When I met Mallory, I was in a low place, but there were still secrets I kept from even her. She knew Jake left me, and she knew I’d been completely ruined by it. I had zero self-esteem, no job, and no place to live when he kicked me out. She’d been there and picked me up off the ground.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Who?”

“You know who,” she said and narrowed her eyes.

“I’m not.” Why did the room feel a thousand degrees hotter? I glanced to the thermostat on the wall and saw it was still the same exact temperature.

“You always have the same look when you think about him,” she pointed out. “Is this because of that FBI agent? Did he try to push you into doing something? You clearly aren’t ready to go back to relationships anytime soon.”

“No, no, it wasn’t like that at all,” I assured her.

“Len-”

Thud, thud, thud. 

I nearly jumped out of my seat as a knock on the door startled me. I was on edge. The case, the driver grabbing my purse, and now this?

I heard a piece of paper slide under the door and stood from the couch. Mallory strained her neck to see, and I walked down the short hallway to find a single piece of paper on the floor. I spotted the pitch black writing before I was close enough to read it.

I picked it up, and my breath caught in my throat.

Stop looking. 

Those were the only two words scrawled across the sheet. My heart felt like it was exploding through my chest, and I could barely manage a deep breath.

“Len, what is that?” Mal asked.

“Nothing,” I said weakly, trying to crumple up the piece of paper.

Mallory stood from the couch and made her was across the room faster than I could dispose of the threat. She held out her hand, but I clung to the ball of paper. She stepped forward and reached for it, but instinctively, I back away.

“Seriously, Len?” she asked, raising a brow. “Let me see it.”

“I-” I tried to come up with an excuse, but my mind went blank. “Fine,” I sighed and handed it over.

She worked to flatten it out, bringing it into my kitchen and smoothing it out on the island countertop. “Len…” Mallory warned. “What is this?”

“Probably just some dumb prank.”

She pushed past me and opened the apartment door, but no one was out on the landing. The door slammed shut as she moved to the windows, looking out all of them frantically.

“They’re probably long gone by now,” I said.

I leaned against my kitchen counter for support. My head was spinning, and my stomach felt nauseous. How did these things keep happening to me?

“We’ll check the cameras,” she assured me.