Yes, Masters (Book 2 of Desire's Den)

Chapter 13 - Emma

And I had hoped I could fix this myself, what an idiot I was.

This isn't fair, I sobbed. My body curled into itself as if that would somehow make me feel safer—it didn't. I cried until the tears ran dry, and only then did I finally find the strength to get up and inspect the door.

The door to my apartment was the only possible way to get inside. I didn't bother to check the window leading to the fire escape because it could only open from the inside out. So, he couldn't have gotten in that way unless he broke the window, which I would've noticed.

My swollen eyes scanned the entire door and door frame, but I couldn't find anything indicating that someone had broken inside. That, more than anything else, scared me. Because that meant that this person either had a key or he'd lock-picked. I hated both of those possibilities. If he had a key, then...he would've had access to either mine or my landlord's—or the guys'. But if he could lock-pick, then it meant that it wouldn't help to change the locks.

I sagged against the door frame, feeling mentally and physically exhausted. I couldn't think clearly, and the thoughts I did have, were too frightening for me to look too closely at. I was already scared enough; I didn't need to add more on top of it. Not tonight, at least.

With a broken sigh, I heaved myself up from the wall, grabbed the only chair in my apartment, and wedged it underneath the door handle. I had already locked the deadbolt and door bolt into place, but I needed something extra to feel safer.

After it was done, I made sure I had a knife and my self-defense tools on the nightstand.

Even as I sat down on the bed, I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. I was too tense and anxious for that.

Someone had broken into my apartment and violated my own space. No matter what the officer had said, this wasn't a prank. No one would go to these extreme lengths just to mess with someone for laughs.

Why me? I didn't get it. I was so anonymous it wasn't even funny. Besides Kevin, Callan, Mateo, and Gideon, I wasn't close with anyone, especially not close enough to get this kind of attention. I didn't have an ex-boyfriend or some ex-friend who would've been crazy enough to do something like this.

My mind couldn't comprehend any of this. It was so far out there, so unreal, that I couldn't believe it was happening to me.

The night was brutal. I was in a constant state of stress, and my body was locked in my position on the bed. I listened to any sounds from outside; the creaking of the floors in the hallway, doors opening and closing, voices...anything that would hint at me being unsafe. It didn't help that the slight breeze from when I walked home yesterday had turned into what sounded like a storm, making the walls creak as well. 

With my overactive brain, the combined noises made it seem like I was in a horror movie. I kept envisioning someone outside my door waiting for me to fall asleep. I didn't sleep at all, not even a minute.

Instead of sleeping, I focused on making a list of suspects— people I needed to look into and learn about. The first few names were easy, given each had shown some interest in me, and I didn't have a close relationship with any of them.

Then I moved on to the next ones, and they hurt my soul to write up. These were people in my life who I cared for to varying degrees. I wrote the names with a hesitant hand, feeling like I betrayed each one by making them a suspect.

And then it was the last one...

11. Kevin

I stared at his name, hating myself for ever writing it down. Furious that I would even think so badly about my best friend. I fully believed that if soul friends existed, he would be mine. And yet...the thought that most crimes against a victim were done by someone they were close to had too much of a grip on my paranoia to let him get the benefit of the doubt.