Chapter 27 Raelynn
TWENTY-SEVEN
RAELYNN
Every door, every window in this damn apartment is locked—and I still don’t feel safe.
When Tessa and I got home, I took Max for a quick walk, not daring to go farther than the end of the building.
My nerves were still shot, my pulse a constant drum beneath my skin.
I kept my taser in one hand, my kubaton in the other, and Max’s leash looped tight around my wrist. Pepper spray sat ready in my jacket pocket, though it would probably blind me before it did anything to him because the fucker is wearing a mask.
After a very long pee, Max and I finally headed back to the apartment.
Knowing I was still on edge, Tessa and I tore through the apartment like we were prepping for a siege.
Every lock, every latch, every goddamn window was secured.
I checked the kitchen and bedrooms twice while she went over the living room and back door.
Then we switched and did it again, just to be sure.
The blinds are shut tight. Curtains drawn.
We secured the screen door, the front door, the patio door, and even jammed the broom handle into the sliding track so it can’t be forced open.
And when that still didn’t feel like enough, we dragged the entry table over and stuck it in front of the door.
After seeing him following me at school, the feeling that he would come here—try something—hasn’t left.
I keep telling myself I’m overreacting, but that voice in the back of my head won’t shut up.
I also couldn’t shake the gut-deep certainty that someone was in danger tonight.
Maybe not me, not yet—but someone. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
That helplessness gnaws at me, sharp and constant, like it’s digging under my skin and taking root.
I did what I could. I texted Marlena to let her and Austin know to lock their doors and windows. She responded quickly, assuring me they would. But once I put my phone down, I realized I couldn’t think of anyone else to warn, and that hit harder than I expected.
There are so many people who are a part of my life in some way: friends, classmates, study partners, and those I grab coffee with on occasion.
Someone is picking apart my life, murdering people I know or am close to, just to torture me.
And the thought that one of them might not wake up tomorrow makes my stomach twist. I keep wondering if I should’ve done more, said more, reached out to more people.
But the truth is, no matter how many locks I check or texts I send, it won’t change what’s coming.
Nothing has stopped him up to this point.
The shrill ring of my phone slices through the heavy silence like a blade, jerking both Tessa and me awake.
My heart slams against my ribs, pulse pounding in my ears as I look around the darkened living room, confused and disoriented.
It doesn’t take long for my brain to catch up and remember tonight’s events.
I guess, at some point, after securing the apartment to the best of our ability, Tessa and I must have fallen asleep.
Tessa stirs beside me on the couch, a groggy sound catching in her throat. “What the hell…” she mutters, rubbing at her neck.
The phone’s glow cuts across the room in rhythmic flashes. Emilio’s name burns on the screen, his contact photo flickering with every vibration. My stomach sinks. I snatch the phone off the table, nearly dropping it in my haste.
“Emilio?” My voice comes out rough, the sleep still clinging to it.
“Hey, baby,” he replies, voice low. There is a tightness in his voice, one I have begun to recognize as something has happened, and it typically isn’t good.
“Hi,” I reply softly, pulling the phone away just long enough to glance at the time. It is nearing midnight. My pulse quickens. “What’s going on?”
There’s a pause on the line, a soft exhale, like he’s trying to decide how to word something he doesn’t want to say. “Nothing good,” he finally says. “I’m heading your way soon and will explain, but until then, do me a favor.”
My chest tightens. “Okay…?”
“Lock your doors. Don’t open up for anyone. I’ll call when I’m there.”
My eyes shift between the patio and the front door.
The blinds are drawn, but because of the missing strips (due to their poor quality and Max’s roughhousing), there are several spaces where anyone can see through.
The broom handle is still, however, wedged in the track, and the entry table is still pressed tight against the front door, but looking at them now, they suddenly feel useless.
“They’re already locked,” I say, though my voice sounds unsure even to me.
“Good,” he replies. “I had to grab a few things from the station, but I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Before I can respond, Max lifts his head from where he’s sprawled on the rug. His ears prick forward, and then he growls—low, deep, rumbling through his chest. The sound freezes me.
“Baby?” Emilio’s voice comes through the line, edged with concern.
“Hold on,” I whisper, rising from the couch. Max follows instantly, his growl growing louder, more urgent. His hackles rise, body rigid, eyes fixed on the sliding glass door.
Tessa sits up, her brow furrowed as her eyes shift between Max and me. “Rae? What’s wrong?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Rae, talk to me,” Emilio demands. “What’s happening?”
“I think—” I swallow hard. “I think someone’s out there.”
“What?” both Tessa and Emilio exclaim, their tones equally alert.
Tessa sits up as I tiptoe across the room to the light switch beside the door. My hand hovers over the light switch, my breath shallow. Max’s growl turns into a low snarl, lips curling back to show his teeth.
The moment I flip on the light, Max explodes into barking, lunging toward the patio.
His claws scrape against the glass, the sound sharp and frantic.
Just beyond the glass stands a figure—tall, motionless.
The porch light flickers over him, and for a heartbeat, the world narrows to the expressionless, white mask.
It’s the same mask I saw at the parking garage.
“Emilio!” I scream into the phone, my voice breaking as I stumble backward. “He’s here!”
The man tilts his head slowly, studying me from behind that blank facade, unfazed by Max’s aggressiveness, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife.
The light glints off the silver blade, accenting every groove of the serrations, as he raises it and waves it tauntingly.
My heart slams against my rib cage as he moves—rounding the patio and vanishing from my line of sight.
But I know where he is going, and so does Max.
He bolts to the other side of the room to the front door just as several loud metallic bangs sound off.
The screen door rattles violently. Another hit follows, metal shrieking under the force.
Tessa scrambles to her feet, knocking into the coffee table as Max’s barking fills the room. “Oh my god, Raelynn!” she cries, stumbling backward and crashing to the floor.
The pounding stops. For one dreadful second, there’s silence, the only sounds filling the space are mine and Tessa’s heavy breathing, Max’s low growls, and Emilio’s voice coming through my phone’s speaker.
“Rae!” Emilio’s voice booms from my phone, still clutched in my hand. “Talk to me! What’s happening?”
“I-I don’t know,” I reply softly.
But after the words leave my mouth, I hear it. The slow, creaking sound of the screen door being forced open—metal groans, hinges screech, and my stomach drops.
“He’s trying the door!” I scream into the phone, panic lacing every word. The front door shudders under a heavy kick. THUD. Then another. Each kick rattles the chain and jolts the entry table forward a hair.
“Listen to me, baby,” Emilio orders, his voice firm despite the urgency. “Go hide. Get your room, the closet, somewhere you both can lock yourselves in. I’m almost there, and I’m calling for backup.”
“Please hurry!” I cry into my phone as I rush toward Tessa and pull her up by the arm.
The door shudders again. And then, like a nightmare made real, a knife plunges through the wood, splintering it. One strike. Then another. The sound is deafening.
Tessa’s screams echo mine as I pull her back; she clings to my arms, her nails digging into my skin.
Max’s barking becomes wild, frenzied. He lunges at the front door, claws scraping against the hardwood.
After the third hit, everything stops. The silence stretches, broken only by my ragged breathing.
Max’s barks quiet to low growls as he begins pacing the living room in restless, protective strides.
“Where did he go?” Tessa sobs behind me, her voice breaking the fragile stillness.
I shake my head and step back, tugging her with me toward the hallway “I don’t kn—”
BANG.
The explosion of sound rips through the air, so loud it feels like the walls shake. The patio door shatters inward in a rain of glass. Shards fly across the room, scattering like glittering knives. I throw my arms up on instinct as screams tear out of both of us.
Max yelps, caught in the blast, then bolts behind the couch with a terrified whine, and my phone slips free from my hand.
“Run! Run now!” I scream, shoving Tessa down the hall the moment I see him come into view.