Page 15 of Protected By Him

"Do you have any money saved up to carry you until you find another job?"

I dropped my head again. Ashamed that I had worried more about paying off my student debt than juggling the payoff while making sure I had savings. "No, I don't,” I admitted. I took a deep breath. "I just drained my account to pay off the last of my student loans. I have just enough to maybe cover my cell phone and food for a couple of months."

He cupped his hands around my face and studied my eyes. “You will be okay, Laura. You can stay with us until we sort all of this out and you get back on your feet.”

I pulled away and picked up my glass, downing the entire contents in one large gulp. At this rate, I was going to get drunk pretty fast.

"I don't know. I'm without ideas. The entire thing is a little hard for me to digest."

Leo looked at me calmly. He was reading the creases in my furrowed eyebrows. He knew this was killing me. I was not one to accept handouts and could be very stubborn about doing things on my own. However, my world was crumbling right now. And I was not prepared for it.

"You can stay with us and help me with Ella," he said reassuringly. "She loves you anyways. And I could use the help. I took a few days off, but then I have to start another major case, and my parents are leaving for a two-week vacation. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do, anyway."

"And," he continued, "I think I have access to resources that could assist you in finding out what is going on. This could be a win, win for us both."

I looked at him, overwhelmed by the kind gesture, but also wondering if this had more to do with him wanting to make sure I was safe rather than needing help with Ella. Either way, I didn't have any other choice right now. And it would only be temporary.

I didn't really have many friends. The ones I had been close to in college were all married or focused on their careers. Emily was having marriage troubles. There was no way I could add to that stress by asking if I could crash on her couch.

"Okay," I said hesitantly. "I will put in a notice at the apartment. I’m on a month-to-month lease, but I think they have to give me at least a couple of weeks to move. We can figure out details in the meantime."

***

The rain started coming down pretty heavily. Leo needed to get home to Ella, so I insisted on calling a driver. Normally I would walk since I only lived a few blocks away, but it was raining too hard for me to make it without being completely drenched.

As the driver continued towards my apartment, I looked in his rearview mirror and suddenly got an extremely uneasy feeling. The SUV I had seen behind us as I was getting into the car was still behind us.

I turned around, hoping to get a better look, thinking maybe I could recognize the driver. But the harsh glare of headlights and the downpour of rain made it impossible. Fear seeped through my body. When I turned back around, all I could do was stare at the back of the head of the uber driver, wondering if it was a good idea to ask him to slow down to see if the car would speed past us.

Why am I being so paranoid? Granted, Harvey had threatened me; however, it didn't mean that he would go through with it. He didn't have that kind of power to send thugs after me…did he?

As the driver approached my building, I noticed the SUV was still traveling directly behind us. My heart was in my throat at this point. I cleared it loudly.

"Mister, I think we are being followed." I could hear the panic in my voice, although I tried to disguise it.

The driver met my eyes through the rearview mirror and then looked at the car behind us.

"I don't think so, ma'am. I’ve had a few passengers who have been paranoid like that too. Turns out, it's always a neighbor who lives close them," he said in an almost teasing tone.

I knew all of the vehicles that frequent my street, and this definitely wasn't one of them. But I just nodded, desperately needing the driver's words to be true.

When he dropped me off. I leaned down and realized my hand was shaking as I paid him. I thanked him with a smile and made my way to the entrance of my apartment building. I briefly looked behind me and realized the SUV was nowhere to be seen. I felt my shoulders fall, and a sigh of relief escaped me. Maybe the driver had been right after all.

I stepped forward to pull the doors open, and my eyes caught movement across the street. A hooded man was walking with purpose directly toward me.

Stricken by fear, I rushed through the door and ran up the stairs, skipping every other step until I reached the second floor. My apartment was only a couple of steps from the stairwell. I started fumbling with my keys as I approached my apartment door. Fear had my hands shaking so hard, I dropped my keys. I quickly picked them up and found the one I needed and opened my door.

I fell into my apartment and quickly closed and locked the door behind me. I ran straight to the window and pushed it open. I looked down but didn't see the man anywhere. I leaned my back on the wall next to the window and bent over with my hands against my knees, taking in gulping breaths of air in an attempt to calm my racing heart. As I caught my breath, I tried to decide what to do. I had no idea where the man or the SUV had gone, so leaving my apartment again wasn’t an option. But I didn’t feel safe here, either. What could I do?

Should I call the police? But what would I say? I had no proof that I’d been followed, they’d probably laugh in my face. No, there was only person I could think to call.

Leo.

I fumbled my phone out of my pocket. I could tell I was still shaken because I was having trouble even unlocking my phone to make the call. After what felt like forever, I finally reached Leo's contact.

"Hey Laura, what’s up?" he answered on the first ring.

Still trying to fully catch my breath, I couldn't respond.

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