Page 29 of Guarded Hearts

He snapped a photo of the casing on the windowsill. Then he reached into his back pocket for a handkerchief he carried out of habit and used it to pick up the item.

Swiping a thumb over the phone screen, he turned right and left, hunting for the person who’d left a blatant threat for him to find. He dialed the Black Heart Security office and got Willow.

“Put Oaks on the phone. Now.”

“Hello to you too, big brother. Having a nice day?”

“Willow.” He bit back a warning growl. “Do it.”

“Fine. Here he is.”

As soon as Oaks came on the line, Carson got right to the point. “The motherfucker was here.”

“Fuck! You’re sure?”

“He sent this as a warning. To me.” He shot off the photo of the casing.

Oaks let out a rumbling breath through his teeth—the closest his brother usually got to being angry. Or at least showed it.

“Get over here and pick up the casing. I want you to check it for fingerprints. I want to know everything about this casing. Where it was purchased. Who purchased it. Everything.”

“On it. I’m leaving the office now.” The hum of his brother’s diesel truck engine filtered into Carson’s ear.

He enfolded the casing in the handkerchief and pocketed it. Then he turned his attention to the grass outside the windows. The casing must have been there a while. The grass wasn’t flattened, giving no evidence of recent foot traffic. Nothing else was planted or dropped.

The casing was planted between his earlier sweep of the grounds and now.

He continued his sweep of the grounds. By the time he heard the crunch of Oaks’s tires, he made it back to where he started. Oaks jumped out and strode over to meet him.

“What the hell, brother?”

Carson pulled out the handkerchief. When he unfolded it, the brass casing gleamed.

Oaks met his stare. “Definitely a warning. How did the bastard get on the property without tripping any alarms?”

“That’s what we have to find out. Have Colt pull the footage. I want every damn millisecond of that recording watched.”

“I’ll get him on it.” His brother gave him a direct look. “You can always pack Layne up and bring her to the Black Heart.”

“After what you said earlier? I’m not letting her anywhere near you.”

Oaks’s crooked a slanted smile. “Well, sheishot, but you know I’m just fucking with you, Carson.”

As if they both had a hunch that she might be nearby, they both twisted to glance at the front of the house. The curtain twitched back into place.

“Dammit. She won’t quit looking out the windows.”

“Probably wants to see the danger coming. I know I would.”

Carson leveled him in a glare.

Nonplussed, Oaks shrugged. “I would. Anyway, why don’t you let her out of captivity for a minute? We’re both standing right here to protect her.”

He inflated his chest, rolling the idea around. Then he mounted the steps and punched in the new passcode he’d programmed into the system and opened the door.

“Layne?”

She was rushing across the living room, beating feet to make it look like she hadn’t been lurking at the window or been caught doing it.

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