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The thought made me smile, although only briefly. Because she wasn’t upstairs. Couldn’t be upstairs until this fucker was caught. Scrubbing my hands over my face, I pushed my car door open and stopped.
The idea of cooking a meal for only myself was too fucking depressing to contemplate. I’d get takeout. There was a great noodle place just down the street. If I got enough for two nights, I wouldn’t need to cook tomorrow night, either.
Moments later, as I walked down the street, I felt my skin prickle uncomfortably. I glanced over my shoulder, and out of nowhere, my heart started beating hard. Painfully hard. Making me need to catch my breath. Was I being watched? Followed? Was the hacker behind me right now? Or was that him across the street? The guy in the dark hoodie and faded jeans. Looking at me right now. Taunting me. Someone let out a high-pitched squeal, and the guy turned away, his face splitting into a smile as a young blond woman ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck.
I shook my head and quickened my pace, trying to shake off the paranoia.Get a fucking grip.
The noodle place was practically empty, which made me feel relieved. Stupid, I know. As though the hacker would be interested in me buying mee goreng.
I got what I needed and headed back to my condo as quickly as possible. Only to find Rhett sitting on the couch, nursing a beer.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Pleased to see you, too, Gray.”
I huffed out a breath of irritation and headed into the kitchen, dropping the dinner on the counter.
“Now I know you’re fucked.” Rhett came into the kitchen, eyeing the bag of takeout.
“What do you mean?”
“I came by your office and Sarah said you’d already left for the day. Unprecedented. Now this.” He waved his hand at the noodles, looking for all the world like they were a landmine.
“What have you got against noodles?”
“Nothing. I fucking love noodles, in fact. Give me a steaming bowl of spicy ramen any day, and I’m a happy man.” Going to the fridge, he pulled out a bottle of beer, pointing it at me. “You, on the other hand…I can’t remember the last time you got takeout. What gives?”
I shrugged. “Just didn’t feel like cooking.”
Rhett opened the bottle and slid it across the counter. “Would that have anything to do with a blue-haired siren, who lives to see you smile?”
Yes, everything.But there was no way I was saying that. I took a swallow of beer and shrugged again.
Surprisingly, he let me off the hook, riffling through the bag and pulling out a box of Pad Thai. “It’s not ramen, but it’ll do. The game’s on in a few minutes. We can watch that while we eat. On the couch.”
I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me with the idea of eating on the couch, but I didn’t have the energy for it. “What game?”
“Fucking hell, you’re a lost cause. It’s the Yankees versus the Red Sox.”
Honestly, I really couldn’t have given two fucks about a baseball game, but as Rhett moved about the kitchen, grabbing cutlery and plating up the noodles, I realized what he was doing. Not letting me be alone, to wallow in my frustration and misery. He was a careless asshole most of the time, but I actually felt a surge of gratitude for him as I followed him into the living room.
He didn’t say much during the game. Not even when I pulled the burner phone from my pocket and sat there staring at it, fighting the almost overwhelming urge to phone Stef. But his presence got me through yet another long, lonely night.
CHAPTER 43
Stefania
Itook a sip of wine, waiting for Scarlett to finish reading today’s round of texts from the hacker.
“It’s just so bizarre, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I’m getting a few hundred a day now and they’re so random.”
“Yeah, they are. Like, who cares if he just made a really nice grilled cheese sandwich?”
That actually made me laugh. “Well, a good cheese sandwich is pretty special.”
“You know what it is for me?”