“What the fuck?! What do you mean somebody broke in?” he screams.
“I said I think somebody broke in, Aub. I don’t know for sure,” I say rapidly.
“Whatever, I’m on my way,” he says quickly.
“No! Please don’t. Let me just figure out what’s going on. Sean is out there, and the cops are on their way. Aubry, please promise me you’ll wait until I tell you it’s okay for you to come,” I plead.
“What?” he yelps. “Are you fucking out of your mind?”
“Please, Aubry. What if this is something bad? Do you really want to put Aimee in danger? If you love me, please stay out of the building until I tell you.”
I hear him breathe heavily into the phone. “Cowboy...I hate you for this, but fine. I’ll wait around the goddamn corner.”
My phone vibrates as soon as we hang up, and I think it’s probably him again to tell me that he’s coming over here anyway. When I look down I see Cole. I close my eyes and take a deep cleansing breath before answering.
“Hello?”
“Hey, baby,” he says. I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Hey,” I reply, my emotions resurfacing at the sound of his voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think somebody broke into my apartment,” I say quietly.
“What?” he screams. “Where are you?”
“Locked in my bathroom.”
“Don’t you dare move. Where’s Aubry?” he asks, and I can picture him pacing nervously.
“I asked him to stay away,” I say in a small voice.
“What do you mean you asked him...” he trails off. “Fuck, Blake. I’m calling him from my house. Do not hang up.”
“No,” I shout and then lower my voice again. “Please don’t.”
“Why? Nothing is going to happen to him, baby. You can’t be by yourself,” he pleads.
“Henry sent Sean up. I’m sure he’s here. I’m just too scared to leave the bathroom.”
He lets out a breath. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry I’m not there with you.” I can hear the mix of regret and concern in his voice.
“It’s okay,” I say, forcing a smile. “You’re here now.”
“No, I’m not. I’m too far from you,” he sighs. “I applied for a job in Chicago.”
I’m taken aback by this, but before I can reply, there’s banging on the door of my room.
“I have to go; someone’s knocking.”
“Stay on the phone with me, please,” he asks, so I do.
The police are on the other side, and when I open the door, I see Sean is there as well. I tell Cole I’ll call him back after they leave, and he hesitantly lets me hang up. I speak to Officer David Martinez and Detective Larry Ginsburg, who happened to be in the building next door when the alarm company called. I tell them what happened, which isn’t much. They ask me to look around the apartment to check if I see anything unusual. I stroll around with a confused look on my face because everything that should be missing is there.
The TV is there; microwave is there; our stereo system is there. I walk to the guest room, and everything looks untouched. I close my eyes and praise myself for always having my Jack-and-Jill bathroom connected to the guest room locked. The thought of what might have happened makes my skin crawl. I do a little shimmy dance, shooing the creepy crawlers off of myself. Detective Ginsburg, who’s standing right next to me, asks if I’m okay. I blush and nod my head yes. He says it’s okay to be freaked out. I check Aubry’s room, and while I’m in there, he and Aimee barge in frantically. I run to them and hug both at once.
“Are you okay?” they both ask in unison.
“Yes, thank God. Nothing happened to me. They didn’t even bang on my door. I’m trying to figure out if they took anything. Will you help me?” I say quickly, my sentences practically overlapping one another.
We look around a couple of times, but nothing looks different. I spot a paper on the kitchen counter under my keys and furrow my eyebrows together. I walk toward it and study it. I’m careful not to touch it. I’ve watched enough detective shows to know that you shouldn’t put your fingerprints on evidence.
“That wasn’t there when I got home,” I say, pointing at the paper with my trembling pointer.
Both Detective Ginsburg and Officer Martinez walk over and look at the paper.
“Are you sure?” Detective Ginsburg asks with furrowed eyebrows, looking between me, Aubry, and Aimee.
“Positive,” I say. “Those are my keys,” I point. “I tossed them up there when I got here and that paper wasn’t under them.”
Detective Ginsburg puts on one latex glove and picks up the paper.
“It’s addressed to Blake Brennan,” he says as he reads.
“What does it say?” I ask quietly as I shiver for the millionth time.
“It says Blake Brennan, call me (312) 448-2984. We need to speak about the land. It’s addressed O’Brian at the bottom.”