My eyes widened as I tried to process what was going on. “Ryn?”
Ryn was looking at the ground not saying a word.
“Where’s the shit, Ryn?” When she didn’t answer, a man with greasy black hair yanked her hair back, making her scream out before he slapped her.
I watched as one of the men, who was as big as a linebacker, pushed Ryn to the ground.
“Bitch, where’s the money?”
Ryn looked to me. “She knows where.”
My eyes widened as the situation fully settled in. Movement caught the corner of my eye as the last man came through the threshold and headed straight for me. A heartbeat was all it took for instinct to take over and I turned around, rushing into the bathroom and slamming the door behind me. I pushed against the door to lock it and jumped after it clicked when someone slammed against the door.
“Open this door, bitch!”
Kinsey let out a cry, and I pulled her closer. I could hear Ryn screaming and some glass breaking, but whoever was on the other side continued to beat on the door.
With shaking fingers, I pulled up my contacts and hit the call button for the first person that came to mind.
“Couldn’t last fifteen minutes without me, huh?” he answered.
“Thane,” I said, my voice shaking. “I need help.”
“Roe, what’s wrong?”
The door shook with a slam, making me jump. A scream left me, and I pulled Kinsey tighter to me. “There are men in my apartment.”
“Where are you?” he asked. What had been silence was suddenly filled with the sounds of the city in the background.
“The bathroom. Third floor, apartment four.”
“Stay put. Find something to defend yourself just in case. I’ll be right there.”
“Please hurry,” I whimpered as I watched the door shake.
My heart hammered in my chest as I grabbed the bottle of cleaner from the cabinet under the sink. It wasn’t much, but it was something and the bleach would hopefully burn. The slams against the door grew harder and I climbed into the tub, sinking down, holding Kinsey close to my chest.
My eyes closed, pinching shut at another slam that shook the door. Kinsey let out a wail, tears sliding down her cheeks.
There were a few loud thumps, crashes, something breaking, and then I heard Thane yelling. My heart slammed in my chest. What is he doing? He could get hurt!
Another few heartbeats passed before it became silent, then footsteps became louder as they grew closer. A soft knock on the door made me freeze before the sound of Thane’s voice filtered through.
“Roe? It’s okay now. You can open the door.”
With a shaking hand, I reached up and flipped the lock on the door, then turned the handle. I looked up as he passed through the doorway and stopped, his eyes wide.
At least Kinsey wasn’t a secret anymore.
A baby.
There was a baby in Roe’s arms. She had the same hair color and same hazel eyes as Roe.
Roe was a mother.
I was struck stupid as I stared at them.
Everything suddenly made sense. The leaving early, late arrivals, refusal to stay late, rejecting my date invites, and even more so why she had disappeared that afternoon.
The child filled the stretching silence with a piercing scream. Roe pulled it tighter to her, bouncing slightly as she soothed. “Shh, it’s okay. He’s here to help us.”
Tears slipped down Roe’s cheeks, her bottom lip trembling.
I stepped forward and kneeled down beside the tub. The angle was awkward, but I was able to wrap my arms around them both and pull them close.
Roe shook as she let loose a sob. She reached up and gripped my neck, pulling me closer.
The child’s cries subsided, a curious look on her face as she stared at her mother.
“The police will be here soon,” I whispered.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Mama,” the baby cooed as she nuzzled into Roe’s chest.
The police arrived a few minutes later and separated us as they took our statements. One of the intruders was still unconscious on the floor, and they cuffed him as they waited for an ambulance. He’d knocked his head pretty hard on the table when I punched him—hard—sending him to the ground.
Good.
He deserved more for the terror he put Roe through.
The others were unfortunately long gone. I’d seen two other men and a woman.
They didn’t walk out with much, but what they did take was a hard hit to Roe. All that Roe could discern that they stole was her Blu-ray player, tablet, jewelry box, and her purse.
I’d stopped them before they got her TV, but it was broken in the process.
She had no prescription drugs, no video game console—though I did notice a few game boxes for a PS4 on a shelf. Her personal laptop had been on her bed when she got up that morning, the covers haphazardly thrown on top of it, putting it out of sight.
Her purse being gone was the worst, and she had to find the numbers to cancel her cards. Then came the realization of what was in the jewelry box. At first she brushed it off as costume jewelry, not worth anything really, just pieces she would miss. Then it hit her.
“My dad’s watch.” Her face crumpled and tears filled her eyes. By her reaction, it was the one thing that really mattered. Everything else could be replaced.
But I knew that couldn’t.
“It’s a Cartier Tank watch from the late nineties with gold trim and a leather band.”
“Any distinguishing marks or engravings?” one officer asked.
She nodded. “On the back are the initials M.C.P.”
After a few hours, the police left and I closed and locked the door after them. I’d tried to get Roe to come to my place or get a hotel, but she refused. The baby was fast asleep against Roe’s chest as I sat down next to them on the couch.
I flexed my fingers, lifting the ice from my knuckles. They were a bit swollen and a few were split, but other than some pain, they were fine. All superficial.
Roe smiled, and I could tell it was a struggle. She looked down at the baby in her arms and brushed a few stray locks from the tiny girl’s face.
“Thane, meet Kinsey.”
I stared at her in stunned silence. Putting a name to her baby made her all the more real and made me question many things, the most prominent being why she never told me about her.
“Where is her father?” I asked. A burning curiosity filled me.
Roe shrugged. “Who knows?”
“You’re not still with him?”
She blinked at me, then looked around like she suddenly remembered something. “My work laptop.”
I pointed to the floor a few feet from the door. “I managed to pry it from one of the guys as he ran out. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them from taking more.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. As long as we’re okay. That’s my work laptop and has so much sensitive information on it.”
“And it would still be fine if they’d taken it. Better it than you.”
She settled back down, her hand absently stroking Kinsey’s back.
“How old is she?”
“Eleven months.”
“Roe, the door wasn’t broken in, so how did they get in?”
“Ryn. They were with Ryn.” Her voice was distant, her eyes too. It made my chest clench, seeing her beaten down emotionally.