The hooded figure stayed on my mind all day, and even when I tried to convince myself that it was just my mind playing pranks on me, I just couldn’t seem to let it go. It clawed deep into my brain, as if trying to remind me of something that my mind knew but my body could not seem to recollect.

When I pulled into my driveway, I locked the door of my car and made my way over to the porch. I noticed a car parked across the street. It was a black sports car with an open roof.

“I wonder who will do something that stupid in this cold,” I muttered to myself as I climbed the small steps leading to my door. With my hands searching my bag for my keys, I heard footsteps coming up behind me.

“You moved.”

The voice sounded accusatory, not bothering to hide their opinion. I turned around to find my late husband’s best friend standing right in my face.

“Chase,” I breathed. The car parked across the road finally made sense. Only Chase Kent, the CEO of the Kent Security Empire, would have a car that looked that expensive in this kind of neighbourhood without worrying if rain got into it.

“What are you doing here?”

“I called your building. They said you left and you weren’t answering your phone.”

My phone didn’t ring, but I doubted that it would mean anything to him. “That is your best friend’s building, Chase, and you know that. I prefer it here. It’s much quieter, and I don’t have to deal with his pictures hanging on the wall, staring at me like I did something wrong.”

“You never loved him,” he murmured.

“Right. Just like how he made you promise to ignore the lipsticks on his shirts. You could have said something, Chase. I felt like a fucking fool.”

His expression didn’t change. “It wasn’t my tale to tell. Gabriel was my best friend, and his marriage was none of my business.”

“So what are you doing here then?” I snapped. “Why did you go to the building to search for me?”

“Because even though you hated his guts, your husband made me promise to keep you alive.”

In one clean movement, he took the keys from my hands and walked around me, sliding the right one into the lock.

“Stop it, Chase!” I yelled after him, unable to do anything as he pushed the door open and walked into my living room like he had every right to be in here. “I didn’t say it was fine for you to come in.”

“I don’t recall asking.”

The lights flicked on under his control, and he crossed the space, his eyes scanning every surface like he was looking for something. I dropped my bag on the couch and folded my arms across my chest. “What do you want?”

“I need to install new locks tonight,” he muttered, his feet moving as he continued his examinations. “You need cameras around here that I can monitor from wherever I am. Maybe even a private line too.”

“Chase!”

“I’m just doing what he asked me to do.” He sounded bored as he crossed the space back to me. But I saw something else in his eyes.

“So he asked you to keep me on a leash then.”

“Not exactly…”

“Because it sure feels that way.”

“It won’t be for long.”

I waited for something more; for the reason Gabriel still choked me even from the grave. But Chase didn’t say one more word. I mean, I should have gotten used to it already since he was that way for all three years of my marriage.

He was always turning a blind eye. Quiet and annoying.

Just when I was about to walk him out of my house, a knock sliced through the tension. Three precise taps. Chase’s head jerked up towards the door while I stared at him.

“Stay,” he mouthed, moving to the peephole.

I folded my arms across my chest and rolled my eyes. “Come on, Chase. I never thought you were so dramatic. It is just someone dropping off mail, or a neighbour coming to borrow something.”

He didn’t turn to look at me, and neither did he answer. I walked up to stand behind him, waiting for whatever he thought was wrong to be revealed. Slowly, he opened the door, blindly reaching for me with his other hand.

I swallowed when the warmth of his hands pushed me to the other side of the door, away from the view of the streets. What the hell was actually happening?

I heard a courier’s voice on the other side of the door, and I could guess he was holding up an envelope. “Ms. Mc… Carthy?”

He must have recognized Chase. Who wouldn’t? His name came up every year for the most eligible, handsome, and successful billionaire in the country.

Chase took it. “Who signed the order?”

Silence. The courier was probably searching through his list because his voice came up a few seconds later. “No sender, Mr. Kent.” He sounded like a fangirl. “Just this address and name. However, if you want me to, I can…”

“Never mind,” Chase cut in, closing the door in his face. The lock clicked in place just as his eyes studied the envelope like it was going to blow up in his face any second now.

Maybe it would, because a lot of strange things had happened today. And yes, I was counting my true crime author as strange.

“It’s probably nothing,” I huffed, coming out from behind the door. “Can I at least handle my own mail?”

It got even more annoying when Chase didn't respond again. He walked towards my kitchen without asking, and I followed suit, watching as he grabbed a knife and pushed through the glue in the envelope, prying it open.

“Chase, you cannot do…”

But the rest of my words disappeared down my throat when a velvet box ring slid out of it onto the kitchen island. My stomach dropped when I took a step closer to it, almost certain of what I would find in there.

“I left my ring in the car,” I whispered, as Chase’s hands opened the box.

My wedding band glimmered in the kitchen, and neatly folded beside it was a paper. Chase let me pick it up, and my hands trembled as I unwrapped it, taking in the words.

“You can’t breathe, Fiona. Not yet.”