Page 42 of Accidentally in Bloom

“Fine.”

“Did you see anybody come in? Hear anything?”

“I can’t hear anything with you chattering in my ear.” She enjoyed the distraction of his incessant questions instead of thinking of somebody sneaking up behind her.

“Tell me word for word what he said.”

Rose relayed the conversation, focusing on the facts. Her eyes scanned the front windows and hallway for any additional movement. She saw Gray’s SUV slam into park in front of Bloom. He ripped open the door, and Rose let out a breath of silent gratitude.

Her aggravating, pig-headed knight was here to save her.

“Thanks. I feel so stupid,” Rose admitted. He walked confidently through the showroom, winding through the boxes and tables that littered the floor.

“You’re just being safe.”

“I know. It’s just—”

“Scary,” he said. “Stay here. I’m gonna do a quick once over.” His brows drew together in concern. “And then I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Are you going to defeat them with your penis powers? I’ll come with you.” She marched toward the back door. “Two is better than one, even if one of them happens to have a vagina.”

“I’ll have you know I’m quite adept in hand-to-hand combat.” He threw open the supply doors as she did the same to the office.

“Yeah? You come across a lot of thieves in flower farming?” She opened the cooler they’d been trapped in earlier that day.

Gray opened the door down to the basement. It was still probably haunted by the souls of a thousand demons. At least, that’s what she thought as a child when she’d have to stay here late into the night with her father.

He took two steps down, shining his flashlight on his phone through the dark and dusty corners of the basement. “You don’t know everything about me.”

“Please spare me the details of the saga of Gray Roberts.” They walked up the staircase to the third-floor apartment. That door made her most nervous, though she probably would have heard somebody walking around.

“I’ve been in more than my share of fistfights, thank you very much.” He opened the door and craned his neck, shining a light around. “I think we’re safe.”

They walked back down the staircase and stood at the bottom, not meeting each other’s eyes in embarrassment.

She tried to bite out a genuine thank you. “Thanks for coming.”

As his eyes caught hers, an overwhelming sense of dread gripped her. Her heart started pounding again. A wave of nausea rolled through her, and Rose felt like she was dying.

Excellent. Just a perfectly well-timed panic attack. She loved it when they popped up out of fucking nowhere.

“Rose, you okay?”

Rose did what she normally did to make a panic attack pass faster. She dropped down into a ball, placed her palms on the ground, and tried to push the thoughts away.

You’re dying.

You can’t breathe.

No one will care that you’re dead.

She tried to suck in air, but her lungs stayed still.

“Rose, what’s wrong?” Gray knelt beside her, his hand resting on her back. “Did you see something?”

Maybe this was it; maybe she was actually dying this time. Her dad had died of a heart attack. Maybe she would die even younger.

Rose’s head swam as she looked down, her vision blurring as she focused on her hands. Just count what you see. One finger, two fingers, three fingers...

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