He’d spent the entire day after returning from his mission at Silverstone Towing, debriefing with his friends. And after examining his arm, Taylor saw that it really had only been a graze. But that didn’t mean she stopped worrying about him and whether he was in pain.
Taylor had also gone to dinner with Skylar one evening, and the other woman had taken one look at her and somehow known that Taylor and Eagle had taken their relationship to the next level. It still felt weird to talk about her love life with another woman, but it was reassuring that Skylar had most of the same fears when it came to the safety of the guys when they were gone on a mission.
There hadn’t been any more creepy men trying to make conversation with her, and even the trip to the Dementia Senior Care Center with Eagle had been a success. He was amazing with the residents, staying back when it was obvious someone was uncomfortable with his presence, and engaging in a thirty-minute conversation with one of the veterans.
All in all, Taylor couldn’t remember being happier—which scared her to death. Because it seemed as if every time she let down her guard, life threw her a curveball.
Today, she was sitting at her kitchen table proofreading a new book she’d been sent. It was a thriller by a New York Times bestselling author, and she was actually having a hard time concentrating on her job and not getting lost in the story, when there was a knock on her front door.
Surprised, Taylor looked down at her phone. Eagle usually sent her a text when he was on his way over, but she hadn’t heard from him in a few hours. Feeling the butterflies in her stomach take flight at the thought of having to deal with someone she might or might not know, she walked to her door. Looking through the peephole, she saw a man standing there. He had on a gray T-shirt and a pair of blue overalls. He was also wearing a baseball cap.
“Who is it?” she called out, not willing to open the door to a stranger.
“Maintenance, ma’am,” the man told her, looking up at the door.
She could see he had brown eyes, and he was smiling. He held up the large flat item he was carrying in his right hand and a flyer in his left. “I’m here to change your air filter.”
Sighing in relief, Taylor remembered seeing the same notices posted around the complex. The managers always let the residents know when there would be someone coming around to do routine maintenance on the units or to spray for bugs. She’d forgotten about it until right this second. She undid the chain and dead bolt and opened the door.
“Hi, sorry about that,” she told him.
The man shrugged. “You can’t be too careful these days. A pretty woman like you could find herself in a bad situation if she wasn’t paying attention.” With that, the man pushed past her and entered her apartment.
The relief she’d felt instantly disappeared, and Taylor regretted opening the door. But it was too late now.
Then something else struck her. As the maintenance man had passed, his strong scent had wafted up to her nostrils.
Bleach, antiseptic, and urine.
He smelled exactly like the dementia care home . . . and the man she’d met there.
Taylor racked her brain, trying to remember anything about the man who’d creeped her out the other week while she’d been volunteering, but of course nothing stuck out. She remembered what he’d been wearing, but that didn’t help her right now.
Realizing she was still frozen in place, Taylor moved a little farther into her apartment but didn’t close the door. She might need a quick escape, and if she had to take the time to open her door, he might be able to prevent her from leaving. Because it was the middle of the day, most of her neighbors were gone, out working their day jobs. There likely wasn’t anyone around who might hear her yelling for help.
She hated being so suspicious of someone, but she had no idea why the maintenance man would smell like the residents from the care center. It didn’t make sense, and maybe dating Eagle had made her more paranoid . . . but something wasn’t right here.
For the first time, Taylor realized that she was still holding her phone. Thank God.
Glancing up to see where the man was, she saw he was kneeling in the hallway, tinkering with the grate that covered the filter for her air conditioner. As if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked up.
“So . . . most of the residents aren’t home this time of day. You work from home?”
Not wanting to make small talk, and with her intuition screaming at her to get the hell away from the man, she clicked on Eagle’s name and brought her phone up to her ear.
“Hey, Tay, what’s up?”
“Hi, Kellan. I got your text. You’re on your way over now?” She hoped that by using his given name, she could make Eagle understand immediately that something was wrong. That, and the fact that he hadn’t texted her and certainly wasn’t on his way to her apartment.
“What’s wrong?” Eagle growled.
“Great. The maintenance guy is here changing out my filter, but we can head out as soon as he’s done.”
“Someone’s there? In your apartment? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, he just got here. But I’m sure it won’t take long, right?” Taylor asked the man still kneeling in her hallway. She couldn’t decide if it was her imagination that he looked irritated now or if she was simply panicking.
“Right,” he mumbled, and turned his attention back to the filter.
“I’m on my way,” Eagle told her, and Taylor could hear the engine of his car start up. “Stay by the door.”
“I am,” she told him.
“And if he does anything that makes you nervous, just leave. I don’t care that you’re leaving him inside your apartment—nothing is more important than your safety.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m thinking I’m in the mood for pasta for lunch.”
“You’re doing great,” Eagle told her. “Keep talking. I’m not going to hang up until he’s gone or I’m there.”
“Good,” Taylor said in relief. She kept up a one-sided conversation about nothing in particular while keeping an eye on the maintenance man. Eagle kept encouraging her and giving her updates on where he was and when he would get there.
“That’s it,” the man said as he stood. “Good as new.”
“Thanks,” Taylor told him, not taking the phone away from her mouth. She was aware that it was rude, and if this really was a maintenance man, she’d feel guilty as hell later for doubting him . . . but she couldn’t get that smell out of her nose.
He walked toward her, and it was all Taylor could do not to back away as he approached.
“He’s leaving?” Eagle asked in her ear.
“Uh-huh.”
“It was nice seeing you,” the man said. “Have a nice day.” Then he nodded at her and headed for her open door.
After he disappeared through it, Taylor gave him an extra ten seconds to make sure he was far enough down the hall. Of course, he could be lying in wait just outside the door, but she hoped the fact she was on the phone with someone would prevent him from doing anything crazy . . . if that was even his intent.
It wasn’t until the door was shut and she’d thrown the dead bolt that she dared to breathe.
“He gone?” Eagle asked.