Chapter 26
After another long flight back to Philadelphia, Andi walked into her apartment feeling alone and scared.
She was exhausted after not sleeping the night before.
She’d sat on her bed the whole night, staring out at the lights in the city, praying that Laith would be safe.
He had bodyguards with him around the clock. Were they good enough to keep him safe?
Obviously not if the person threatening him could get close.
Or was that just a lie?
Andi couldn’t risk it.
On the flight home, Andi had, again, been in the back of the plane, surrounded by a family of four, including two kids under the age of five.
The kids had cried for the entire six hour flight while the father had muttered expletives, demanding that the wife quiet them down so that he could focus on his movie.
The food on the flight had been boring, the movies hadn’t been able to penetrate through the fog of terror that surrounded her. And Andi was…desperately sad that she hadn’t gotten to spend last night in Laith’s arms.
So now, as she came through the door to her tiny apartment, Andi was exhausted. She didn’t bother to unpack. Instead, she stripped off her clothes, then climbed into bed, pretending that she wasn’t crying over the demise of a very precious relationship.
Two hours into her sleep, Andi woke up, feeling groggy and disconnected.
She wasn’t sure what time it was, or even what day it was, but something had woken her.
Had someone just knocked on her door? She lifted her head out of the mountain of pillows and blankets, waiting.
But there was no other sound, so Andi went back to sleep, assuming that one of the neighbors had bumped her door with their groceries.
Laith muttered a curse as he slipped back into the SUV.
“Take me to the club,” he ordered, referring to the not-so-secret club out in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
He could get a drink and contemplate what he was going to do with Andi once the team met up in San Francisco on Monday morning.
He would get answers then. And he’d damn well find out where she’d been this morning!
They’d all be flying out to California on his plane.
If he’d known that Andi was going to slip out of the hotel before the others this morning, heading to the airport, he would have stopped her and brought her home on his plane.
If he’d moved faster this morning, reached her hotel room before she’d taken off in a taxi to the airport, Andi would be by his side.
In Paris. With his damn engagement ring on her lovely finger!
Andi stared at the box on the floor in front of her apartment door, her heart pounding with fear.
For several moments, she didn’t move, didn’t pick up the box.
There was a letter attached to the top and, worse, there was no address label.
That meant that someone had hand delivered this box to her home.
This crazy person, who threatened her and threatened Laith, knew where she lived!
For several seconds, she didn’t pull her eyes away from the box, knowing that she didn’t want to see the contents.
But she couldn’t ignore what was inside either.
The first box had been kinky and scary, but not really threatening.
The second box was still a mystery. The third box… that scene had been horrible!
So, what crazy fantasy could the mysterious person possibly have put inside this new box?
Andi glanced up and down the hallway, looking for whoever had dropped it off.
There weren’t any security cameras in the hallways.
At least, none that she knew about. All the residents needed a key or a code to get in through the front doors, but too often, someone pushed into the building behind another person.
The security in this building wasn’t great.
Or was this person someone who lived in her building? That would at least tell her how someone knew when she was out of town. But did that make sense?
Bending down, she lifted the box gingerly, not wanting to touch it, but not wanting her neighbors to see it either. She’d read horror stories about women who stepped out of line and had acid thrown on their faces, or pipe bombs in a person’s mailbox.
Maybe she should just call the police?
She considered calling Laith, telling him everything and letting him know that he was in danger. But what if the person threatening his life was close by when he took the call? What if it was someone on his bodyguard team! What if…!
Andi stopped coming up with doomsday scenarios and grabbed a pair of scissors out of her junk drawer. Still, she stood in front of the box, unable to open it. For a long time, Andi just stood there, staring at the box.
“Damn it, this is stupid!” she muttered, then moved closer, grabbing the letter. She sliced it open and pulled out the single sheet of paper with her fingertips. The message was just as threatening as the last.
Good girl. You broke things off with him. Now, we can be together. You are going to enjoy all the ways I’m going to hurt you. It’s just a matter of time now.
Andi let the paper fall from her fingers.
It rested precariously on the edge of her countertop for a moment, then fluttered to the floor.
She stared at it, then at the box. Should she open it?
Or should she call Laith? Maybe she should call Jonas and ask him for the contact number for one of the guards?
But what if Jonas was the one sending the creepy boxes and threatening letters?
Jonas was always close enough to Laith to do him harm!
And Jonas knew where she was all the time.
Plus, Jonas hated her. He’d messed up her flight, hotel, and food orders for the past week.
He was purposely trying to make her miserable.
Wondering if it was Jonas who was doing this to her, Andi tore open the box. When she lifted the lid this time, she gasped, staring at a male doll with the whip in one hand and a knife in the other. And the doll was staring up at her.
Andi screamed, terrified that the doll could actually see her through those creepy black eyes.
For several moments, she just stared, her trembling hands covering her mouth.
Finally, Andi slammed the lid back on the box, and shoved it away.
She even took several steps away, as if distance might protect her.
When her cell phone unexpectedly pinged, Andi nearly tripped over her own feet. It took her several moments to realize what the sound meant, then another moment to find her phone, even though it was in her pocket.
When she pulled the phone out, Carys’ happy face was smiling at her, and she stabbed at the answer button. Because of her eagerness to hear her friend’s voice, it took her several tries to answer the call.
“Carys?” she gasped as soon as she finally connected.
There was a slight hesitation, then Carys demanded, “What’s wrong?”
Andi stared at the box, backing up another step. “Nothing…um…I just…need coffee.”
“Nope.” There were some unfamiliar sounds in the background. Then Carys said firmly, “I’m on my way. Do you need me to call the police? Are you hurt?”
“I’m not hurt,” Andi clarified quickly. But she backed up a few more steps. Finally, she felt the wall of her tiny kitchen behind her. “Just…hurry.”
“I’m on my way. I’ll stay on the phone while you tell me what’s going on.”
Andi opened her mouth to explain, but there weren’t any words to describe the box.
It wasn’t even that bad. It was just…the message it implied was the terrifying issue.
“Doll. Diorama. Box.” The words were broken, barely audible.
Andi’s knees gave up, and she slid quietly to the floor, leaning against the wall.
Carys continued chattering about where she was, the things she was seeing as she hurried to Andi’s apartment building. She didn’t stop the commentary and, in a weird way, her friend’s words helped soothe Andi. She was able to concentrate on Carys’ words instead of the threat in the box.
Still, it was a surprise to see Carys walking into her apartment. Andi screamed, so startled by her presence.
Instantly, Carys dropped to her knees, soothing Andi. “It’s okay. It’s just me. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out together, okay?”
Andi threw herself into Carys’ arms and sobbed.
“He’s going to kill him if I don’t leave him alone!
And then he’s going to hurt me with whips and horrible things and torture me and I don’t want that but I don’t know who he is and I don’t know how he knows where I am all the time!
He keeps finding me! How does he know? How can he find me so easily? ”
Carys held Andi close and slowly, the sobbing and the incoherent blabbering slowed down. When the worse had passed, Carys pulled away slightly, leaning down to peer at Andi. “Okay, can you start from the beginning?”
Andi sniffed, then realized that she was on the floor, hugging her friend. She was cowering! Andi was too strong for this and she never cowered!
Grateful for the strength of her building rage, she pushed to her feet and straightened her clothes. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just…the stress of the past few days has really gotten to me.”
“Got it.” Carys moved around the kitchen, making coffee. “Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me everything? Then I’ll decide if we need to call the police, okay?”
Andi laughed, then reached out and hugged her friend again. “You’re amazing,” she whispered.
While Carys made coffee and put in an order for a delivery of sandwiches, Andi explained the whole issue with the dioramas, and now the letters. Carys nodded towards the box still sitting on the counter. “That’s one of them?”
“Yeah.” She went on to explain the order of the boxes and the threat in the last box she’d received in London.
Carys walked over to the box and started to lift the lid.
“Careful, don’t mess up any fingerprints. The last box in Singapore didn’t have any useable prints, but hopefully the guy doing this will get sloppy.”
“Good point,” Carys replied, then lifted the lid using a paper towel.
She stared down into the box, then slapped the lid back on seconds later.
When she looked at Andi, she nodded. “Yep, that’s creepy.
” She lifted the box and put it into one of the cabinets, then gestured for Andi to move into the living room.
“I think you should pack a bag and come to my place for the night. I know you’re scheduled to fly out on Monday morning, but you shouldn’t stay here. This creep knows where you live.”
“Thanks, but…I don’t want to put you in danger. Because this guy knows where I live, he’s obviously followed me or stalked me on social media.” She sighed, pushing her hair out of her face. “I guess I’ll go to a hotel.”
Carys sipped her coffee, then stared thoughtfully into the dark depths. “This new guy that you met…you’re in love with him? That’s what the letter implied. That you were getting too close to someone else.”
Andi sighed and nodded, and clarity suddenly washed over her. She smiled dreamily as she stared into her own coffee mug. “Yeah. I really love him. He’s…pretty wonderful.”
“Is he your boss?”
“Yeah.” Andi smiled, remembering Laith’s smile that last morning.
A knock sounded on Andi’s apartment door. She tried not to flinch, but failed miserably. Thankfully, Carys had a bit more control and smiled gently, rubbing Andi’s back as she went for the door. “That will be our sandwiches. Lunch has arrived!” she announced cheerfully.
Andi laughed, then reached into her purse to grab a few dollars for a tip. Money and bag were exchanged, then the delivery person was off again, hurrying down the long hallway.
Carys reappeared and Andi eyed the bag, suddenly aware of how hungry she was.
But before she could say anything, Carys’ phone rang.
She checked the text message and groaned.
“Ugh! The prints for the marketing campaign came back wrong!” She looked over at Andi, then stuffed her phone back into her pocket. “Doesn’t matter.”
Andi laughed, putting a hand on Carys’ arm. “Go. I know how hard you’ve been working on this campaign. Plus, you have that new boss to impress, right?”
Immediately, Carys shook her head. “Nope, I’m not leaving you like this.”
Andi smiled, feeling better now that she’d told her best friend about the problem.
Talking about it had been a huge help. “I’m fine, I promise.
” She poked at the bag. “The box is scary, but I was just too tired when you called. I’m better now.
More rational.” She nudged her friend again.
“Go! Fix the problem and I’m going to eat this sandwich and get some sleep! ”
Carys debated for another second, then sighed. “Fine. I’ll go get this fixed but I’ll come right back here.”
“No need. I’m going to find a place to hide. And sleep,” Andi promised.
“Good! Call me later!” Carys said, then hurried out the door.
Moments later, Andi was alone again in her apartment.
She listened to the silence, surprised to discover that she really did feel better.
Not great, but better. She pulled the throw blanket over her legs and nibbled on her sandwich, while she worked through the problem, trying to come up with a solution.
First, she needed to call the police. That was a no brainer.
The last two dioramas and letters were explicitly threatening, so the person sending those boxes had moved from the “creepy” category to the criminal.
Next, she needed to…? What? What was her next move?
Find a new job. Yes, that was definitely on her to-do list. If she wasn’t working for Laith, then this person wouldn’t hurt him. Right?