Glass Towers, Shattered (Glass Towers Trilogy) (5 page)

I stand on my side of the door,
listening. I hear nothing. My heart is pounding out of my chest, and I realize that I am shaking uncontrollably. As if I wasn’t freaked enough, it dawns on me that with my phone out there, and me in here, I have no chance if someone wants to do me bodily harm. No one will know. This building is old, with thick cement walls between me and the other occupants. There is no window in my bathroom, just a ventilation shaft, so there is no use trying to yell for help. I am rendered helpless as a sitting duck. I push my ear to the door, straining to hear. Are those footsteps? I start to panic, as they seem to be approaching the door. What to do? I think of my bathroom inventory, and can’t come up with anything that would serve as a tool for protection. I grab the can of aerosol hairspray on the counter. I stand by the door, waiting with hairspray aimed toward the locked door. I have no idea how long I have been standing here, when I hear music. I try to make out the tune. Oh yes, it’s my new cell phone. Shit! If only I had brought it in here with me in the first place. The ringing stops abruptly; they must have hung up. It was probably Simone, as nobody else has my number. I still have not sent out the blast. I planned to do that tomorrow morning. I shake head and pull my thoughts back to the can of hairspray in my hand; now is not the time to plan tomorrow’s errands. What am I going to do? I can’t very well stand here, naked, holding a can of hairspray, all night.

I put my ear to the door and don’t hear anything in the other room.
A horrible thought comes to mind. What if whomever is in my condo with me is on the other side of this door, waiting for me to come out and grab my phone? Shit, shit, shit! I have an idea. I quietly place the hairspray on the counter. I lay down on the floor and look under the door. It hangs just enough above the floor that I should be able to see if someone is lurking just outside the door. As my eyes adjust, my heart stops beating. HOLY FUCK! There is a pair of feet, clad in black high-top tennis shoes, standing less than one foot from the door. I struggle to breath. I feel faint, as if I could actually pass out. What the hell do I do now?? I am certain that this is my end. If the owner of the shoes knows that I am in here, why doesn’t he just do something? I am going to come unhinged from the shear horror of waiting for him to make a move. I can’t decide if it is worse to be laying on the floor, watching the shoes, or if I should stand and wait for my would-be assailant.

The decision
is made for me before I have time to process it. I hear a ding from just outside the door. I lay there holding my breath. Was that my phone or my assailants? I watch as the feet hesitate at my bathroom door, for what seemed to be an hour, but in reality was probably a minute. Finally, the feet stealthy head toward the moonlit doorway of my bedroom, and out of my view. I strain to listen as hard as I can. I hear the creaking of my hardwood floors, under the weight of my intruder. I can tell he is not alone. The creaks loud and coming from too many different sources. The creaking stops for a minute, as I lie, paralyzed on the floor. Then as quickly as they had stopped, they increase, and I hear the thud of my heavy front door.

Whomever my assailants were, t
hey are gone. I feel my adrenalin kick in, and I scramble to my feet. I unlock the door with my trembling hands and dash into my room, yanking my phone off the charger before dashing to the bedroom door. I shut the door and lock it in one motion. I then head over to my dressing table, grab the heavy wooden chair, and place the top of the chair back under the doorknob. As I do so, the lamp on my bedside table magically comes back, along with the light in the bathroom. I flip the light back off, and I walk over to the bank of windows to peer out through the shears. I look down to the street and watch three men get into a dark SUV. As the SUV speeds off, I try to get a look at the plate, but I can’t make anything out in the darkness, from ten stories up. Could those be the same men who were in my condo? I am too scared to go out to the main room to investigate. It occurs to me that I need to get dressed, so I open the bottom drawer of my highboy dresser and pull out a pink velveteen track suit. From the top drawer, I pull out the first panties and bra I can find. Being careful to not touch anything else, I quickly dress, while dialing 911.

I explain to the operator that it is not a life
-threatening emergency, but that I need the police here right away. I quickly gave the operator a brief rundown of what happened, and she said she would dispatch a local officer. I fear it will not be right away though.  Not wanting to be alone, I look down at the phone in my hand. Relieved that I had added some of my contacts, I call Bradley, without hesitation.  At first, I get his voicemail, so I leave him a message to call me on my new number.

Next, I
call Simone. She does not answer either, Damn! Where are my people when I need them? I leave Simone a quick voicemail, repeating the message I left for Bradley.

I stare at my phone for what felt like an eternity, debating whether
or not I should contact Harrison. I pull up his number in my contacts, hold my breath, and hit send. It is miraculous that his number is even in my phone, considering that just hours ago, I vowed that I would never see him again. When I did decide to add him to the contacts in my new phone, I chastised myself the entire time. Good thing I didn’t listen to my inner critic this one time.

His phone
rings and rings, and just when I prepare myself to leave him a voicemail, he answers. “ Harrison Towers.” He clearly does not recognize my new phone number.

Relieved and freaked
out at the same time, my voice cracks into the phone, “Oh Harrison, it’s Danielle.”

“Danielle? Are you okay? You sound weird.”

The tears start flowing and I blurt out, “Yes, uh no, I’m not okay. The police are on their way. Oh Harrison, it was so scary, I …”

He cuts me off, “Wait, the police? What was scary? I’m on my way!”

“NO! Don’t come Harrison, it will only complicate things.” I choke out.

“What the fuck has happened? Tell me now, or I am heading over.”

I try to catch my breath and still my body, which is still quaking with pent-up fear.

“After you left, I
decided to take a shower before bed. While I was washing, the lights went out. When I went to investigate, I could hear that someone was in my condo, so I locked myself in my bathroom.”

“Someone was in your condo while you were showering and then the lights went out?
Dear God, Danielle, then what? Wait, where are you now? I really should come over.”

“No the police
are on their way. I am locked in my bedroom. The lights are back on, and I haven’t left the bedroom.”

He grunts
, and I can tell he is upset. “Danielle, how do you know that they have left? Could someone still be there?”

I shake my head,
even though he can’t see me, “I am fairly certain they left in a dark SUV right after the lights came back on.”

“So you locked yourself in the bathroom.
Did they try to get in the bathroom? What else occurred?”

Instead of telling the whole story
, I summarize the rest. “All I could see from under the bathroom door was a pair of black tennis shoes. Nothing else.”

“Not a lot to go on Danielle. Shit! This is probably Marion’s doing.”

“What??” I am horror-stricken. I know the woman is a conniving bitch, but would she go to the effort to terrorize me in my own home? “Do you really think she would be behind something like this?” As the words come out of my mouth, it dawns on me that all of the strange things I have been experiencing began from the first moment I met Harrison. Maybe not such a coincidence, after all.

Harrison interrupts my musing,
“Were you not listening to me earlier Danielle? Yes, I do believe she is behind this and all of the other incidents. I just wonder where she is going to stop.” Before he can continue, I get a click through on my phone, and I look at the screen to see Simone’s number. “Harrison, can you hang on a second, Simone is calling, and I need to speak with her real quick.”

He clears his throat
, “Actually I am going to call Garrin and Philippe. I’ll call you back in a few minutes myself.”

“Ok. Bye.”

I hit answer to take Simone’s call.

“Hello?”

“Danners? What is going on? That was a cryptic message…you okay?”

“Oh
, Simone no, I’m not okay... can you come over?”

“Right now?
Um… I am entertaining this evening. Can this wait until tomorrow?”

“Clarke, someone broke into my condo tonight
, while I was in the shower. I need you!”

“Oh shit
, Dani! Are you okay? Did you call the police?”

“Yeah
, I called the police and someone should be here soon, but I am freaked beyond belief.”

“I
’m on my way, hun. Give me about 20 minutes.”

“Hurry Clarke!”
I worry that she will take the time to touch up her makeup or select the perfect outfit for the arrival of the police.

It occurs to me that I should have called Detective Burke directly. I had not put his number in my phone, so I don’t have it in the bedroom with me. I suppose I could call the precinct and have them patch me through to him. As I take a moment to ponder my options, my phone rings. It’s Harrison.

“Harrison!”

“Has a squad car arrived yet?”

“No! I am still sitting here
, locked in my bedroom. I just got off the phone with Simone, and she is heading over to be with me.”

“Ok
, that’s good. I have Garrin contacting Detective Burke as we speak. Not sure if he will come to your condo, but I gave them the number I called you on for a contact number.”

“Oh, ok, yes
, that’s fine. I just don’t know what is taking the police so long to get here!”

“Do you have an intercom in your bedroom for the front door?”

Shit! I didn’t even think of that! “No, there isn’t one in here. I guess that means I have to wait in the entryway, by the front door. I have not been out there since they left. I am petrified to leave my bedroom, Harrison!”

“Listen, take a deep breath.
Stay on the phone with me and walk out to entry way.” He pauses. “Danielle?”

“Yes.”
I whisper into the phone. I have been holding my breath, so I feel a bit lightheaded. “I’m here, I am just so scared to open the door. What if someone is waiting out there?” I feel chills running all up and down my spine. I am almost frozen in my position, with one hand reaching for the door lock and the other hand holding the phone to my ear.”

“It’s okay Danielle.
If you are too scared, just stay put. Can you hear the intercom from your bedroom when it buzzes?”

I had to think back for a second.
“Yes, I can.”

“Then just stay in your room until you hear the buzzer
, and we will go from there.”

“Harrison?”
I whisper.

“Yes
, Danielle?”

“Will you stay on the phone with me until someone gets here?”

“Of course I will! You know that I would normally be there, but under the circumstances, I need to lay low on this one. You understand right?”

It had not occurred to me that he should be here.
I don’t exactly view him as my protector. I really haven’t a clue as to what I view him as at this point. It angers me even further that because of the Wine Bitch, I am the one paying the price. Not to mention, that there is a chance she intends to physically harm  me, or worse.

“I get it Harrison.
I don’t like it, but I do understand. I wish things were different though. How long do you think it is going to take to get to the bottom of just how deep her plot runs?”

“I wish I knew
, Danielle. I want this to be over probably more than you do. I don’t want to get into it right now. We have enough to consider at this moment. I am just glad you are unharmed.”

I grunt.
“Well unharmed physically, but what am I supposed to do now? My condo has been entered at least three times now, without force of entry. I don’t know how I can feel safe anymore.”

“I know
, and I can’t have you stay at my penthouse this time around. Can you stay with your friend, or would you let me put you up in one of my hotels?”

“I don’t think I would feel all that safe at a hotel either.
I’ll see if Simone will let me stay with her for a while, until I figure out what I want to do.”

“Listen, if Simone can put you up for a few days, I think I may have an idea.
Just let me do some checking first.”

“Ok.”

“Danielle, what did you mean there were at least three times you condo was entered? I only recall two.”

“There
were the red roses that were left in my kitchen, the night before the Towers grand opening. Then there was the time when the pictures were left, and tonight. Wait, I guess technically there were four, if you want to count the single red rose that was left by the elevator in your penthouse the morning of the opening.”