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The soft question came from behind as he stood near her door.
His jaw tightened. That man wasn’t Billy Crawford. He could have been hired by the elusive hitman, but Blake didn’t think so.
He couldn’t prove it, of course, but something about the break-in felt different than what went down six months before.
Like Crawford, this job was clean. Deliberate. The man who’d come through that door clearly hadn’t expected Blake to be there.
But instead of panicking or retreating, he’d adapted. Reacted with the kind of speed and precision that came from experience.
Whoever the guy was, this wasn’t his first rodeo.
The man he’d just fought hadn’t expected Blake to be inside Devon’s apartment. Because he’d been watching her and knew she was always alone?
Blake’s gaze moved toward her. She stood several feet away with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
His heart ached for the fear he could easily see. The woman had spent six months wondering if Billy Crawford was going to come back. It wasn’t him, but someone else sure as hell had. But why?
The file.
Blake’s thoughts turned to the information Devon had shared with him the night before. He thought about the codes. The patterns.
He looked back at the front door.
A cold uncertainty settled inside him. “Pack a bag,” he ordered gruffly.
Devon blinked. “What?”
“Pack a bag. You’re coming with me.”
“Where are we going?”
She’s probably not going to like this.
“To D.C.”
Her entire expression changed. “Blake. I can’t just toss a few things into a bag and—”
“Somebody just broke into your apartment.”
Devon flinched. “I know.”
“And he wasn’t here to steal your TV.”
Her mouth closed, and Blake softened his tone.
“Look, I don’t know who that was or why he was here. It could have been random, or it could be connected to what you found.”
Her body grew still. “You think this has to do with the report I sent you?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “But I’m going to find out.”
Devon’s gaze slid from him to the door. “I can’t just leave.”
“Yes, you can.”
“I have work . . . and a cat.”
“You can work from your laptop, and we can take Willow with us.”
