Tracked by Nicole Howard

Author:Nicole Howard [Howard, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Decoy

Olivia

“Is that everything?” Ryan finished unloading the last few boxes from the backseat of his car. His furniture had arrived earlier today, but he hadn’t brought much. Furniture for his bedroom and a lone chair to be added to our living room. He hardly took up any space.

“Yeah. The contents of my apartment were typical college student stuff. I just passed it on to the next person. Brought what I wanted to hold on to.” Having Ryan in my space was strange. We’d talked a few times before he moved, combing over the basics, learning the necessities when it came to habits and preferences. Allergies. Cleaning expectations. Splitting the bills. So many details I’d never considered when I agreed to my new roommate/personal rock god security. Before, I’d barely been able to cover the bills, but now that they were split, I’d have spending money for once.

My place was well below Ryan’s budget. The man could probably buy a mansion without blinking an eye, but yet here he was, lugging cardboard boxes into my two-bedroom apartment. I wasn’t complaining though. Truth was, I hadn’t felt safe within these walls since the first time Alex had been here. The more time that passed the more convinced I was that it was him. Even if I didn’t understand his motive.

The day I arrived home from Sarah’s, their security team searched the apartment for cameras and recording devices, suspecting that was his purpose. Things that had never crossed my mind. Their sweep didn’t turn up a single device.

“Well, that makes things easy. Do you need help unpacking? I can help with the box in the kitchen.” It was probably the safest box to tackle. No surprises to be found in a box labeled kitchen, right? I’d never lived with a man other than Alex and that experience wasn’t all that great. A smarter woman might have her back up, be wary of the man, but Ryan didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I had to remember that not every man was a carbon copy of Alex. Ryan was more along the lines of a big brother than an evil monster.

“Sure. That’d be great.” Ryan went to his room while I focused on emptying the box in the kitchen. There wasn’t much in there either. A couple of boxes of unopened cereal, a few coffee mugs, a set of scotch glasses, and carefully wrapped high end knives. Pretty basic and nothing tacky to disrupt the matching dishes stacked in my cupboards. Of all the things about my old house, it was my kitchen and dining area. Having gorgeous place settings and serving delicious meals. There was nothing better than enjoying a meal surrounded by beauty. I was adjusting to living on budgeted beauty.

When the box was empty, I stood around with my hands in my pockets while Ryan worked. The reality that I was no longer alone sunk in. Those moments of complete serenity were gone. Although in retrospect, they’d disappeared a while ago. I just failed to recognize it.

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