Page 40 of The Kat Bunglar

Gabriel groaned and leaned on her. “I was worried about you,” he admitted. “After L.A., I couldn’t get a hold of you. I lost your card, and everything happened so fast.” He attempted to sit but immediately lay back down when the room spun. “I came to return your shoes—”

“What happened in L.A.?”

Jay’s voice sliced through the air.

He stood in the bedroom doorway, his steps slow and deliberate as he approached. His expression was unreadable, but the weight of his suspicion was unmistakable.

“What happened in L.A. that made this man want to return your shoes?”

Laila’s mouth opened, ready to defend herself—

A sharp knock on the door interrupted her.

“St. Regis Security.”

The voice was timid.

Jay shot Laila a warning look. “This isn’t over.” Then, without another word, he went to answer the door.

The head of security, Sven, entered with an apologetic expression.

“Mr. and Mrs. Malik, the authorities are on their way. I have no idea how this could have happened. As you know, we have extreme security measures in place, and we pride ourselves on keeping our tenants safe in these trying times...”

Laila wasn’t listening.

Gabriel was shaking. His eyes fluttered closed again.

Panic seized her. “My friend is unconscious—we need an ambulancenow.”

Sven’s demeanor shifted. He quickly radioed a colleague. “We need a medic ASAP. Unconscious man at the scene.”

Laila pressed two fingers to Gabriel’s neck. His pulse was steady, but the bump on the back of his head was alarming.

And then there was Jay’s accusation.

Her stomach twisted.

She hadn’t done anything wrong...yet.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered otherwise.

“Mrs. Malik, an ambulance is on the way,” Sven reassured her. “In situations like these, we’ll be reviewing the security footage to determine what went wrong and how we can rectify it.”

Situations like these.

The phrase echoed in her head.

Her home was now a crime scene.

She was avictimof a crime.

“Mrs. Malik? Mrs. Malik?”

She snapped out of her daze.

Sven was watching her with concern. “Why don’t you sit down until the police arrive? I’ll speak with Mr. Malik about what he noticed when he first got here.”

Laila sank onto the armrest of the sofa, her mind swirling.

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