Jeremy
I’d gone for another run after I’d finished work and was having a shower when I thought I heard a thumping sound. Sticking my head out of the shower, I listened for the noise again, wondering whether someone was knocking on my door. But then I remembered aside from my sister Harper and her boyfriend Nate, I didn’t really know anyone well enough for them to knock on my door.
Shutting off the water, I stepped out of the shower and dried off, then I heard the thumping again. What was that? Yanking on a pair of pants, I went in search of the banging noise, only to realise it was coming from next door. Or rather, it was someone knocking on Kenzie’s door.
I opened mine and looked down the hall. The lights in the building were terrible, nothing more than a soft glow, almost like safety lights. There was a tall, dark figure pounding on Kenzie’s door, but she didn’t appear to be home. Or she wasn’t answering the door for a reason.
I couldn’t see the figure very well, but there was no doubt in my mind that stupid son of bitch was back. “Can I help you?”
“Just looking for Kenzie,” he said, glancing my way. He straightened, stood tall, and pushed his shoulders back, realising who I was. “You?”
“Doesn’t look like she’s home, man. So maybe lay off the door. She’s not the only apartment in this building. You’ll piss off a neighbour.”
Me. He was pissing off me.
“Where is she?”
“Don’t know.”
“Is she in there?” He pointed at my door.
“Ah…no. We’re just neighbours. She’s not here.”
He stepped toward me, and I could clearly see his features. His jaw was set, his mouth pressed in a firm line. Fists clenched.
Come on. Really?
Who did he think he was? I didn’t have to explain myself to him. I told him I hadn’t seen her. He just needed to get the hell out of there and leave Kenzie alone.
“Didn’t look like you were just neighbours the other night,” he said, moving closer still, until he was right in my space.
Anyone else would step back, but I wasn’t anyone else. I wasn’t intimidated by him. I could take him if I really wanted to, so I stood my ground. “And what the hell does that mean?”
“That means the way your hands were on each other, the way she sat on your lap like the slut she is—”
He didn’t get to finish what he was saying. I gripped his collar and shoved him across the hall into the opposite wall. The satisfying thud his head made when it connected with the plaster made me smile. Bracing one arm across his neck, cutting into his air supply, I leaned in close, until my mouth was right next to his ear. I spoke, low and slow, so the piece of shit would get it through his head. “Back off. She’s told you to leave her alone. So now I’m telling you. If I see you around here again, I’ll make you suffer so fucking much you’ll be wishing for her brother’s beating, just for a reprieve.”
He swallowed hard and grit his teeth. Pushing me away, he laughed. “You don’t scare me.” After fixing his collar and smoothing a hand through his hair, he walked away. “I’ll see you again soon, I’m sure.” His laughter echoed all the way down the hall.
There was something wrong with that guy. Seriously wrong. He was worse than I’d thought. I walked back into my apartment and slammed the door. Unsure of what to do, I grabbed a beer from the fridge and collapsed on my sofa. Did I call Kenzie, since I had her number, and tell her he was here? Or should I leave it alone and wait to see what happened next? I didn’t want to freak her out, but alarm bells were ringing in my head.
How the hell did he know what happened the other night? Was he spying on her? But how? I tried to think whether there were any windows or curtains left open that he could have been looking through, but in all honesty, I wasn’t paying any attention to the apartment or the window furnishings. I was solely focused on the feisty blonde with a cute ass instead.
I decided to send Kenzie a text. I didn’t want to alarm her, but I wanted to make sure she was prepared in case he showed up again.
Jeremy: Are you home?
I waited with my phone in my hand like a teenage girl waiting for the popular boy at school to call her.
Kenzie: Jeremy? Why are you texting my sister?
Ryder? Why was I texting his sister? Why was he texting me back and not her?
Jeremy: Ryder?
Kenzie: Obviously. Why are you texting my sister?
I typed out a text to ask him why he was replying and not his sister but figured it could go on all night. Instead, I bit the bullet and called Kenzie’s phone. Maybe she’d hear it ring and answer it herself.
“Why are you calling my sister?” Ryder answered.
“Is she there? Can I speak to her?” I walked over to my window and opened it.
“No,” he growled into the phone. I’d met the guy once or twice and knew from Harper that he was really protective of his sister and nephew, so it didn’t really surprise me that he wouldn’t let me speak to her.
“No, she’s not with you, or no, I can’t speak to her?” Sitting on the ledge, I lit a cigarette.
“She’s with me. But you can’t speak to her.”
Figured that much.
“Why not?” I brought the beer to my lips and swallowed the cool, bitter liquid.
“How’d you get her number?” He answered my question with his own. He wasn’t going to give me anything until I told him why I called.
“I live next door. I gave her my number to call in case Chace shows up again, so she doesn’t have to call you all the time. She’s worried you’ll get locked up.” I decided to go with the truth.
Ryder grunted. “Did he show up tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit. And?”
“I got rid of him.”
“So, why are you bothering my sister with it?” I inhaled more nicotine, allowing it to soothe my nerves. I was still jittery and itching to beat Chace’s face in.
Damn it. I wasn’t stupid. There was no way I could tell him what Chace somehow managed to see the other night. But I had to tell him something. I knew he deserved to know, and if I was in his position, I wouldn’t want it to be kept from me.
“I think he’s watching her,” I said softly, almost hoping he wouldn’t hear the words coming from my mouth.
“Like spying?”
“Yeah.”
“Explain.” Man, the guy really wasn’t one for small talk.
“He just said something that made me wonder if he could see Kenzie when she was at home.”
“What?”
“What?”
“What did he say?” Ryder repeated slowly, as if I was stupid.
I pinched the bridge of nose and groaned. I wasn’t about to admit I had my hands in his sister’s hair and my tongue down her throat. I was kind of fond of having my balls attached to my body. So, I took a gulp of beer and skimmed over some details. “He called her a slut for eating pizza with me.”
That didn’t sound so bad.
“He what? Tell me everything.”
“I just did. He was bashing on the door. I told him to leave because she wasn’t home. He accused me of having her in my apartment, so I told him we were just neighbours, then he said, it looked like more than just neighbours sharing a pizza a few nights ago with—”
“You…” Ryder growled. “Yeah, we’ll get back to that in minute. For now, focus on Chace.”
“And that’s it. He mentioned something else about her being a slut, and I lost it.” I stubbed out my cigarette and closed my window.
“What did you do?”
“I shoved him into the wall and threatened him. Told him if he showed his face around here again, he’d wish it was you using him as a punching bag and not me. I may have cut off some of his air supply at the same time.”
Ryder barked out a laugh. “Good.”
“I just wanted to tell Kenzie to be more careful and to maybe avoid her apartment for a few days. The guy is a nutcase.”
“Tell me about it. Thanks for looking out for her, though. Now…back to this pizza you shared with my sister?”
Shit.
I thought I’d gotten away with it. Escaped without his notice. No such luck. It wasn’t like I was afraid of the guy. He was younger than I was, but there was something about him that made me cautious. I liked his sister and didn’t want to piss him off.
“It was nothing. I came back from a run and noticed Chace harassing her, so I came up with an excuse to get Kenzie away from him.”
“Uh-huh. And that excuse was what? Pizza’s getting cold?”
I chuckled. “Nah, man. The pizza came after. I didn’t want to leave her alone in case he came back more pissed than he was when we left him on the street.”
Ryder cleared his throat but remained silent as though waiting for me to continue.
“We ate pizza and talked. That was it.”
And kissed. Twice. Then a hell of a lot more in my dreams, but I wasn’t admitting to that.
“Okay. Well, I’ll be sure to let Kenzie know you called.”
“Can I speak to her?”
“She’s sleeping.”
I couldn’t deny I was disappointed, but I was glad to know she was safe and not alone in her apartment.
“Okay, just tell her I called,” I said, pulling my phone away from my ear to hang up when I stopped. “Oh, and, ah…I have a proposition for you. Kenzie thought you might be interested, so do you think maybe we could meet for a beer and have a chat one night?”
“Yeah, sure. Saturday at the roadhouse. I know Johnny keeps a stash of beer under the counter.”
“Saturday, then.” I hung up, smiling. He knew about Johnny’s beer fridge under the counter. He would be perfect to help manage the place.