Page 26 of Billionaire Unreachable: Wyatt

“Everything is going to be fine, Shelby,” Wyatt said in a low, soothing voice as he stroked a comforting hand up and down my back. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

I nodded as the tremors started to subside.

I pulled away from him, knowing I was being ridiculous, and swiped the tears from my face. “I’m sorry, but this whole thing is just so freaky that it creeped me out.”

I briefly explained what had happened as he listened intently and patiently.

He didn’t say a word as I told him that someone had broken my bedroom window, and had stolen nothing except some lingerie from my dresser.

My place had also been vandalized, but the damage had been limited to pictures of me.

“Let me check with the police and see if they need anything else from you. I’m taking you home with me. You can’t stay here,” he insisted.

“We just wrapped up,” an officer said from behind me. I turned around to face him, Wyatt’s reassuring hand on my back as he continued, “Here’s a card with a number you can call. We’ll be in touch. Just be cautious. If this is a fetish crime, this person could be dangerous. It could be some drunk kids having what they consider fun on a Friday night. But it could be personal, and there are some sick people out there.”

I reached out and took the offered business card. “Thank you,” I answered robotically. “Can I go inside to get a few things?”

I wasn’t going to refuse Wyatt’s offer to spend the night at his place.

If I didn’t, I’d never sleep. My bedroom window was broken. Prank or not, the weirdness of the incident had me pretty shaken up.

The officer nodded, and I stepped back inside my apartment while Wyatt continued to chat with the police.

The shock of finding my apartment burglarized and vandalized had worn off a little, but the hair still stood up on the back of my neck as I saw the smashed pictures of my cousins and myself scattered around the small living space.

Who in the hell dislikes me so much that they feel the need to destroy my pictures?

Was it personal or was it someone who had randomly decided that it might be fun to wreak havoc on a Friday night to shake up a stranger?

I stood there for a few minutes, racking my brain to think of anyone who could have done this.

But I came up…empty.

I’d only been in San Diego for a little more than a year, and I hardly knew anyone here. Most certainly not someone who would want to do me any harm.

I moved into my bedroom, shuddering as I saw the broken window and the dust from the fingerprint search on my dresser drawers.

I shook off the tingle of unease that slithered down my spine and pulled out a suitcase. Distracted, I wandered into the small bathroom to get what I needed and then returned to the bedroom to start filling the bag with more things than I probably needed for the night.

I didn’t even second-guess my decision to stay with Wyatt. He might be cranky, but he wasn’t dangerous, and he was Tori’s older brother. I was sure that his instinct to hug me when I was upset came from many years of comforting his little sister in the same way when something bad happened to her.

“Pack heavy so we won’t have to come back here for a while,” Wyatt instructed as he walked into the small bedroom.

“But I’m only spending the night with you,” I reminded him.

“More than one night. It’s going to take time to get the window fixed, and probably even longer to catch the perpetrator,” he answered firmly. “Just pack what you need for a while.”

I added more stuff to my suitcase, unwilling to argue.

I was emotionally wiped out, and all I wanted to do was flee this apartment for now.

What had once been home was now kind of a scary place. I could almost feel the negative energy in the small apartment. Maybe I was just still shocked about the burglary, but I no longer felt comfortable in this space.

Wyatt’s eyes scanned the room, like he was taking in every detail.

He pulled the curtain back and focused on the broken window.

“The front door was still locked,” I explained as I started to close my suitcase. “Whoever it was came in and out of that window.”

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