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And perhaps that’s what he was hoping for.

So I reached for the door handle and swung the door open as wide as I could before he had a chance to say or do anything else.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked, keeping my voice as steady and free of disgust as possible.

He answered with a nod and a friendly smile, and I slammed the door shut. I shot him a wave and could see how his jaw ticked with irritation.

All friendliness was gone as soon as the dark tinted windows shadowed his expressions. His body was still stiff and the way that his hands curled around the wheel too tightly was a little unnerving.

Theo wasn’t just upset at my rejection.

He was angry.

And that meant he was a dangerous man.

As soon as I was out of his sight and inside the elevator, I put a shaky hand to my chest, trying to steady my breathing. And when the elevator door opened, I checked the halls for people before sprinting towards my door, fumbling until I was inside my apartment.

And for once, I locked every single door and window.

21

ASHE

Why she chose the rainiest,coldest night since we met to finally start locking her doors—I had no idea.

I stood out on her balcony in the drizzle, watching her for longer than a sane person would. She wasn’t herself, and I could tell that almost immediately.

By the time I had stumbled onto the balcony tonight, she was showered, dressed and splayed out on the living room floor surrounded by books, her computer, and a bottle of wine.

All the lights were on, though, when usually she operated off the dim, warm lamps that were scattered around the apartment.

After getting my fix of watching her blissfully unaware of my presence, I knocked on the glass door, knowing that she seemed far too on edge tonight for me to just break the lock and slide in.

And I was glad that I did. Because when I knocked on the balcony door, Zarina jumped.

She flinched.

Unaware that I was there for probably the first time in the history of my light-hearted stalking of the woman. But when her eyes settled on me, I watched as her body relaxed, almost crumpled in a way that made my chest hurt. It had me barrelling through the door as soon as she flicked the lock to let me in, and I pulled her hard against my chest.

I didn’t know what was wrong, but my hands still vibrated with the need to violently squeeze whatever or whoever it was that made her like this.

We stood like that for a little while with not so much as a greeting. I held her and she let me hold her, and then I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

I waited until she was the one to pull away, but when she did, I wished that she hadn’t.

Fuck, how pathetic I was for this woman.

She retreated back to the nest she had created without a word. I sat opposite her, crossing my legs as best I could so that I could fit into the small space without crowding her.

Zarina slid one of the open books towards me and pointed at a smiling portrait of a pimply-faced teen boy.

“Dreamy,” I nodded, glancing up at her.

She smiled, but it was half-hearted.

“That’s William Peck.”

I arched a brow.