Page 20 of Die for You

He’s grinning from ear to ear now. Even Finn’s got a mischievous glint in his eye. “Sing louder so we can hear you better.”

“What the hell?” Aurora’s head swivels as she scopes out her apartment. “Are you in my fucking apartment?”

“Nope.”

“How can you hear me?” She darts to the window, peering out.

I close the distance between me and Knox. “You’ve got a beautiful voice, angel.”

“Shut the fuck up.” She ends the call, and we watch as she keeps searching the apartment to no avail.

With a small smile on her face.

Chapter 8

Aurora

Those motherfuckers are spyingon me. When I joked about them becoming my bodyguards, I didn’t thinkliteral stalkingandnonconsensual surveillancewere part of the job description.

I sing to myself in the bathroom while dressing. Last night, I examined every inch of this bathroom for a camera or a hidden microphone, but at least it seems like they had the decency to give me some amount of privacy in my own home.

You’ve got a beautiful voice, angel.

As much as I hate to admit it, the praise from Knox and Damien yesterday warmed something cold and lifeless inside my chest. Not that I would ever confess that to them. I will take that small truth to my grave.

When I leave the bathroom for the kitchen, a clatter stops me dead in my tracks.

What thefuck?

Someone is in my fucking apartment.

I retreat back into the bathroom, pulse thumping in my throat. Of course my fucking phone is in the kitchen. What the hell can I use as a weapon? Stab him in the eye with atoothbrush? Will mouthwash to the corneas distract him long enough that I can escape from the apartment?

Crouching, I dig in the chaotic mess under my sink as quietly as I can until I unearth the hairdryer that shit out on me a few days ago. Better than mouthwash, I suppose. At least I’ll have something to swing at that motherfucker’s head.

With every silent step I take down the hall, the clatter continues. What the hell are they looking for? Soon, soft humming starts to break through over the noise.

The intruder in my apartment ishumming? While breaking and entering to steal my shit? Oh mygod.

What the fuck kind of burglar?—

Before I round the corner into the kitchen, the scent of fresh, buttery pancakes and sweet maple syrup hits me.

Knox beams when he spots me, spatula in the air and a smear of flour across his forehead. “Hey! I made your favorite. Chocolate chip pancakes.”

A twisted sense of relief relaxes my shoulders that it isn’t Jeremiah. But I don’t lower the hairdryer from above my shoulder. Knox Rockefeller broke into my home. He’s clearly as unhinged as I assumed. “What thefuckare you doing in my apartment?”

“Making you breakfast.” His smile doesn’t falter.

This has to be a fucking joke. “You broke into my apartment to make mepancakes?”

“To makeuspancakes. I’m going to clear out at least six of these.” He nods to the stack beside him before he flashes an amused smile at my makeshift weapon like it’s a kitten. “Were you planning to murder me with a hairdryer?”

Finally, I lower my weapon. But I don’t drop it. Just in case. “I had already envisioned five different ways to kill you.”

“You’ll have to share the gory details with me while we eat.” He grabs our plates and carries them to the table like he lives here. “Take a seat.”

“Don’t act like you’re the host inmyhome.” Still, I take the seat among the assortment of chairs I managed to pluck out from a couple of yard sales. My mouth waters at the syrup dripping off the sides of that stack of pancakes. I grit my teeth. He obviously learned about my food preferences while monitoring me against my will. “And don’t ever break into my apartment again.”