Page 128 of Make Us Yours
“VERONICA!”
Ronnie and I pull apart suddenly, looking up the stairs where Noah’s worried voice travels down, seconds before she sprints up the steps with me on her tail. I don’t have time to see what’s going on before her loud gasp fills my ears. Her hands are pressed to her mouth as she stares down at the bed.
Above the perfectly made bed lies a certain blue dress neatly, one I easily recognize. It’s the same dress she wore to the nightclub. There’s a white piece of paper lying above it. Ronnie steps up tentatively and reaches out with a shaky hand. Noah stands to the side of the bed with a glare while I take a step closer to Ronnie’s back, reading over her shoulder what’s written on the note.
“You always did look good in blue,” I say out loud as realization sinks in. “Thatbastard was at the club.”
“Oh my God! He was here… he was in our room!” She drops the paper like it’s just burnt her hand and steps back quickly, bumping into my chest as I grab her arms.
“Oh God. He got into the penthouse.” She begins to hyperventilate, her entire body shaking violently as tears start to fall from her eyes. “He got in…”
“Take her back downstairs. Wait in the living room while I check out the rooms to make sure he’s gone, and call Julian,” Noah instructs.
I nod and lift Ronnie into my arms as she sobs, then carry her downstairs and sit her down on the couch while pulling out my phone to call Julian. He picks up on the first ring.
“Storm.”
“We have a problem. He was in the penthouse,” I tell him.
“We are on our way. Marcos and Ricky will be up in a few seconds to scope out the place. They are the security details that have been assigned to you.” He hangs up without letting me get another word in, and true to his word, two huge men walk out of the elevator seconds later.
They introduce themselves quickly, telling us to stay in place while they look around, just as Noah comes down the stairs. “I just checked upstairs but haven’t done the main floor,” he tells them, joining us on the couch.
“We’ll look again, just to make sure. These kinds of people can get creative with their hideouts,” Ricky says as they both head off farther into the penthouse, Marcos on the main floor while Ricky heads upstairs.
I settle down beside Ronnie and lift her into my lap. “It’s okay, baby. If he’s here, they’ll find him.”
She sobs louder. “It’s not okay, Gabriel. He was here. He touched our things. What if this wasn’t the first time? Maybe he’s been coming and going. Oh God, what if he came in during the night when we were sleeping, and we didn’t even know?” She begins to gasp for air again.
“Shh, everything will be okay, love. Just breathe. I promise you. We won’t let anything happen to you.” Noah rubs his hand up and down her back, kissing her shoulder.
“We can’t stay here. We can’t risk it,” she cries and buries her face into the crook of my neck.
She’s right, I’m not sure staying here is a good idea anymore. If he was able to get past security and up to the penthouse when it should have been impossible. Who’s to say what else he can do?
Fifteen minutes later, Julian, Jason, and Jessie stride out of the elevator. Julian taps away on his phone, Jason looks mighty pissed off, and Jessie carries an open laptop as he punches on keys at lightning speed. He’s also wearing glasses, which is a new look I haven’t seen before.
Marcos and Ricky march back into the living room at the same time. “All clear, boss,” Marcos announces to Julian.
“Any bugs?”
“None that we could find,” Ricky tells him next.
“My device isn’t picking up on anything either, except for ours,” Jessie tells him, not looking up from his screen.
Julian nods. “Good.” He puts his phone away and angles his attention our way. “We have run through the footage. He is gone, but he left us a message.” He turns his head to Jessie. “Show them.”
Jessie comes over as I place Ronnie between Noah and me. He sets the laptop down on the coffee table and presses play. It’s footage from inside our penthouse. We see Victor strolling out of the elevator, casually walking through the penthouse, looking everything over.
Jessie presses a button and the camera changes to the one at the top of the stairs. We see him head up and walk directly into Noah’s room first. A few seconds later he walks out and goes down the hall to mine, then the spare. He comes back into view and returns to Noah’s room, where he stays for a few minutes, clearly setting the dress down and writing the note.
He finally exits the room and goes back to the main floor. Once again Jessie changes the camera as we watch Victor head to the kitchen, pull open the fridge, and take out an orange. He then proceeds to bite directly into it like an apple.
I scrunch up my face in disgust. “What the hell? What kind of savage eats an orange like that?” I mutter out loud.
Victor then leaves the kitchen and comes to stand in front of the camera, one hand on his hip as he looks around and continues to eat his orange. Or should I say, my orange. Eventually he chuckles and looks directly into the camera with a smirk. Ronnie gasps, her nails digging into my thigh.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Better luck next time, boys.” He shakes his head as if he’s disappointed that he didn’t get caught right then and there. An evil smile suddenly takes over his face, disturbing enough to make my skin crawl. “Sweet dreams, Veronica.” He then steps into the elevator and disappears.
