Chapter Three

He held the phone under his chin as he put on his shoes and coat and grabbed his car keys. “Olivia, where are you right now?”

She blinked. “At home.”

“I mean, which room?”

“The living room.”

Dallas mentally ran through the layout of her house, including the windows and which directions they faced. As was his habit with every building he entered, he’d automatically and almost idly noted everything when he’d been there earlier that evening for Emma’s party.

“Do any of your room doors lock?”

“Yeah. The master bathroom.”

“Go there. Right now. I’m coming to you, and I’m going to stay on the phone with you the whole time, OK?”

“OK.”

Liv walked down the long hallway on trembling legs, expecting a hand to grab her from behind at any second. She glanced over her shoulder, then whipped to look forward again; back and forth, she twisted and turned, trying to see everywhere at once. Her skin crawled with the sensation of eyes on her. When she got to her bedroom, she hesitated at the door. The light switch was on the wall farthest from the bathroom, but she didn’t want to cross the whole room in darkness.

“Dallas?”

“Yeah? Are you locked in?”

“No. I’m scared to – to walk through my bedroom. It’s dark in there – what if…”

“Get to the bathroom, sweetheart. Please. I’m right here with you, OK?”

“I’m scared…”

“I know you are, Olivia, and that’s OK. You’re doing great, hon, and you’re almost there. Take a deep breath and go. Now.”

She ran through her bedroom and burst into the bathroom. Her hands shaking, she slammed the door and locked it. She backed up, away from the door, and sat on the edge of the tub.

Dallas heard her breathing, fast and panicky. “You locked in?”

“Yes.”

“OK. I’m in my car and I’m eight minutes away. You stay on the phone, alright? Just hang on.”

She nodded and relaxed a bit; his Texan drawl was strangely comforting. “OK.”

Suddenly, her cell beeped again and she almost dropped the phone. “I just got another text and attchment.”

“Open it up, Olivia.”

Her stomach was a block of ice, but she did as he said. The text said, ‘RIGHT HERE BITCH. COMING FOR YOU’. The attached photo was of her own living room in its post-party state.

“Oh, God,” she whimpered. She put the phone back to her ear. “Oh, God, Dallas.”

“What, hon?”

“He’s in the living room.”

Dallas froze for less than a second, then jammed the accelerator flat on the floor. He felt his whole body and mind switch up a gear to cool, professional mode. When he was like this, he could kill to protect someone – he had in the past and not even batted an eyelash while doing it.

“Olivia, you listen to me and do everything I say. You hear me?”

She responded to the new tone in his voice. “Yes.”

“Get into the bathtub and lie down flat. Right now.”

She climbed in, her long legs so weak that they could barely hold her weight.

“You in?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Stay on the phone, but no more talking now. Not one word. Just concentrate on your breathing. That’s all you have to do. Just breathe. OK?”

She nodded, didn’t say anything. Her whole body strained to hear any sound outside the bathroom door, but all was silent.

Dallas sped through the streets, listening to her harsh breathing in his ear. His hands were rock-steady, his breathing slow and controlled, and his focus was perfect.

I will break him the fuck in half if he touches her.

He pulled into Olivia’s driveway and climbed out of the car. He saw her front door was half-open, and he reached back into the waistband of his jeans for his Sig Sauer 229.

“Olivia. I’m outside your house right now. I’m coming in.”

“You need the code. It’s –”

“Don’t you worry about that. I’m going to hang up now because I need to search the whole house, and I need both hands free. No matter what you hear, you stay put. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“I’ll come and get you as soon as I’m sure that the coast is clear. You don’t move, no matter what. I’ll see you soon.” Dallas disconnected, turned the cell ringer off and put the phone in his pocket. He shrugged off his coat and approached the house slowly, the handgun held at waist level, his arms taut. He swept the gun from side to side as he walked past the garden, looking for any movement at all in the yard outside.

Dallas got to the open door, ducked his head in, pulled it out, waited. Nothing. Using his massive shoulders, he opened the door all the way and waited again, listening for movement. Silence.

Slowly, Dallas worked his way through the house, checking every room, every closet, every crawlspace. He took his time, moving quietly, making sure that he wasn’t missing anything, remembering to check the elevator from the indoor garage level. After ten minutes, he was sure that he and Olivia were the only people in the house.

The fucker scared her and then walked right out the front door. Goddamn him.