Brinley nodded, shifting in her seat. She’d been sitting too long and her lower back ached. A long bike ride would take care of it and loosen up her muscles but that wasn’t going to happen at this time of night. The only thing she was good for was crawling between the sheets and spending the next ten to twelve hours unconscious.

“What the hell?” Jason hissed, the truck accelerating sharply now that he’d turned onto their street. Brinley grabbed the door handle in alarm as the engine growled, throwing her back in her seat.

“What’s wrong?”

But she could see it now even as Jason was muttering under his breath. Red and blue lights flashed on two police cars in her driveway. A crowd of people were gathered on her lawn including her neighbor Fran, Fran’s husband Richard, and Detective Westin Anderson with Huck alongside.

The blood pounding in her ears, she practically jumped from the truck before Jason even had it in park. Slamming the truck door closed she jogged toward her house, frantically scanning it for damage, fire or otherwise.

“Easy there.” Of course Jason had easily caught up to her. His hand wrapped around her upper arm, bringing her to an abrupt halt on trembling legs. “Let’s talk to West first.”

“I want inside my house. I need to see what’s happened.”

She jerked her arm free only to have West block her path as she made a beeline for her front door. Huck enthusiastically greeted Jason who scratched the canine behind the ears, much to the dog’s delight.

“Ms. Snow, I’m glad you’re home.”

The detective held up his hand in a halting motion that made her pause but her gaze was firmly on the house behind him. It was hard to see in the dim light but it appeared to be undamaged.

“What happened, West?”

Jason was beside her again. This time he draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her close to his strong frame. Not in a romantic way, but more of a reassurance that if something bad had transpired he would be there. His fingers squeezed her shoulder as if he comforted semi-hysterical women every day.

Maybe he did but she wasn’t planning to make a scene. Yet, anyway.

West waved his flashlight toward the front porch. “Looks like an attempted break-in. The neighbor was outside and saw a flashlight through the windows. His dogs made a ruckus and while he was going for his shotgun the burglar ran off between the houses. I’ve got men out on foot looking for him but I’m guessing he’s long gone. Probably had a car parked a block or two away. Ms. Snow, you’ll need to–”

“I want to see.” Frustration with not knowing in general and these two men in particular made her yank away from Jason and zigzag around West’s imposing frame. She wanted inside her damn house. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. She didn’t want to be protected from the truth or coddled like a child. Jason and West seemed determined to delay learning the extent of the damage as long as possible.

“Wait.” Jason’s deep commanding voice made her pause but only for a moment. He wasn’t the boss of her, although he seemed used to giving orders. Without a backward glance she pushed through the crowd of neighbors and stomped up her porch steps only to find her front door hanging crumpled and sagging on its hinges. She reached out to touch the large footprint on the finished oak but a larger, stronger hand captured her wrist and pulled her back against his warm body, his arm anchoring her waist. “Don’t. That’s what West was trying to tell you. They’re still gathering evidence. You can’t touch anything.”

Her fingers curled back into her palm, the nails cutting into the flesh to keep from screaming. He didn’t get it. The utter feeling of helplessness. Outrage. She’d been violated. Like a million eyeballs staring at her stark naked. Someone had been in her home. The place she felt safe. At least until this moment. She needed to see where they’d walked and what they’d touched so she could bleach any trace of them away. If not from her mind at least physically.

With a free hand she scrubbed at her cheeks, surprised to find them wet with tears. Sagging back against him the fight drained out of her. She was exhausted. Worn out and beaten down by the last twenty-four hours. A human could only take so much and she’d had her fill.

“How did this happen? Why?” The words came out stilted but the detective seemed to understand.

West stood on the other side of her, a sympathetic expression on his face, probably grateful she wasn’t going to faint or scream or something worse. “I don’t know why this happened, Ms. Snow, but if I were a gambling man I’d say it might have something to do with Roger Gaines. Believe me, we intend to find out.”

She drew a shaky breath, hating the fact that she felt vulnerable and exposed in front of all these people. Most of them strangers. “I think under the circumstances, Detective, you should probably call me Brinley. I have a feeling we’re going to see a lot more of each other.”

“Thank you, Brinley. Just call me West. I need to talk to you about this. How about we all go into Jason’s house and sit down? Maybe have a cup of coffee or something.”

Needing to be away from the curious eyes of the neighborhood she nodded in agreement. “That sounds good. But I want to thank Richard and Fran for scaring him away.”

Jason patted her shoulder. “They can come over and join us. I’d like to hear the story directly from them.”

On automatic pilot, Brinley followed West and Jason down the steps and across the yard and driveway to Jason’s house, Huck on their heels. Her life didn’t feel like her own anymore. Something sinister – and very scary – was going on and she didn’t like it one bit.

And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

Chapter Eight

‡

Brinley looked like she was ready to collapse. Jason had a feeling she’d been running on pure adrenaline all day and the supply was empty. The feistiness she’d displayed when they’d arrived was gone, replaced by an eerie acquiescence that concerned him. She was sitting quietly on his couch, Huck draped over her lap while she petted him absently, her fingers stroking the silky fur. She’d barely glanced at the cup of coffee he’d sat in front of her, instead staring vacantly out of his front window where a crowd still stood.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Jason whispered to his brother, who was directing a deputy to bring in Fran and Richard. “Jesus, I could have prepared her for this.”

“I was just about to do that when you pulled up. I hadn’t been on the scene all that long and I didn’t want to call before I knew something.” West grimaced. “Dammit, I was here earlier walking Huck and giving him dinner. I didn’t see a thing. When I heard the call on the radio I almost couldn’t believe my ears. I got over here as soon as I could.”

Jason rubbed his aching temples. “This is a clusterfuck all the way around. Something is going on and we’re ten steps behind. I don’t like this at all. Somebody is after Brinley and I don’t intend to let them near her.”

He was shocked to hear the ferocity in his voice, but something about this woman brought out his caveman protective instincts. She was caught in something very dangerous and had no one but himself to protect her.

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” West nodded in agreement, keeping his voice low. “I know you said you were going to keep an eye on her but now I think we need to watch her twenty-four-seven. I don’t have the manpower to do something like that, though. Nor the budget. The mayor and I had another of our knock down drag-outs regarding expenses. That man is a total asshole.”

Money and resources weren’t an issue. Jason knew exactly who to call in.

“Not a problem. I’ve got this covered.”

“That’s good because this case has me worried. Gaines is dead and it looks like the killer isn’t done. Did you find out anything from his brother?”