Pulled to the Dark (The Siriena Series) (6 page)

"Felicia," she said. It was Petra's voice, and the first time she'd said any words I had understood except "Mine". She continued. "You are in danger. You need to wake up. Y
our cell phone is on your night
stand. Grab it. Arrange your pillows under the covers so it looks like you are still there,
and
hide between your bed and the wall. Not in the closet
or under the bed
! He'll look there. Call 9-1-1 and be very, very quiet. Wake up now!" She slapped me.

And I woke.

The dream was still fresh in my mind. I reached over and grabbed my phone,
then
I heard a noise. Someone was in my apartment! He had bumped into my sofa and swore quietly. Oh shit! Oh shit!

I arranged the pillows the way
Dream Petra
had told me,
then
crawled between the bed and the wall. I woke my phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1-. What is your emergency?
" came the voice over the phone

I spoke quietly into the phone. "Someone is in my apartment! Oh god, someone is in my apartment!"

I heard footsteps in the hallway. My heart was pounding a hundred miles an hour. Afraid he would see the glow of the phone, I jammed it against my chest. Holding the phone in one hand,
I
slammed my other hand over my mouth to hold back the screams.

I heard him approach the bed. I was sure he'd hear my heart beating in my chest.

There was a thump!
As he hit the bed.
Then he swore and ripped the covers off the bed, tossing them over my hiding spot, further concealing me.

My bed has a dust ruffle. Even with my eyes near the floor, I couldn't see past it, but that meant he would have to pull all the covers off where he had tossed them and look between the bed and the wall to see me. The bed creaked, and then a voice from near the floor said, "Shit! Where is she?"

The bed creaked again. I kept my hand pressed against my mouth. I followed his footsteps as he walked over to my closet and slammed the door open. There were rustling noises.

I heard the sirens. My apartment building was only two blocks from the nearest active precinct house.
The sirens stopped outside my building.

"Shit!" he said again. I listened as he ran from the apartment, slamming my door against the wall on the way.

I pulled the phone back to my ear. "Are you still there?" I whispered.

"Yes, Ms. Connor. The police are inside your building and approaching your apartment. Are you safe?"

"I think he ran. Oh god, I think he wanted to kill me."

And that's when I started to scream.

I heard heavy feet in the hallway, then a shout of, "Police! Police!" I continued to scream.
I continued to scream as the fee
t pounded into my room. "Police!" I screamed louder when the bed was pulled away and the covers pulled off of me. I didn't stop screaming until a lady police officer crouched down on the floor in front of me and pulled me into her arms. Then I cried, clutching her desperately.

Someone gently took my phone away and spoke into it briefly. Several officers searched the apartment,
yelling
"Clear! Clear!" to each other.

The lady police officer held me whispering, "
Shhh
, you're safe now. We're here. You're safe. He's gone, long gone." She rocked me gently. I continued to clutch at her, quivering and crying.

One of the officers walked
over
and wrapped my blankets around me gently.

Slowly I calmed down as the lady police officer whispered soothingly to me. "What's your name, honey?" she asked me quietly, still holding me.

"Fe-Fe-Felicia," I stammered.

"Felicia," she said. "My name is Sally. My partner, Daniel, is the one who wrapped the blankets around you. You're safe now. We won't let anything happen to you."

Someone spoke, "Lock was jimmied."

She held me for a little longer before I pulled away and looked at her. "Was it a dream?"

"No, Felicia. Someone was here. You're safe now."

I clutched at her again but willed my heart to slow down. I pulled away and looked at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said.

She gave me another minute to calm down further, inspecting my face. She must have seen what she needed to see. "Are you ready to get up? We need to ask you some questions."

I nodded. She helped me stand up.

"Can I- Can I get some clothes and clean up a little?"

"Of course, Felicia," she said. She let me go. I walked to my closet. The door hung open and the clothes were disarrayed.

"He was in here," I said. "Do I need to leave it?"

She walked over and said quietly, "No one was hurt and it doesn't look like anything was taken."

"And police investigations are expensive," I said.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I understand." I stepped into the closet and retrieved jeans and a sweatshirt. Holding the blanket tightly around me, I walked out of the bedroom and to the bathroom and closed the door.

I was in there for several minutes, and when I came out, I was still wrapped in the blanket. But I had proper clothes on underneath and my hair wasn't such a fright.

Officer Sally was standing with three other police officers. As soon as I exited the bathroom, she stepped over to me and put her arm around me again. "Where would you like to sit?"

I pointed to the sofa and pulled her along with me. We sat down together, and I clutched at her through the blanket.

"Daniel is going to ask you some questions," she said gently. "Do your best."

I nodded.

Her partner walked over slowly, pulling one of my dinette chairs with him. I think he was trying to avoid startling me. He sat down a couple of feet in front of me and offered a concerned expression. The other two cops hovered around, listening, but giving me some distance.

I took a deep breath and said, "I won't start screaming again."

"No one blames you for being scared," he said. "I am Officer Irwin. I need to ask some questions."

I nodded.

He asked my name, then whether anyone lived with me.

"My cats. They're probably hiding."

"We haven't seen them," he said.

"They're small. I wouldn't stick my hands under the sofa if I were you."

He smiled.

He asked me where I worked. When I answered, I noticed the other two cops offer each other a look. One of them stepped outside the apartment.

Then he asked me to explain what happened. I told him the story, starting with waking up and hearing a noise and ending when I started screaming.

When I finished, he went back to clarify a few points. Then he asked if I had a boyfriend or if I'd recently broken up with someone.

"No, no boyfriends in a long time." I paused. "I'm not really girlfriend material."

He frowned,
then
asked more questions.

I heard voices in the hallway. I looked up and Andrea was talking to the police officer out in the hall.

"That's my boss," I said.

Daniel looked over. "Do you trust her?"

"Yes."

"Let her in," he called.

Andrea walked straight over to me. She looked around for just a moment,
then
sat down on the sofa next to me. Sally moved away a little, and Andrea put her arm around me. I leaned against her.

"How did you know?" I asked her.

"Officers Bartlett and
Nickols
are old friends," she said. "I hope you don't mind."

"No. You didn't have to come."

"Hush."

I looked over at Officer Irwin. "Were there more questions? What now?"

"I think we have everything we need," he said. "We'll patrol the neighborhood. He jimmied the lock, but it doesn't seem broken. If you give us your keys, we can test it for you."

"My purse," I said.

Sally
stood
up and retrieved my purse from the table, handing it to me. I dug the keys out and handed them to her.

I looked over at Andrea. "Oh god, I was so scared. I think he wanted to hurt me." The tears started down my cheeks again.

"Oh Felicia," she said, wrapping her arms around me and holding me. "I'm so sorry."

After a moment, Sally was back, sitting on the chair that Officer Irwin had been using. She handed the keys back to me. "The lock is working fine. Do you want us to stay?"

"Ms.
Darkangel
and I can take it from here," Andrea said. I looked at her, then at the door. Petra was there.

"That's my other boss," I said to Sally. "I trust her, too."

She nodded and gestured. Petra walked over.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

I nodded,
then
stood up, letting the blanket fall from my shoulders. I stepped up to Petra and wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you for saving me," I told her quietly.

"Saving you?" she asked.

I blushed. "Oh. I mean." I pulled away. "You came to me in my dreams and warned me. You told me what to do."

I looked away, but she put her hands on my shoulders and turned me to face her. "I'm glad you're safe."

The officers gave me their business cards, asked me once more if I was sure I was okay. Sally pulled me to the side and asked me if it was okay leaving me with Andrea and Petra.

"Yes," I said.

"If you think of anything else, you call us."

I thanked her again and she said, "I'm glad we were able to help."

She closed my apartment door behind her.

"Did he take anything?" Andrea asked.

"I don't think so. He wasn't here very long. My laptop and purse are both here."

"Where are the cats?" Petra asked.

"I haven't seen them. Hiding. They like it under the sofa."

"I'll find them," she said.

"They scratch," I warned her.

"I'll be careful," she replied. "Thank you for the warning."

She went into the kitchen, and I heard her rummaging around. Then I heard the can opener. She had found the stash of tuna. It took about three seconds for both cats to poke their noses out from under the sofa then dash into the kitchen.

Andrea and I
stared after them, looked at each other, and laughed. "That was efficient," I said. Then I looked at her. "How could you get here so quickly?"

"I was already awake and in my car when I got the call," she said. "I had a little bout of insomnia. I called Petra right away and we both headed here."

Petra exited the kitchen. "I found the cats," she said, grinning. "I split a half can of tuna between them and put the rest in the refrigerator."

I nodded. A half can each would make them sick, but a quarter can
each
was fine.

I looked between the two of them. They were each looking at me with concern. "I appreciate you coming," I said. "But you don't have to stay with me."

"Actually," said Petra. "We want to show you something." She paused. "Can you put on something
other than that horrible sweat
shirt? Then grab some shoes and your purse."

I looke
d down. It was a horrible sweat
shirt.

I nodded and disappeared into the bedroom for a minute. I selected one of my old blouses, the ones Petra wanted me to replace, and put it on. I found some tennis shoes and stepped back out.

"I know I'm a fright," I said.

"You're fine," Petra said. "I'm sorry, I just can't stand sweatshirts for anything other than sweating in."

She walked over and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the door. Andrea grabbed my purse and followed behind, closing up the apartment. She caught up and took my other arm. "Your car," she told Petra.

We took the elevator down then exited the building. Petra led the way to her car. Andrea held the front passenger door for me, so I climbed in and she closed it before climbing into the back.

"Is there a coffee shop?"

I pointed. "Around the corner, take a left, it's on the right. They have a drive through."

"Excellent," said Petra.

Petra put the car in gear and drove to the coffee shop. "Mocha, Felicia?"

"I love them, but the calories."

"Three large mochas," Petra ordered. "No silly bean on top, please make sure they are a drinkable temperature." She paid for the coffees and handed them out. Mine was perfect.

Petra pulled away from the coffee shop.

"What are you showing me?" I asked them.

"You'll see," Petra said.