia. “As soon as we have any information, we’ll be in touch.”

“Sure.” She nods, then asks, “Is it okay if I tell Kourtney what you told us?”

“Of course.” He starts moving toward the kitchen doorway, asking, “Did she get the security system put in?”

“No, not yet,” Olivia tells his back as we walk through the living room.

“Just try not to be over there alone until it’s installed.”

“She’s staying here with me,” I assure him.

“That’s smart,” Detective Hammer says softly, patting my arm as I open the front door. After he steps out, I turn to watch Cobi give Olivia a one-arm hug.

“It will be okay.” I hear him tell her, and she nods.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Cobi says, bumping his fist against mine. He steps outside, calling over his shoulder, “Night.”

“Night.” I close the door behind him and flip the lock into place. The moment I turn around, Olivia falls against me.

“I hate this.”

“I know.” I wrap her up in my arms and just hold her for a long fucking time while she clings to me.

CHAPTER26

Olivia

Opening my eyes, I blink against the bright sun coming through the open windows and see nothing but blue skies and the tiptops of the pine trees that fill the bottom panes of the glass. Even only having it one day, I know I’m going to miss waking up to this view when we leave. Moreover, I will miss not thinking about all the worries I left behind when Bax decided Friday that we weren’t putting off our trip to the Smoky Mountains. He packed us up in his truck and drove us the three hours to the cabin he rented. But like all good things, this trip is coming to an end, and by this time tomorrow, we’ll be on our way back home.

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