“Are you still there?” I yell from behind the bathroom door.
No reply.
Of course, he could be not answering on purpose.
Pervert, staring at me like he’s a starving dog and I’m a freaking turkey leg.
I have so many scars. And they’re not just from the island.
But my God, he was gaping at me like I was a feast on a platter.
Fucking degenerate.
“You better not be there!” I yell.
I wrap myself in a towel and carefully open the door from the bathroom into the bedroom.
Thank God. He’s not in my bedroom. He could easily still be in the apartment, but at least I can get dressed.
I hastily pull on some jeans and a T-shirt, and then I head back into the bathroom to comb out my hair. I’m not going anywhere for the rest of the day, so I let it air dry.
Linda told me I’d have to wear it up to work—either in a bun or ponytail.
Once I’m dressed, I pad out of my bedroom, quietly, expecting to find Leif lurking somewhere.
But, after casing the small place, I realize he’s not.
And for some reason…that irks me too.
Everything irks me.
Especially the fact that Leif Ramsey has a key to my apartment. I head back into my bedroom where my phone is charging and yank it off of the cord. Time to call Reid Wolfe.
“Wolfe Enterprises,” a robotic voice says into my ear.
“This is Kelly Taylor. I need to talk to Reid Wolfe.”
I’ll get right through. There’s a standing order at Wolfe Enterprises that any of us women from the island can get right through to whichever Wolfe we want to talk to, even if they’re in a meeting.
A few seconds pass and—
“Kelly? This is Reid. What can I help you with?”
“You can change the locks on my door. Make sure Leif Ramsey does not have a key card.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m happy to change your locks if you feel there’s been a threat against you, but Leif will always have a key card.”
“He broke in on me today. Barged into my bathroom and saw me naked.”
Silence on the other end of the line. I get the distinct feeling that Reid Wolfe is holding back a chuckle.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Kelly, but I’m sure he had a good reason.”
“He said he was concerned.”
“And why was he concerned?”
“Because he knocked on my door and I didn’t answer. But did it occur to him that I might be in the bathroom? Which I was. I’d just gotten out of the shower. I didn’t hear anyone knock.”
“I can see how this is upsetting to you, but I trust Leif Ramsey. I trust him with my own life. With the life of my wife and daughter. And I trust him with your life.”
“Isn’t it more important that I trust him?”
Nothing for a few seconds.
I know what’s going on. Reid is trying to compose himself. He won’t raise his voice at me. He never raises his voice at me, even though there are times when I know he wants to.
Even though there are times when he certainly has every right to.
“I understand your concern,” he finally says. “But Leif Ramsey is the best in the business. You will be safe on his watch, and as long as there are threats being made against you, I want the best keeping you safe.”
“You know exactly how you can keep me safe,” I say. “Get rid of Brindley.”
“As I’ve told you countless times, Brindley denies that she sent you any messages. We have no evidence—”
“Me! I’m your evidence. I say it was her.”
Silence again.
Reid’s composing himself again.
Finally, “Kelly, someone is making threats to you. We’ve seen your texts. They’ve come from a burner phone, and Brindley denies sending them. We have watched her since these texts began, and we have never seen her go anywhere where she could purchase a burner phone. No burner phones have been delivered to her address.”
“So she called someone. Met them somewhere. Had them deliver a burner phone to her.”
“You’re not hearing me. We’ve had her watched.”
“Have you searched her place?”
He’s quiet.
“Just as I thought. You haven’t searched her place.”
“She has a right to privacy. We will not violate that.”
“For all you know, she could have a stash of burner phones in her apartment.”
A heavy sigh whooshes into my ear. “We are putting your protection as our top priority. That is why Leif Ramsey is here to protect you. That is why he has a key to your place. He will not violate your trust.”
“He already did. Today.”
“I’ll speak to him. Perhaps he jumped the gun a bit today, but his heart was in the right place. I can assure you of that.”
“His heart? Or some other part of his anatomy? He saw me naked!”
“I’m sorry about that. I’m sure he apologized.”
“What do you expect when you barge into a woman’s bathroom?”
“As I said, I will speak to him. And as I also said, I’m sure he apologized.”
I say nothing.
“Did he apologize, Kelly?”
“Yes,” I say through gritted teeth. “He apologized.”
“Ramsey is a good man. He probably feels terrible about this.”
“He should.”
“Of course he should. He didn’t want to violate your privacy any more than you wanted it violated. He was just concerned, Kelly. He was doing his job.”
“So you’re not going to change my locks?”
“I’m happy to change your locks, Kelly. But I will give Leif a key.”
“For God’s sake. Maybe I should just move out of here.” I scan the place. This was supposed to be my safe haven, the one place that only I had access to. Now, this untouched home is forever soiled.
“That is certainly your prerogative,” Reid says. “But you won’t have the kind of round-the-clock security you have at the current building. Plus, anywhere else you live, you’ll have to pay rent.”
“Maybe I can pay rent. For your information, I got a job today.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m very glad to hear that. What kind of job did you get?”
“I’ll be waiting tables at The Glass House. For the dinner seating.”
“The Glass House is a fine restaurant. You should do very well there. Congratulations.”
“So I won’t be in your hair much longer.”
Another few seconds of silence.
Yep, he’s composing himself.
“We don’t consider you in our hair, Kelly. We’re happy to provide for you. To try to make up, in some small way, for what our father put you through. We know we can’t erase those years. But we can at least see that you are safe and getting the help that you need.”
My instinct is to strike back. Strike first and strike hard.
But these people don’t mean me any harm. Funny. The first people in my life who don’t.
I don’t know any other way than to strike first and strike hard.
Saying thank you is so hard for me, but I have done it. Once or twice.
I open my mouth, will the words to come forth. “I know it doesn’t always seem like it, but I do appreciate what you do for me. For all of us.”
Silence for a few seconds. No doubt he’s stunned by the fact that I am actually grateful.
“I know that, Kelly,” he finally says. “And you should know that wherever you go, you will always have the support of the Wolfe family should you ever need it.”
“All right. Bye.” I end the call.
I draw in a breath, let it out slowly.
So Leif Ramsey has a key to my place.
He can come and go as he pleases.
In my heart, even as angry as I am—and I’m always angry—I know he didn’t barge into my place on purpose.
Well, maybe on purpose, but not to gawk at me naked—even though he did.
He was truly concerned.
What bothers me more than the violation of my privacy is that…
I don’t hate that he saw me naked.
In fact…I kind of like it.