Page 92 of Make No Mistake

I texted Larson, asking if that would be okay. Luckily, he said yes. If the guy was watching, he’d see I was home and still alone.

Great. I was just the carrot they were dangling to catch their man.

I called in my order and found another movie to watch. Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the door that made me jump. Even though I’d been anticipating the delivery, I was still so on edge. I let out a deep breath and went to get my dinner.

When I opened the door, the wonderful smell of peperoni pizza greeted me. I stepped out while handing the delivery boy my money. He looked startled that I was coming out, but I wanted to make sure that I could be seen by anyone watching.

Once I had the pizza, I offered a quick thanks and closed the door behind me. I could pretend this was a normal night. I’d take a slice, turn on a movie, and wait for Aubrey to come home.

Only, I wasn’t waiting for Aubrey. I was waiting for some psycho to walk in the door.

I shook my head and focused on the movie, hoping it would distract me from noticing that I hadn’t heard anything from the police. Would they warn me if they saw someone coming? All of our windows faced the front of the building, so no one could sneak in. That was a positive.

Focus. Movie. I took another bite and chewed while listening to the dialogue so intently I almost didn’t hear a slight scrape coming from outside.

My eyes jumped to the front door before I could really process what I was hearing.

It wasn’t a knock. It also didn’t sound like it was in front of my unit. Maybe one of the girls next door was walking by.

Another scratch sounded followed by a thump.

Without taking my eyes off the door, I slid my laptop onto the sofa and put my empty plate on the floor.

Was this it? Was he coming in?

Should I do anything? Should I sit here any let him come in and see what happened? Should I call Larson?

I reached for my phone and spared only a second to check the screen. One message.

There was another thump.

I checked the door before swiping at the screen and reading the text. It was from Larson. He saw a guy walking up my stairs. I was supposed to keep him talking as long as possible. They were coming.

I dropped my phone into my pocket and stilled on the couch. Keep him talking, they were coming. Keep him talking, they were coming.

I repeated this to myself and flinched when the thump turned into a bang. He had a key. Was he trying to bust down the door? Or maybe he was trying to scare me.

It was working.

I was tempted to go to the door and get this over with, but we needed him to break in. That would be enough to arrest him. The police could work on getting a confession or evidence for the rest.

My leg was bouncing a mile a minute while my eyes focused on the handle.

Another bang.

The handle turned.

I was sure whoever was outside could hear my heart pounding in my chest.

All that was left was the deadbolt.

One. Two. Three more bangs and the door flew open.

I gasped.

I knew it was coming, but there was no way to prepare myself.

I jumped up, feeling safer standing up to him.