Page 43 of Mistletoe and Malice
“Copy. Talk to you later.”
He disconnected again and glanced at the woman next to him. “I’m sorry, Riley.”
“Everything’s destroyed?” Her voice trembled as she clutched his hand.
“It looks that way. The living room, at least. I didn’t want to go in and mess up any evidence.”
“Why didn’t my alarm go off? I would’ve received an alert, and it goes directly to the police department.”
“You sure you set it last time you were here?”
Her forehead scrunched. “That would’ve been last Saturday, after … well, after. I picked up some clothes to get me through a few days, toiletries, laptop, work stuff.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Avery and I had gone shopping together in my car—she lives around the corner—but I was still pretty shaken up when we left the restaurant, so she drove us back here, then out to the estate. I guess … maybe I forgot to set it on my way out. Which is really stupid considering what had just happened.”
“You had a lot on your mind that day.”
“I wonder if they found my safe. In my office. Third floor.”
“Built-in or able to be carried?”
“Not built-in, but it has to weigh over two hundred pounds. No one person could carry it out, especially down two flights of stairs.”
“Please tell me you kept all your essential papers in the safe.”
She cleared her throat. “It’s where I kept all my valuables. Jewelry, some collectible heirlooms. I kept a copy of my will in there, my passport, birth certificate, and some other personal papers. But papers with my social security number and other pertinent information were in my files. They were locked, but those filing cabinets aren’t like a safe. There are ways to get in.”
She swallowed hard. He expected her to cry, to see tears. But as usual, she refused to give in to them. How could somebody so tiny have such an iron will?
“Why? Why would somebody do that? Destroy my home? Why?”
The imploring in her eyes tugged at his heart and fueled his ire. Life was too cruel sometimes to the people who least deserved it.
“If it’s the same guy—and that’s my bet—he’s playing with you. I don’t know why he’s picked you. I wish I did, because we’d be that much closer to finding him.” Assured they hadn’t been followed, he pulled into an empty coffee shop drive-through. “But we will. We will find him. I promise you.”
“Before he finds me?”
“I won’t let him hurt you, Riley.” He leaned in, making eye contact. “You have my word.”
Chapter Nineteen
“It’s only stuff.”
That’s what Riley had told Colton as they stood in the middle of the debris that used to be her haven of rest and security. A place she wasn’t sure she could ever go back to. Ever again sleep in the master suite she considered her retreat from the world, read in front of the fireplace at the end of a stressful day, or enjoy quiet time with her Bible and a cup of coffee on her flower-bedecked back patio.
Even though she’d lost some precious keepsakes—gifts from loved ones, treasures from her travels—the deepest loss was the sense ofhome. Her little piece of the world she’d bought and put together as an expression of who she was and what she held dear.
No, it wasn’t about thethings.It was about the violation. The knowledge that this stranger had been in her personal space, going through her things, destroying what he believed valuable to her.
Thankfully, she’d had plenty to do to keep herself busy after they’d been stuck at her mess of a house for hours, going througheach of the rooms to determine what was missing as opposed to what simply lay in ruins. Once back at the estate, she’d come straight to her suite and jumped into her myriad tasks, anything to keep her mind occupied. Hilda brought her a tray with dinner a little after seven, but she hadn’t seen anybody since Colton popped in to check on her around ten.
She hit the Print button and picked up her cup from next to her laptop. Her hot cocoa had long ago grown cool, but since sleep probably wouldn’t be coming any time soon, another wouldn’t hurt.
Not wanting to alert Colton, she moved carefully past his door. In the kitchen, she rinsed out her cup while milk heated in the microwave. She turned and gasped at the sight of a man on the back stairs.
“Colton! You scared me to death.”
“Sorry.” His boyish grin was at odds with the midnight stubble on his face. “I didn’t expect you to be skulking around down here at midnight.”
“I wasn’t skulking.”
