Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Faith dumped her bags of groceries on the kitchen counter. “Who else is hungry?”
A silent house greeted her.
Right. She’d forgotten Sylvie and Ethan both had plans tonight in Los Angeles with their significant others. That meant she was on her own till the morning, which seemed to happen a lot lately.
Of course, she would never complain. Sylvie and Ethan had been incredibly kind about letting her stay here. She’d basically shown up on their doorstep, a homeless charity case after she left Jon. Her friends had helped her get back on her feet.
She owed Sylvie and Ethan everything.
Faith was paying her share of the rent. Her friends hadn’t asked her once about finding her own place. They were giving her time. Still, she knew her next step toward independence was overdue.
Tanner would probably tell her to do something uncomfortable if it would mean growing as a person. He’d be right. But it was so much easier to know the right thing than to actually do it.
And now that she was thinking of Tanner, she couldn’t stop. She could invite him over for a friendly dinner. It made more sense to cook for two than for one.
Before she could grab her phone, the doorbell rang.
Faith went over to the security panel. Sylvie and Ethan’s townhouse had a Bennett Security system. On the camera, a man stood on the porch. He was facing partly away from her, looking back and forth over the street. He was lanky, his arms roped with sinewy muscles.
He had his hoodie up, keeping his face in shadow.
A sudden rush of fear spiked through her.
But this was her home, however temporary. She wasn’t going to cower and hide.
Faith opened the door by a few inches. “Yes?”
The man scratched at his nose. “You got a package for me?” he mumbled.
“A package?”
“Yeah. From Jon.”
“If Jon sent you, there’s been a mistake.” She hadn’t heard from her ex in the last few days, and she’d taken that as a good sign. “You need to leave.”
She went to close the door. But the guy slapped a hand on the wood, pushing it back open.
His eyes lifted, and his face came into view. Panic spiked in her chest.
It was him. Kyle. The man who’d threatened her. Pushed her down in her bedroom in Texas.
Faith put her weight behind the door, trying to close it. But he pushed even harder. He was trying to get inside.
No, no. This couldn’t be happening.
“I’m calling the police,” she yelled.
The door slammed against her. Faith fell backward onto the floor. Kyle stood over her. He grabbed her by the hair, hauling her up so she had to face him. “Did you think we were finished? Just because you left town? That’s not how this works.”
“I don’t have any package. Jon took it.”
“Are you lying to me?” He raised his hand and brought it down. The smack caught her on the cheekbone near her eye. Sharp pain and disbelief overwhelmed everything else.
“No. I don’t have anything you want.”
“You don’t think so?” Kyle pulled her even closer, jamming his bony nose into her hair. “Maybe we should find out.”
He took her hand and put it on his thigh. Faith yanked it away. She sucked in a breath and screamed as loud as she could.
Terror blanketed her, stealing every thought except, Fight.
She kicked at his knee. He let go of her and stumbled, cursing.
Faith sprinted for the front door, bumping her shoulder on the frame. Her breaths were ragged and loud in her ears, mixed with sobs.
“Help me! Someone, please!”
She banged on the next-door neighbor’s place, but the windows were dark. Nobody answered.
Faith ran. She had no clue where she was going, just that she needed to get out of sight.
The row of townhomes ended, and she saw a gate leading into someone’s backyard.
Her fingers slid over the latch. Finally, she managed to open it, and the hinges creaked.
She hurried around the side of their house and crouched in the shadows behind a bush.
Her body was shaking. This was surreal. A nightmare. The past had come for her, and she was running. Again. When would it ever stop?
She felt a weight in her pocket. Her phone.
She rapidly pressed the side button to activate emergency calling. Back when she’d been with Jon, she’d learned the method just in case her husband overdosed.
Now, she waited for a voice to pick up. “911. What is your emergency?”
“A man named Kyle broke into my house. I need help.”
The operator offered to stay on the line with her while she waited for the officers. Time seemed to be frozen.
How had Kyle found her? Jon didn’t even know her address.
She was so angry, she thought she’d choke on the feeling. First Jon was in West Oaks, and now Kyle? Why? Why was this happening? Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? She felt nauseating rage at Jon for bringing that shit to her door. It wasn’t right.
A few minutes later, sirens climbed in pitch, turning onto her street.
Faith emerged from her hiding place. Her chest was so tight she was lightheaded from lack of oxygen.
The neighboring houses up and down the street were all the same, yet they’d changed in some indefinable way. Like she’d stepped into a dark, twisted mirror.
Two squad cars pulled up in to the curb in front of her, and multiple West Oaks P.D. officers got out.
She explained what had happened, how Kyle had forced his way into the house. She’d stopped crying and now spoke in a listless monotone. The despair was almost too much. She just wanted to sit down somewhere quiet. Hide away from what had happened.
She’d thought she was safe.
The police were here now. But what would happen after they’d left? How was she supposed to fix this?
Three of the officers went inside the house to see if the intruder was still there. The fourth stayed with her. He wore glasses and couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. “Ma’am, is there anyone you’d like us to call?”
Immediately, she thought of Tanner.