He turned to look at me for a fraction of a second with so many emotions in his expression I couldn’t pinpoint one of them. Probably disbelieving. “Babe.”
What the hell did that mean? How did he expect a single syllable to answer my question?
Riley worked his way up to the house with slow and sure steps. I didn’t want to miss any of the action, so I follow right behind him. He turned around and stared at me with his eyebrows high and his eyes wide.
Definitely annoyed. “Stay here.”
I shook my head. “No.”
Was he crazy? Let Riley walk into Henry’s home alone? What if I had a burglar in there waiting for me? Yes, he had a gun, but they might have a bigger gun. Someone needed a free hand to call 911. “Whiskers might be hurt. I can’t let you go alone.”
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second and sighed so deeply the neighbors probably heard. “And to think you believe you don’t belong in Pelican Bay.”
No idea what that meant, but I didn’t have time to argue with him, especially since it sounded like he’d let me go in the house with him. Since I’d won, I dropped it.
I followed one step behind Riley as we made our way to the front door and he kicked it open. It clattered against the wall and swung back at us, but he stopped it with his body as he scanned the room. I wasn’t super big into crime shows or police procedure sitcoms, but from the way he skimmed the room and then made his way through, I saw where women found the appeal.
Stick Riley in a uniform and tug up the sleeves to show off his muscles, and I’d tune in every Tuesday at 7 p.m. to watch. I’d been missing out on an entire genre on television.
I released the breath I’d been holding since the door flew open. We didn’t seem to have anyone hiding in the house because wouldn’t they have come charging at us? Fired a warning shot?
“What do you mean about me not belonging here?” I asked as Riley peeked in the short hallway.
He turned back to stare at me with wide eyes, and even though the house was dark, I didn’t mistake his expression. “Babe, shhh.”
Riley darted down the hallway, leaving me alone as he checked the other rooms. The couch sat tipped to the side and leaned against the wall at an unnatural angle. I stepped around it and slipped on pieces of paper strewn across the floor. Ugh. Someone was not clean while they were here.
Whoever found their way inside trashed the place a bit. It didn’t look like they’d broken anything, just left it on the floor in random piles. Marie Kondo would be pissed. Mrs. Whiskers tinkered out from the bathroom, her little bell jingling from her collar. She sauntered over to me like only a cat could and rubbed against my legs. At least she seemed fine.
My brother would not like this.
“Grab the cat and its shitter. You’re coming to my place,” Riley said. The way he said it left no room for doubt.
He barged into the kitchen space, but I held back. “No, I don’t need to do that.” It was obvious no one was here. They’d made a mess of the place, but Riley looked through the house. They were no longer here. No reason to freak out. Also I aced denial 101.
“Cass,” Riley said, and I definitely heard a warning in his tone. “Do it now or I’ll pack for you.”
Wow. I never remembered Riley being so bossy when we were in high school. A part of me wanted to argue and see what he’d do, but the man definitely meant business. He held his hands out for the cat one more time and I handed him Whiskers.
The litter box was in the bathroom where the cat had come from, but I didn’t want to carry a litter box in Riley’s truck. He hadn’t thought that through when he demanded it and I wasn’t going to argue with that tone. So I took to the entire poop house and a fresh bag of litter and carried it from the bathroom with me.
We marched to the kitchen, headed for back to the door as I scanned the dirty house on our way out. I’d definitely need to clean the place before Henry returned. Even he wouldn’t believe I’d been so messy. We probably should’ve called the police too, but I hadn’t even considered the idea. Riley didn’t stop to phone them either. I’d have to mention it in the truck, but no way did I plan to in that moment.
“Hey,” I said as he held open the door, waiting for me to leave, and I passed the kitchen counter. “The gift I brought my brother for his wedding isn’t here.”
In reality, my gift to him was watching this cat for two weeks, but I’d used the excuse when I purchased the jewelry box at the antique store my first day in town. But now it’d gone missing. I left it on the kitchen counter with a great big red bow over the little dancer’s waist. He’d totally roll his eyes at it.
Riley stared at the same spot on the counter and then our gazes searched the floor, but I couldn’t find the jewelry box anywhere. I’d have to come back in the morning and look.
“Is anything else missing?” he asked.
I shrugged, one shoulder going up higher than the other because of the heavy litter box. “I don’t know. This isn’t my house. The music box was the only thing I know he owned for sure.” Technically, he didn’t even own it yet since I hadn’t had the chance to give him the gift.
Riley shook his head and his lips turned into a thin line as Whiskers tried to climb up over his shoulder and he struggled to keep her claws out of his skin. “We’ll look for it in the morning. Right now I need to get you to my place for safety.”
11
RILEY
