Page 38 of Problematic

Relief hit so hard my knees almost gave out. I rushed to the door, fingers fumbling at the chain and deadbolt, flipping both back. I cracked it just enough to peek, even though I knew her voice.

Her and Daniel stood there. Sam in an oversized T-shirt and leggings, hair in a messy bun, no makeup. Daniel behind her, shirt half buttoned, hair sticking up, that mellow hazy glow around his mate mark still fading from sleep.

I yanked the door open, and Sam shoved her way in, hands on my shoulders, eyes scanning my face.

“Are you okay?” she demanded. “Are you hurt? Did he touch you?”

“No,” I said. “I mean . . . I don’t know? I woke up and he was just there and then he was gone and I knocked my mug over and—”

My voice cracked. The words fell apart on my tongue.

Sam pulled me into a hug so tight it knocked the air out of me. I clung back, fingers digging into her T-shirt like a kid.

Daniel closed the door quietly behind them, flipped the lock, then did the Guard-issue thing and pressed his palm to the wood, eyes closing. His clan mark flared a faint gold as he checked for lingering magic.

“Ward’s still clean,” he murmured. “No hostile imprint. No fresh spells. Just the one that was already here.”

Sam let me go enough to look at my face. “Start from the beginning,” she said. “Everything. Don’t leave shit out because you think it sounds crazy. Crazy is my specialty.”

I sucked in a breath.

“I was asleep,” I said. “On the couch. I know, I know, don’t start.” She made a face. I ignored it. “I woke up to a crash. I think I kicked the table when I jerked, but when my eyes opened, there was a man standing right there.”

I gestured at the space in front of the couch. Daniel’s nostrils flared like he was scenting the air.

“All black,” I went on. “Mask covering his face. Hood up. Big. Like really big . . . tall, broad, the whole nightmare package. He was just . . . looking at me.” The man from the tower invaded my home. No, nope, that makes zero sense. “And then he moved, and I couldn’t see him, and I freaked and knocked the mug off, and by the time I got my shit together, he was gone.”

“A mask,” Daniel said, stepping closer to the middle of the room, gaze sweeping across the corners. “What kind?”

“Black,” I said. “Matte. Narrow slits over the eyes and these pointed pieces coming down the sides of his face. His mouth was exposed, but everything above it was basically nightmare fuel.”

Sam shuddered then blew out a breath. “Okay. Okay, we hate that. Do you think he came in the front or the back?”

“Back,” Daniel said. “Lock’s older. Easier.”

“I locked it,” I said, defensive. “I locked both. I always do.”

“I know,” Sam said. “Nobody’s accusing you, Liv.”

Daniel moved toward the small doorway that led to the back hall. I heard him testing the knob, the faint metallic squeak of the cheap lock, the soft curse under his breath.

Sam followed my gaze to the counter.

“Okay, yeah.” Her face went tight. “That’s fucked.”

Two roses.

“He left a second one,” I said. “Neat. Like a matching set. Like I’m supposed to . . . what, appreciate the effort?”

“Someone is playing house without an invitation,” Sam muttered.

“This is the same rose as last night,” I said. “Same cut. Same type.”

Sam grabbed a dish towel and gingerly moved the glass, like more distance from the roses would help. It didn’t.

“This plus the ward,” she said. “This isn’t random. Somebody is watching you, Liv. Somebody powerful.”

“Love that for me,” I said weakly.