“I think—”
The click of the back door opening and closing sounded, making her gasp and spin.
Therehadbeen someone here!
“Who’s that?” Noah demanded, as he stepped inside and closed the door after him.
“I don’t know. But they were in the house with me!” She felt sick. The kind of sick that gave her a rolling belly and stole her breath.
Noah cursed and flicked the lock on the door before pressing her against it. “Stay here.”
“But—”
It was too late, he was already moving. Air caught in her throat when he stepped into the kitchen.
What if they had a weapon? A gun? Noah could get hurt trying to protect her.
Her fingers tightened around the butcher’s knife. How long had the person been in her house? And how had they gotten in?
She wasn’t sure how many minutes passed before Noah returned, maybe one, maybe five. He walked straight over to her and slipped the knife from her fingers before setting it on the foyer table.
“They’re gone,” he growled, veins popping out in his neck. “You only have split-rail fencing between you and your neighbors. They could have come and gone from any direction.”
Addie swallowed. It was true. Her yard was ridiculously open and easy to access from any of her neighbors’ properties.
He watched her carefully. “I called Jesse. He was in his patrol car and close, so he won’t be long.”
“Someone was in my house,” she whispered, still not able to wrap her head around it.
He touched her arm. “I’m here, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
She nodded, but it didn’t change the fact that she felt violated and scared and sick all at the same time.
“We should get some more clothes on you.”
Clothes? She hadn’t even been thinking about clothes. But Noah was right, in a few minutes, Jesse would walk in. She should at least put pants on.
Gently, he gripped her arm and led her to her bedroom. She took out the fluffiest leggings she owned and pulled on an oversized sweatshirt.
Ten minutes later, Jesse and a female deputy named Claudia stood in her living room.
She sat on the couch beside Noah, and that shake in her fingers had now trickled into other parts of her body. Her hands. Her knees. Even her jaw felt like it was trembling. Or maybe it was just cold combined with exhaustion. She was tired. Apparently, having someone break into your house did that to you.
“So you didn’t see anyone?” Jesse asked.
Addie shook her head. “No. I changed after my shower and went into the kitchen. I heard the floorboard creak from the laundry. That’s when Noah got to my door.”
“I didn’t see anyone out there,” Noah said between gritted teeth. There was so much anger in his voice. “But we heard the back door open and close.”
Jesse glanced at the back door before looking back at them. “Was the lock—”
“Unbroken,” Noah said.
Jesse’s attention shifted to her. “Did you leave it unlocked?”
“No. I always lock my doors. My father drilled that into me since I was a kid.”
“Does anyone else have a key to your house?” Claudia asked.
