Page 50 of Heart Thief

It should’ve been hard. I’m sad that it wasn’t. “Don’t be. There’s something missing between us. I’m not sure what it is, I just know we don’t have it.”

“Will you be leaving the penthouse?”

“No, Ryker asked me to stay and continue to be the caretaker. It makes life awkward, but I’ll survive.”

“Oh. Okay.” Zane stands there staring at me with a strange look on his face. He nods. “I’ll be in the shower.”

I sit on the couch, staring at the TV. I tell my thoughts they’re not allowed to join Zane in the shower.

They don’t listen.

chapter eighteen

~

IT’S EIGHT AM.Still no sign of Zane. I’ve been waiting to start my practice session. Zane was so exhausted last night. I don’t want to disturb his sleep this morning.

I’ve already mopped the floors, dusted every surface in sight, wiped windows until my wrists ached, and cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom. The Roomba is quietly wandering around the room. When it bumps into Arthur’s dog bed, he growls, but doesn’t bother to move. It’s my only entertainment in the too silent penthouse.

The room smells of lemon dusting spray and not one single thing is out of place. Ryker would be pleased.

Ryker still calls me nearly every day. He acts as though nothing has changed between us. He likes to talk about what we’ll do together when he gets home.

I know I need to say something more to him. Instead, I haven’t answered the phone for the last three days. Maybe I can let that do my talking for me. I know I was clear with him. I’m not sure there’s anything else I can say without feeling like I’m being mean. It’s weighing on me heavily.

I wander into my bedroom, Ryker’s master bedroom, and throw open the closet door. There’s a stack of boxes in there that have been begging me to clean them out. It seems like a good time to tackle them.

Soon I have a large pile of old bills and receipts that are ready to be shredded. That’s when I come across a folder I don’t recognize. I open it and stare at the contents with a frown.

I know what it is. This is the “important” folder Debra gave Ryker on the night of his non-proposal. Ryker accidentally dropped it on my driveway. I meant to give it to him, but I forgot about it.

If I remember correctly, Ryker looked at the contents, scoffed as if he was disgusted, and closed the folder.

Now I’m staring at what he saw and anger is building inside of me.

There are several random pictures of Zane in his uniform, all printed on regular pieces of printer paper. It’s obvious the pictures were taken without his knowledge. The pictures have caught him in the middle of mundane tasks. One is of him crossing a street, one is of him exiting a grocery store, and one is of him sitting in a restaurant by himself, to name a few.

At the bottom of the first page it says, ZANE MARTEL. Whereabouts: Westrich, Germany. And then the times and dates are listed. The other pages follow the same pattern.

Debra and Ryker actually spy on Zane? They have him watched so they can be aware of his whereabouts?

Is Zane really that much of a threat to Ryker? Ryker’s willing to sacrifice his jealousy to allow Zane to stay in his apartment, just so he’ll know where he is. Still, it strikes me as excessive and paranoid. Maybe a little crazy.

I stare at each picture, at the firm set of Zane’s mouth, the troubled gaze of his eyes, and the slight hunch of his shoulders. The way he looks when he thinks no one is watching.

The banished prince.

It bothers me more than I care to admit.

When nine AM strikes, I decide to go ahead and start practicing. It’s Saturday and Zane’s used to me waking him up on most days. I start with scales. Such a lovely sound. He’ll be up in no time.

As I predicted, it forces him out of bed. He enters the living room looking sleepy-eyed. In my peripheral vision, I can tell he’s only in jeans.

“Hey, you’re late today. I overslept.”

“Sorry,” I say, concentrating.

“What happened in here? Did the cleaning fairies attack?”

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