“Can you give us a description?” the officer asks her. “Did they say anything? Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?”
“I already told you,” Eden grumbles, “they grabbed me from behind. I didn’t see or hear anything.”
“You said you’d recently been having issues with your security cameras. Is that correct, Mr. Stride?”
I grind my teeth. “Yes. We had an… unexpected delivery a while back. The camera at the front door was offline for some reason. I called the technician and they assured me they had everything fixed.”
The officer frowns. “We reviewed the footage, Mr. Stride. It looks likeallyour feeds were cut shortly before the time of the incident and your alarms were disabled.”
Something ugly and bitter coats my tongue. I’m incensed.
The break-in, the attack, those creepy fucking dolls to go with the mysterious dollhouse… This is too much. To top everything off, Eden’s now been dragged into my mess. Whoever’s been watching me is now watching her. It boils my blood knowing they got their hands on her. I’m thankful Eden managed to get away, but if she hadn’t…
I take a deep breath. The last thing I need right now is to lose control.
But all I can think about is Eden’s blood curdling scream, calling frantically for me at the top of her lungs. Thewhat ifsricochet around inside my skull. What if I’d been faster? What if they’d done more than just hurt Eden?
What if this only gets worse?
“Rest assured, Mr. Stride,” the office says. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. My guys are sweeping for prints.”
Mei-Lee, who’s been sitting beside Eden holding her hand, glances up.
Are we going home now?she asks.
“What’s she saying?” the officer questions.
“She wants to know if we’re allowed to return to the mansion tonight.”
“I don’t think that’s advisable. At least, not until your window is repaired and we can ensure that the security system is in working order again. I think it would be safer if you stayed with friends or family. Maybe even a hotel, if you have no other options.”
Eden swallows. “We can go back to my apartment.” She speaks softly, a whisper. “I’m sure Taylor won’t mind. Plus, I’ve got a pull-out couch that Mei-Lee can sleep on and you…”
I nod. “Would you feel safer there?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go.”
* * *
“Holy fucking shit!” Taylor gasps when the three of us walk through the door together. She gawks at Eden’s neck, which is swollen and growing darker by the minute. There’s no doubt in my mind that her bruises will be purple by morning.
“I’m fine,” she insists. “You should see the other guy.”
“God, your texts made absolutely zero sense. Some freak really broke in to drop off doll lookalikes? That’s some straight up voodoo-level creepy shit.”
“Thank you for having us,” I tell Taylor. “Apologies for the sudden intrusion.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. The more the merrier and all that. I’ve already made up the pull-out for you, and if you’re hungry, there’s some leftover Italian in the fridge.”
“Thanks, Tay,” Eden mumbles. “But I think I just want to go to bed.”
“Totally understandable. You guys get some rest. I’m going to double check the locks before crashing.”
Eden takes my hand and starts to tug me down the hall, but not before signinggood nightto Mei-Lee.
The second the door’s closed and we have a bit of privacy, I pull her toward me to inspect her throat. My fury knows no bounds. Whoever did this to her is going to pay a thousand times over. I won’t rest until that sick fuck is rotting behind bars. I don’t even care about my own safety. I don’t give a rat’s ass that they stormed into my home and violated my privacy. All I care about is that they had the audacity to harm my woman and—