The Monet, a birthday gift from my brother, ripped to shreds above the fireplace. The little girl he said reminded him of me when I was little, ruined. I don’t care about the value, but the memory of that day. Torn open.
My favorite reminder of how much my brother loves me.
Tears sting at the corners of my eyes. It’s the first time the reality of my situation truly hits me.
Patrick’s patience is wearing thin, and he grips my arm, his voice booming in my ear. “Enough. You have to get out of here.”
“What about the other rooms?” I mumble. “My office—”
“Jackie, please.” Eliza’s small voice breaks through my haze. “We’ll figure it out later. Just let them make sure it’s safe.” The panic in her voice gets me moving. After everything she went through last year, this must be sending her into a tailspin.
I follow one of the other guards, my feet heavy.
“Call me the second it’s all cleared. I want to check if anything’s missing.”
The image of strangers rummaging through my home, invading my private space, churns unpleasantly in my stomach. Were they after money? It’s not like I keep it under the mattress. Valuables or…something worse?
Logan’s team pours out of their armored vehicle, rushing past us as Patrick pushes us toward the car.
The SUV takes off with a screech, another black SUV with extra security trailing behind us.
“Oh my God, Jackie, are you OK?” Eliza’s expression is contorted with worry.
I can’t answer her. My jaw is locked solid, shock and anger writhing under my skin. This loss of control over my belongings, my life, is pulling at the center of who I am.
It’s like somebody threw a lit match into my perfectly curated life.
When we arrive, a ridiculous number of men in suits funnel us into the glossy elevator. There are too many people in here. Too silent besides the hum of the rolling cables. It’s suffocating.
On the top floor, the doors open, and Carter’s rigid frame is waiting for us. Nostrils flaring. Barely contained rage.
I expect him to run straight to Eliza and check on her, but he takes two large steps and hugs us both with an urgency that makes the back of my eyelids burn.
“We’re fine,” Eliza murmurs, but my brother only holds us tighter.
We probably make for a weird sight, but I can’t bring myself to care. For the first time in what feels like hours, I let myself relax.
“You can let go, Carter,” I mumble into his crisp shirt. “I’m running out of oxygen.”
He reluctantly takes a step back, with Eliza still plastered to his side. She doesn’t look ready to let go yet, and I can’t blame her.
“You’re not going back there,” he says in the tone I’ve heard him use to order people around at the office.
It’s enough to straighten my spine. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. We don’t know what happened yet.”
“Whatisclear is that your house is not safe.”
“You should move in here,” Eliza chimes in quickly. “Right?” She glances up at my brother for confirmation. By the way he smiles at her, she could have asked him anything, and he’d agree.
Something about the ease with which they find comfort in each other makes my heart twist. For the briefest of moments, I feel a pang of jealousy for what they share.
Embarrassment quickly snuffs it out, and I get back to the issue at hand.
“Don’t get the guest room ready just yet.” I strive to sound confident. “We don’t even know the extent of the break-in. Maybe they only rummaged through the ground floor.”
“And how’s that better?” Carter snaps. “Your house has a security system. How did they get past it? Until we know, you’re not stepping foot inside—”
“It’s my house!” I snap. “I’m not running because someone trashed a few rooms.”
