Page 19 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

“Ah… good. Did he tell you he’d just talked to Liam’s girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“It’s pretty shitty that some asshole has roped her in. They tore her home apart. Did you know her?”

Guilt filled me again. “Yes. To be honest, I feel protective of her. I don’t want Liam’s mistakes to fuck up her life, especially after all this time.” My brows furrowed. “Are you involved in the case?”

“I’m investigating the break-in. Since it could be related to Liam’s murder, Riker and I are conferring.”

“Do you have any leads on the break-in?”

He shook his head. “So far, no, except whoever it was bypassed her security. We’re looking to see if there’s anything. Perhaps it caught the perp surveilling the property prior to the break-in, that sort of thing. But they were able to shut it all down when they broke in.”

“They? Do you think it’s more than one person?”

“Don’t know yet. Do you by chance know what they’re looking for?”

I shook my head. “Not a clue.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out. We usually do,” he said good-naturedly.

I smiled, pleased to see he’d made a good life for himself. Why hadn’t Liam been able to do that? “It’s good to see you, Flynn. Will you keep me posted on the case?”

“Sure thing.”

As I left the station, the chilly wind outside mirrored the cold feeling inside me. The idea that someone could bypass a security system bothered me. Whoever was behind this had connections and skills, and they’d targeted Lindsay.

I used my ride-share app to order a car to take me back to my hotel. Sitting in the backseat as the car navigated through busy streets, I gazed at familiar landmarks, each one stirring up a mixture of pain, guilt, and regret. Again, I wondered if I should have just stayed in California. The police seemed competent, and Donovan's involvement gave me a small sense of relief. After all, he knew people Liam knew. They grew up together.

But being back in Boston reminded me of how I'd failed to keep Liam out of trouble, and that thought weighed heavily on me. I owed it to him to make sure Lindsay was okay. I couldn't fail her too.

Once back in my hotel room, I let out a sigh, letting all the crazy feelings and thoughts come out now that it was safe to do so away from people. I grabbed water from the mini-fridge and stared out the window, watching Boston bustle below me. I took a sip of water, wishing the cool, clear liquid could wash away the past and all the shitty feelings with it.

I couldn't shake the image of Lindsay at the police station. Seeing her stirred up a storm inside me. It was like something inside me had been asleep for the last five years and those brief moments with her had awakened it.

Good God, she was still stunning, and yet, something was different about her. She came off as more guarded than I remembered. Once upon a time, she was an open book, her effervescent personality drawing people in like moths to a flame. Was this change in her a response to this case? Or had she simply evolved over time?

My impression was that she looked well, and yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if I'd fucked up by leaving her. Abandoning Lindsay after Liam's death had been one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I hadn't known how else to cope with the chaos inside me. Failing my brother had been hard enough, but betraying him by sleeping with his former love… that was a burden I couldn't bear.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration and regret gnawing at me. Had I fucked up by coming? Deep down, I knew the answer. I was here to make things right—for Liam, for Lindsay—and my feelings didn’t matter, even as I knew this would be a difficult situation to navigate. As much as I wanted to deny it, my feelings for her had never waned. They’d simply gone dormant and now were roused. I’d have to control that.

I let out another sigh as I contemplated the daunting task of controlling my feelings around Lindsay and reconciling my past with my present.

Glancing at my watch, I realized I had time before meeting Lindsay. I needed to clear my head and focus on something else, even if just for a little while. Picking up my phone, I dialed the office. I figured checking on my little empire was just the distraction I needed.

"Oliver, everything's running smoothly," my admin assured me. "But Tech Security wants a conference call as soon as possible."

That didn’t sound good. "Thanks. Put me through to them now."

When the line connected, Buddy Curtis, the head of my cybersecurity department, picked up. "Hey, Oliver. Sorry to bug you when you’re out of town, but I wanted to let you know about an attempted breach. The odd thing was that whoever it was appeared to only be interested in you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. They left little breadcrumbs that suggested they were poking into your files.”

The hairs on my neck stood up. Was this a break-in like Lindsay’s? If so, that suggested that whatever Liam had was something that could be filed digitally. Or maybe they thought I stored the location of whatever Liam had.

"Did the hacker want something specific?" I asked.

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