Page 96 of Die for You

I freeze. A face. There for only a second before disappearing.

But someone was out there.

Someoneisout there.

Watching us.

Damien is the first to notice my reaction. “What?”

Tension shifts the air in the room, heavy with the smell of sex and sweat. My heart’s pounding for a different reason now.

A scream rips through the air.

But Aurora isn’t staring at the window. She’s pointing at something black and small crawling along the top of the dresser. “What isthat?”

“What the fuck is going on?” Damien stomps to the light switch and flips it on, illuminating the room.

“Fluffy,” I mutter, and grab him before Aurora can scream again, cradling him gently while I race to the window. Scan the waning light for any signs of him. Jeremiah fucking Crowder. But there’s nothing.

“What is it, Finn?” Aurora insists.

I rush for the bedroom door. “Face.”

Aurora pales, smile falling away. She straightens, glancing at the now-empty glass. “Oh my god. You saw someone watching us through the window?”

Damien wrenches the door open, and I don’t bother taking the time to answer. Jeremiah is fucking out there. He watched us fuck her. And we need to grab him before he slips through our fingers again.

Knox follows as Damien and I barrel out of the room. Our footsteps thunder like a stampede.

In the living room, Sienna, Luke, Juliet, and Trey watch a movie from the couch, volume blaring to drown us out. Trey andLuke jump to their feet when they spot us charging past, and I ditch Fluffy in Juliet’s hands.

“What’s going on?” Luke demands.

“Where the hell are you three going in a hurry? Did she manage to escape out the window?” Juliet lifts a pierced brow. “Fluffy, you scared her. You need to apologize.”

“Her ex,” Damien snaps. “He was watching us through the fucking window.”

“Oh my god!” Sienna gasps, racing to Knox’s room to find Aurora.

I’m out the door first. Knox and Damien hot on my heels with Luke and Trey right behind.

Five against one. This motherfucker doesn’t stand a chance.

Street lamps light up the sidewalk now. No movement around us. Luke and Knox circle behind the house while Damien, Trey, and I scope out the road and spaces between the cars parked along the sidewalks.

Nothing. No one in sight.

“Go back inside,” Trey growls when Juliet busts through the front door.

She ignores his order, Sienna and Aurora wrapped in each other’s arms as they hover in the doorway. Mirrored concern etched into their features. Sienna dealt with the same shit when she first got here. Not an ex, but someone who was out to get her. Sienna knows exactly what we’re dealing with.

And what she went through . . . what he might try to put Aurora through . . .

I can’t let myself think about it. If I do, I’ll show up at his doorstep and be the last thing he ever sees.

“What the fuck?” a husky, feminine voice screeches. “He slashed my fucking bike tires!”

The bike Juliet bought a few months ago so she and Trey could ride together. Both tires flat.