Killer Crush - Ella Goode Page 0,23

the smile dropping from his face.

“You scared me. I forgot you have a key.”

He comes over to me. “There is something else.” Jeez. Am I that easy to read?

“I think I’m on edge. Trin told me the handyman was inside when she got home today. It’s weird to me that random people have keys to our home but I guess he’s not random. He works here.” Daman stares down at me. His face is unreadable. “What?” I ask when he says nothing. I can see the tight line of his jaw and the way his hand is balled into a fist. He hasn't even kissed me, which is very un-Daman like. Causing me to think that he’s not very happy about my handyman’s unannounced visit either.

“You’re staying with me tonight,” he finally says, causing me to laugh. Everything's better when he’s around.

“This is shocking news.” I grab his shirt, pulling him down to kiss me. He comes willingly. I might as well move in with him at this point. But like the I love you, I think it’s too soon to say or ask. This is turning out to be so much more than a crush.

Chapter Fifteen

Daman

I take Quinn home and run her a bath. She really loves the jets in that thing and after a few rounds of sex with her, I do, too. But right now I have a different sort of cleaning that needs to be done. I put a glass of wine and a plate of cheese and crackers next to the tub and give her a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Aren’t you going to climb in?” She raises a pink toe out of the bubbles and wiggles it at me.

I swallow hard and trudge to the door. “Nah, I have some homework to do. You relax and once you’re done, we can go to the Mexican place and get the tamales you like. Holler at me if you want anything.”

I hop out of the bathroom quickly so I’m not tempted to stay. Once I’m in my chair, I pull up the surveillance footage I’ve ignored for the last three weeks. Quinn has been with me almost every free minute of the day so there hasn’t been any need to look at the footage. If she’s not with me, then she’s at class. I don’t need the cameras. I have my own two eyes but I’m glad I didn’t remove them because I’ll be able to see exactly what’s been going on in her apartment.

My software program dumps the feed into a file every twenty-four hours and I haven’t deleted anything. If he’s doing something shady, I’ll catch it.

I start backwards from yesterday since Quinn sensed something was wrong. Her roommate rolls out of bed, bypasses the coffee machine and goes straight for the freezer. She grabs a small round pint of something and spends five minutes leaning against the counter eating it. I fast forward. The girl washes dishes, disappears into the bathroom, comes out looking like a different person and exits. After fifteen minutes, the door cracks open and a square head peeks in. He clears his throat.

“Anyone home? It’s Chris. The handyman.” When he hears no response, he pushes the door open and slides through. After he locks the door, he moves into the kitchen, where he rifles through the dishes that the roommate washed. He holds up a cup to his nose and sniffs. This guy is weird as fuck.

“What are you doing?”

I nearly jump out of my chair in shock. “When did you get out of the tub?” I hadn’t heard her. That’s never happened to me before.

“Is that…” She leans forward. I move to try to block her view, but she’s seen my monitors. They’re hard to miss. “My apartment?”

I hear confusion in her voice, like she doesn’t want to believe what her eyes are seeing. I scramble for an excuse, but my mind is blank. I’m usually better at this. I can come up with a glib lie if I need to, but I also am way more alert. Old me wouldn’t have allowed that to happen but I’ve gotten complacent.

“Wait a second.” She looks at the screen and then eyes the counter where the appliances sit.

“That toaster is the same one I have and so is the coffee maker. I didn’t know they came in green. How long have you been watching me?” She spins back to me and glares. “Are you spying on me? Is my dad