Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
MAX
As soon as I saw my patient out, I fished my phone from my pocket and checked the screen. It had vibrated with a call during the consultation, but I hadn’t been able to answer.
My insides knotted as I saw that the missed call was from Nate. A text message followed immediately after.
Nate: Go to your place ASAP.
My pulse spiked. Shit. Whatever that was about, it couldn’t be good.
I dialed Nate’s number and waited for him to answer.
He didn’t.
Uneasiness swept over me, and I pocketed the phone, grabbed my keys, and rushed to lock the front entrance and put up a Closed sign along with the emergency contact number. I hurried out the back and to my minivan.
It wouldn’t take me long to run home, but driving was faster, so I threw myself behind the steering wheel and started the engine. Tearing away from the curb, I spared a moment to be grateful that the street was empty and I didn’t endanger anyone with my erratic driving.
Within seconds, I spotted the police car parked outside my house.
Fucking hell. This was really bad.
The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I slammed on my brakes and shuddered to a stop behind the vehicle. I killed the engine, leaped out, and raced to the front door. It was ajar, and I smacked into it palms first, ignoring the unpleasant thud as I scanned the room frantically for Bailey.
She was curled on the sofa, her eyes red-rimmed and mascara bleeding down her wet cheeks. I crossed the room in a few strides and dropped to my knees beside her, smoothing my hands down her body as I searched for injuries.
Sobbing, she scooted to the edge of the sofa and grabbed at me. I let her take hold of me, uncertain what she was trying to do until she looped her arms around me and awkwardly pulled me closer.
I rose into a crouching position, wrapped her in a gentle embrace, and ran my hand down her back. She was shaking.
“What happened?” I asked as she sniffled into my chest.
“He was here,” she whimpered, her voice muffled by my shirt.
I stiffened, my gaze rising instinctively to Nate’s. He was leaning against the wall by the hall door, his arms crossed, scowling fiercely.
“Bailey was doing a live talk with some of her followers when one of them spotted a man standing in the window,” Nate said, pushing away from the wall and moving a step closer. “When she turned, she saw a guy in a ski mask. She locked herself in the bathroom and called for help.”
“Did he get in?” I demanded. “Did you catch him? Fuck, I never should have left her alone today.”
I hadn’t felt right about leaving her here, but she’d insisted, and I knew my worry could be smothering, so I’d let my concern about pushing her away overrule my anxiety over her safety.
“He didn’t get in.” Nate gestured toward the hall. “There’s evidence he was trying to force the lock on the back door, but it didn’t work.”
I pursed my lips. “Why not just break the window if he wanted to get in?”
Nate shrugged. “No idea. As for whether we caught him, unfortunately not. He was gone by the time we arrived. I have officers searching the neighborhood and knocking on doors for possible witnesses. Mehrtens is collecting evidence—including fingerprints—from the back door. She’ll also check whether there were any footprints left by the window. ”
“Okay.” That all sounded positive. I was glad to hear the lock had held, even if I was confused as to why he hadn’t just smashed the window and saved the hassle of trying to break the lock.
Bailey had stopped sniffling, and she pulled away from me, swiping at her eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to cry all over you.”
I sat beside her on the sofa and started to reach for her hand before stopping myself with a sharp internal reminder that we didn’t have the sort of relationship where I got to hold her hand whenever I wanted. I was just here for whatever support she requested.
“You can cry on me whenever you need to,” I said softly. “Are you okay?”
Her lower lip wobbled. “Not really.”
Of course not. That was a stupid question.
“Did you recognize him?” I asked.
“No, but the live session was recorded. That happens automatically, and then it uploads afterward.”
Nate held up a phone. “Want to see? I’m going to send the video to a technical team to analyze, but in the meantime, maybe you’ll notice something we didn’t.”
I grimaced. I didn’t really want to watch Bailey go through something like that, but if it might help, then I would. I took the phone from him. Bailey’s face was in the center of a paused video. I hit the button to play it and watched the window carefully.
The figure wasn’t very clear at first. It could have been mistaken for a small tree moving in the wind, but it became clearer seconds before, onscreen, Bailey’s face fell and she slowly began to turn.
I stared at the figure in relation to the window.
He must be around six feet tall or perhaps a little under.
With shoulders that broad, it was almost certainly a man.
The miniature Bailey screamed silently, and her hand flew at the camera.
The man moved to the right just as her surroundings blurred—presumably as she ran through the house to the bathroom.
“He went to the right,” I said, returning the phone to Nate.
My brother nodded. “I noticed that.”
Bailey frowned. “Why does that matter?”
I pressed my lips together. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.
Nate sighed. “To get to the back door, he’d have had to go left.”
She cocked her head, obviously confused.
“It’s possible that he tried the door before coming to the window,” Nate went on, his expression grim, “but it’s also possible that there was a second person working on the door while this man was keeping an eye on you and that when he ran, it was to their getaway vehicle so he’d be ready to escape with his partner. ”
“Oh.”
Her voice was small, and I instantly felt terrible for mentioning it. I should have known that Nate wouldn’t have missed a detail like that and was keeping it to himself for a reason.
Nate dragged his hand over his stubbled jaw. “You’re lucky you were doing a live session and that someone noticed, or we could be in a very different situation.”
I shuddered. What if no one had seen the figure? Or if Bailey hadn’t noticed the comment about it? Would she be dead now?
“This proves you’re in danger,” Nate said to Bailey. “You should come and stay with me and Grace so we can keep a closer eye on you.”
I expected Bailey to nod and agree, since she obviously wasn’t safe here, but instead, she set her jaw mulishly.
“I want to stay with Max.” Considering how upset she was, she showed no hint of doubt.
My emotions roiled. I was pleased that she wanted to stay, but I wasn’t equipped to protect her properly.
Nate was a policeman. He carried a weapon and had been trained how to bring criminals down.
I was just a soft-handed doctor whose primary experience with fighting was reading battle scenes in fantasy novels.
“It’s risky,” I warned her, determined to put her safety first even if her words stoked a fire somewhere deep within me. “Nate has tools and training that I don’t.”
Her dark eyes flashed, and, to my astonishment, she raised her chin. “I don’t care. Unless… unless you don’t want me here?”
This time, I couldn’t stop myself from taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “As far as I’m concerned, you can stay for as long as you like, but—”
“But you should come with me,” Nate cut in. “It’s safer.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do I have to?”
Nate just stared at her for a long moment, then bit out, “No.”
“Then I choose to stay with Max.” With her free hand, she swept her hair behind her ear.
“You could set up a regular patrol to keep an eye on me or something if you’re worried, but I promise I won’t stay here alone again.
I’ll go into the office with Max instead.
They haven’t tried anything while he’s around. ”
“That we know of,” Nate grumbled. He turned to me. “Come on, Max. Be reasonable. She should come with me.”
My jaw tightened and my hands instinctively curled into fists. I loosened my hold on Bailey before it could cause her any discomfort. Logically, I knew that Bailey probably would be safer with Nate than with me, but she didn’t want to go with him, and it should be her decision.
I didn’t like the way he assumed I’d see things his way and talk her around.
I might have a reputation as being the peacemaker in the family, but that didn’t mean I’d automatically go along with what everyone else wanted.
Especially when Bailey’s happiness was on the line and she’d already been through so much.
“If she wants to stay here, then she can. We have another spare room if you’d like an officer to stay with us as an added layer of protection.”
“You’re being a pair of idiots,” Nate snapped.
I didn’t totally disagree with him, but for once, I wasn’t going to back down.