Page 127 of Capturing You

He was off the couch before she got it unlocked. He grabbed her wrist and, with the other hand, snatched her cell, which he pocketed. “There’s no need for that.” When he settled his free hand on her shoulder, she shrank away.

A look of hurt crossed his features. He slid her backpack off her shoulder—including the book she had stored inside—and set it on a side chair.

“I want my phone back.” She held her hand out. “Now. Or I’ll scream. Jewel will hear me. She’ll call the police and have half the town up here in a matter of seconds. And if you think for one hot minute that I won’t press charges, you’re even crazier than I thought.”

He blinked. Lips pursed, he held her phone out to her, and she snatched it, gripping it tightly.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he said. “That’s all.”

“I’m actuallynotokay when I come home to find a man in my apartment. Get out.”

“Stop being ridiculous. It’s just me.”

Just him. As if that should make her feel better.

What should she do? Scream or dial 911 and alert everyone that she was here—potentially including the men who’d tried to kill her?

Or try to get Lenny to leave without making a scene?

She’d hear him out for now, but she wasn’t ruling out calling the police or screaming. She’d do what she had to do.

“How did you know I was home?” she asked. “And don’t tell me the light tipped you off. It’s not even dark out yet.” Her gaze flicked to the windows. The sun was already setting? She’d been gone longer than she’d realized. Even so, that dim living room light wouldn’t show through the windows.

Lenny shifted from foot to foot, looking less like the tough cop he was and more like a little boy who’d been caught misbehaving. “I was worried about you, that’s all. I want to protect you.”

“How, Lenny? How did you know?”

He looked at her front door, which led to an outside staircase in the back of the building. “I uh…” He swallowed. “I installed a camera so I’d know when you got back.”

“Where exactly?”

“There’s one above that door, and one”—his gaze flicked to the interior staircase—“in the gallery facing the stairs.”

Fury set her hands trembling. “Where in my gallery exactly?”

“It’s a small camera. I installed it on the bottom of one of the frames on the door. When the door moved?—”

“Let me get this straight. You were ‘worried’ about me”—she added air quotes to emphasize how ridiculous it sounded—“so you spied on me?”

“It’s not spying. It’s not like I installed them in here.”

“But youarein here. So how do I know that? How do I know you haven’t put them in my kitchen or my bedroom?”

“I would never!” His eyes popped wide, then narrowed. “You know me better than that.”

“Do I? The man I thought I knew wouldn’t break into my apartment or install cameras to watch me. How’d you get in?”

The little boy was back. “I…it’s a little lock-picking kit. I just… What if you were in here and hurt, or worse? I needed to know.”

“If you thought that, then why not enter legally? Tell Jewel your worries and ask her for the key?”

The answer was obvious. He wanted to see her. He wanted to wait for her and corner her. Again, the thought brought to mind a spider, sending shudders down her spine.

“Everyone else believed your story,” he said, “that you had gone someplace safe. But I didn’t buy it.”

“Why?”

“Because…because you’ve got a life here. I didn’t see you just taking off.”