Love on the Line (Beaumont Legacy #2)

39. Maya

Chapter thirty-nine

Maya

S omeone was definitely in the house. And Maya was pretty sure she knew who it was.

She dialed 911, breathing in and out deeply. Did she try to get into a suitcase? Hide behind the door and hope the person didn’t notice? The moment she’d heard the thump downstairs, she’d turned off the lights, grabbed her pepper spray, locked her bedroom door, and run into the closet.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“I think there’s somebody in my house,” Maya whispered.

“Okay, sweetie. Can you give me an address?”

Maya relayed it, even softer than the first time she’d spoken.

“Just a second, okay? Stay on with me while I get the word out. ”

Maya nodded like the woman would be able to see her. Adrenaline coursed through her as she considered how she could make herself more inconspicuous.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Please hurry.”

“We have a unit en route, okay, sweetie? They should be there in just under five minutes. Stay hidden if you can, okay?”

“Okay,” she breathed.

Maya felt so stupid. She should have trusted her gut. When she and Devi had been out to eat earlier that night, they’d been approached by the creepy reporter who’d been bothering her the last few months, claiming Maya had gotten him fired. After they’d left, Devi had offered to stay the night, but Maya had said no despite feeling uncomfortable. Now she stood in her closet, unable to find a place to tuck herself into in case whoever was downstairs found their way to her room before the police got to the house.

She picked up two of her biggest suitcases and propped them up, trying to make them look haphazardly pushed in rather than meticulously placed. Maya pushed her hanging clothes out of the way, stepped over the suitcases, and then pulled the clothes back so that when she sat down, she had a wall at her back and side, a suitcase in front and beside her, and clothes above her.

It was the best she could do .

And even though she hadn’t wanted to worry him, she knew this could very well be her last chance to talk to Cooper, so she dialed his number.

“Sweetheart, are you alright?”

His deep, velvety voice filled her ear, and that alone helped calm her.

She swallowed over the stone in her throat. “Somebody’s in the house.”

Cooper was silent for a second, and she heard honking. She turned down her volume.

“Coop, I’m scared.”

“Okay…okay. Okay,” he repeated. “I know you probably did this already, sweetheart, but tell me you called the police?”

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed quietly. “They should be here soon.”

“Okay. I’m here. Okay, sunflower? I’m here. You stay on with me, even if you have to stay quiet.”

“Okay.” Maya hadn’t realized she was crying until a tear landed on the hand holding up the phone. She tried to sniffle quietly, and Cooper made a strangled noise.

“Did you find a place to hide?”

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed again.

“Okay, good. Good.”

“Cooper, I just wanted to tell you in case anything happens and I’m not able to that I lo—”

“ No .” He sounded pissed. “Don’t you dare, Mai. Don’t you dare say it. You wait to tell me how you feel until you’re in my arms the moment I can get a flight to you, you understand me? Stay . Safe . You…you have to. Stay quiet and stay hidden.” His accent was coming out more, like it had when they were in Tennessee.

A couple of minutes later, a loud crash sounded, closer to her than she’d expected, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the cry that tried to push through. She bit down on her fist to prevent herself from panicking, willing the tears away. If she needed to fight, she needed to be able to see.

“Maya? Are you alright?” When she didn’t respond, he went through a series of curses, each more vile than the last. “Where the fuck are the police?”

Footsteps pounded, and from the closet, Maya couldn’t tell if they were coming in her direction or moving the other way.

Ignoring Cooper’s earlier plea, she closed her eyes and whispered, “I love you.”

And then someone crashed through her locked bedroom door.