Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Flash leaped out of his SUV and nodded at Dude. They took the stairs up to the fourth floor of Kelli’s apartment two at a time. There was no one around. The place was deserted, but that didn’t mean whoever had broken into Kelli’s apartment wasn’t still in there.
Acting as if they’d worked together all their lives—once a SEAL, always a SEAL—Dude went to one side of the door and Flash took the other. It was obvious the door had been tampered with. There were what looked like pry marks on the doorjamb and the door wasn’t closed all the way.
Flash held his pistol at the ready, as did Duke, and his fellow SEAL’s narrowed eyes and pressed lips indicated he was just as prepared to act, no matter what they might find inside.
Dude nodded at the door, then at Flash. He held up three fingers.
Flash returned his nod and stepped back a bit, giving the other man room to work .
Dude squared himself with the door, counted down on his fingers—three, two, one—then lifted his leg and kicked the door as hard as he could.
It flew open, slamming into the wall in the small foyer of Kelli’s apartment.
Strangely, the smell of bacon was the first thing Flash noticed as he quickly swung into the apartment, weapon at the ready.
He and Dude moved forward, scanning the living area and kitchen. It was empty. Ignoring the absolute destruction, Flash moved down the hall. Checking the bathroom and finding it empty, they continued to the master bedroom.
The sheets and blankets had been pulled off the bed, the tables on either side kicked over and smashed.
Knickknacks and books were strewn everywhere.
Pictures that had clearly once been on the wall were now on the floor, stomped on, leaving broken glass behind.
The bookcase had also been knocked over.
Whoever had done this was…angry. This wasn’t a random break-in, Flash would bet his life on it.
Dude moved to check the closet, and when Flash reached him, he saw that it had suffered the same kind of destruction as the rest of the apartment.
The rods had been ripped down and clothes were strewn all over the sizable room.
Flash shook his head at the needless destruction.
It didn’t seem to him that whoever had done this was looking for anything valuable.
He’d just broken stuff and destroyed Kelli’s belongings because he could.
It made the situation more dangerous in Flash’s eyes.
If the intruder had no intention of stealing anything… what was his intention ?
“Where is she?” Dude asked.
Flash had no idea where Kelli had hidden herself. Granted, he and Dude hadn’t done an extensive search, but he hadn’t seen any place where she might have squirreled herself away.
“Check the bathroom again?” he suggested.
When they did and still found no sign of Kelli, Flash’s adrenaline spiked even higher. And it was already pretty damn high. Where was she? Had she left? Had whoever done this found her? Had the intruder taken her down via the elevator while he and Dude were running up the stairs?
No…he was sure that hadn’t happened. He hadn’t hung up with her until he’d pulled into the parking lot. And he hadn’t seen anyone lurking around, hadn’t seen Kelli being forced into a vehicle or carried over someone’s shoulder. She was here somewhere. She simply had to be.
Then he remembered what he’d told her. That he’d give her the all-clear code word. He’d totally forgotten in the heat of the moment.
“Fred!” he called out loudly.
“What the hell?” Dude asked, giving him a look.
“Fred!” Flash yelled again, walking into the bedroom.
Then he heard it. A rustling coming from the closet.
“We checked the closet, right?” he asked Dude, even as he was striding toward it.
What he saw made his legs go weak. The large mound of clothing in the corner was moving slightly. “Help me!” he exclaimed, dropping to his knees and frantically clearing the space of the clothes.
Dude was at his side in a heartbeat, pulling parts of a rack, pants and shirts, and even shoes off of the massive pile. Under it was a suitcase .
“Kelli?” Flash asked in disbelief, even as tiny fingers appeared in the opening between the top and bottom of the case. Next he saw an eyeball, and finally Kelli’s body as the top of the suitcase flew open to reveal her hiding space.
“Holy shit!” Dude exclaimed.
Flash was already reaching for the woman who’d crawled under his skin and refused to leave. She threw herself up and out of the suitcase, and he ended up on his ass on the closet floor with a shaking, freaked-out woman in his arms.
“You came,” she whispered into his neck.
“Of course I did,” he soothed. His own heart was beating out of control. It was just settling in that he could’ve lost her. That whoever had broken in could’ve seriously hurt her. Assaulted her in a way that she might never have recovered from.
Or even killed her, if the destruction the intruder had caused was any indication of his rage.
He didn’t know how long they’d sat on the floor of the closet, just holding each other, but eventually Dude walked back in—when he’d left, Flash had no idea—and said, “The police are on their way. And I called Kevlar. I know it’s two-thirty in the morning, but your team would kick my ass, and yours, if they weren’t informed as soon as possible about what happened here. ”
He wasn’t wrong. If the tables were turned and he found out something had happened to any of his teammates or their women, and he hadn’t been called, he’d be furious…and a little hurt. “Thank you,” Flash said a little belatedly .
“At the risk of sounding like Tex, don’t fucking thank me,” Dude complained.
Flash found himself smiling at that. Tex was notorious for being cranky when someone tried to thank him for anything. It was part of his charm.
“Right. Can you please help me up then?” Flash asked. He had no intention of letting go of Kelli anytime soon.
Dude nodded, taking Flash by the upper arms. He hauled him upright while he was holding Kelli as if he was picking up nothing heavier than a piece of paper. “Good?” he asked gruffly.
“Good.” He cradled Kelli in his arms and carried her through her bedroom. Dude walked in front of him and cleared a space on the couch. Flash sat with her on his lap. Throughout it all, Kelli didn’t protest, didn’t say much of anything, and it was worrying him.
“Kelli?” he promoted.
She finally lifted her head and met his gaze. “You came,” she repeated.
“I’ll always come if I’m able to,” he said. Flash wanted to tell her that he’d always come for her without question, but the truth was, there were times he’d be physically unable to be by her side. But she needed to know that even if he couldn’t be there, his friends would. Like Dude.
As if she could read his mind, Kelli looked over at Dude. “I appreciate you getting out of bed in the middle of the night and coming too.”
Dude nodded. “As if I’d ever say no.”
Then Kelli’s gaze shifted, and Flash knew the exact moment the destruction of her things sank in.
“We’ll get it all cleaned up,” he told her quickly .
She took in her apartment, her head swiveling from side to side. “I heard him out here, the crashes and stuff. I didn’t know exactly what he was doing.”
“How did you know he wouldn’t find you in that suitcase?” Dude asked, as the sound of sirens began to pierce the quiet night.
“I didn’t,” she said with a small shrug, looking up at him.
“I was awake, reading, when I heard my door open. The hinges creak. I got out of bed and realized it was too late to get to the bathroom, or anywhere really. He’d see me as soon as I left the bedroom.
I made my bed, hoping he’d think I wasn’t home, then went into the closet.
I was going to hide behind the clothes. Thank goodness I didn’t, since he pulled down the rods.
Then I saw my suitcase. I usually stow it in the closet in the hall, but I’d been too lazy this week to do that yet.
I climbed in…almost couldn’t believe I fit…
then zipped it as much as I could before he reached the bedroom and held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t think to look there. ”
“And it was a guy? You heard him?” Flash asked.
“It was a guy,” she confirmed. “He swore a lot. And…” She paused, lifting her head to sniff the air. “I thought I smelled bacon. I guess he made it before he left?”
Flash was gobsmacked. He’d smelled it as well, but he just assumed it was the lingering scent from a late-night snack Kelli had made or something. “ Why? Why would he do that?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t really asking you for an answer. Was just expressing my shock.”
“You need to be sure to tell the detectives. Maybe he left some fingerprints on the fridge or packaging. ”
Kelli nodded, and Flash noted the look of shock settling on her face. She wasn’t hurt, but mentally, she was dealing with a lot coming at her in a short period of time. The break-in, the destruction of her things, the thought that whoever had broken in was still out there.
“After we talk to the cops, I’m taking you home.”
She looked up at him in confusion. “Home?”
“My home.”
The relief that flashed across her face was reinforcement that he’d made the right decision.
“Okay,” she said softly.
At that moment, two police officers appeared in the doorway, their weapons drawn and pointed at the three of them.
“Hands up!” one yelled.
Kelli immediately turned her head into Flash’s neck once more, even as she obediently thrust both hands up where they could be seen.
Realizing his weapon was still on the floor of Kelli’s closet—where he’d put it when he saw that pile of clothing move—Flash lifted his own hands into the air. It didn’t take long for the cops to be reassured that they were no threat.
It took longer for Kelli to tell them the story of what happened. It took even longer to retell the story once the detectives arrived. Then when NCIS showed up, she had to recount the evening all over again.