Page 45 of Love Me
Panic surged through me as I realized the danger I’d allowed myself to walk into.
I held my breath as I strained to listen for any sign that someone was in the house and pulled my phone from my pocket. I texted Logan. I was tempted to text the guys, but stopped myself. Keelan was the only one home and he was already hurt.
What if it was nothing? What if I hadn’t set the alarm properly? I didn’t want to interrupt their lives any more than I had, especially if this was a false alarm. But what if it wasn’t? I squeezed my phone, torn. I had texted Logan.He’ll have to be enough, I thought as I slid my phone into my pocket.
I need to leave.The door was right behind me. However, my feet stayed planted. Stupidly, I wanted to see. I needed to know for sure if it was a false alarm or ifhehad found me. I’d never be able to sleep in this house again if I walked out the door right now without knowing for sure.
It was stupid.
Beyond stupid.
But for my sanity, I stayed. As quietly as I could, I crept to the coffee table. Reaching under, my fingers brushed along the underside. My panic increased as I slid my hand from one end of the table to the other, not finding my gun. Quickly, I went over to the TV and found the gun I had hidden there also missing. My heart in my chest was pounding so hard, it felt like it was trying to rip its way out of my chest.
Never mind.
I couldn’t brave this unarmed.
Trying not to breathe, I took a step back toward the door. Then another. A handful of steps and I would reach it.
Shattering my nearly silent attempt at escape, the shrill of a phone ringing went off in my pocket. I didn’t even think of silencing it. What would be the point? I spun on my heel and ran for the door.
I didn’t hear or sense anyone chasing me as I grabbed the door handle. Ripping it open, I felt relieved. That was, until Sheriff McAllister stepped into view, blocking the way out.
“You have a lot of guns for a girl still in high school,” he said, taking a step inside. Like all the times I’d seen him before, he was wearing his crisp uniform.
I had no choice but to retreat backward, further inside my living room and further away from my chance at safety. “What are you doing in my house?”
My stomach sank as he closed the front door behind him. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he stalked across the room toward the couch and took a seat. The predatory confidence he exuded caused my stomach to drop. “I figured we could have that conversation,” he said, draping an arm across the back of the couch.
I fisted my hands at my sides. “You don’t want to have a conversation. You’re here to threaten me again.”
“Seeing how you haven’t dropped the charges against my daughter, I’m assuming I wasn’t clear enough on what would happen to you—”
“Your threat was perfectly clear,” I cut him off. “Hang me from the nearest tree, wasn’t it? Oh, and you got the man who drugged and tried to rape me out of jail. I know you have power and the lengths you’d go to protect your own. My lack of action isn’t due to naivete.”
“Then what is?”
“You’re a bully like your daughter. Or I should say that your daughter is just like you.” I stood confidently, refusing to give this man the satisfaction of seeing me intimidated.
His hand resting on the back of the couch fisted until his knuckles turned white. It was the only sign of his anger. “I did some digging on you.”
I fought to keep my face schooled as panic wreaked havoc inside me.
“I found your school records, birth certificate, and your previous addresses. What I found intriguing was the lack of any social media. What teenager in this day and age doesn’t have a Facebook? I also couldn’t find a single picture of you other than the one on your Arizona driver’s license. Did you not drive before moving here?”
“I had extremely protective parents,” I lied.
“Speaking of those parents…they died in a car accident?”
“Is there a reason you’re telling me my life history?” I deflected.
“That’s the thing about your history. It’s too perfect.”
“We all have to excel somewhere,” I quipped.
He stood from the couch, and I dashed for the front door. Quickly, I turned the knob and got it open before he could get close enough to touch. Refusing to give him my back, I went out on my front porch.
He stopped walking on the threshold and smiled up at the camera pointed at the front door. “There are too many things about you that beg questioning,” he said as he continued to stare up at the camera. Then he looked back at me. “If you don’t drop the charges, I might be tempted to dig a little further to find out why.”
