Hold You Close: A Jay Halstead Story

CHAPTER NINE

That night, Jay walked through his house, double checking that the door was locked and every window was secure before getting comfortable on the couch. On his way back down the hall, he peeked into his room and saw Della peacefully asleep on his bed, wrapped in his sheets and covered by his comforter.

Just a few months ago, the sight would've sent some pretty illicit thoughts swimming through his mind. But now? Now he just wanted to see that sight every night for the rest of his life, knowing she was safe and sound in his home.

It was a feeling that he wasn't expecting but he didn't fight it. He honestly didn't know if he was out of line with the way that he felt about her – she had been through so much and she hadn't really talked about how she was feeling about it all, so he tried to just keep a clear mind and follow her lead.

Once he was certain that his apartment was secure, he put himself to bed on the couch. The day had been long and emotionally draining, and he hadn't slept much the night before, so he told himself that he would only take short naps every so often throughout the night, so he could stay on alert.

But once his eyes shut, his body quickly surrendered and fell asleep.

"JAY?!"

Jay's body jolted awake at the sound of his name.

Well, it wasn't so much the fact that Della was calling his name as it was the panic in her voice that yanked him out of his slumber faster than he had ever woken up in his life. He didn't even know how long he had been asleep, but his gun was in his hand before his eyes were even fully open and he was rushing down the hall to her in a split second.

When he reached his bedroom, he saw Della sitting up in bed with fear all over her face.

"What's wrong?!" Jay questioned in the doorway.

"I heard something," she told him, frantically. "It woke me up."

"What'd you hear?" He asked, looking around the room.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "It came from out there. Maybe someone hitting the door?"

He looked over his shoulder down the hallway toward the door. He felt like he would've heard someone banging on it from where he was laying on the couch, but maybe he had been in too deep of a slumber to catch it. Regardless, something had woken her up, and she was scared.

"Stay right here," he instructed her. "There's a gun in my nightstand if you need it."

He turned around and went back down the hallway swiftly; his hand tightened around his gun. Glancing through the peephole, he didn't see any movement, but before he opened the door, he took a deep breath. His finger twitched on the edge of the trigger, ready to blow an intruder away at a moment's notice.

When he pulled the door open, he went into full police mode, clearing the hall outside of his apartment. First to the left, then to the right, then once more in each direction. His shoulders relaxed when he finally accepted that no one was out there. He wasn't sure if anyone had been out there prior, but if they were, they were gone now.