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I pick up my phone.

ME:

I want Crawley destroyed. No one threatens us and gets away with it.

ELIJAH:

I’m on it. This man has buried a lot of bodies.

ME:

Make sure they’re all uncovered.

ELIJAH:

This is my speciality. Trust me. I’ve got her back.

ME:

Thank you

I drag myself off the floor and turn to leave, noticing the book April borrowed from my library. I smile and move over to her bedside table. A pressed flower bookmark sticks out of the top, marking her page. No folded pages. Even the spine looks untouched. She has taken such care of the book. This is what I want to do for her. Take care of her. I need to work out how, without being a stalker.

Removing imminent threats is one way, but that’s behind the scenes. I need to find a way to show her I’m in this for the long haul.

I place the book back on the side. As I make my way downstairs, my phone pings.

SAMUEL:

Has something happened?

I smile at the message. Samuel, is messaging meto find out what is going on. Even with him, her bestie, she has walls. Walls he wants gone as much as I do.

ME:

Sir Leonard Crawley.

That is all I type, wondering if Samuel has an inclination about what that man means to April.

SAMUEL:

Shit. Is she okay?

ME:

His name means something to you?

Three dots appear and disappear before my phone rings.

“He was bad news at the club—shit,” Samuel says. It’s then I realise he has no idea I know about April’s exotic past.

“It’s all right, I know all about Merryfellows.”

I’m rewarded with a sigh.

“She told you?” Samuel asks.

“No, I’ve always known.”