Cole(70)

Cole grunted, leaning back against a kitchen counter. “Stop being catty, Dorian.”

He didn’t reply. His shoulders lifted in one slow motion before relaxing back down. He didn’t even blink as he said to me, “She called me ten minutes ago with the request that I open your doors. She’s concerned something is wrong. You’ve not been answering your phone since last evening.”

“Oh, no.” I stepped back. That wasn’t good. “Sia’s been calling me since last night?” I cursed and turned to Cole. “I need my phone. I have to call her.”

He nodded, straightening from the counter. “I’ll get it for you.” He took his keys and squeezed my shoulder as he passed between Dorian and me.

As soon as the doors closed behind Cole, Dorian spoke again. “She said the police called her. There was a break-in at your home—your other home.”

I grew wary. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t think a small excuse that you felt unwell last night, or forgot your phone at the running track will satisfy your friend. She’s been very insistent that I find you if you’re in the building.”

“Is she at Jake’s?”

“No. She’s at the police station.”

“Shit.” It was worse than I’d imagined. “A break-in? Really?”

His head barely moved in a nod, and after a minute of silence, the elevator broke the tension. Cole had returned. He had my phone in hand, along with my purse.

“Here you go.” As I took it and thumbed in my passcode to call Sia, he said to Dorian, “Was that it?”

“Mrs. Sailer can fill you in with the rest.” Dorian left in all his uptight, stiff-neck-and-back gloriousness. He gave me one more searing look of disapproval before the elevator took him away.

“What’d he say?” Cole asked.

But just then Sia answered, and I turned around.

“Hello?! Addison!” She sounded hysterical.

“Yeah.” I hit speaker, holding the phone out so Cole could hear. “I’m here. I’m so sorry. I lost my phone last night. What happened?”

“Your house was broken into!”

That still made no sense. “What?”

“One of your neighbors called it in, and when the police couldn’t reach you, they called me. They had my information from Liam’s accident. Addison, where have you been? I’ve been calling nonstop since last night.”

“Dorian said you’re at the police station?” I ignored so much there.

“No. I was.”

Oh, no. “Where are you now?”

“I’m at Jake’s. We tried getting into your floor, but it’s impossible. The elevator wouldn’t budge. I finally called and harassed your building manager. Addison…” Her voice calmed, but grew cautious. “The cops were asking me all sorts of questions.”

I frowned. “Like what?”

“When I told them where you were living now, they got weird.”

A different form of alarm rose up. I shared a look with Cole and gripped my phone tighter. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, like, at first they were acting like it was some regular kind of break-in, almost like it was no big deal. Then the second I mentioned you were living at The Mauricio, their heads literally jerked up. One of the cops left the room and came back with a detective. Is that normal?” She whispered into the phone, “They asked if you knew Cole Mauricio.”

My throat grew dry. “What did you say?”

“I said yes. I mean, you did meet him at that event.”

“But that was it? That’s all you said?”

“What else would I say? It’s not like you’re bosom buddies with the guy.”

I was a shitty friend.

“Oh, yeah. And Jake.” Her voice rose again in volume. “They talked to him, too. They pulled him into an interrogation room. Of course, they said it wasn’t an interrogation, but it sure felt like it. I could see the whole thing from where I was sitting. Jake told me they were asking how long ago he moved into the building, had he met Cole Mauricio before that, all sorts of questions.”

“Did you tell them about Liam’s parents?”

“No. Why would I? Wait. Should I have?”

“No, no.” My hand loosened its grip on the phone. “Okay. Um, did they give you a number I should call?”

“Yeah. Hold on. I’ll get it.” There was silence, then she spoke again. “Wait. I’ll just come down. They want you to call, and they want to meet you at the house. You need to go through it and let them know if anything’s missing. You still had some things there.”