CHAPTER 16
That Jessa had been away from her home, even for just a short while, was apparent when she walked through her door.
She got her first clue that as she’d fled the apartment in the middle of the night she’d neglected to do a few things before leaving—such as take out the kitchen garbage or leave the A/C on.
The hot smelly air hit her in the face as she walked in her door after work.
Oh well. At least she was home now. And, thankfully, she’d found her apartment still locked up tight with no evidence of tampering or attempted break in. It was a good thing her apartment was secure, because she couldn’t seem to control herself near Will and really didn’t want to spend another night there with him there too.
She was just dumping her purse and keys on the counter when her cell rang. No surprise, it was Will. He must have just gotten home himself and found her not there.
“Hey, where are you?” he asked.
“Home.”
“Home? Why?”
“Because there’s no need for me to stay at your place anymore. I’m fine here.”
“There is a need and that’s a bullshit excuse. The truth is you think you’re putting me out by staying over because I’m home.”
“That’s another reason.” But not the main reason, which she’d never confess to him, ever.
“Look, Jess. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. God knows I don’t have the right to do that. I just think it’s foolish to be somewhere you’re scared when you could be here. I know you think your being here is an imposition but it’s not. I promise.”
She laughed. “Will. You have one bedroom. How is it not an imposition to have some woman sleeping on your sofa?”
“First of all you’re not some woman.” His comment begged the question, what was she to him? She didn’t ask, and he didn’t provide an answer as he continued, “Second. I wouldn’t let you sleep on the sofa anyway.”
Jessa blew out a loud breath. “Oh, sure. You sleeping on the sofa when you have a perfectly good bed in your bedroom wouldn’t be an imposition for you at all.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “Believe me, Jessa. I’ve slept in way worse places.”
She really didn’t need a reminder that he wasn’t just sweet and sexy but also a SEAL who saved the world on a regular basis. She was pretty much a goner for this guy already without the idealized image of him trudging through a jungle in camouflage war paint.
“Will. Look. I’m fine. Really.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Jessa laughed. “You’re going to have to, because it’s true.
Will let out an audible breath. “You’re very stubborn.”
“Thank you. It’s part of my appeal, no?”
“No.” He might have said no, but she heard the smile in his voice as he said it. “I’m calling Rudnick the moment I hang up with you and I’m getting an answer to when he’s available. And if it’s too long, then I’ll talk to him about what you need and see who he has to fill in for him. Okay?”
“Yes. Thank you very much.”
Jessa smiled. There was a line between a man who was a controlling asshole—like Sara’s husband—and a man who was driven and organized—like Will.
His bossiness with her stemmed from genuine concern. Jessa knew that. And his pushiness to get the security system installed was because he hated to see a task, any task she had a feeling, unfinished. She could tell that about him from the first day he’d grabbed the box from the hardware store off her kitchen counter and hadn’t left until the lock was installed.
He let out a huff. “I still think you’d sleep better here at my place tonight.”
Little did he know she’d barely slept at his place last night.
Being in Will’s bed, even when he wasn’t in it, was too much for Jessa’s system to handle.
“Thank you for the offer but I’ll sleep fine here. I’m not scared. Really.” Jessa’s assurance to Will was even true—mostly.
She had every intention of leaving lights on when she went to bed but she did intend to go to bed so that was a step forward. She was so tired she’d probably even sleep.
“Can I trust you to tell me the truth?” he asked.
“Will, I swear to you on my parents’ lives that you can always trust me.”
Somehow her answer spanned more than his question had intended. It encompassed everything she’d wanted to say to him since Sara had left him. That she never would have left him. And she definitely wouldn’t have taken the coward’s way out and snuck out of town and disconnected her phone the way Sara had.
“Wow.” He let out a short laugh. “Okay. After that sworn oath I guess I have to trust you.”
Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. She really was useless when it came to men.
Jessa swallowed. “Thank you for always being concerned for my welfare.”
“Always, Jessa. Remember that.”
The sincerity in his tone and words stole her breath and had her heart doing flips it shouldn’t be doing.
“I will.” Her voice sounded breathy in her own ears.
After the briefest of hesitations, he said, “I’ll let you go. But promise you’ll call—any time, day or night—if you need me. I mean that.”
She knew he meant it. She’d never met a more sincere man than Will Weber.
“I promise.” She’d promise him anything.
“Okay. Good night, Jessa.”
“Good night, Will.”
Jessa tried to keep herself busy. She had laundry to do. The dishwasher to run. Real riveting stuff. She rolled her eyes at herself. Chores at least kept her hands busy.
If only she could keep her mind occupied as well.
A pint of ice cream and a sappy chick flick on Netflix helped occupy her for a bit but only for one hour and fifty-one minutes—the run time of the movie.
Sighing as the hero and heroine had one passionate Hollywood kiss and the credits started to roll, Jessa hauled herself off the sofa. She carried the empty carton and her spoon to the kitchen.
One glance at the time displayed on the microwave told her it was getting late. She should get to bed.
On her way back to the living room to turn off the television, she couldn’t resist taking a peek out the window just to reassure herself all was well.
What she saw did the opposite. Was that a shadow behind her car?
She sucked in a breath as it moved.
There was definitely someone there because it was too big to be a cat or raccoon.
Why wasn’t there better lighting outside by the parking spaces? Why hadn’t she demanded it of the building’s superintendent after that last robbery?
Her heart thundered beneath the hand she held pressed to her chest as she watched the shadow become two distinct figures.
There were two of them and they were using the cars as cover as they crept from one to the other, moving toward an apartment opposite Jessa’s.
As she watched, too scared to move or even breathe, one man took a quick look around while the other took a step back, raised his foot, and kicked.
The door gave way, swinging in, while leaving the splintered wood of the doorframe behind.
Sucking in a shocked breath, Jessa backed away from the window, but not before she saw the men glance around them one more time, then duck inside, pulling the door shut behind them.
She dove for her cell phone plugged into the wall socket above the kitchen counter.
It took a second to get her shaking hands to function but she managed to dial 9-1-1.
In her terror, the wait for the operator to answer seemed like an eternity. Finally she heard, “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
The relief and fear combined made her breathless. The impending tears made it nearly unable to get words out.
Even children were taught how to make a proper phone call to 9-1-1 in an emergency. Apparently, panic had reduced Jessa to a babbling child.
The words and the tears spilled out in a tumble as the operator, a saint of a woman, talked Jessa down until she became coherent.
She got out her name and address and the horrific details, including that the man was currently inside the home of the neighbor across from her in the apartment complex. She could only hope it was another instance of the burglars knowing the occupants were away and taking advantage of an empty apartment. But if her neighbors were inside—she didn’t even want to consider that.
“Please hurry. I don’t know if they’re home or not. They could be in danger.”
“Police are on their way. Stay inside with your doors locked.”
“I will.” Jessa had no intention of going outside where the bad guys were, that was for damn sure. Though at the moment, being inside didn’t feel all that much safer.
She eyed the locks Will had installed. Were they strong enough to withstand the force of the kick she’d just witnessed?
“I’m going to hang up now, but the police have your name and address. After they arrive on the scene they might want to speak with you.”
“Okay.” She disconnected and stood, frozen with fear in the dim apartment.
She wouldn’t feel better until that patrol car arrived.
Should she turn on more lights until then? She didn’t know.
She wanted to let the criminals know this wasn’t an empty apartment and they should steer clear. But at the same time, she didn’t want them to know she was awake and aware of their activities or that she had been the one to call the police.
That could bring some sort of retaliation against her.
She’d been watching television by the light of the tiny lamp on the side table next to her. Jessa decided to just leave things as they were until the cops arrived.
Where were those police?
Shaking, she was too afraid to look out the window again, but couldn’t bring herself to leave the vicinity of the front door. She was truly a mess.
Things would seem so much better if Sara were still here. Not that two women alone would be much safer than one against two big scary criminals, but she’d at least feel a little better not being alone.
Maybe she needed to look for a roommate.
Her anxiety seemed to worsen as the minutes stretched on. It hadn’t been that long. Not that she knew how long was too long.
While vowing to research average response times for 9-1-1 calls when all this was over, she glanced at the time on the cell in her hand once more.
A new and horrible thought hit Jessa. What if the robbers were gone when the police arrived? If they escaped they’d still be out there. Still watching the complex. Waiting for an apartment to be vacant overnight. Or worse, breaking in anyway even if someone were home.
Were they watching her place? Had they noticed she’d been out all night last night and were back here tonight to rob her, only to pass her by because she was home and the light was on?
What if she wasn’t up watching television? What if she’d decided she was tired and gone right to bed after dinner? They could have kicked in the door while she slept. They could have been inside her apartment with her and there would have been nothing she could do about it.
It was a horrifying thought.
In spite of all Will had done, she had no security cameras. No central monitoring. No timers for her lights.
Her heart pounding, she berated herself for being so stupid.
Ready to pass out from the stress of waiting for the police, she moved closer to the window again. She didn’t know if the men were still inside or if they’d slipped out while she’d been too afraid to watch.
She should have kept watching. She might have seen which way they went or what vehicle they got into. That would have helped the police, but as it was she hadn’t done that. She was useless.
Jessa was shaking so badly, it was no wonder she couldn’t think clearly. As she cursed herself for being a coward the patrol car pulled into the lot.
Help had arrived. She wasn’t alone anymore. She breathed in relief but found her chest still too tight to draw in much air.
Twenty minutes and the arrival of two patrol cars more later, her relief that help had arrived disappeared.
The police told her that the neighbors’ apartment had been empty. No homeowners, thank God, but no robbers either.
And, she was informed by the responding officers that there were no security cameras in the home so the only clues were here shaky description of what amounted to two shadows.
They had gotten away and were still out there somewhere able to strike again.
The police took her statement, told her to make sure to lock her door and said goodbye, leaving her with no confidence that these men would be caught or that she was safe.
She heaved in a giant shaking sob as any strength she’d managed to hold on to until then shattered.