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The phone is in my pocket and forgotten about before I make a conscious decision to sprint up the steps toward the sound, my hand poised on the gun in its holster beneath my jacket, ready to take out anyone who could be a threat to my woman.

I’m up the stairs in record time, but don’t pause until I reach Ember’s apartment, where she’s standing in the doorway, her hands covering her mouth as if it’s the only way to stop herself from screaming again.

I take in her body, checking she doesn’t have any obvious injuries before allowing my gaze to track over her apartment and find exactly what has the look of terror on Ember’s face.

It’s trashed.

The flowers I bought her yesterday are spread across the floor and trodden on, the vase smashed. Her table and chairs are beyond repair, splintered wood covering the kitchen, along with what I assume is every plate, bowl, and glass broken.

It only gets worse the further into the apartment my eyes move, and I take a step past her to put myself between any danger that could still be lurking.

I pull my gun out, doing a quick sweep of the apartment, checking everywhere someone could hide until I’m satisfied there’s no one else here.

“You have a gun?” she whispers.

I nod, but don’t bother explaining. I don’t have a lie prepared for why I need to walk around armed, but she drops it without any other questions as she steps inside, closing the broken door.

Whoever came here didn’t have a key, and from what I can tell, they didn’t even try to pick the lock. No. They wanted to do as much damage to Ember’s safe place as possible.

Now that I’m certain there are no lurking threats, I take the time to look around, and I pause in her bedroom doorway, taking in the sight in front of me.

“Oh my god,” Ember sobs.

Every piece of bedding is torn to pieces, her mattress gaping open, and a clear as day message in bold red above the head of the bed.

WHORE.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

EMBER

Who would do this?

Who would break into my apartment and ruin…everything?

As far as I can tell, there’s nothing that hasn’t been destroyed. Not a piece of clothing or a single glass. Everything is beyond saving, which means I have nothing.

Not a single thing.

Tears roll against my cheeks as Orion guides me to the bathroom, where the destruction is slightly less severe, but only because I don’t have that much in here.

He sits me on the closed toilet seat and drops down into a crouch in front of me. “Stay here for me, Little Flame. I’m going to have another look around to see if they left any other messages.”

“I should come with you.” I move to stand, but his strong hands clamp down on my knees.

“No, baby. Stay here. I won’t be long.”

“We should call the police.”

His face tightens for a moment before nodding. “I’ll call them now. But I need you to stay here. I don’t want you cutting yourself on any of the broken glass or coming across any traps they’ve set for you.”

The blood drains from my face. Is that possible? Would someone really set a trap to harm me?

I mean, I guess it makes sense. They did break into my apartment and tear it apart, so why would that surprise me?

Orion doesn’t wait around for a response, instead moving back into the bedroom and beyond while I try to figure out who could be behind this.

Was it the same person who followed me this afternoon?