Be Mine, King (The Crown Duet #1) - Chelsea McDonald Page 0,3
was a rare package in this neighborhood, usually, it was one or the other. He wasn’t the smartest but I easily overlooked that.
I don’t know what happened to change him. Maybe it was me that was the issue? For all I knew, Mike hadn’t changed at all. But for certain, the rose-colored glasses had slipped.
“Just checking in. There’s been a few robberies in the neighborhood these last few weeks. Last night, Mrs MacKinnely in number six was targeted-” His face took on a pensive look that I couldn’t work out.
It wasn’t like his place got robbed.
“Oh my god. Is she okay?” I rushed to ask about Natalie.
We weren’t close. I wasn’t close with any of my neighbors, but Natalie had been nice to me. I admit, she was a bit nuts but in the sweetest way. We got chatting once when I first moved in and still naively used the laundry room; her husband had left her a few years back. He took everything, and she was forced to move with her son.
It wasn’t long after that conversation that I’d heard about her son enlisting for the navy.
I’d felt so sorry for her when I heard that, but not as bad as I did when her son didn’t come back. He’s alive and well, but he’s never come back to visit. How horrible? I couldn’t imagine going through all that she had, and still being able to get through my day to day life.
“Of course. The old battle axe chased the two guys halfway down the block with a baseball bat.” Mike ran a hand through his hair as he sighed with what I could only assume was relief.
I bit my lip at his words holding back a giggle. Obviously he had been concerned and that was sweet but the image that ran through my mind had me coughing to cover my amusement. I could definitely picture the fifty-eight-year-old woman chasing some young thugs with her trusty bat.
She was a strong woman, a survivor. And the scariest cat lady I’d ever met.
They definitely picked the wrong place to rob. Out of the whole block, I was surprised that my apartment was still intact. With the number of hours I worked and studied, I spent twice as much time out of the apartment than I did in it.
Which was probably why I haven’t been too obsessed with finding a new apartment.
A cat meowed in the distance, maybe Tom the tabby cat from downstairs. The sound was enough to bring me out of my inner thoughts, and remember that I had somewhere I desperately needed to be. “I’m sorry Mike, but I really don’t have time to chat. I’m in a hurry.”
“Oh-kay. Will you be around later?” He raised a thick, bushy eyebrow and leaned in closer.
A chill ran down my spine as I stepped away.
Instead of sassing him like I desperately wanted to, I looked at him - maybe with a little bit of pity - and answered as politely as I could muster. “I should be. I’ll talk to you then, okay?”
I started to back away as he mumbled his agreement. Without a second thought, I made my way down the stairs of my shitty apartment block and out to the residents-only back parking lot. I only ever used this lot during the day, at night it wasn’t well lit - despite the streetlights that were dotted around. There were only ever a few turned on at the same time, I wasn’t sure if that was Mike’s way of saving electricity or if they genuinely needed fixing.
I shoved the key into the car door lock while taking a cautious peek over my shoulder. Mike liked to linger and follow me with his eyes, safe to say it definitely creeped me out. I didn’t know, maybe he just really needed to talk to me about something.
Once in the car, I made sure to lock the doors, crank the engine and punch the gas pedal. After all, I was still in a hurry.
All the lights were off as I pulled down the driveway of my fathers’ house. The drive over wasn’t long but I took whatever moments I could to appreciate the last few rays of the afternoon sunshine over the open highway. The sun was setting, and quickly.
Without the lights on inside, the house looked dark behind the trees that stood blocking out said sunlight. I got an odd feeling that sent a shiver down my spine. I can’t ever remember