Chapter 42
42
BEN
My phone rings, and when I glance at the screen, my heart takes flight and I beam into the night sky. After weeks of her keeping a careful distance between us, she’s already calling me straight after one of the best days of my life.
My smile drops as my thoughts take a darker turn. What if something’s wrong?
I quickly accept the call. “Hey. Is everything all right?”
“Ben! Oh, thank goodness.” Her whispered voice drips with panic.
My senses go on high alert, and I grab my keys, heading straight for my truck after locking the door—Rex close on my heels. “What’s wrong?”
“We just got home and found the side door open and a light on upstairs. I know I locked the house this morning when I left to pick up Evan. Y-You were the first person I thought to call,” she tells me, her voice shaky and uneven.
“I’m on my way. Wait out front for me. I don’t want you in the house in case someone’s still inside.” I start the engine and floor it out of my driveway and onto the road. I’ll be there in less than ten minutes if traffic is on my side. “Stay on the phone with me. Okay?”
I hear rustling and know she’s following my instructions. “Okay.”
Focusing on the road, I hear their footsteps on the sidewalk, which I know is on the opposite side of the street to their house. I bang on the steering wheel when I get stopped at the third set of traffic signals. “Damn it!”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I keep getting all the red lights. I’m not too far now. Sit tight, okay?” The light turns green, and I floor the gas. I know I should follow the law and travel at the correct speed, but my body won’t allow me to go slow.
“We’re safe, Ben. Don’t rush—” She disconnects the call as soon as we spot each other, my truck barreling down the street toward her and Evan, and I’m happy to see they’re as far away from their house as they can be while still keeping watch on their property.
I shut off the engine the second I pull in behind their car and jump out. As I take long strides toward the two most important people in my life, I scan Hope and Evan from top to toe, ensuring they’re okay. Gripping Hope’s slender shoulders, I pull her into me and wrap my arms around her, pressing us together until I can feel every single inch. Rex barks, and I pull Evan into the embrace.
Hope presses her cheek against me, and she must feel my heart hammering heavily against my ribs. After a few moments, she tilts her head up, and I cup her cheek, pushing her hair away from her face. Looking between her and Evan, I ask, “Are you guys okay?”
She exhales, sending her warm breath ghosting across my chin. “We’re fine.”
Evan pulls away. “Geez, man, give a guy some breathing room.”
“I’m glad neither of you were home.” Ignoring my promise to keep things platonic between us in front of Evan, I kiss the top of her head because I need to taste her to reassure every one of my senses she’s okay. Evan watches me with interest, and I’m sure he’ll have a million questions when things are quiet later.
“Yeah, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if we were home.”
I shake my head. “Not necessarily. Burglars don’t always care if people are home. I’ll call it in, then I’m going to go in with Rex to check things out.”
She steps away and nods as she wraps her arm around Evan, tugging him to her side. “Okay. We’ll wait here.” She reaches out to squeeze my arm. “Be careful.” It’s impossible to miss the worry in her tone.
I nod. “This is what I do. I don’t take unnecessary risks. Promise.” Before I take her back into my arms and kiss her like I really want to, I tap the side of my leg and head inside with Rex. I detour to my truck, grab my phone, and call it in, then we make our way through each room, finding parts of the house in disarray but thankfully empty. When I study the side door carefully, I note the gouges in the wood where the perp obviously broke the lock.
I step outside to update Hope and Evan. “The house is empty, and I can see where they jimmied the lock to get in. They’ve left a mess behind where they’ve gone through your things in some of the rooms. Do you have any security? Cameras … sensors … anything?”
Her face grows pale as she shakes her head, bringing her trembling hand up to cover her mouth. “No, just regular locks.”
“All right. I’ve already called it in, but I’m also gonna call Nix and get him out here to fix that back lock. Then we’ll see what he can do about a security system for you.” He gave me his number at the birthday party, in case I ever decide to leave the force.
Hope’s brows scrunch together. “Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary. I don’t want to bother Nix and I can’t afford a security system.”
While I’m on the phone to Nix, a cruiser pulls up and two officers climb out of the car. Hope explains what she found when she came home, and then I introduce myself and fill the officers in on what I found when Rex and I checked inside. They head inside to gather evidence while we wait out front. After a while, they return to us on the front grass.
“Do you know if anything was stolen?”
Hope shakes her head. “I haven’t been inside yet.”
“Okay, well, we’ll check the neighbors to see if anyone has CCTV footage we can use.” The officer shrugs. “No guarantees on that, though. When you go through your things, make notes on anything that’s missing.”
“Will do. Thank you, officers.”
They nod. “We’ll be in touch if we discover any new information.” He hands her his card. “Here’s my card.”
As they step away, Nix and Shane pull up in front of the house at the same time. They climb out of their cars and Shane’s expression is like thunder as he storms toward us with a slight limp. “Why didn’t you call?” he snaps at Hope.
Nix grabs a toolbox from his van and wanders over at a slower pace. “Hey, Hope. Ev.”
“Hey, Nix. Thanks for coming,” Hope says, then turns to Shane, raising her brows at him. “Hey, Shane. Nice to see you, too.”
“Don’t Hey, Shane me. You’re supposed to call me when stuff like this happens.” He pushes his huge hand roughly across the top of his cropped hair. The guy is intimidating without even trying. Seeing him like this makes me want to put distance between us.
Hope waves toward me. “I called Ben, and he came.”
Shane looks at me as if it’s the first time he’s noticed I’m here and raises his chin. The tension in his jaw and across his shoulders disappears, and he blows out a long breath. “Thanks, Ben.”
“No problem. The house needs to be secured, and I’d like Nix to install security cameras and an alarm system.”
Shane nods in agreement. “We should’ve done it years ago.”
Hope sighs loudly, but reaches out, placing her hand on my forearm. “I don’t think any of that’s necessary. It’s expensive, and we’ve been okay without it until now.”
“How about we get the house secure, and we can take a look at some simple measures Hope will be comfortable with?” Nix looks at Hope with raised brows. “No cost.”
She shakes her head, sending her curls swaying from side to side. “No. I won’t accept a handout. If I can’t pay you, then you’re not installing anything,” she tells him with a firm tone. I’ve never seen her so adamant before—with her jaw set tight and her arms crossed stubbornly across her chest—but I recognize a woman who’s not prepared to budge.
They negotiate an arrangement Hope is happy with, and Nix sets about securing the house, while the rest of us tidy the mess, collecting any items that need repairs.
An hour later, Hope and Evan’s home is secure and Nix and Shane have left, promising to return tomorrow to install a couple of motion sensor cameras and an alarm system on the downstairs windows and doors.
Evan slides his zipper up and down his hoodie repeatedly as he chews on his bottom lip. “Mom, do you think whoever broke in will come back tonight?”
“I wouldn’t think so,” Hope tells him, brushing her hand over the top of his head. Her body sags with exhaustion—it’s been a long night—and I can’t begin to understand the worry she’s feeling about everything that happened here tonight.
Unconvinced, Evan looks up at me. “What do you think, Ben?”
I rest my hand on his shoulder. I don’t want to frighten them, but I need to be honest. “Sometimes they do. It depends why they broke in and what they were looking for.”
Hope’s shoulders stiffen, and a soft gasp punches from her lips.
“It depends on how determined they are to get whatever they were after in the first place—if they didn’t get it.” I shrug. “I think it would be a good idea if you guys stayed with me tonight. Just to be safe until we can get the security system installed tomorrow.”
Hope pulls Evan in close and nods her agreement before I finish speaking. “Okay.” She drops her eyes to her son. “That makes sense, if you don’t mind us invading your space.”
“You guys are always welcome.”
“Thanks, Ben. I’ll pack us an overnight bag. Won’t be long.” She disappears upstairs, leaving me and Evan alone.
Evan yawns. “Do you have enough beds at your house?”
I chuckle. “Yeah, buddy. You won’t have to sleep on the floor. Maybe Rex can sleep with you tonight?”