Page 88 of One Night Forsaken

And now, everything is different. Better. Whole.

Alessandra loves me, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

CHAPTER39

ALESSANDRA

The numbers on the page blur as my eyes cross.

My elbows thump on the desk, a wince stretching my lips as I drop my head in my hands. Though summer sales are better than any previous year, I hate how much the shop missed out on because imbeciles with a grudge clogged the café. Horrendous reviews aside—which I already contacted Google and Facebook about—I choose to see the positive in this whole fiasco.

Good always outshine the bad.

Ding. Bzzz.

I shuffle the papers on my desk in search of my phone. Tap the screen when I find it. “Holy crap,” I mutter, noticing it is after nine.

Braydon

Dad voted yes and smiled like a loon.

Laughing, I type out my response and hit send.

Alessandra

Don’t know your dad, but I like him.

The piercing sound of glass shattering jolts me in place. My fingers tighten around my phone as I rise from the desk and tiptoe toward the cracked office door.Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.My pulse thrums violently in my ears. I pause at the door and type out a quick message.

Alessandra

Heard glass break in the next room.

His response is immediate.

Braydon

Still in the café?

Alessandra

Yes. In the office.

Braydon

Alone?

Alessandra

A is upstairs.

Braydon

Stay put.

Shoes crunch glass while muffled voices float through the air. A splintering bang fills the silence and I flinch. Quietly, I close the office door and lock it. Tiptoe back to my desk and duck behind it. Pull up the keypad on my phone and dial 911. Press the speaker to my ear and make myself small on the floor. My phone buzzes in my hand as the call connects.

A raspy feminine voice states, “9-1-1. You’re on a recorded line. Please state your emergency.”

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