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kept their hands close to their sides and didn't touch anything. Probably because they wanted to get
good prints later when the police officer Kelly had requested arrived on the scene.
"How many floors?" Dimitri asked.
"Eight," I answered.
"There is no one else in the building but you?"
"Just me," I confirmed. "I had planned to look over the construction bids to get the renovations
started but I think I should postpone for a while."
Kelly's hand landed on my shoulder. "You can't let this stalker prevent you from living, Bee.
That's what he wants. You'll have to modify your life so we can keep you safe but don't stop your
long-term plans."
I caught Lev's interested gaze at Kelly's hand touching my shoulder. Something about the twitch
in his cheek told me that he didn't approve of the idea of Kelly mixing business and friendship.
When we reached my floor, I led them to the still ajar front door. Kelly carefully stepped in
front of me, putting his body between mine and the door. Dimitri shielded me from the side closest to
the fire exit I had used to rush out of the building. Lev entered my apartment first and spent a few
moments inside.
"All clear."
Kelly reached back and found my hand, dragging me along with him. We stopped in the middle
of the living area. Lev picked up my bike apparently it had fallen over when I'd run out of the
building and leaned it against the wall. "You left in a hurry," he rightly deduced.
"You could say that," I murmured, unable to look away from the menacing pink box.
A buzz startled me. Kelly's soothing hand rubbed my back and I managed to get my racing heart
under control. Pivoting back toward the door, I glanced at the screen mounted on the wall and then at
Dimitri who confirmed the man was friendly. I pressed the intercom button. "Yes?"
"It's Spike Carson with Lone Star Group."
"Come on up." I hit the button to let him inside and punched in the code to unlock the elevator
for him.
"We'll need to pull your security camera feeds," Dimitri said. "Hopefully they caught
something."
"Hopefully," I agreed and stepped away from the door. Not long after, the technician appeared
on my doorstep. He immediately came to the box that had been left for me and started talking with Lev
about the safety of it. After digging in one of the bags he'd brought up with him, he carefully swabbed
the box. Glancing at Kelly, I asked, "Is he swabbing for explosives?"
"Yes. We can't be too careful."
Thankfully the box tested negative for explosives and chemical residues. Kelly stepped forward
when Carson was done and snatched a latex glove from the opened kit. He pulled it on and jerked on
the big, white bow. He lifted the lid on the box and peered inside. Instantly, his jaw locked as the
harshest expression I had ever seen crossed his face.
As if fighting to control his temper, he asked, "Bee, do you do your own laundry?"
His question confused me. "Yes. Why?"
"You do it here?"
"Yes."
Kelly lobbed a look Dimitri's way. The ruggedly handsome Russian crossed the distance
between them and peered into the box. His reaction mirrored Kelly's. In fact, he looked pissed. "Miss
Langston, have you noticed any missing laundry?"
"Missing laundry? I& " My voice trailed off as a better picture started to form. "Last week I
thought I was missing some clothes but I just decided they must have gotten lost in the move or left
them behind at my old place." Suddenly, a terrible thought struck me. "Wait. Are my panties in that
box?"
Kelly jammed the lid back on the box. "Yes."
My stomach churned. "Just my panties?"
Kelly looked like he wanted to lie but he didn't. "Not exactly."
"What does that mean?"
His jaw worked back and forth. "It means we're going to need to have the contents DNA
tested."
Sickened by the realization that some creep had used my stolen undies to masturbate, I dropped
into the nearest chair. I felt so incredibly violated. Then another, even more terrifying thought hit me.
"My underwear didn't go missing until after I had moved in here. That means this freak was here,
what, ten days ago?" I tried to remember exactly when I'd noticed them gone. "Oh my God! How many
times has he been here?"
Kelly glanced around the apartment with a critical eye. "You can't stay here anymore."
"No, she absolutely cannot," Lev agreed. "We'll need to find a safer, more secure place for
her."
"I have an idea. Let me make a call." Dimitri dug his phone out of his pocket and moved to the
far side of the room. A few moments later, he started speaking in Russian.
Lev sat down across from me. "We need to begin your threat assessment."
"My what?"
"It's a way of cataloguing the threats that may exist against you," Lev explained. "So, obviously,
something like that," he gestured to the box, "suggests a boyfriend or lover. Let's talk about your
dating history?"
"Um& okay."
"Have you recently had a breakup?"
"No."
"Were any of your past breakups violent or messy or awkward?"
"No."
"Were any of your boyfriends possessive or jealous? Did anyone try to abuse you? Verbally or
physically," he added.
"No." I could feel Kelly's intent gaze on me. Could this be any weirder?
"And, if you'll excuse me," Lev offered an apologetic smile, "have you ever had a lover who
behaved inappropriately in bed?"
"Inappropriately?" Did he mean, like, rough sex? Spanking? Bondage? Deciding it didn't really
matter what he meant, I hurriedly answered, "No."
Lev smiled kindly. "It's all right, Miss Langston. You don't have to be embarrassed."
Face on fire, I avoided Kelly's curious stare. "Nothing inappropriate has ever occurred in my
bed. I sleep alone. Always."
"Oh. I see." Lev seemed a little surprised. Perhaps he didn't come across many members of the
V-Club my age. "Well. Then we'll skip those questions. What about admirers?"
Still refusing to look at Kelly, I said, "Well& I mean& I get the occasional weird messages on
my blog or via email but never anything that was strange enough for me to seek police protection.
This whole mess came out of left field, you know?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]