9. Elijah
Every surface in Edna’s once pristine house has been turned upside down. The table I’ve eaten countless meals at is flipped over, the legs of her chairs splintered. Her dresser drawers were removed, their contents thrown around the bedroom.
Clothes from the closet were yanked from their hangers, fabric torn, and every single dish in the kitchen was shattered. Including the vases I’d brought her every year since we met.
Even the picture windows overlooking her beautiful garden have been shattered. And the damage doesn’t stop inside the house.
The plants she’d once tenderly cared for have been ripped from the ground, every single one of them uprooted.
The cat managed to hide somewhere, only coming out once he heard Andie’s panicked calls. And as she cradles the fluffy cat against her chest, every belief I’d ever had about her vanishes. She’s nothing like who I thought she was.
The walls are there, shielding her from feeling. But the woman behind them is as kind as Edna described. As caring. Though she tries really, really hard to hide it.
Tears shimmer in her eyes, but they do not fall as she surveys the damage.
Sheriff Vick moves through the house, carefully documenting every inch of the place. “They didn’t miss a single item,” he says as he shoves the camera into his pocket. “It’s all been destroyed. Pictures on the walls, broken, mirrors shattered.” He looks around, expression furious. “This feels personal.”
“Are you liking Rebecca for it now?” Andie demands. “How could it get more personal than your mother giving half of her house to your daughter and the other half to a man she only met a few years ago? No offense,” she adds to me.
“None taken.” But even as I also recognize that Rebecca is most likely the culprit of this temper tantrum, it’s a lot of damage to have been carried out by one person in the short amount of time Andie was gone. “Whoever did this was watching the house.” I bend down and lift a small porcelain unicorn from the floor then set it carefully on the counter. It might just be the lone survivor from her collection. “They knew when you left. Probably came in as soon as you were out of sight.”
She pales. “What if I’d doubled back?”
The mere thought of what could have happened to her puts a ton of gravel in my gut. “It’s good you didn’t.” Could she truly have been gone that quickly? If she’d walked in on whoever did this, would they have killed her?
“Maybe not. I could have scared off whoever did this.” Andie shakes her head. “All of her stuff. Every treasured possession…” She looks toward the front door.
“What is it?”
“I just. I had this feeling that I needed to take the box of letters she left me out of the house.” She swallows hard and holds the cat closer. “I guess it’s a good thing I listened.”
“Sounds to me like God was giving you a heads-up,” Sheriff Vick says as he withdraws his notepad and jots down a few things. “We dusted for prints, but I’d be willing to bet the ones we find belong to those closest to Edna. My guess is whoever did this likely used gloves.”
“I’m going to install a camera,” I tell him. “Link it to our server so I can watch who comes and goes. If that’s okay with you,” I add, looking at Andie.
She nods.
“You’ll send over any footage?” the sheriff asks.
“Of course.” Even though we’re not law enforcement, the sheriff and Knight Security have a mutual respect. A working relationship that benefits the both of us. Especially when the tech we possess outperforms that of the local law enforcement.
“And I’ll keep you updated if I have any hits on prints that don’t match the list you gave me,” he says, slipping the notepad back into his pocket. “We’ll catch who did this—you have my word.”
“Thank you,” Andie says, her tone clipped. She’s angry that they won’t just arrest Rebecca. And to be honest, while the rational side of me understands that there’s a process, the other part of me wants that woman behind bars if only for Andie’s safety.
“Do you need a place to stay?” the sheriff asks.
She looks at him like he grew a second head. “Excuse me?”
“You can’t stay here,” I tell her.
“Why not?”
“It was broken into. Ransacked. There are no windows.”
“Felix is already coming out to board up the newly broken ones.”
“Andie—”
“I won’t be chased out of my gran’s house,” she all but growls. “This is my home. I grew up here.”
“I know that.” I move in a bit closer, softening my tone. I can’t be annoyed with her because, if I were in her position, I’d probably feel the exact same way she does. “And once the windows are replaced, we will install a security system. But right now, it’s not secure. Whoever is doing this?—”
“Rebecca is doing this,” she interrupts.
“Fine. But until we have proof that it’s her, we need to play it safe. You can stay at the lighthouse.”
“Excuse me?” Her brow furrows. “The lighthouse?”
“It’s Knight Security’s headquarters, but there’s an apartment upstairs. Was recently renovated.” I leave out the fact that it’s also where I’m living because, right now, that doesn’t matter. I’ll pack a bag and move downstairs. Or, if she’s not comfortable with that, I’ll stay in Lance’s guest room.
Right now, priority one is getting Andie somewhere safe.
“All right. But only if I can bring Aggie.”
“Of course. I’ll get his litter box and food packed up.” Leaving her to talk with the sheriff, I make my way into the destroyed laundry room. Whoever did it dumped the litter box all over the floor, so I pick up the empty plastic box and slide it into a trash bag. Since I don’t see any spare litter, I make a mental note to grab some on the way to the lighthouse.
My stomach churns with anger as I move through the wreckage of what was once a sort of second home for me. All the while, I consider how Edna would have handled having every single one of her possessions destroyed.
It would have infuriated her.
She wouldn’t have broken though. No, Edna was as strong as they come, and her faith was to be admired. She would have stood strong through all of this, probably using it as an excuse to re-plant her entire garden. Honestly, she’d probably have prayed for those who broke in then hummed through the whole cleaning process.
A smile plays at the corners of my lips as I remember the woman I admired.
And then, one memory pops into my head.
“Please watch over her, Elijah. She’s not as tough as she seems. She needs someone to watch out for her. You will, won’t you?”
Edna made me promise to protect Andie. She’d been adamant about it. I’d brushed it off then, thinking it was just the ramblings of a woman on her deathbed. But what if it was more?
What did she know that we don’t?
* * *
With a bagof fresh litter in hand, I step into the lighthouse, Andie and Aggie behind me. “The apartment is just up here.” I start up the iron staircase that spirals to the apartment that I’ve been renting from Eliza for the last six months since she and Lance said their I-dos.
I take a minute to set up the litter box beneath the vanity sink then go back to the bedroom. Andie is standing on the porch overlooking the ocean while Aggie has already made my bed his home. Edna used to joke that the cat was bulletproof. He wasn’t bothered by anything.
Now, I can safely say I agree with her.
I step onto the balcony beside Andie, trying my best to ignore the wave of attraction at the sight of her standing here, the breeze ruffling her short, dark hair. She’s a gorgeous woman—I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that.
But she’s not for me.
Honestly, with my baggage? I’m not sure anyone is.
The sun is sinking below the horizon, casting the ocean in gorgeous shades of gold.
“This is a stunning view,” she says.
“Thanks. I like it.”
“How long have you been officing out of here?”
“We rented it from Lance’s now-wife after they got married and moved in together. So, about six months.”
“Eliza?”
I nod.
“I met her outside the church. She seems nice.”
“She’s great. Took her a while to warm up to us too.” I make the joke then instantly want to kick myself.
Andie laughs. “Well, even if I do warm up, I have no intention of marrying any of you. No offense.”
I grin back at her. “None taken. No one is available for you, anyway.”
She arches a brow. “I didn’t realize you had a significant other.”
I laugh awkwardly. “Oh, I don’t. But I’m not in a place where I can have a relationship. Lance is married as you know. And Michael is, well, it’s complicated.”
“Reyna,” she says. “I grew up here, remember?”
“Fair point. Though they’re not together.”
“No. From what I hear, he royally messed things up.”
“Understatement.” I lean against the railing and inhale the scent of the salty sea air. It’s so peaceful, being out here, high above the water as it crashes against the rocky cliff the lighthouse sits on.
“This place. It’s lovely.” She turns and surveys the bedroom. “Though that looks rather lived in.”
“It’s my apartment,” I admit.
“You can’t let me use your apartment.”
“Sure I can. I won’t be sleeping tonight anyway, remember?”
“Ahh, yes. You’re on monitor duty.”
“I’ll be downstairs if you’re comfortable with that. Otherwise, I can lock up and monitor the systems from Lance’s place.”
“Nah. It’s okay. I’m fairly certain you’re not a serial killer by now.” The joke falls flat, given our current circumstances. “That was in bad taste.”
I chuckle. “Maybe a little.”
Her phone dings, and she reaches into her pocket. “My assistant,” she tells me. “I booked her a room at the BB since she’s on her way out here in the morning. I’d told her about the state of my gran’s house, but she insisted on coming out to help.”
“Nice of her.”
“She’s a hard worker.” But she doesn’t elaborate further. “I cannot believe this is all happening. I barely had the chance to bury Gran, and now everything she ever owned…”
Without thinking, I reach over and cover her hand with mine. It’s smaller than mine and warm.
So warm.
I fight the urge to curl my fingers around hers. “We’ll get this figured out. You’re not in it alone.”
Her gaze focuses on our hands before lifting to mine. I’m momentarily captivated by her emerald eyes, frozen in place so that, even though I know I should remove my hand and pull away, I can’t.
She’s drawing me in like the moon attracts the tide.
A door slams, and Andie jumps.
“Yo! Elijah! You here?”
I pull my hand away as the moment is broken by Michael’s terrible timing—as always. “I’ll go deal with him and grab your suitcase. Feel free to get settled. There are clean sheets in the closet, and I’ll come change them out in just a few.” Before I can ramble anymore, I slip from the room and head down the stairs.
Michael is in the kitchen, prepping a cup of coffee. “Who’s moving in?” he asks, gesturing to the suitcase.
“Andie,” I say. “Only temporarily,” I add when he studies me with an arched brow. “Edna’s house was ransacked.”
His humor vanishes, and the mask of a soldier slips into place. “Any idea who did it?”
“Not yet. But she’s staying here until Felix can get the windows replaced and we can get a system installed. I’m getting a security monitor up today. I want to know who is approaching the house.”
“What can I do to help?”
“You’re doing it.” I take the coffee from him before he can protest and drink it.
He mutters something under his breath then preps another cup. “How is Andie holding up?”
“Surprisingly well.”
“Not overly surprising though. She’s Edna’s granddaughter, and that woman was as strong as they come.”
“Fair.”
“I can’t believe someone ransacked her house.”
“Destroyed her garden too,” I add. “Ripped up all the plants.”
His gaze hardens. “So this is personal.”
“That’s certainly what it’s looking like.”
“You think Rebecca had anything to do with it?”
I glance out the front window at the darkening sky. “I don’t think she’s innocent,” I say. “But what really worries me is that I don’t think she’s doing it alone.”