“How do you think they got inside?” she asked, testing the back door and finding it locked.
I hadn’t found any other possible points of entry.
“Someone had the key,” I said. I didn’t want to think Mary, Joyce, and Ava were involved, and them gathering together wasn’t enough evidence to confront them. Enough to watch them, yes, but not suspect them of something as underhanded as stealing luminooks to sell to a biological research firm.
“Yeah.” Riley’s troubled gaze met mine. “Are the master keys kept out in the open where anyone could grab one?”
“Mary has one. Me. All my brothers, but I doubt they leave them where anyone could borrow them. We’ll ask them, however.”
We covered the box with the tarp, leaving it alone for now. We’d arrange for cameras to watch this location.
As we walked back toward the sheriff’s office, Riley’s hand found mine, her fingers intertwining with my much larger ones.
“This feels organized,” she said quietly. “Professional.”
“Yes.” I squeezed her hand. “But so are we.”
“I’m worried, of course.” Her gaze met mine, and while her lips trembled, she lifted her chin. “But I’m not running. Not this time. I’m going to stay here and face this.”
“You won’t face it alone.”
Her face smoothed, her mouth twitching in an almost-smile. “You’re right. I won’t. I’ve got you, Dungar. You and your brothers and everyone else in this wonderful town who’s determined to keep me safe.”
“Always.”
Back in my office, with Greel gone to start his shift at the saloon, I updated our case files with the new evidence. Each photo was labeled, dated, and filed in chronological order. Each observation recorded in my precise handwriting.
While Riley investigated Sillavar Research online, I pulled out the leather-bound journal I kept in the bottom drawer of my desk. Opening to the section I’d started three days ago, I added another item to the list under the header, “Future with Riley.”
The page already contained meticulous entries:
Show Riley the crystal caverns of the orc kingdom.
Build her a proper reading nook in the east window of our house.
Learn to make her favorite meal.
I added: “Protect her always, no matter the cost.”
Closing the journal, I glanced up to find her watching me, her expression soft. She leaned back in her chair, her arms crossing on her chest.
“What’s that?” She nodded toward the journal I returned to the drawer.
“Just some personal notes.” I wasn’t ready to show her the list, to reveal how deeply I was planning for a future she might not want.
She studied me for a moment, then smiled. “You changed your house for me.”
The observation caught me off guard. “What?”
“The towels in the bathroom. You moved the rack where you hang them so I could reach them while in the shower without stretching. The coffee mugs are on the lowest shelf now. And you put a step stool in the kitchen so I can reach the orc-height cabinet top shelves.”
I hadn’t realized she’d noticed the small adjustments. “I want you to be comfortable.”
She stood and strode to my desk, perching on the edge of it. “No one’s ever changed their space to make room for me. It’s always been me adapting to fit wherever I landed.”
The vulnerability in her voice made my chest ache. I stood, moving to stand between her knees, my hands settling on her waist.
“You fit with me,” I said simply. “Exactlyas you are.”
