He didn’t wait for his brother, instead pounding his fist on the door. The couple of seconds he waited for her to open it felt like a damn lifetime. Then the door finally opened, and Callie stood there, hair down over her shoulders, pajamas on, and skin too pale.
He didn’t care that they weren’t together, that they had a past so complicated they weren’t sure they’d ever find a way forward,he still stepped into her house and cupped her cheeks like she was his.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. We both are.”
Aspen came up behind Callie, squinting behind Lock. “You called Eastern?”
“Of course.” Eastern didn’t follow him inside, but then, Lock hadn’t expected him to. “He’ll check out the yard. Can I come in?”
Callie stepped back. His hands dropped, and all he wanted to do was touch her again.
The lights were on in the living room, mugs sitting on the kitchen island.
“I was making coffee for everyone to help keep us awake,” Aspen said, arms wrapped around her waist. She cleared her throat. “I’ll make another for Eastern.”
“Thank you.” Lock didn’t take his eyes off Callie. All he’d been able to think about on the way here was, what if the asshole had gained access to her house? What if he was too late?
“It’s not safe for you here,” he said, barely keeping the growl out of his voice.
“They didn’t get into the house. They didn’t even try.”
“If theyhadtried, it wouldn’t have been hard to break a window.”
“If they broke a window, the neighbors would hear, and someone would call the sheriff’s office. Plus, with Aspen here, there’s two of us.”
Two untrained women against an unknown threat wasn’t reassuring. “One minute. Maybe less. That’s all someone needs to gain access and take you. Eastern or his deputies wouldn’t have time to get here and save you.”Hewouldn’t have time to get here and save her.
Her skin paled further.
Fuck. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed her to understand the situation. “Callie—”
The front door opened and Eastern stepped in, locking the door behind him before moving into the living room. “There’s no one out there, but I did see some footprints in the flower bed by the back door. Large ones. Men’s footprints.”
Callie visibly tensed, and Lock slipped an arm around her waist, praying she didn’t pull away.
She didn’t.
Aspen handed everyone a coffee before Eastern continued.
“Did you get a good look at him?”
Callie shook her head. “It was dark. I just saw a shadow. My first thought was that it was a man, maybe because the shadow looked large. Tall. As soon as I got off the phone, I ran to wake Aspen, and by the time I got back, I couldn’t see him anymore. I’m sorry.”
Lock tightened his arm around her. “It’s not your fault.”
“Lock’s right.” Eastern took out a notepad and wrote something down before looking up. “You did the right thing in waking Aspen so you were both alert. Have you received any more notes?”
“Not since I made the report.”
“Okay. This could be the same person. They have your address. They’re interested in you. Their behavior could be escalating.”
Lock’s thoughts exactly.
Callie nibbled her bottom lip. “There was a car on the street when I got home.”
He frowned. “A car?”
