Page 75 of In Plain Sight

Then I could panic.

12

ZANDER

Knock.Knock. Knock.

The sharp rapping startled me, and I nearly dropped the book I’d been trying to read.

Who the hell was at my door at this hour?

Picking up my phone, I opened the app for the camera I’d installed over my front door.

A familiar man stood on my stoop, looking disheveled and distressed.

“Luka?” I asked the empty room.

Without thinking, I tossed my phone aside and hurried to the door to answer it.

“Hey, I’m sorry to just drop over like this,” he said, his voice tight and his words clipped and fast.

“It’s fine. Are you okay?” I asked, looking him up and down.

He wasn’t just distressed. He seemed like he was seconds away from panicking. His cheeks were flushed pink, his eyes were wide, and his hair was a mess, like he’d continuously run his fingers through it.

Even his posture was stiff. His shoulders were tight, his back was ramrod straight, and he was shifting from foot to foot like he was trying to decide if he should run away or not.

“I don’t know,” he let out a humorless laugh.

“Come in.” I waved him inside. Whatever was going on wasn’t going to be solved on my porch.

He stepped into the house, the screen door banging shut behind him.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

He let out a strangled sound. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it.”

“See what?” I asked, taking another quick sweep of him to make sure he wasn’t hurt. I couldn’t see any blood or bruises or any signs of a struggle or injury.

He wrung his hands in front of him. “I kinda have this problem, and I didn’t want to just show up like this, but I’ve been freaking out for hours and…”

“What problem? What happened?”

He scrubbed his hands over his face a few times and blew out a shaky breath.

“This problem I have,” he said, his eyes on the floor between us. “I can only talk to two people about it. I was trying to figure out a way to handle it that didn’t involve showing up on your doorstep on the verge of a panic attack, but I just…”

“Luka.” Taking a chance, I gently gripped his biceps in my hands. Hopefully touching him wouldn’t make things worse.

He closed his eyes and breathed in, relaxing slightly.

“Are you hurt?” I asked softly.

He shook his head.

“Did something happen to you? Or to your family?”

He shook his head again. “No, nothing like that.”

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