My brothers gathered around us.
“Is this house still safe?” I muttered.
Fox shoved his hands into his pockets, scanning the ceiling corners, the walls, and the security panel. “It’s as safe as it can be,” he said. “I don’t know where else would be safer.”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted. My arm stiffened around Palmer.
“Why would someone break in here like that?” I demanded, my voice strained. “What exactly are they trying to accomplish?”
I looked at Graham. He smoothed a hand down his button-down shirt, his gaze moving between Palmer and me.
“Maybe the press conference had the effect we wanted,” he said.
I shook my head. “We didn’t want this.”
The words came out sharp and defensive.
Graham exhaled. He’d already shrugged out of his coat even though cold air was still bleeding into the house through the broken window.
“No,” he agreed. “We didn’t want this. But we wanted a reaction.” His eyes hardened. “I think this was meant to rattle us.”
If the objective was to rattle me, then it had worked. I hated it. I didn’t know what the right move was anymore.
I didn’t want to keep Palmer here.
But where else could I take her? My house didn’t have room for all of us, and right now, splitting up felt like the worst possible decision.
We were safest together.
I glanced down at Palmer. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the safe house?”
My voice wasn’t as strong or steady. It bordered on a plea.
I wanted her safe, where someone couldn’t break through glass to get to her.
She held my gaze for a long second before shaking her head.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “I want to stay with you.”
I swallowed.
“I’ll assess the video footage,” Fox cut in.
I shot him a look. “And what do you expect to learn? We already know who did this.”
Fox shrugged. “It’ll tell us what happened and how long they were inside.”
I wanted to snap, but August sent me a warning look.
“I think we all need to calm down and take a breath,” he said evenly.
Reid was already moving toward the living room with a broom and heavy trash bags he’d grabbed from the kitchen.
“We will clean up and secure the house,” August continued. He turned to Fox. “How long before we can review the footage?”
“Not long,” Fox replied, heading toward the library, where they’d set up his computers.
“Let me know when you find something,” August said, then turned back to me. “Why don’t you settle down in your room? We’ll order food and bring it up when it gets here.”
