moment is over, Cody hell-bent on taking control and quite honestly, I easily give it to him. With a nod, Cody seems to right himself, the man I know from work shifting back to the man I know from the bar and my bed.
“He left information?”
The single question stirs between us and I nod in the direction I heard the clink. Sure enough, a small metal USB flash drive lays there on the counter. “He said it would all be on it.”
“Are you okay? All he did was come in here and deliver information?”
“That’s all he did,” I say then swallow harshly at the lie, doubling down on it and then I look into Cody’s eyes, the shades of blue staring back at me with regret, remorse, but something more than that, something deeper. “He didn’t hurt me. But it scared the shit out of me, Cody. I didn’t have my gun and I thought I was safe here.”
I ask the obvious question when silence sets in. “How did he get in here?”
Cody’s gaze moves to the back hall once again and his jaw sets firmly in place. “Do you know how he got in? Window or door?”
“I don’t know.” I repeat myself as he stares down at me, “I don’t know.” In the back of my mind I think it shouldn’t matter, the security locks were engaged. The alarm should have gone off either way. Unless he knew the code.
It doesn’t seem possible, but somehow Cody’s large frame gets closer to me as his hands grip my shoulders. “You need to give me something about how he got in,” he tells me, his sharp blue eyes begging me even though his statement is barely spoken, it’s a dark whisper.
With one hand shoving his right hand off of me, I step away from him, regaining myself.
“I was standing right there,” I say and point over by the coffee maker. “And I heard him before anything. He knew my name. He broke into my house yesterday.” The sudden exposure, voicing out loud the lack of boundaries that man has, leaves me feeling numb all over.
“I know,” he says and Cody’s voice is gentle, consoling even. “I know he did that. He left roses. But that was yesterday and that was your apartment, not here…” his voice trails off and then he adds that Taylor told him. Taylor didn’t know what to think, but Taylor hasn’t worked against someone like Marcus before.
“You’re sure you never saw him? He came close to you into this kitchen and you never saw him?”
It takes me a moment to realize he’s questioning if I really saw what I saw. Is that what he’s doing?
Spitefulness lingers in my tone. “He was standing right there,” I practically yell, pointing to the corner. I’m quick to point out the evidence. The physical proof he was here. “He left this,” I say and snatch the flash drive off the counter then shove it into Cody’s chest. “He has the name of the man who left the threat in my office. He said he wants to help me.”
My throat is raw from the indignation of my statements. The evidence lining up. “He was here, Cody! He came into your house and he could have hurt me, but he didn’t.” I keep from screaming only by forcing the words through clenched teeth. The tremors return, the anxiousness from knowing everything that could have happened.
When I look back up at Cody, resting my elbows on the counter in an attempt to steady myself, regret lays in his expression. It takes a moment before Cody’s brow morphs into a straight line, leaving a deep crease in the center of his forehead. The anger that brews there for the man named Marcus only makes Agent Walsh look more protective.
“He came in here and left this for you? And that’s all he did?” he questions again. And again I lie.
I nod yes, although it’s a short-lived motion. “Yes, and then he left and you came. You came in right after. He just left. He was just here.” My sentences tumble out at once and again I cross my arms in front of me protectively. Glancing from the corner where Marcus was and then back up to Cody.
“Are you okay?” he asks yet again and I watch the cords around his throat tighten as he swallows. I respond weakly, “Yes.” I am okay. It’s difficult for me to grasp. The grim reaper himself kissed me. The man