Defending Mateo (Prey Security: Undercover Team #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

Ally Thatcher jumped at the sound of shattering glass.

The sudden sound slicing through her quiet apartment had her pulse racing and her heart feeling like it wanted to hammer its way right out of her chest.

With a sigh, she looked down at the shards of glass littering the floor of her kitchen. What a mess. How could she be so stupid as not to pay attention to where she was setting down her glass of water?

Well, she knew the answer to that particular question.

The same reason she couldn’t concentrate on anything recently.

The reason she wasn't sleeping well, the reason she was even more introverted and alone than usual, and the reason she’d been making mistakes at work when she normally never made mistakes.

Ally was one of the most organized, careful, cautious people on the planet.

Almost always anyway.

Except for one thing.

Falling for her sexy neighbor who wore leather jackets even in the middle of summer, who rode a motorcycle, and was so out of her league he never should have even taken the time to glance her way.

Yet he did.

Had anyway.

But not anymore.

Stepping carefully around the glass that was just begging for her bare feet to step on, Ally headed to the small laundry space in her apartment.

It had been the reason she chose to rent this place, she’d hated having to go to the local laundromat when she lived at her last apartment.

While this building had a pool, a gym, and its own gardens complete with a playground for kids and a dog park, none of those things mattered to her. This had been what sealed the deal.

Now she grabbed a dustpan and broom and headed back to the kitchen.

Because she was the kind of clumsy person who had been made fun of in school since she preferred books to other kids and was terrible at sports, always making a fool of herself, of course, she stepped on a piece of the broken glass.

Hissing at the pain that stabbed up her leg, she sighed again, knowing she’d now be cleaning up blood as well as water, plus the glass shards.

So much for heading to bed to read for a while before attempting sleep.

It was going to take her several minutes to get this mess tidied up, and she already knew the trash bin was full, because she’d debated taking it out when she cooked dinner earlier.

Would have taken it out if she weren't a coward who avoided things rather than confront them.

Walking past her neighbor’s apartment, knowing he’d ghosted her so easily, so completely, always sent a shaft of pain through her heart much like the one the glass had just sent through her foot.

Tonight, though, it had to be done. She’d piled too much garbage into the bin and couldn’t balance the glass.

Just her luck that she’d make her own night worse than it already was.

As if being home alone, lonely, and aching for companionship but unsure how to go about making friends, and too embarrassed to even attempt dating again after she’d been ghosted so thoroughly, wasn't bad enough.

“Where would you even meet a guy?” she muttered to herself as she hobbled across the kitchen with the glass in the dustpan.

It was a fair question. She worked from home because she ran her own accounting business.

On the odd occasion she had to meet a client in person, she did it at a local coffee shop down the street.

She did her grocery shopping, went for a daily walk, and stopped off at that coffee shop for a daily hit of her favorite drink, sometimes treating herself with one of their homemade muffins. That was about the extent of her life.

Pitiful.

That was the only way to describe a twenty-eight-year-old woman who had no friends, no family, no one to notice if she just disappeared off the face of the earth.

The last person she’d had any meaningful contact with after her grandparents died six and seven years ago was her neighbor.

A man she’d thought she was falling in love with.

Who didn't seem to mind if she was shy and awkward, and that she didn't really have any hobbies outside of reading romance novels like they were oxygen she needed to live. Which in a way, they were. Living vicariously through those happy couples was the only way she’d ever have connections, even if they weren't real-world connections.

But it had been wishful thinking on her part.

Her feelings weren't reciprocated. She still remembered the burn of rejection when she’d gone to call him one morning, same as she did every morning, only to find he’d blocked her.

If she were a braver woman, she would have stormed next door and demanded an explanation.

Only she wasn't brave. Instead, all she’d done was shrink further in on herself each time she was sure it must have been a mistake and tried calling again.

And again, and again. But none of those calls went through, none of her texts were delivered, and she hadn't laid eyes on him since that day five months ago. Whether he’d moved or he was avoiding her, she wasn't sure, and she’d never ask.

Nope.

Cowards never did.

Especially weak and awkward ones, ones who were too shy to make friends, too boring to have anything of interest to anyone else, and too used to rejection to dredge up a bit of courage to step outside of her comfort zone.

With the glass in the bin and the bin bag tied up, Ally limped down the hall to her bedroom to grab a hoodie. She’d already changed into her pajamas after her bubble bath, and there was no way she was going outside in the skimpy short shorts and lacy tank top she wore to sleep in.

Ally didn't think she was bad-looking per se, she had long, deep red hair, and shockingly bright blue eyes that, over the years, she’d become accustomed to people commenting on.

She enjoyed walking, so she kept herself fit, and she’d never had a big appetite so was fairly slim.

Attractive enough, she guessed, but so used to blending into the background so as not to be a bother to anyone, that people usually walked right past her without seeing her.

Just the way she liked it.

At least that’s what she tried to convince herself of.

Slipping on an oversized hoodie that would cover her pajamas, she stuck her feet into an old pair of flip flops, hissing at the pain in her foot. She’d have to clean and tend to the wound when she got back.

If she let herself use it as an excuse, she’d never leave the apartment to take the trash out, and the thing was that even though Ally knew and accepted her weaknesses, she was tired of being a coward.

Tired of being lonely.

Tired of being ignored and overlooked.

For once in her life, she wanted to matter to someone.

Too bad that appeared to be wishful thinking.

Focusing on the pain in her foot with each step, she refused to look at the door of the apartment beside hers, refused to wonder if he was inside right now, possibly not alone.

If he had another woman with him, she was sure she’d do something to embarrass herself like burst into tears right in front of him.

Crying had been a big reason she was an outcast as a child.

It wasn't like she meant to do it, but she’d lost her parents as a baby, then lost her first set of grandparents as a preschooler, then moved in with her other set of grandparents, who were old and struggled to raise a small child.

She was used to loss, and being a shy, awkward, introverted kid, she used to cry at the drop of a hat.

She really was pathetic, and if she didn't find a way to change who she was, then this was all she had to look forward to in life.

It wasn't that it was a bad life, she lived comfortably and could pay her bills without worrying about money.

She enjoyed reading, walks, and her bubble baths, but she was just so crushingly lonely.

Stepping out of the building, into the night, she wished the trash shoot had been working, but it had been closed for days now, so she had to bring the garbage out to the large bins in back herself. It was quiet out, and she shivered, something uncomfortable skittering across her skin.

Looking around, she didn't spot anyone, but it felt like she was being watched.

Was it …

No, that was crazy. If he wanted to see her, he knew where to find her. After all, she lived right next door to him.

Shrugging off the feeling, she lifted the bin lid, tossed the bag inside, then turned around.

As she turned, she saw it.

A shadowy figure, moving toward her. Whoever it was wore dark jeans and a dark hoodie pulled low, blocking her view of their face.

She froze.

Knew she should run but couldn’t move her feet. Couldn’t even scream.

Instead, she just watched in horror as the man reached for her, grabbed her, yanking her pliant body up against his much bigger one. His breath was hot against the top of her head as he pinned her in place.

Not that he had to because she wasn't fighting.

Why aren't you fighting?

Ally never got a chance to answer her own question because something sharp pricked her skin, and she melted away into darkness, berating her cowardly self for once again letting herself down.

August 13th

10:01 P.M.

Coming back here so often was a mistake.

Yet despite knowing that, Mateo Adler couldn’t seem to help himself.

The apartment he’d rented in this building was just supposed to be a temporary place to crash while he was in between undercover gigs, so he hadn't expected to use it all that much. He’d chosen this building because it had a great gym and a pool, and he loved to swim.

What he hadn't been expecting was the quiet little mouse who lived next door.