“Oh, God,” I managed to whisper.
“Do you know Melanie and Jacob Sanders? They live three doors down from you.”
I shook my head no. I didn’t know anyone who lived around me. Except Jimmy. I had kept myself closed off from everyone else. But three doors down, there was a married couple. I had met the husband, unfortunately. He had given me the creeps. I had been walking to the car one day, and he’d whistled and called my ass “luscious.”
“I don’t know them. I only know Jimmy . . . Jimmy Morrison. He lives in apartment two D. He was just here before . . . Oh, God! Jimmy was just here. He had to walk to the stairs to get back to his apartment. It happened right after he left.”
The cop’s expression softened. “Jimmy Morrison is fine. He’s the one who called in the disturbance. He saw most of it happen and is currently giving his statement. He knew the victim.”
My phone was ringing. Mase was calling me back.
“If you remember anything, please call the office. Jimmy will have confirmed that he’d just left your apartment. If he doesn’t, we will be back to talk to you. I do need your name, for the record.”
“Reese Ellis,” I replied, as my phone stopped ringing and started back up again.
“Thank you, Miss Ellis.”
I nodded and closed the door as the cop walked to the next door. I bolted it before answering my phone. “The cops were here,” I told Mase. “They asked me a few questions.”
“You’re OK.” He let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes. Jimmy saw it. He’s with the police now, giving his statement. I’m not totally sure what happened; the police didn’t even tell me who the victim was, but a married couple a few doors down were involved somehow. All I did was hear the shots and the screams. Nothing more. But Jimmy was out there. He could have been shot.”
“But he wasn’t. Don’t think about that,” Mase said in a firm voice.
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. He was right. I didn’t need to dwell on something that didn’t happen.
“Did you lock your door?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s bolted.”
“When Jimmy is done with the cops, he’ll come tell you what happened. Just sit down and relax. I’ll talk to you until then. You’re going to be fine. I know you’re upset and scared.”
Just hearing his voice calmed me. I sat down on the sofa and watched the lights continue to flash outside.
“Read to me, Reese. It will take your mind off this.”
I wasn’t sure I could. My vision had totally blurred when I was upset earlier. Focusing didn’t work when you were panicking. “I don’t know if I can,” I admitted.
“Just try,” he said gently.
Because I wanted to please him. I tried.
Mase
Listening to her soft voice was the only thing that could calm me down. I was standing on my front porch with my boots on and my keys in my hand. When she hadn’t called me back and wouldn’t answer her phone, I’d been ready to go after her.
If she hadn’t answered that last ring, I was going to call Grant and Rush to check on her, and then I was going to ask my father to order a private jet immediately and fly my ass to Rosemary Beach. Hell, my knees had almost buckled with relief when she’d finally answered the phone. I wanted Jimmy to get his ass to her and tell her what happened so she would know. And so she wouldn’t be alone.
But until then, I wasn’t letting her go. Fuck, I wouldn’t let her go once Jimmy got there. I was seriously close to calling Rush and Grant to stay with her until I could get there.
She was struggling more tonight than she had in weeks as she read to me. I hated the thought of her being scared and alone. I also hated the fact that she lived in that apartment by herself. It wasn’t safe. This proved that.
“Jimmy’s at the door,” she said.
“I want to hear what he has to say,” I told her. I didn’t want her hanging up on me.
“OK. I’ll just, um, set the phone down.”
I waited as she opened the door. Jimmy asked her if she was OK, and it sounded like he was hugging her. She let out a small sob and asked him if he was OK. Then he was assuring her that he was fine.
“What happened?” Reese asked him.
“I don’t know the full story. When I was headed to the stairs, I heard wheels screech, and then I heard Jacob screaming at Melanie that she was a slut. Melanie began calling him names, too, and then he just pulled out a gun from his waistband and shot at her. She took off running and screaming, and I was trying frantically to dial nine-one-one when the second round went off. I saw . . .” Jimmy paused. “I need to sit down. Shit, I’m gonna need a stiff drink tonight.”
“You don’t need to be alone,” Reese told him.
“My man is on his way. He’ll hold me tonight,” Jimmy replied.
“Good.”
That didn’t help me. I didn’t like the idea of Reese being alone tonight, either. I also fucking hated that she was on the first floor. It was dangerous down there.
“I saw her go down. She just crumpled to the ground. There was a pool of blood around her, and she wasn’t moving. It wasn’t the smart thing to do, but I went running toward her. And then the bastard fired at me. He missed and took off, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get that image out of my head of a gun pointed at me.”
Shit.