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Billy Crawford.
“That’s him,” she whispered.
She knew every detail of that face.
It had haunted dreams, appeared in dark windows, and lurked behind every unexpected noise in her apartment.
“When was this?” Devon asked next.
“Jethro verified the original broadcast was aired live. The date and time are legitimate.”
She followed his pointed finger to the information displayed beneath the video. Her heart thumped hard against the inside of her ribs.
“That’s the day of the break-in.”
Blake nodded. “This was recorded less than an hour before. Billy was in Brazil, Dev. There’s no possible way he could’ve been in St. Louis.”
She stared at the screen.
For months, she’d lived with the fear that the hired killer would eventually return to finish what he’d started. And when that man forced his way into her apartment and fought with Blake, she’d all but convinced herself it was him. But that was impossible.
Billy Crawford had been a world away.
Devon pressed a hand over her mouth, trying to decide whether to laugh or cry.
“Sweetheart?”
She shook her head, struggling to organize her racing thoughts. “I-I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel.”
Was she happy? Relieved? Confused? Scared?
All of the above.
“You don’t have to figure that out right now.”
Devon looked at Blake.
“But all this time . . .” She swallowed. “Every time I heard footsteps outside my door, every unfamiliar noise I heard, I thought . . .”
Blake closed his laptop and set it aside. “I know.”
“And now you’re telling me someone else is trying to kill me.”
A muscle in his strong jaw twitched. “That’s what it looks like.”
A humorless laugh escaped her. “Well, isn’t that comforting?”
“Devon.”
“No, I know. It’s good news. Really good news.” She held his stare. “It’s just so . . .”
“Crazy?”
She nodded. “So crazy.”
Blake pulled her gently into his arms, careful of her injured shoulder. Devon rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
He was warm. Solid. The familiar scent of his cologne made her want to close her eyes and forget the world outside his apartment.
