What She Found

Reese pushed open the car door and got out. He stepped around to the passenger side and let Hayden out. She thanked him and narrowed her eyes at the police car that idled near the curb. The woman behind the wheel looked at them, and nodded politely.

"That's Detective Kinley," Reese explained. "She's been watching your house since I've been with you."

"He wouldn't come by," Hayden murmured as she went up the steps to her apartment. She pushed through the main door, keys jingling in her shaking hands. "He knows I was at the hospital. He's been watching me, remember."

Reese regarded her as she let him into the space. She slipped into one of the rooms down the hall, and came back with bottles of water. She passed it to him.

"Thank you," he said, cracking the seal and taking a sip. "I talked to my partner while we were at the hospital, and she said there was something wrong here."

Before Hayden could ask anything, there was a knock on the door.

Detective Kinley stood there, her blonde hair tied away from her face. She glanced at Reese and shook her head, then tipped it toward Hayden.

"Miss Boswell, I'm Detective Kinley. You can call me Maya. How are you feeling? I heard you've had a rough few days."

"I'm okay," said Hayden. She brushed the hair from her face and guided the two detectives to the living room. It looked untouched. "He didn't take anything from here?" she asked.

"It doesn't look like it," Maya said. "From what we gathered after the break in and attack, it doesn't seem likely that the man took anything."

"That's odd." Reese turned to her. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

Maya nodded. "It is unusual that he broke it and didn't take anything, but we're still investigating. Maybe his sole purpose was just to attack Hayden."

Reese's fingers tightened around the water bottle. He'd seen a lot of fucked up things since becoming a detective, and he'd always reacted strongly to them. This wasn't any different. He glanced at Hayden, watched her expression change; she was angry and scared.

"What can I do to help catch this guy?" she whispered.

"We'll take care of it," Reese said. "You shouldn't get involved in this case. It could be dangerous."

"There's a car outside, Hayden. We'll leave you to rest, and call you later. In the meantime, can you go through your home and let us know if anything was taken?" Maya wondered. "It could be a big help. And we'll do everything we can to help you."

Once they were gone, Hayden sank down on to the couch and buried her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she cried. When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she wiped her eyes and looked at the screen.

She blinked a few times, and her heart pounded.

It was a text from an unknown number.

I'm not done with you yet, Hayden.