The trespasser had broken into her home. He’d made her vulnerable in the one place where she felt safe. But somehow, by bringing his threat right to her door, he’d made everything clear. She’d spent so long worrying about how to make everyone else happy. But in the end, there were only three things in that house that she was desperate to keep safe: Nissy, Josh, and her game. And she was ready to fight for them.
By the time the police arrived—Constable Harrison, a friendly Black woman, and Special Constable Thomas, her slightly younger blond-haired male partner—Ellie had already started a list of what she needed to do.
The constables were empathetic as they walked through the house with her, especially when she ran into the dining room to Nissy, lifting her into her arms to press kisses on her precious, bemused face.
They grew more serious when they found her kitchen door hanging open to the vegetable garden—the lock apparently picked—and her neatly planted rows of beans and tomatoes smashed into the thick soil, as if the intruder had plowed over them in the darkness.
Ellie ran her gaze over their broken stems and leaves, silently apologizing to the muddy, mangled plants. Almost glad that Josh wasn’t there to see what had happened to all their hard work.
The police team dusted for fingerprints and took hers for exclusion—even though she was absolutely certain they wouldn’t find anything. They took photographs of her office and gladly accepted a thumb drive with her video of the man at her desk. But, before they left, they also explained that nearly three quarters of thefts were closed without identifying a suspect… and her intruder hadn’t damaged anything other than her plants. He hadn’t even stolen anything; he’d never made it past her firewall.
Ellie thanked the officers and said goodbye distractedly, promising to call if she needed help. Then, as soon as they were gone, Ellie went through the house again—carrying Nissy with her. Checking if anything was missing. Checking her locks. But mostly checking for Josh. Even though she knew he wasn’t there.
Her bed was possibly a little more rumpled than she’d left it, but otherwise, there was no hint that he even existed.
It hurt. The world kept kicking her. And Josh was gone.
She pushed away the ache in her heart—refreshed Nissy’s half full food and water—and got on the phone. She bought a new back door, with a diamond-rated lock, to be fitted that day. Then she arranged for a security company to install motion detection, external lights, internal alarm, and panic buttons that afternoon. Most importantly, she included cameras covering both the garden and the main rooms of the house.
She would have plenty of warning if the thief came back. And hopefully enough evidence to identify him. The truth was, she didn’t really foresee the police catching the intruder any more than they’d found the driver of the car who’d hit her.
A man in an SUV. Dark hair. Dark glasses. Collar high. Cap low.
The man at her desk. A black ski mask completely covering his head and mouth.
God. What if they weren’t two isolated cases of terrible luck? She’d been so busy trying to deal with the break-in, it hadn’t occurred to her before. But now she had the horrible feeling they were connected.
Duane called, distracting her from her thoughts, and she spent half an hour updating him and making sure he was ready to step into Vic’s role as much as needed. At least that was one thing that didn’t feel like a disaster. And by the time she said goodbye, she was feeling more settled. She now had the best security available. She’d locked down her home and her business. She could figure out the rest.
Ellie made herself a cup of coffee and then cleaned her office with bleach, carefully scrubbing anything the intruder might have touched until the air was acrid and her throat burned. She threw open the windows and aired out Nissy’s cave, then vacuumed the already clean floor before she finally felt it was hers again. Then she got comfortable at her desk. It was time to thoroughly review her firewall, analyze the hack attempt, and close any gaps she’d missed in the middle of the night.
By the end of the day, her house and her computer system were back under her control. She would need to call Max at Silver Wolff and decline his offer as soon as possible, but she wanted to do that in person, and it was already well past the end of the business day. Instead she turned to the task she’dwishedshe could have prioritized: finding Josh.
He had no personal items with him when he came to her. He didn’t have a phone, or anyone she could call. She tried search engines and read multitudes of heartbreaking missing persons reports. When that didn’t help, she tried social media and simply scrolling through everyone called Josh with any kind of profile. There were thousands. None of them wereherJosh.
She thought about his tattoo—the obvious creative talent in the design, the way the trees wrapped round his bicep and overhis shoulder, forming an evocative landscape that was so true to Josh—and spent an hour looking for the artist with no luck.
Eventually, she had to concede defeat and moved on to investigating her accident. She posted notes on every community board and Facebook group she could find, asking for witnesses. Then she read accident reports—another round of heartbreaking insights into loss and other people’s grief—and searched for the details of the SUV that hit her.
She briefly considered ways to use her photo of her intruder’s eyes to find him… and discarded all of them. The passport office seemed unlikely to be delighted about her hacking their database.
By midnight, Ellie hadn’t learned anything new, and she was utterly spent. She showered and crawled into her bed, still jittery from caffeine and wired from days of no sleep, compounded by the anger, vulnerability, and loneliness that had come and gone all day.
There, lying alone in the darkness, dreaming she could still smell his skin, she finally allowed herself to cry. Her world had fallen apart. Everything she loved, everything she trusted, was crumbling around her.
She missed Josh. Missed his presence in her house. Missed his quiet support. Even his grumpy brooding.
And she had no way of knowing if he was ever coming back.
Chapter Twenty-Two
There was darkness.And there was Ellie.
He knew her. He knew her voice. Could hear the tension and the tiredness threaded through her tone. He could hear her working. And working. And working. But he couldn’t get back to her.
What if she was alone in the house when the intruder came back? What if a stranger was there now, while Josh was trapped somewhere far away? Unable to help. Unable to reach her.
Had he already used all the time he had with her?
