After a drink of lukewarm beer, Bellamy excused herself from the group and the basketball player who’d been breathing down her neck, hopeful for a kiss. He was handsome and smelled nice, but it would take more than good looks and expensive cologne to woo her. Amy had set them up tonight. He was friends with her flavor of the month and had mentioned he liked studious girls. To her aloof roommate, it seemed a match made in heaven, and perhaps it would have been, if he’d been serious about school himself. So far, their conversations centered around him, basketball, and what his plans were after college. The other girls fawned over him, laughing at his immature jokes. When the flirting began, Bellamy took that as her cue to leave.

Her experience with relationships had been limited, and her encounters with sex, even more so. Certainly, she’d had opportunity, but the desire was never there. Bellamy needed more. More intellect. More charisma. More ingenuity. She wasn’t a virgin, but refused to count the bad experience with her high school boyfriend as her first time. At fifteen, neither one of them was ready and the onslaught of feelings had been overwhelming. They broke up soon after, and Bellamy promised herself she would wait until she was older and wiser. She’d dated around in college, but hadn’t found anyone worthy to spend her time on. Every guy she’d encountered seemed juvenile and self-absorbed. Perhaps her dad was right about the type of person she would attract. Not a guy, but a man.

“What’s wrong? He thinks you don’t like him,” Amy said from behind.

“Maybe I don’t.” She flipped a soda open and took a long drink.

Amy’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? Have you looked at him? He’s gorgeous.”

“He’s nice looking. But there’s no substance.”

“There doesn’t have to be substance for you to screw. Just a connection.”

Bellamy shrugged. “There’s not even that. I thought you said he was into studious girls? I tried to discuss whether or not Satan was the true hero in Paradise Lost and he didn’t even know what I was talking about.”

“Seriously?” Her eyes rolled. “Do you have to bring that book up in every single conversation with the opposite sex?”

“I told you, it’s my litmus test. If he can discuss Milton or other classic literature, then we can have a second date. If not, I’m done.”

“You may be the pickiest person I’ve ever met, but one thing’s for sure, you won’t be getting any action tonight.”

“And I’m totally fine with that.”

Amy’s boyfriend, Zane, waved from across the room and jogged over, planting a long, lingering kiss on her lips. “Hey, babe. How’s my sexy girl?”

“Better now that you’re here.” Paying no mind to Bellamy, she kissed him again, this time longer.

When they finished, Zane looked at Bellamy and wrinkled his forehead. “Bella, you didn’t like Lucas?”

“It’s Bellamy. And he’s nice. I’m just tired from my trip today and not very good company.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda tired myself,” Amy agreed. “Think we’re gonna head home. Maybe after the party, you could swing by?”

“And stay over?” he hinted.

“Of course.” She winked.

As they began another make-out session, Bellamy rolled her eyes and sighed. “I’ll be in the car, Ams.”

An hour later, Bellamy slid the key into the lock of their apartment to let them inside. The instant she opened the door she sensed danger, and Luci’s absence confirmed something was off. No matter the time of night, her sweet dog always greeted them with a bark and a sniff at their feet, curious about where they’d been. Tonight, Luci was nowhere to be found.

“Fucking A, I forgot my sweater.” Amy moved to turn on a lamp. “I’ll give Zane a call and—”

“Shh,” Bellamy hissed. “Get behind me.”

“What?”

Instead of answering, Bellamy stepped in front of the petite blonde and then slid a hand inside her oversized purse. With ease, she flipped the safety off the Glock 9mm. She’d had a conceal to carry permit since she was eighteen and she wasn’t afraid to use a gun to protect herself or her friend.

Fear pounded her heart as she thought about Luci. The canine was notoriously wary of strangers and wouldn’t hesitate to sound the alarm if something was awry. Common sense said to close the door and run away, but love for her dog compelled her to stay. No matter the consequences, Bellamy had to find her.

After a deep breath, she calmed herself and switched on a light. Their apartment was destroyed. Every drawer, emptied. Every closet, opened. Dishes broken, trash cans turned over. It looked like a tornado had torn their home apart.

“Go outside and call the police, Ams,” Bellamy muttered.

“And leave you by yourself? Hell, no, crazy!” Her voice elevated as loud as her whisper would allow.

“Go! I gotta find Luci.” As Amy relented and took a step back, Bellamy searched the other areas before moving down the hall to check her bedroom. Closet and bathroom, all clear. Then she peered under her bed, arms pointed and ready to fire if needed. Big brown eyes bounced up and down. Luci.

“Oh, Luce! You’re okay. Come here, baby. Good job hiding, girl.”

“Rrrrruffff!” The dog belly crawled from the head of the bed, next to Bellamy’s side. After a lick to her hand, Luci jumped up and spun around.

“Such a smart girl. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt. You can bet your ass you won’t be staying home alone again. No, ma’am.” In the distance, Bellamy heard sirens and for the first time since this ordeal began, she lowered the gun and greeted Luci with a hug.

Two hours later, after talking with police, Bellamy finally settled next to Luci in a hotel room. Though the hour was late, she knew if she waited to call her parents, they’d not only be devastated, but they’d charter a flight from New Orleans to Athens in an instant to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Though Bellamy would appreciate their love and support, she hated to give life to their fears about her living so far away.

She held her breath as she dialed their number. No surprise, Regina answered on the first ring.

“Bellamy, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt. My apartment complex had a break-in tonight and I wanted to call and tell you that I was okay.”

“Your apartment, as in your residence or someone else’s?” Bill said. Regina had placed the phone on speaker.

Bellamy nearly whispered the words. “As in my residence. But Amy and I called the police. They came. They’re looking at everything, and Luci and I are chilling at a hotel for tonight. It’s all good.”

“We’re on our way,” Regina announced. “We’ll be on the road in ten minutes.”

“No, no, no. Mom, it was just a tiny break-in. It’s no big deal. Please don’t worry about this. I’m fine. I promise you.”

“This is serious, Bellamy Amanda. We need to talk to the police oursel—”

“Darling,” Bill cut in. “It sounds like Bellamy has this under control.”

“Bill, she’s our baby. We have to take care of her.”

“I agree with you, but we can’t go running every single time she has a problem. She’s an adult now.”

Bellamy heard Regina sob. For a moment, she wavered and nearly told them to come, but Bill spoke first.

“Sweetheart, I’ll be on the phone with the landlord first thing about a home security system. Is Amy with you?” he asked.

“She’s in the shower.”

“Good. The two of you get some rest tonight and give us a call when you wake up in the morning, okay? We love you.”

“Okay, Dad. I love you too.” Bellamy paused. “Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Regina sniffed.

“Thanks for caring about me.”

“Always, baby.”

The next day, Bellamy and Amy sat in the Clarke Country police office. Amy seemed uncomfortable, almost irritated that she had to be here. Contrarily, Bellamy had been happy to come in. She wanted all the details of why her apartment had been vandalized. When she’d come with her grandparents to go apartment hunting in Athens, they specifically chose the Five Points area for its safety and close location to the University of Georgia campus. Sure, there were exceptions, but mostly, it was a nonviolent neighborhood. On the phone call with her parents this morning, they’d already spoken with the landlord and had two home security companies ready to bid on the job. Bill, of course, had researched them and emailed Bellamy their credentials.

“Oh, hey, I meant to tell you that my dad spoke with our landlord this morning and we may be getting an alarm system soon.”

“Seriously?”

Bellamy squinted. “Um, yeah. Our apartment was broken into last night, Ams. Wouldn’t you feel safer if we had some type of warning system to let us know we had a problem?”

“Yeah, I guess, but they didn’t steal anything,” Amy countered.

“Which brings up even more questions about what the hell they were doing in our house.”

Amy’s head shook. “This is totally gonna cost out the ass.”

“Oh, my parents will pay for it. Don’t even worry about how expensive it is.”

Before Amy could respond, the door opened and an officer came in. “Ladies, I’m Agent Martin. Thank you both for coming in.”

“Sure,” both girls said simultaneously.

“As I’m sure you’ve been told, nothing was stolen from your home last night, but it was ransacked. Our investigators suggested the culprit was looking for something. Any ideas what it could be?”

Perplexed, Bellamy and Amy exchanged glances.

“No clue,” Amy said.

“We don’t have anything of real value there. No jewelry or cash.”

“That’s odd then. What about old boyfriends, anyone with a grudge against you? Maybe someone who wants you to be fearful?” Agent Martin scribbled on a notepad.

“Neither of us have had serious relationships since we’ve come to Athens. And my exes wouldn’t drive all the way from the coast to destroy my apartment. I doubt any of Bellamy’s would either.”

“No, never,” she agreed.

After opening a folder, Agent Martin passed a series of pictures in their direction. “Well, here’s the strange thing about this case: our investigators have found no sign of forced entry. None. We’ve spoken to your landlord and he reports that the locks are changed with each new tenant, so either our perp had access to one of your keys or he’s a damn genius at getting in undetected. My advice to you is change the locks again, give spare keys to only those you trust, and invest in a security system. We’ll increase our patrols of the area too.”

Bellamy smiled and extended her thanks politely, but her mind went to the gun in her purse. She would never choose violence over a better option, but she wouldn’t be backed into a corner and she damn sure wouldn’t be afraid to be in her own house.

Life was too short to live in fear.