Page 24 of Dumbstruck
“I think someone is watching my house.”
He curses, and his tone instantly shifts into something hard and protective. “Who is it? How do you know? Are you okay?”
“There’s a car that keeps driving past the house. I don’t know who it is, but I think they’re waiting for something.”
“Are you still outside?”
I’m afraid to say yes, but my silence seems to answer his question anyway.
“Get inside.Now. I’m sending Richie over.”
I check to make sure the street is dark and empty, and then I dart into the house and lock the door behind me. “Why would someone case my house like this?” I mutter as I double check the locks on the back door and all the windows. “I haven’t even seen you in days.”
I expect a witty quip, but Jonah remains serious. “Maybe someone heard you talking to me, or me to you. Maybe it has nothing to do with me at all. Are you inside?”
I turn off the light in the front room and peek through the blinds. “Yeah. I haven’t seen the car come back yet. Maybe I was being paranoid?”
“I’d rather be sure than take a chance.” He says something away from the phone, his voice muffled, and I hear Richie’s deep voice reply. They talk back and forth for a minute while I keep an eye on the street. “June, I think—”
“He’s back.” As headlights flood my yard once more, I step away from the blinds so the person in the car doesn’t see me, and I feel strangely separated from my body as I stand in the middle of the room. Waiting. The last time I dealt with something like this, I was helping one of Hank’s neighbors avoid a guy trying to take her kids from her. It was less terrifying when it wasn’t about me, but now I’m shaking. “What should I do?”
Call the police, a voice in the back of my head says. But if I do that, I’ll have to disconnect from Jonah, and that’s the last thing I want.
“What’s he doing?” Jonah’s voice wobbles and fades, like he’s moving his phone to the other ear or something.
“I don’t know. The headlights are shining right on my window.”
“Faster,” Jonah says. Not to me.
My eyebrows pull low, and I look down at my phone in alarm. “Jonah James, tell me you are not with Richie.”
“Can’t tell you that.”
“Jonah! You’re way too valuable to—”
He barks out a bitter laugh. “I’m a farm kid from Idaho with a pretty face. Let’s not pretend I’m anything special.”
But he is something special. He has only known me for two weeks and only taken me on a single date, and yet he’s rushing to my rescue without any idea of who or what is waiting outside my house.
“We’re almost there, June,” he says.
Only a few seconds later, the headlights seem to grow brighter, and then the light shifts, leaving my window. There’s still light outside, like the car hasn’t left, but I’m too spooked to peek out there to see what’s happening. What if they don’t go away?
Someone knocks on the door, scaring me out of my wits, but then Jonah says, “It’s me.”
I scramble to the door and tug it open, though I should have been more cautious. But at the sight of Jonah standing on my doorstep, phone to his ear, relief floods through me. Exhaling, I throw my arms around him and bury my face in his chest. He wraps me up tight, holding me in a way I’ve never been held before.
“You’re okay,” he whispers, stroking my hair as I tremble against him. “I’ve got you.”
Hedoeshave me, and I feel myself start to fall apart in his arms. It’s like whatever bravery I usually have slips away beneath his touch, leaving me bare and vulnerable.
“I got the plate,” Richie says from the porch. “I can make some calls, but my guess is they wanted to scare her, whoever they are.”
“It worked,” Jonah growls. “June, we can stay here tonight if you’d like.” The hard edge to his voice tells me he isn’t really asking.
My instinct is to say no, to brush off the fear and look after myself like I’ve done my whole life. But now that I’m in Jonah’s arms like this, I don’t want to leave. I feel so safe. “Stay,” I whisper. Then I tilt my head back and look up at him. “Will you get into trouble?”
He smiles. “Nah.” We’re still standing in the doorway, so he gently nudges me backward so Richie can follow us inside and lock the door behind him. The bodyguard moves to the window, but Jonah keeps his arms around me. “I’ve indulged Beckett’s paranoia long enough, and it’s not like he can kick me out of his movie for sneaking out at night. Who would he get to replace me? Derek Riley?Please. I’m way better looking than him.”
