Page 138 of Deserter

I clenched my jaw and brought a hand up to massage my temple as I pulled into the driveway. I’d been nursing a sinus headache for most of the afternoon while they’d entertained themselves by fighting. “I would really like it if we could get along for just five minutes, girls. Five minutes. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”

Kate popped up behind me. “Mama, are you okay? You’ve been really grumpy the past couple of days.”

I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter before meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m fine, sweetie; just tired. Do you know what would help me?”

Dakota unbuckled and barreled into Kate’s side. “What?”

“If you two crazies could call a truce at least until dinner’s over. Think you can do that?” The pain in my head was messing with my vision and I found myself looking forward to the moment I could climb into bed, guilt free.

Kate nodded in agreement while Dakota continued to stare over my shoulder.

“Dakota Mae, I asked you a question.”

She adjusted her glasses and pointed. “Mama, why does the door look funny?”

I whipped my head back toward the house, my adrenaline spiking when I saw it. Our front door had been kicked in.

Someone had broken into our home.

The three of us slowly climbed out of the suburban and stood in shock on the front lawn. “Girls, I want you to stay right here by the car, okay? Don’t move from this spot until—”

“Mama, you can’t go in there,” Kate argued. “What if the bad guys are still in there?”

I looked around the yard and down the street, but the block was deserted. Even if the neighbors were home, they wouldn’t open their doors to help us.

The ground vibrated beneath my feet as Hawk’s bike roared up. He took one look at my face and immediately hopped off. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

I tried to keep my lips from trembling as I whispered, “Someone broke in.”

His hand went to the gun at his hip. “Stay here with the girls.”

My throat tightened and I nodded, doing my best to keep it together in front of Kate and Dakota. I pulled them into my side and held my breath while Hawk checked the house.

He reappeared a few minutes later and gave me a thumbs up. “All clear.”

I began shaking uncontrollably as I led the girls up the porch steps, my movements jerky and unsteady. Hawk told the girls to wait on the porch swing as he reached for my hand, pulling me inside.

“Anything missing in here?”

I’d expected the place to be trashed, but everything seemed to be just as we’d left it before going to the park. The television was still next to the stereo on the old record cabinet console that had belonged to Jamie’s parents.

I scanned the walls and along the furniture, convinced I was missing something. “This room looks okay.”

Hawk nodded. “Let’s go check the bedrooms. Thieves usually look for what they can quickly grab and take off with. Any jewelry or small collectibles you had lying around?”

“Not any that would be easy to find.”

Besides my wedding band, I only had YiaYia’s jewelry, and it was hidden in a box on the top shelf of the closet where Dakota couldn’t reach.

The girl’s bedroom floor was littered with action figures and clothing, but nothing had been taken. Their tiny bathroom was the same.

If the front door hadn’t been kicked in, I wouldn’t have known anyone had been here.

It was as if they’d come for one thing—

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” I moaned, and with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, stumbled down the hall to the master bedroom.

“Celia?” Hawk caught up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders to steady me. “What’s wrong?”

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