Page 33 of Tinsel Time Treasure
Annie cleared her throat from across the room. “Back to the topic at hand. Justin, you said you don’t want to be alone. Do you have any other ideas?”
My eyes met Max’s. “I… I think I’d like to stay here.”
“Are you sure?” Annie asked.
I nodded and turned back to her. “I feel safe here.”
Annie kissed Grace’s cheek. “Can you take Max into the kitchen, love?”
Grace nodded and walked over.
Max’s fingers tightened over mine.
“It’s ok,” I murmured.
He nodded and allowed Grace to lead him from the room.
“May I come closer?” Annie asked.
“Yeah.”
She pulled the chair next to the couch and rested her elbows on her knees. “Max is a good guy, but I want to make sure you don’t feel pressured. You just met and obviously stressed. He’s my best friend, but I’d rather tell him to back off than cause you any more discomfort.”
I smiled. “I can’t explain it, but I feel safe here.”
“Ok. Now, you mentioned a rose. Was there anything else left at your apartment?”
“No, not that I noticed.”
“Did the police scan for any hidden devices?”
I shook my head. “Not that I know of.”
She sighed. “I thought not. I brought a detector I bought when Grace and I first got together. Are you comfortable going back into your apartment with us so that I can check?”
“I’d need to go anyway to get some clothes and stuff, and I prefer to not go alone.”
She nodded. “Good. And where's your car?”
I motioned with my head. “Around the side of this building. When I saw my lights were on, and I didn’t know if he was inside or not…”
“Good thinking. I will check your car as well.”
“You think he put some sort of tracker on my car?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s worth checking.”
I thought about how he’d found me at the store, when his house wasn’t anywhere near it. How had he known I was there; that it was even my preferred store?
“Ok,” I whispered as my thoughts ran away with all the things I didn’t know.
She reached over and placed a hand on my arm. “You’re going to be ok.”
I took a deep breath, held it out, then released it slowly. I nodded. “Yeah. It’s just hard right now.”
“You’ve got people on your side. And I’ve still got friends at the crisis center. We’ll keep you safe until he moves on, or until he does something that can get him arrested.”
I whined. “He hasn’t done anything arrest-worthy yet…”
