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"I can’t breathe," she ht, her face was sainst his underar here so fast I probably should’ve called 911 but…"
He didn’t care about the why, he was glad she hadn’t He’d been able to asseerprints and see if they could get anything on the shoe print The techs had left once they got what they needed, but it wasn’t looking good He still had to talk to two hbors, but so far, no prints other than the shoe and no one had seen or heard anything There had been a rash of robberies a few blocks away and he had a bad feeling this was the sao on, and since they were committed when no one was home, these types of cases often dropped to the bottoood and bad Good, because this burglar didn’t want violence--he wanted to get in, get what he needed, and get out Bad, because it et solved and that meant that a man had broken into Courtney’s home, invaded her privacy, scared the shit of out of her, and made her feel insecure And that? That ain" Her voice washer elbow instead
"I’, you know I’m sorry I scared you I know I overreacted but--"
"You reacted exactly the way you should have" He didn’t release her ar it to lead her up her front stairs as he fished around for the key she’d left him "You called the police, me, and you vacated the premises Textbook I’m really proud of you"
She cleared her throat "Um, thanks You know, the back door’s not locked I left it open when I ran out"
"I locked it," he said simply Dusk had fallen and the house was nearly dark when he swung the door open Courtney froze in the entranceway
"C-can you turn the light on?" she whispered
He flicked on the switch behind hiood thing they hadn’t gotten any prints If he’d been able to ID the perp, he didn’t know if he could’ve stopped hi sure the bastard wound up as afraid of the dark as Courtney was right now
Her gaze flickered immediately to theand she closed her eyes for a second, taking a steadying breath "Thanks for getting rid of the glass and boarding it up I don’t think I could’ve slept"
"Not a problem Why don’t you have a seat? I can "
"I’d rather have a beer, I think," she admitted with a wan s to take the edge off didn’t seeet it Go sit"
She see across the oak floor to the large sectional couch that took up the center of the living room
He headed into the kitchen and pawed around until he found a couple beers, a bottle opener, and one glass When he returned to the living room, he found Courtney huddled into the couch cushions with a tattered pink blanket over her
"You cold?" He eyed her hard, wondering if he’d ns of shock, and if she wasn’t as fine as she claiaze
"No This is the blanket I had when I was a kid Makes me feel…comfy"
And safe, he added mentally
He sat down next to her, opened her beer, and poured it into the glass
Sheto face him head-on "It doesn’t seeht to co to thereed and then popped the cap off his own beer and took a swig He ry as he felt, because she laid a hand on his ar in the scheot hurt, no one…anyway, I know you’ve seen and dealt with so much worse…"
He could hear the pity in her voice as she struggled with the words to say Which ured it would come up eventually and either Cat would tell her or Galen would mention it He racked his brain for some pithy brush-off, but shocked himself
"It was the worst day of ly, and the words started to flow, out of control
"I told her we should go out She had a big test to study for and I didn’t want her to spend the whole afternoon cooking, but she wouldn’t have it She was set on s" He drained half the beer bottle and set it down "I don’t even like fucking crab legs"
He scrubbed a hand over his eyes and tried to picture her face She’d been the exact opposite of Courtney Black hair, dark eyes, leaner, not so curvy The details were fuzzy now He knew there’d been a dimple Just one, but he couldn’t remember on which side anymore And freckles, but it was a strain to recall the pattern of them He didn’t think of her every day any and part curse, because on days he reotten was aled ht about the world Looking back, I can’t say that those changes were for the better I am what I ae you" She started to protest and he held up a hand "I know it’s not the sa, but it was a violation You can either choose to believe that this was one bad person at one bad tiive yourself a day or two to be pissed off, sad, and scared, and move on, or you can let it color your view of the world entirely, and fester"
She toyed with the ragged edges of her blanket as she contemplated his words "Like I did with Wes," she ood "That’s exactly what I did I let hi to find another, healthier relationship It’s been like he’s still controlling ether anymore"
She settledexhausted He patted her legs, urging her to put theh talk for now You’ve had a hell of an evening Why don’t you rest for a fewhere and finish o to bed"
She hesitated and then nodded, setting her beer on the coffee table "I appreciate it I’m just not ready to be alone yet" He covered her calf with his hand and rubbed in slow, soothing circles Her eyes drifted closed and a fewTV, he watched her sleep for a while, and thought of ways he could help her feelOdds were allar would come back and she lived in a relatively low-criive her a sense of security as well as provide sohts that she felt alone and scared