door. “You okay with this?” Quiet concern threaded his voice.

“Yeah…” I trailed off, bit my lower lip, and then shook my head. “No, it’s just I’m not sure how to tell Terrance about Kelsey.”

Kayden moved to lean against the wall next to me, our shoulders brushing.

“You don’t need to do it right now, Cyn.” He paused. “If it’d help, I can talk to

him later.”

His unexpected offer brought pressure to the back of my eyes. Blinking it away, I resisted the urge to rest my head against him for just a moment. It would

be easy to use his presence as a comforting crutch against the keen sense of Kelsey’s absence. Guilt nipped at me for even considering it, still I was grateful

he was here. Even more so because I wouldn’t have to face her empty apartment

alone.

A soft ding announced our arrival. I stepped out of the elevator and headed

down the hall.

Kayden’s hand wrapped around my upper arm just below the sleeve of my T-

shirt and brought me up short. His thumb absently brushed a small line of heat

against my skin. “Let me go first.”

I tugged my arm free. “I don’t think anyone’s lying in wait.”

He raised an eyebrow and waited.

I didn’t care who went first, but it was obvious his protective instincts were

kicking in, so I heaved a put-upon sigh, and stepped back. “Fine, then.”

He drew his gun from the small of his back and moved in front of me.

I bent over to retrieve mine, and when I straightened, I offered, “It’s seven twenty-four.”

He led the way and I followed, digging my keys out of my pocket. As we approached the door, he turned until he was walking backward. I tossed him the

keys and he snatched them out of the air. He turned around and crossed to the far side of the door before unlocking it and letting it swing wide. He paused, did a

quick peek, and then moved inside. When he didn’t return, I stepped inside and

closed the door. Standing in the dim entryway, I waited for his all clear.

The condo was close to fifteen hundred square feet with three bedrooms and

three bathrooms. Kayden cleared the bath just off the entryway, then continued

down the hall. The third bedroom, located to his left before the open-concept kitchen and living room, served as an office.

I noted the small pile of unopened mail tucked next to the bowl of colored glass on the long, narrow entry table to my left. I’d have to go through it later and see if anything worthwhile was in there.

Kayden cleared the office and came back. From where we stood, we had an

unimpeded view of the kitchen and living room. I motioned to the doorway to the right of the heavily curtained patio doors. Kelsey’s room. He gave a short nod and headed over.

The condo was a corner unit, so glass walls ran from Kelsey’s room, through

the living room, and into the second bedroom nestled behind the kitchen and office. Despite the massive number of windows, the interior remained cool. The

privacy curtains kept both the lookie-loos and the sun at bay.

As Kayden cleared Kelsey’s room, I headed toward the second one, where I

normally crashed. The pocket door was partially open. The AC shifted the living

room curtains in front of me, offering teasing glimpses of the primary patio overlooking the fifth-floor outdoor pool. Taking a deep breath, I sidled closer, using my Sig to nudge the pocket door wider. When nothing moved inside, I headed in.

It had been weeks since my last visit. Because the room doubled as Kelsey’s

guest room, it wasn’t used often. At first glance, nothing looked out of place.

There was the dresser, the bed, a couple of bookshelves, and framed pictures

scattered across the surfaces, a couple of which were tipped over. One section of

the blackout curtains was pulled back, allowing the afternoon sunlight to paint a

bright path across the bed and over the throw rug lying on the tile floor. The sliding glass door led to a second balcony patio, and from where I stood, it

appeared empty of threats. It took less than a minute to clear the bathroom and walk-in closet where a gun safe squatted.

I came back into the bedroom, sank to the edge of the bed, and set my gun

beside me on the comforter. Being here hurt, but it also didn’t. It was a strange,

disorienting feeling. Hearing the scrape of a shoe against tile, I looked over to find Kayden standing in the doorway, his gun gone.

“It’s clear. Nothing seems out of place.” He came over and settled next to me. “This is a hell of an apartment.”

“Yeah, Kelsey loves…loved,” I corrected myself, “this place. The views are

unbeatable.”

I stared out to the partially exposed balcony, remembering Kelsey’s