It was hard to be incognito in a collector’s car. Kallie crept along the main road to the grocery store, slowly like she had car trouble. No one bothered her, thankfully, though by the time she pulled into the parking lot she was a wreck. She’d been completely wounded by seeing her ex. He’d absconded with her money, with another woman no less. Common sense said that he should have flown far away, not driven a couple hours over to the next major city.

Sasha knows how to be in touch with him. She texted Sasha before getting out at the grocery store. It wasn’t something she could keep from him. Maybe she should have taken more time to put some thought into her message. She didn’t want to rile him and get him into trouble. On the other hand, she needed him to know what was going on. She had a bad feeling about all of this.

As for now, the only thing Kallie could do was put one foot in front of the other. If there was one thing she’d learned in the past year, it was that pain didn’t last forever. But neither did happiness, it seemed.

The grocery store in Ocean City was a novelty to her. It stocked a major array of fruits and vegetables, and then beach stuff, like tents, chairs, and towels, feeling more like a farmer’s market than a grocery store. There was a juicer on display in the produce section. Kallie was a sucker for the marketing, and suddenly having a juicer seemed like a great idea. She bought it and loaded up on perishables. She would make herself a power drink and attempt to run no matter how broadsided she had been by seeing Jeremy.

She had expected to get a response from Sasha, but she didn’t. If anything, she was relieved by that. If there had been anything to seriously worry about, he would have let her know. His silence made her feel like she was getting upset over nothing. She probably was. Mercifully, her day wouldn’t have to be demolished by some random upsetting event. After all, it was bound to happen sooner or later. She’d had a business that dealt with a broad slice of the public, scattered over a wide area. As soon as she ventured out, odds were she would run into people from her past. It could have happened at the bakery. That it happened here was just random chance. Odds were it wouldn’t happen again, at least not for a long time. Ocean City was big enough that they’d hardly cross paths again. To play it safe, she could get gas elsewhere. Problem solved. As for Jeremy’s accusations about Sasha? In retrospect, it all just sounded like so much sour grapes. Why was she doubting the man she loved? Especially at the word of a guy who had made a practice of lying to her.

Once home, Kallie downloaded an app that let her trace a route around town, so she could calculate a five-mile run. She mixed herself a fruit and vegetable beverage, suited up in her ball cap and running shorts, with a fanny pack for her keys and cash, then set out. Walk-running five miles took her away from home for about two hours.

She got to log in at some spots she wanted to check out and so rid herself of the strain of the morning. She returned home rejuvenated and pleased with herself. Five minutes after stepping out of the shower and dressing, a knock sounded on her door. She froze, suddenly frightened. It made no sense that anyone would be visiting her.

“Who is it?” she asked cautiously.

It wasn’t like her car was hard to miss in a small town. She could have pissed Jeremy off enough with the news that she wasn’t completely penniless to make him come looking.

“Police,” came the answer.

She peeked out the front window and not through the door. It looked like cops were at her door, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She texted Sasha that cops were at her apartment. Again, he didn’t answer, but in a flash she heard the apartment manager’s door open and close, then the footsteps of someone coming up the stairs to the apartment.

“Can I help you?” asked the manager.

Thankful that she wasn’t facing whatever this was alone, Kallie felt comfortable to open the door at that point. “Yes?”

“Why did it take so long to answer the door?” one of the cops asked.

“I just got out of the shower,” she said, gesturing at her hair that hung in a long, wet mass. She still held the towel in one hand.

“Ma’am, do you know an individual by the name of Jeremy Marwell?” the cop asked.

“Yes,” she replied, rolling her eyes. Great, he’d already filed a complaint against her. “I saw him at the gas station this morning.”

“Do you mind if we come in? We have a few questions for you.”

“No.” She didn’t like this. She wasn’t entirely sure of her rights, but she knew they needed a warrant to come in. Especially if she was being accused of something.

“I think she minds,” the manager corrected.

“What?” Kallie asked. “Wait. How did you guys get my address? Jeremy doesn’t know where I live.”

“We found your address on him,” the cop said, his face stern and unfriendly. “Do you know him, ma’am?”

“Yes. I used to be engaged to him. But that was practically a lifetime ago.”

“May we?” The cop motioned again to the apartment. Frustrated, but really having nothing to hide, Kallie sighed and nodded, stepping back out of the way.

The cops passed Kallie, and waited while she ushered in the manager and closed the door. She sure as hell wanted a witness for this. The manager looked at her sympathetically, and settled himself gingerly on an armchair that had seen better days while the cops took the couch. Somewhat unnerved, Kallie pulled in a kitchen chair for herself to sit on.

“Mr. Marwell is currently in the trauma ward at Atlantic General. We discovered him in a public parking lot about an hour ago. We thought he was intoxicated, but he’d just been severely beaten. Like I said, your name was on a piece of paper near him. It looked like he had it in his hand at one time.”

“I saw him about three hours or so ago. Before that, I hadn’t seen him in almost a year,” she explained, feeling the blood drain from her face. No... tell me he didn’t...

“You sound defensive.” The cop stared at her face.

“I’m not defensive. I want to be upfront with you. I hate Jeremy Marwell. I was getting gas, he was getting gas, and we acknowledged each other. That’s it.” Kallie crossed her arms, knowing she sounded defensive, but not caring. “I don’t even know how he knew where I lived.”

“Well, he knew it somehow,” replied the cop, his eyebrow raised in such a way that it was obvious he didn’t believe her.

“I’m telling you, he didn’t know where I live. I haven’t spoken to this guy in over a year. Nothing about my life is the same as it was when we split up. I never expected to see him again, in my lifetime.”

“But how do you suppose he got your address if that was the case?” the cop inquired, making a note on his pad.

“Well, he was interested in talking more to me, but I was not. I drive a pretty obvious car; a car that he admired by the way. I’m guessing he followed me or spotted me.”

The cop’s eyes glistened as they narrowed their focus on her. “You think he spotted your car and then took the time to write down your address?” he asked.

“I’ve been at the grocery store and on a five-mile walk around town. I’m sure there’s a way to back up all of that,” she said, collecting herself. She didn’t like the cop’s tone. It was like he was taunting her. It was tough not to lose it, because he was pushing her to. Kallie didn’t buy into it.

“What kind of car?” he asked.

The manager answered for her, “A Dodge Charger.”

“It’s new to me. My boyfriend just gave it to me,” Kallie added.

“Okay,” the cop commented, as though that was weird. Maybe it did seem a little odd. It was an expensive sort of gift for a girl living in a seedy apartment. She flushed, and watched as his pen sailed across his notepad, thinking he was writing far too much for the few questions that were asked and answered.

“This boyfriend,” the cop asked. “Where is he?”

“He’s back in Pikesville, just outside of Baltimore,” Kallie replied. “This is just my home away from home. I have a town home there.”

“Okay. So, you have no idea how Mr. Marwell got in the condition he was in?”

“None,” Kallie stated plainly. Kallie looked the cop directly in the eye.

“Lotta surveillance cameras in this town. I’m sure we’ll get lucky and figure it out. He could come out of it and just let us know.” He handed her his card.

“Let’s hope so.” Or not. What if Sasha did it?

“You hope we catch the person? Doesn’t sound like you two parted on good terms,” he said.

Kallie didn’t think it wise to describe the situation. None of this looked good if you stepped back and examined it objectively. She was starting to think she needed a lawyer. Where the hell was Sasha, and why hadn’t he texted back? She drew in a deep breath and told herself to calm down before she gave away something she shouldn’t. “It was a breakup. He found someone else. And so did I. He did leave me in a bad way, but I bounced back.”

“Okay then,” he said with a sigh. “Let me know if anything comes to mind.”

“I’m trying to understand,” she responded. “He’s in the trauma unit. Is he able to speak?”

“No, he’s not speaking clearly at the moment. We’re just doing our job.”

Kallie wanted to announce to the cop that she was in no way connected to Jeremy, and that if it was all the same she would rather be kept out of it. But she said nothing. The very fact that she’d argued with him rather publicly wasn’t going to go well for her if it came to light. Protesting her innocence too loudly would have the opposite effect. This she knew from experience.

As soon as the police were gone, Kallie wanted to confirm where Sasha really was. She’d just assumed he was in Baltimore, but he could be on the roof of the apartment building... she had no clue. She stared at the apartment manager, wondering if it had helped or hindered to have him there. “And you?” she asked finally. “What are you doing here?”

“Moral support,” he replied.

“You spy on the tenants, don’t you?”

“Am I going to get fired if that’s a yes?” he asked, and she almost laughed. Good God, she was in some kind of comedic farce.

“Just go,” she said, locking the door securely behind him after he left.

Kallie paced around the room, half-distracted, half-wild with fear. Was Sasha in Ocean City? What if he’d never left? Or if he had, could he have returned in time to beat the crap out of Jeremy? She didn’t like asking the questions, but was even more afraid of the answers. The problem was, she couldn’t find him to ask him. She called. He didn’t pick up. She texted what had happened. She expected a response of some kind. But nothing. This wasn’t like him.

Kallie resisted the urge to track him. To call all the places she knew he hung out. Hadn’t she just made a big deal out of trusting him? She was debating whether picking up the phone to call Sal would be stalker-like or not when the phone rang. It was Sasha.

“Hey,” he said very casually.

“Hey,” she said, biting her tongue before she said something she regretted. “Weird day,” she murmured, testing the waters, trying to figure out where he was and what kind of headspace he was in.

“Sounds like it,” he said coolly. “I got all your texts. I just wasn’t in a place where I could call you back.”

Something was wrong. His tone was off. His answers were too stiff.

The thought that Sasha might have come back to the beach to beat up Jeremy crossed her mind again. But, much as he could be threatening, the idea just didn’t seem right. Sasha was a big man, but not a violent one. He was way too careful for that. If he hurt Jeremy, he wouldn’t just leave him lying out so that he would get caught.

“Well,” he said very practically. “From the text you send me, about what happened, it’s not our problem.”

“That’s your reaction?” she asked, super-surprised. It wasn’t the answer she would have guessed in a million years. He wasn’t upset or impassioned in anyway. “By the way, he said you knew how to get in touch with him.”

He went quiet for a moment. “I guess I do, technically,” he responded, and she could almost see him shrug. “I guess I really do now. You said he’s at the hospital. Maybe I should go say hello.”

Now that sounded like the Sasha she knew. Still, Kallie couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it felt like he was being evasive; he was playing it way too cool. She found it was getting old that she defaulted to distrusting him. But it was an involuntary response for her to start doing the math as to whether he could be the guy who put Jeremy in the hospital.

She didn’t want to ask him where he went that morning. She assumed that when he left he went back into town, two hours away. Of course, he had just bought her building. That could mean a bunch of different things from ‘it was in the works’ to ‘it was a done deal.’ Even if he, Nikolai, and whoever else was in on the venture, signed everything they had to sign, and the money had changed hands, Sasha could very well be in town filing documents with the city. The truth was, when Sasha walked out the door, wherever that door was, Kallie had no way of knowing where he was headed.

“If it upsets you that much,” he said, almost in a monotone, “come back home. Or just keep your days really simple. Just veg out on the beach or by the pool. Furniture should begin arriving today or tomorrow. It has to come in batches.”

“So, you’re not weirded out by the fact that a guy I used to know pops back onto my radar and then gets hurt and has my address on him?” she asked, growing more uneasy by the minute.

“Jeremy is a head trip. Who knows? Ask yourself, did you have anything to do with it?” he asked her.

“No,” she replied. That was the problem; she knew she didn’t have anything to do with it. She was on the spot about whether he had. It didn’t sound like he had. It didn’t sound like he was even local.

“Do you want to have anything to do with it?”

“No, of course not!”

“So, can we let it go as much as we are able?” he asked very calmly.

She hesitated a minute. Could she just drop it? “Yeah,” she said finally.

“I know it’s tempting to give him power and to step into the drama, but I know for a fact we have enough excitement all by ourselves to go looking for any,” he counseled.

That’s true enough, she thought. It was tough to let it go, but she couldn’t really argue with him. “Hey, can you send me the furniture tracking numbers? I’ll focus on that,” she said suddenly, needing something to do.

“It’s not exactly an online deal,” he said with a laugh. “Dmitry and Alex are going to be in charge of all the furniture. I’ll send you pictures of the stuff I got. If you don’t like it, you get anything you want. I’ll just put your stuff in the next vacant apartment. You think about colors.”

“Okay,” she replied.

Very quickly, Sasha sent her pictures of the furnishings. They looked very much like the stuff in the townhouse. Very neutral sectionals. She could have any color she wanted on the wall. She took it over to her bed, flipping through paint possibilities.

Kallie took a good look at the apartment. There was no reason, if Sasha owned the entire building, why she couldn’t treat the whole apartment like a bedroom. An image of a large bed with a rustic head and foot board entered her mind, one to replace the bed that was in ruins from the night before.

Her chest tightened, and her breathing became unsteady, heaving more deeply in and out like the ocean did just a few yards from her place. The idea of sex with Sasha in any place was erotic in its very own way, apart from the actual physical act.

Scenes played out in her mind of the two of them together. Kallie was mesmerized as she watched Sasha in her mind’s eye, rolling around in bed with her, making love. She had watched in mirrors before as he took her, but she had to leave it to her imagination what he would look like entering her.

His body was so flawless, proportionate, so defined and clean. Her vision romanticized their sex, but it was hot and delicious make-believing just the same. She needed to put all that hot thinking away and plan instead for his return, that she could play it out in real life with him.

The beach had a row of antique shops and thrift stores. She wondered if she would find some things to furnish what she wanted to make into a boudoir for them.

He left her a credit card. It would be hard to totally surprise him, but she would try. He knew she was picking out a bed and he was buying it. She would have to simply dazzle him with her choice. She set out to the antique row in the oversized car, which was losing its charm fast. She decided she would give it back and settle for something practical. Kallie knew why he’d given it to her. She at one time insisted on driving his muscle car. She smiled at the memory.

She parked in a community parking lot. As she exited the car, a coldness washed through her. What if she was in the very lot where Jeremy had been discovered? Then she got paranoid that if she was found there, it might look bad for her. She shrugged it off and shopped.

It was really fun to know that she could buy anything she wanted, and that she was shopping for them...as a couple. She didn’t expect to find a suitable head and foot board, but she actually hit pay-dirt. One shop had several them. She told herself not to get impatient, just to get something.

She came across an extra-large bed frame made of ash, with a burnished finish. It had all the criteria that she’d been looking for. She just wasn’t sure if she liked it.

“I’ve been trying to get rid of that thing,” the shop person said from behind her. “You would be doing me a great favor if you took it.”

She knew a salesman’s come-on when she heard it, but she didn’t mind. There was probably a little truth to it. It was an unusually large bed frame, but then she had an unusually large man. Sasha’s master bed in the town home was extra-large. This bed would be perfect, the more she thought about it. “For free?” Kallie snarked, not expecting a serious answer.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he said cautiously, and she laughed.

“Do you deliver?” she asked, willing to play hardball.

The shop owner thought for a moment. “We do.”

“Any chance I could get this tonight? I’m just down the street, about a mile,” she said.

The shop owner thought this over. “Maybe,” he said. “Wondering about availability. I’ll be right back. I’ve got to check, if you’re sure you’re interested?”

“I am.” Kallie nodded. She actually felt overjoyed. She had no idea how happy buying this would make her. This would be the first domestic thing that she and Sasha bought together. It wasn’t until now that she realized this had been missing. Every place they shared together, even if for an hour, had already been put together. Nothing ever felt like home, like it was theirs. Buying this bed frame changed some of that.

She pulled out Sasha’s credit card and wrote down the apartment address. When the shop person returned and saw that she lived in an apartment, he hesitated. “Is the manager going to let us up?” he asked.

“Yeah, he will,” she replied, fairly sure that he would.

“Are you sure? Because we’ve gone all the way out to places. I happen to know this is a furnished outfit and they don’t like you bringing your stuff in with their stuff.”

“I didn’t know that,” Kallie replied. “But I swear it’s okay. My boyfriend owns the building.” She knew she sounded a little obnoxious when she said that, but it was awfully fun to say. And after the shop owner wrote up the ticket, she knew it’d been a dumb thing to say. The salesman couldn’t change the price of the bed because they’d already agreed on the deal and he’d discounted it as promised. But the cost of delivery was definitely inflated. If she weren’t so impatient for the bed, she would have protested it. It was a lesson learned.

Her next stop was to buy a mattress and then pick out bedding. She laughed at herself at how distracted she’d become in her errands, knowing that she was putting together one of the most critical pieces of furniture for her boyfriend and her. She loved being able to call Sasha that out loud. Boyfriend.

She texted Sasha to let him know she had a surprise for him. He didn’t answer. Yes, she’d been so spoiled by him that when he didn’t shower her with attention, she got impatient. It was a good thing to be aware of because that feeling right there was a lot of what motivated her to act on impulse.

Right after she contacted Sasha, the antique shop salesman called with disappointing news. He couldn’t deliver the bed that day after all, and wanted to know if he could deliver in the morning. Despite his word of honor, and that it didn’t make that much of a difference, Kallie felt sad about it. “Of course,” she said. “I’ll be here.”

She tossed and turned in her broken bed that night, not because it was uncomfortable really but because it was broken. The novelty of sleeping on the floor had worn off. And the bed just felt so empty without Sasha in it. She just knew would have another exhaustion hangover in the morning.

She finally crashed, and as things worked out for her the knock of the delivery men with her bed woke her up. Still no word from Sasha or anyone he knew. After the events of the day before with the cops and suddenly seeing Jeremy, she no longer believed she was just being paranoid.

The delivery guys dropped off the bed and were kind enough to take the old one away. Kallie had coordinated the mattress delivery, so the new set arrived minutes after the frame did. At least she had something to do until she heard from Sasha.

Now, though, it had been almost twenty hours since she’d last spoken to him. That had never happened in all the time she’d known him. From their very first meeting, he’d cooked up ways to call her or drop by until he offered her his vacant town home. Then the two times she’d run away, he was right behind her.

She texted his driver but he didn’t respond. She now became obsessed. She catastrophized. She imagined that Sasha and his driver were in a car accident somewhere and couldn’t let her know. She called Sal, but only got his voice mail.

Sasha had simply dropped off the radar.

It had been good medicine to focus on the bed and all the magic she and Sasha would share in it. She told herself she had just obsessed because the whole Jeremy thing had stressed her out. But that didn’t mean Sasha wasn’t going to get a huge lecture from her if he turned out to be okay.

Kallie busied herself with washing the linens she’d bought for the new bed. She strung a line across her balcony, so they could line-dry. She put the bed together easily, pushed the new box spring and mattress onto it, and made it up with sheets, which had dried in an instant in the beach sun.

It’d been just enough activity to take a cat nap. She did feel grateful for the needed sleep. It would kill some time at least. She went to bed the night before wanting to run this morning, but felt like she was going crazy by now and couldn’t even eat. Finally, just to have something to do, she tried out the new bed. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but she’d worn herself out with worry.

Kallie woke after an intense brief nap. No one had called her back. Something had happened—she knew it for sure. She would drive out to Pikesville, but was afraid she might cross paths with him and miss him. He knew how to be in touch with her if he could. She just had to wait.

That waiting turned the day into one of the longest ones of her life.