Page 24 of Until Bax

“I haven’t had a chance to go through the house. You might want to focus on doing that,” I tell him, keeping my tone even, and his expression shifts.

“Of course. Do you mind if I come inside and have a look around?”

I step back with Olivia to let him in, then watch as he moves through the living room, going to the right and down the hall. With Kourtney’s house set up like mine, I know there is a bedroom and bath in that direction. A few seconds later, he cuts across the living room and moves down the hall on the opposite side of the house, where Olivia’s room is.

Moments later, as he’s walking back into the living room, there is a knock on the door, and I move Olivia with me to open it. Two uniformed officers are on the porch, and I let them inside.

“Outside is clear, but there is a broken window on the back of the house, and I found a phone in the grass on the front lawn,” one of them says, his attention on Lincoln.

“The phone is mine,” I inform him, then add, “I had my gun and wanted to have full control when I came over here to check on Olivia.”

“You don’t live here?” Lincoln asks, his eyes moving over me. I’m only wearing what I wore to bed, which isn’t much.

“I live next door. I heard the sound of glass breaking and thought it was at my house, so I was already on the phone after calling 911 when I realized it wasn’t. I came right over; I didn’t take time to get dressed,” I say, ignoring Olivia’s fingers digging deeper into my side. “Could you tell what was used to break the window?”

“There’s a brick on the floor in what looks like the office,” Lincoln tells us, and my jaw clenches.

“Did you hear anything prior to the glass breaking?” asks one of the other policemen.

I glance at his badge, which says his name is Simpson. “I didn’t.”

I look down at Oli when she starts to speak.

“I didn’t either. I was asleep. The sound of the window breaking woke me up. I forgot I left my phone charging in the kitchen before I went to bed, and when I couldn’t find it, I hid in my closet until Bax came over.”

My gut clenches.

“You must have been terrified,” Lincoln says softly.

She doesn’t respond to him, but her weight settles more heavily against me.

“Well, things look clear,” Officer Simpson inserts, looking between us. “There isn’t much we can do tonight but take a report… and help secure the window if you need it.”

“Who would have done this?” Olivia asks him.

“Could’ve just been some kids,” Lincoln replies.

“At two in the morning?” I shake my head. “Two days ago, we had an issue with the men from the moving company delivering Olivia’s things, and they were both arrested. I haven’t heard that they were released, but I’m sure they have been by now unless they had other charges pending.”

“You think it was them?” Olivia asks, and I give her a squeeze.

“I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised. They were pissed.”

“Did that situation happen at this address?” the officer, who’s been quiet up until this point, asks, and I nod. “All right, let me go out and pull up the report on them to check if they’ve been released from custody.”

“I’ll go with you,” Officer Simpson says, passing me my cell before following the other cop out of the house.

“I’ll stay here with Olivia if you want to go home and get some clothes on,” Lincoln offers, focusing on me, and my jaw clenches.

“If it’s okay, I’ll go with him,” Olivia tells him softly, prying my fingers from her hip where I have ahold of her. Fuck, I didn’t even realize how tightly I was gripping her waist.

“That’s fine,” Lincoln responds, sounding disappointed.

“I’ll wait for you to get dressed,” I tell her, and she rubs her lips together before stepping away from me. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at the side of Lincoln’s face when his eyes drop to her bare legs before she disappears down the hall, Gemma following on her heels.

With the two of us alone, the living room fills with an undercurrent of tension that sets my teeth on edge.

“So.” His eyes come to me. “You and Olivia live next door to each other.”

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