He didn’t wait for an answer. As he vanished toward the lobby, my phone lit up with a final text from Jonas.

Intruder is still inside your apartment.

I grabbed my coat. The date was over, and the hunt had begun.

Chapter 2 — The Break-In

The rain was a solid wall of water by the time I pulled onto my street in Georgetown. Thunder rattled the floorboards of the car. I parked three blocks away and slipped through the shadows of the historic brick townhomes, ignoring the downpour.

My apartment was on the third floor of a converted brownstone. From the street, the windows were black. I bypassed the main entrance for the rusted fire escape in the alley.

The iron was slick with rain, but I climbed in silence, my soaked dress clinging to me.