My breath hitched.Why did he feel so familiar?
The cold morning air suddenly felt stifling, my heart pounding as I turned toward the stairs, forcing myself to walk, not run.I had to act casual. He was a stranger, not a criminal. I didn’t want to show fear.Didn’t want to assume the worst.
But with every step I took, Ifelt his eyes on me.
And deep in my gut, I just knew this wasn’t a coincidence.
Reaching for my phone in the pocket of my leggings, my stomach dropped. I’d left it in the car. Panic tore through me, sharp and immediate.
I avoided the elevator, and just as I reached the top of the stairs, a sinking feeling made me glance down.
He was walking up after me.
Deep breath, Tate. Deep fucking breath.
He could be a visitor.
He could be heading to another apartment.
He’s not here for you.
Except when he looked up, our eyes met for the briefest second.
And I knew those cold blue eyes.
Malice. Intent. A darkness I’d seen before.
It was him.One of the robbers.
He had come for me.
I turned on instinct, running for my apartment door.
I barely had time to slam the door shut before I heard a bang that rattled the whole frame.
Then another.
He was trying to break in.
I fumbled with the lock, twisting the dead bolt just as the next hit crashed against the wood, so loud it felt like the whole building shook.
Think. Think, Tate.
My grocery bags slipped from my hands, the garlic rollingacross the kitchen floor with a hollow sound. I didn’t stop to pick them up. I didn’t stop for anything.
I bolted down the hall, through my bedroom, pushing through the bathroom door and slamming it shut behind me. I barely got the lock flipped into place before a deafening crack echoed from the living room.
He was inside.
I pressed my back against the cold tile, trying to breathe through the panic rising in my throat. My hand covered my mouth, but it did nothing to stifle the ragged gasps.
Another crash.
Another.
I wasn’t going to be so lucky this time. Griffin wasn’t here to save me. No one was.
CHAPTER 34
