My eyes flutter open in the dark, and I sit up in bed, looking around the large master bedroom. Light from the city outside glows behind the honeycomb blinds, and I squint at the doorway, just knowing a dark figure will cross through the hall at any second.

My heart hammers in my chest, pumping adrenaline throughout my body. My fingers tingle and my hands shake. I thought I heard a thump. The distinct sound of someone pounding on glass. Like a window.

Calm the fuck down. No one is in the house besides me and Cole, who’s fast asleep next to me. I saw him disarm the house when we got home after the release party. We stepped in and immediately turned the alarm system back on. It’s not possible for someone to come in the house without us knowing.

Unless he’s figured out how to disarm the alarm. Maybe one of his prison buddies told him how. Or he has some sort of device that temporarily blocks the signal and he forced a basement window open and has been waiting, watching for the right time to strike.

I bring my trembling hands up to my face and rub my eyes. My ex-boyfriend is not here. I had a nightmare, which makes sense since I thought I saw Steven just a few hours ago. I bend my knees up, letting out a slow breath. I need to calm down.

And be brave.

Swallowing my fear, I carefully peel the covers back and tiptoe out of bed. Nerves prickle along my spine and my feet don’t want to move. If anyone saw me, they’d think I was walking into the belly of the beast, not creeping toward the bedroom door to look at what has to be an empty hall. There’s no one there.

And yet my mind conjures up the image of a shadowy figure, standing right outside the door. He’ll be cast in darkness, and I won’t be able to make out his face.

But I’ll know who he is.

“Ana?” Cole calls groggily from the bed. “What are you doing?”

“Uh,” I start, trying to come up with a lie. But if Cole’s been watching me, then he knows I’m slowly inching toward the bedroom door. In the opposite direction of the bathroom, too, so I can’t use that as I lie. “I thought I heard something.”

Cole sits up. “Heard something?”

“Yeah. Like a noise.”

He rubs his face and gives me a half-smile. “Typically noises are heard.”

I smile back and shake my head. “Right. It’s nothing, I’m sure. I just wanted to go check.”

He stretches his arms over his head and gets up. I fell asleep right after we made love and was only half aware of Cole carrying me upstairs and into bed. He was still dressed—well half dressed in his shirt and tie, I’d taken his pants off— when we went upstairs. Now he’s only wearing boxers, and I see a dark stain on the flesh of his shoulder.

“You got a tattoo?”

Cole grins and looks down at the ink. “Yeah. On Thursday.”

I narrow my eyes, trying to make out the details in the dim light. “I like it.”

“I’m glad you do.” He comes over to me and takes my hands in his. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m cold.” It’s not a total lie. Outside of the blankets and away from Cole, the air is chilly.

He gives me a look that lets me know he doesn’t believe me but doesn’t push the issue. I’m so fucking glad. I hate feeling so afraid. I hate feeling weak. Feeling useless. Like I can’t defend myself. Like all I can do when shit hits the fan is hide and hope someone else fights for me.

Steven worked hard to make me feel like that. He sunk his claws in and carefully peeled back layer after layer until there was nothing left but my tender beating heart. Then he tore that to shreds too.

“What did you think you heard?”

I shake my head. “Just a thumping, like someone was hitting a window. I’m a really light sleeper. Any tiny little noise wakes me up.”

Cole’s face tenses. “I’ll check.” He takes a step forward and I dash after him.

“I’m coming with.”

We don’t go far; Cole goes around to his dresser and pulls a tablet off a charger. He taps the black screen and a menu comes up. It’s the home screen for his security system, and the thing is pretty damn impressive. There are cameras rolling live footage around the house, one in the foyer showing the front door, and another showing the back in the kitchen. The back stairs are in the bottom of the frame, and I distantly wonder if anyone from the alarm system company happened to check in every now and then. If they did, there’s a good chance they saw Cole fucking me into oblivion on those stairs.

“Nothing got picked up,” he mumbles. “But I’ll go down and look.”

“It’s okay.” I grab his arm. “Let’s just go back to bed. I have very vivid dreams. A lot. Actually, I should have warned you of that before. Don’t be surprised if I wake up thrashing. And sorry in advance if I smack you. It’s not done on purpose, I promise.”

Cole meets my eyes, holding my gaze for a second. He knows my ex has been reaching out to me, trying to get a rise and freak me the fuck out. Which he’s doing, dammit. But does Cole think Steven is here too? He doesn’t know the details, doesn’t know the masterfully creeptastic extent Steven went to before in order to send me a message.

And I don’t want him to know. There’s no reason to bring that shit up right now. I’m trying to start new and move on. I won’t go back unless I have to. And a nightmare is just that…a nightmare.

“All right.” Cole takes my hand and leads me back into bed. We climb under the covers and he spoons his body around mine. I close my eyes, finding solace in the way his strong body feels against mine. He kisses the back of my neck. “Goodnight, Ana.”

“Night, Cole.”

* * *

I pull open the top drawer of my nightstand, brow furrowing. I push aside the various junk I keep in there. Where the hell are my keys? I’m careful where I put them since I’ve lost them so many times in the past and was late for work because of it.

I close the door and run my hand over my hair. I spent forty-five minutes trying to curl the thick strands. They’re hanging in loose waves around my face now, which looks pretty even though it wasn’t the look I was going for. I leave the bedroom and go to the front closet to look for the keys once more. I know I left them in my purse. I specifically remember seeing them when I pulled out my lip gloss last night.

“You won’t find them in there.” Steven’s voice comes from behind me. I whirl around. He’s smiling at me, gray-blue eyes glinting. “Your keys, I mean. You’re looking for them, right?”

“Yeah,” I start, annoyance building inside me. “Have you seen them?”

“I have. I took them.”

My heart skips a beat but my mind checks out, refusing to process this. It’s not the first time this has happened. It won’t be the last time either. And yet every time, he says he’s doing this for me. For us. And every time I believe him.

“Steven, I’m supposed to meet friends for dinner and I’m already running late.”

His arms wrap around me. Tight. Tighter. Until it hurts. “But I want to have dinner with you.”

“I’ll be back in two hours. I haven’t seen the girls in over a year. Katie came all the way from Bowling Green for tonight.”

“So you’d rather spend the night with Katie, who hasn’t bothered to see you in a fucking year, than me? I do everything for you. You are my life, Ana.”

I shake my head. “I’m not choosing her over you. I’m not choosing anyone. I just want to have dinner with my friends.”

“Are you going to order a drink?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“People only go out and drink for one reason: to hook up.”

I laugh. “I’m not hooking up with Katie, Jess, or Hannah. Trust me.”

“It’s not fucking funny, Ana! You know damn well what I meant. And fine. Fucking forget it. If you want to go out with your friends, then go.”

“If it’s that big of a deal then—”

“A big deal? Of course it’s a big fucking deal that you want to go out and get drunk without me. Besides, none of your friends will say it, but I will. Because I’m the only one who cares about you.”

“Say what?”

“That you really don’t need the extra calories from a few drinks. I noticed how those jeans are getting snug on your ass.”

I look down, subconsciously sucking in my gut. My jeans are tight. Way tighter than they were the last time I put them on. Yet I don’t look any different. Maybe that happens when you slowly gain weight. You don’t notice it.

“I just…I…it’s just…”

“See? You know you’re fucking wrong. You’ll never learn. Now, if you want to earn your keys back…” He raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms. “You know what to do.”

Once again, I startle awake, breath catching in my chest. Why can’t I have nightmares about spiders or the boogeyman like normal people? Why are my nightmares frame-by-frame replays of my life? And parts of my life I’m horrified and ashamed of at the same time at that.

Early morning light filters through the blinds, letting me know it’s way too fucking early to be up on a Saturday. I stretch out and realize the spot next to me is empty. Heart still racing, I roll over and find a note on Cole’s pillow.

I smile, looking forward to donuts and coffee. And Cole. Definitely Cole. I fold the note and set it back down. His handwriting is small and neat, almost looking like a font. Way better than my chicken scratch. Which reminds me…I should start practicing writing my signature as Scarlett. Assuming people want me to sign books, that is.

Still tired, I get comfy and close my eyes. I should get up and shower or at the very least, take off yesterday’s makeup and brush out my tangled curls. Well, what’s left of the curls. Though if Cole and I are giving this a go, he can take me as I am, leftover makeup and all.