Page 9 of Screwed

“Of course. I’m on my way,” I tell him before I hang up.

I wonder briefly if I should call one of my friends to meet me there but it really is the middle of the night and we all have work tomorrow. Besides, the police are already there.

I hurry to get dressed, grabbing the first thing that I can and tugging it on. I shove my phone into my pocket and shove my feet into a pair of flip-flops before I jog for the front door. My purse is hanging there and I swipe it off of the coat rack and head out into the night.

My heart is racing almost as fast as my brain as I make the short drive down Main Street toward Blast From The Past Antiques.

I always debated having the security system. It was already installed when I bought the shop which is a big reason why I continued to use it, even on months when things weren’t going great. Just last month, I had contemplated canceling my service with the company but now I’m glad that I didn’t do that.

Who would break into my shop? It isn’t exactly the most glamorous shop and I do most of my sales online so I never have much cash on hand at the store. If someone was looking for an easy score, then the Destiny Falls Market two stores down would have been a better choice.

Not that I would ever wish for someone to break into Madelyn’s store.

I spot the flashing red-and-blue lights before anything else. There are three cop cars out front of my shop. That’s all of the patrol cruisers that this small town has. I try to take solace in the fact that they’re taking this seriously.

Maybe they already caught whoever did it. I can get my items back and move on from this fast.

I park a few parking spots down from them, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard as I climb out of my Ford Escape and make my way toward the police cars.

“Iris!” Someone shouts and my head whips to the side to try to see who is calling for me.

Teller jogs toward me, his face full of concern and I give him a halfhearted smile.

“Thank god,” he breathes, wrapping his arm around my shoulders in a comforting hug. “I got called in to cover for Jonas. His wife went into labor, but then they found someone else to take my spot. I was just headed home and saw all of the police cars. I was worried that you had been hurt.”

“No, someone just broke into my store,” I tell him.

He nods, waving at one of the cops. Teller is Sutton’s boyfriend. He works at the Mystery Cabin as a handyman during the day and volunteers with the local fire department. I had completely forgotten that Sutton had said that he was still on duty today when I saw her at dinner.

I’m glad that he’s here though. I could use a friend as I deal with all of this.

“Hey, Miles,” Teller greets the cop.

I wrap my arms around my waist, sticking close to Teller as they exchange pleasantries. Then Teller asks him what happened here and I rip my eyes away from the storefront to focus on Officer Miles.

“The alarm was tripped. Someone broke in through the back, busted a window,” he says before I can start to freak out and worry that I didn’t lock a door before closing today.

“Did you catch them?” Teller asks for me and the officer shakes his head.

“No, they were long gone by the time that we got here. They left quite a mess inside though.”

My heart sinks at that. I was more upset thinking that someone broke into my place but tears sting my eyes as I think about all of those priceless antiques that they could have broken or ruined.

“Iris!” Someone else shouts and I look over my shoulder to see Arlo running across the road toward us.

I blink, trying to clear the tears from my eyes. I can’t seem to stem them though.

“Are you okay?” He asks, his strong hands gripping my shoulders as he looks me over.

I’m still in my pajamas and I blush. I’m sure that I look like a slob right now but I wasn’t thinking about getting dressed up, just on getting here as fast as I could.

“I’m fine,” I mumble and he frowns.

“Someone broke in,” Teller tells him and Arlo pulls me against his side.

“Did they get him?” Arlo asks and Teller and I both shake our heads no.

I want to soak in this moment. I’m pressed up tight against Arlo’s side and I should be memorizing how his skin feels against mine or the way that he smells, but my thoughts are too jumbled.

---