She sucked in a breath and stilled. Then like a rubber band snapping, she bolted upstairs to her room. Halting in the door, her gaze swept over the space. Her bed hadn’t been touched; neither had her bedside tables, lamps, and dresser. But her closet…
Nausea churned and boiled in her stomach. Gentle and steady fingers landed on her back.
“That wasn’t you, was it?” Collin asked, the words sounding pained.
She shook her head. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t as bad as she expected. Several dresses hung halfway off hangers, three coats lay strewn across the floor, and several shoes were tipped over and no longer in matching sets. Taking a second, slower look, she also noticed three button-downblouses, still on their hangers, lying on top of the coats, and her robe crumpled and shoved against the back of the closet.
“No, this wasn’t me,” she said.
“Do you want to call the police?”
She stared at her things. She’d need to go through it all to see if anything was missing, but nothing obviously stuck out to her as being gone. The relief she should feel was tempered, though, by the knowledge that someone had rifled through her belongings.
She set a hand on her stomach in a futile attempt to still the drunken butterflies stumbling around inside. A warm palm settled on her neck, Collin’s fingers gently rubbing some of the tension away.
She inhaled deeply, held it to the count of four, then let it out. “Do you think they left prints?”
Collin didn’t answer right away. “Hard to know. Why?”
She turned to face him. He kept his hand on her neck, and she settled against him. “If nothing is missing and there aren’t any prints, I don’t want to get the police involved. Not after…”Not after they questioned me about two murdersremained unsaid.
A look she couldn’t describe crossed over Collin’s face. “Why don’t you look through everything then we can decide. What can I do?”
She leaned forward, resting her forehead on his chest. “Nothing, you’re doing it,” she murmured as his other hand swept soothingly up and down her back. “I just need a minute.”
“Take all the time you want.”
She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent and warmth as she pulled her shit together. Twenty breaths later, she stepped away. “Okay, I’ll tackle the closet, but then what?”
“If anything is missing, we call the police.” She nodded. “Either way, though, you shouldn’t stay here tonight.”
An entirely different type of butterfly swarm took flight in her stomach. “Where should I stay?”
“Helia.”
“The castle,” she said. “You want me to stay at the castle.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
An hour after leaving, they returned to the castle. Sure, he could have suggested Helia stay with her parents, but then she’d be out of his sight, and he’d be unable to protect her. Neither option worked for him.
“What are we going to tell Kendall? And Dulcie?” she asked, clutching her overnight bag. At least her intruder hadn’t taken anything, not even the intricate diamond necklace given to her by her Indian grandmother.
“The truth, I guess?” He knew nothing about twelve-year-olds, but he was getting to know Kendall. Between her trust issues and being far too old for her age, hiding things from her would do more harm than good. He’dliketo coddle her, maybe give her some of her childhood back, but now wasn’t the right time.
Helia tipped her head, the security lights Dulcie installed earlier catching strands of gold and copper in her hair. “You’re right. I hate it, but you’re right.”
He pulled into a spot beside Dulcie’s truck, and they climbed out, their steps heavier than they’d been an hour ago. He reached for Helia’s bag but dropped his hand when his phone rang. Pulling the device from his pocket, he checked the name.Leo. He needed to take the call but didn’t want Helia to hear. She didn’t need to know the extent of his paranoia when it came to her safety. Not wanting her to stay alone after someone broke into her home was one thing; knowing he had someone looking into Derek, Trish, Justin,andKurt was a whole different level.
“I need to get this,” he said, slowing his steps.
Curiosity flickered across her expression, but she nodded and said nothing.
“Leo,” he said, typing the code into the door.
“You’ve had an interesting day,” came the younger man’s reply.
“That’s one way of putting it.”
