Page 18 of Threatened

“Hey,” Gage said, coming up beside her and looping an arm around her shoulder. His action brought the two of them and the babies close together. The four of them united felt comforting, but the sensation only lasted a moment. “Hey, don’t blame yourself. There’s no proof whatsoever at this point that the two things are related. This isn’t your fault, okay?”

“Kylie?” Detective Carlisle called to her. “Can you check to see if any of your items are missing? I assume this is your suitcase and backpack by the couch?”

She nodded and with one last lingering look at Gage, walked into the other room to check her things. It only took her a second to see that something was missing, something important. “Oh, God.”

“What?” Gage asked, moving in to stand beside her. “Did they take something?”

“Yes. My laptop. I left it plugged in right there.” She pointed to a low table. “Maybe it’s here, hidden in the mess?” They did a quick search. It broke her heart to see the babies’ toys scattered around carelessly, some of them dirtied or torn. As if losing their parents wasn’t enough, everything they owned was violated.

“I don’t see it.” Gage had joined in the search while Detective Carlisle checked with the other officers to see if one of them had found it.

“It doesn’t appear to be here,” the detective said, returning to them. “Can you detail what was on it?”

“Everything.” Who didn’t have their life on their laptop? She held back the panic and made herself think, so she could answer his question. “All my work information is on there. Lists of clients, addresses, billing information, notes about what I did for them.”

“What kind of clients?”

“Kylie brings people’s homes in line with the concept of Feng Shui,” Gage answered before she could. His voice held not one bit of mocking about her profession, and she was surprised to see the detective just nod and take a note. No derision from either of them. That was improvement, and she’d be glad about it if everything else didn’t suck.

“My laptop is connected to my phone and my tablet,” she said “If they have that and can hack my passwords, they can access all my devices. Get into everything.” She straightened, feeling dizzy and slightly nauseated at the power someone could have over her. “What am I going to do?”

“Shh.” Gage pulled her into a hug with his free hand, the twins cradled between them once again. “We’re going to getthrough this, all right? Whatever is happening, you’re not alone. Partners, remember?” He pulled back and looked into her eyes, his voice calm and steady, soothing the rising tide of panic inside her. “Now, go ahead and pack up what you can of your stuff. Pack bags for the twins too. Then wait for me by the door. As soon as I give my statement to Carlisle, we’ll go to a hotel for the night. I’ll get someone in here tomorrow morning to fix the door and install a security system so this doesn’t happen again, okay?”

She nodded, feeling like she was operating in zombie mode, unable to shake the fear that this was all her fault and that the worst wasn’t over yet.

10

Later that night, Gage gently lowered Maya into the portable crib the manager at the front desk had arranged for them. Brennan was already sound asleep, sprawled on his back with his arms over his head. Gage wished he could be that relaxed. They were safely settled in a nice two-bedroom suite at the local extended stay hotel. That was a positive, as was the fact that after running a quick inventory of his house, it seemed like Kylie’s computer was the only thing that had been taken.

Gage should’ve felt happy that nothing important had been taken from him, but instead he felt restless. Unsettled. He recognized the sensation as being ready to take action and not having a direction to focus his energy.

In truth, the break-in at his house made no sense. He lived in a safe neighborhood. He hadn’t been around long enough to have made any enemies in the area. He didn’t own a lot of flashy stuff that would entice thieves. And the few big-ticket items he did have—his new flat screen TV, the video game console, his expensive tablet computer—hadn’t been touched in the robbery. Only Kylie’s laptop.

She’d blamed herself for what had happened, but honestly, it was his fault. He did his best to shake off the feeling of foreboding settling over him, but it haunted him.

Every time he let his guard down, every time things seemed good, bad things happened to the people he cared about. His parents. His uncle. His teammates. Tucker and Christine. Now Kylie and the twins. Maybe if they hadn’t gone to the nature preserve today, none of this would’ve happened. Perhaps if he’d gone to the park the other day instead of her, there would’ve been no mugging. If only…

Gage sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. The sound of the shower cutting off in the en suite bathroom brought him back to reality. The blame game served no purpose. His rational brain knew this, even if his heart didn’t want to get with the program.

There had to be a reason for someone to target his house. And the only way to protect the people who mattered to him was to find out who was behind the attack, and why it had happened.

The connection between the Japanese newspaper and the symbols painted on his living room walls might be a clue, but what could it mean? He couldn’t imagine that Kylie had enemies. She was much more the “peace, good vibes, and love” type. He couldn’t imagine anyone coming after her following her recent return from Japan with any kind of violence or aggression in mind, so what else could be going on?

Minutes of racking his brain produced no results, however. By the time the bathroom door creaked open and Kylie appeared, all pink cheeked and freshly bathed, dressed in pink PJ pants and a white tank top, he was more frustrated than before—in more ways than one. She was beautiful and vulnerable, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Sharing one of his favorite spots with her today had been magical. It felt like they’d finally knocked down the barriers between them and connected on a deeper level. That bond was still there, despite what had happened earlier, and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from walking over to her and taking her hands, resting his forehead against hers, doing his best to be strong and confident for both of them. He knew she was scared. It was written all over her pretty face. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be all right, even if it was a lie.

“Feel better?” he asked, taking a deep breath and catching the scent of soap from her skin. His nerve endings tingled, and his pulse kicked up a notch. Despite what had happened, he wanted her just as much as he had that afternoon.

She nodded. “Yes. How are the twins?”

“Asleep in the next room,” he said, pulling away before he couldn’t anymore. “If you’re done, I’m going to hit the shower myself.”

He hoped the warm water would help him relax. After scrubbing down and rinsing off, though, Gage felt more on edge than ever. He slung his wet towel around his hips, brushed his teeth and shaved, then walked out to grab sweats and a clean T-shirt from his duffle, only to find Kylie slumped on the edge of the bed. He stopped short, his skin feeling too tight for his body.

“You okay?” he asked, the words emerging huskier than he’d intended. He did a quick sweep of the room, checking for threats. Everything was as it should be. Except her. She shook her head and looked up at him, her eyes so filled with sorrow that his heart shattered. He was across the room and gathering her into his arms before he thought twice about his actions.

“I’m sorry,” she said, over and over again against his chest, her sobs scraping like sandpaper against his soul. Not sure what else to do, Gage held her close and rocked slowly back and forth, murmuring soft words of comfort against her hair.

---