Chapter 11
SERA
My hand went to the gun holstered at the small of my back when I heard a sound from the front of the house.
Looking up from the notes I was taking on my laptop, I listened more closely.
Rowan wasn’t supposed to be back for a few more hours.
Whit had a meeting with a head honcho at the stadium this afternoon about a possible new case.
He wasn’t going to leave until Rowan was ready to go, and Devon was at Brecken’s office, giving the investigative team hell for their lack of leads on Rowan’s case.
It’d been almost two weeks, and the team’s away game next weekend presented complications when it came to keeping him safe.
There weren’t too many other people who knew I was here, and I wasn’t expecting any visitors.
I slid off the stool I'd been sitting on and slowly moved around the kitchen counter. Before I made it across the room, most of the tension eased from my body because I recognized the sound of the code being punched into the security system. “Rachel?” I called out.
“Sera, I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what to do.” Rachel’s voice was full of relief but still sounded shaky.
I hurried into the living room, picking up my pace when I saw how pale she was. “Is it your heart? Do you need me to call you an ambulance? Or should I just drive you to the hospital myself?”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital.” She shook her head and lifted up the piece of paper she was holding. “Although my heart is beating faster than normal, Afib isn’t the problem. It's this letter I found on my doorstep when I went out to check my mail.”
I took the note but didn’t examine it until I got Rachel settled on the couch and grabbed her a bottle of water. Crouching down in front of her, I asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, dear.” She patted me on the hand. “Or at least as good as I can be, considering the shock I had.”
Glancing down at the letter, I cursed myself for not thinking clearly when I took it from her.
I should’ve put on gloves or placed it in a bag so I didn’t make it more difficult to get fingerprints if they were left behind.
Not that I expected our techs to find any since the cops hadn’t, but it was still worth a shot. “Give me a second.”
After Rachel nodded, I headed in the kitchen to grab a bag. I dropped the note inside, zipped the bag shut, and grabbed my cell to send a quick message to Brecken, Whit, and Devon. Then I snapped a picture of the letter to send to them as well. Once that was all done, I finally read it.
I’m not sure what you did to make Rowan decide to retire, but I know you’re the reason behind it. You must be. Nothing else makes sense.
You’re his mom, but he deserves better. I blame myself.
Rowan’s #1 Fan
Shit. This wasn’t good.
Leaving Rachel alone wasn’t an option, so I brought her with me to the office.
Brecken’s wife, Hadley, and their son, Quinten, were there for a visit.
Their little boy was quite the charmer, and Rachel was easily distracted by him.
Since Whit was sticking close to Rowan, it was just Devon and me in Brecken’s office as I let loose.
“How did we let this happen? Why didn’t we think to wire Rachel’s house, too?
If we had, then we’d have this guy on tape.
” I paced back and forth while both men sat back and watched.
“The safeguards we put into place after Whit and Devon reviewed Rowan’s security system have done us no good with this guy.
I don’t like feeling that he’s a step ahead of us. Not when it’s Rowan’s ass on the line.”
“We couldn’t have known he’d switch shit up and go after Rachel like this.
I would’ve been less surprised if he switched his focus to you.
You’re the only new thing in Rowan’s life.
If he was going to blame the early retirement on anyone, it should’ve been you.
” Devon scrubbed his hands over his face.
“We still should’ve covered her better since she and Rowan are so close, though. Even if none of this makes any sense.”
Brecken tapped his pen against his desk.
“They live in a gated community, and the guy we put in the guardhouse said nobody unexpected tried to get through today. Only residents and their guests. The guard on duty today followed protocol. He checked the identification for anyone who didn’t live there and called the residents to confirm their visitors. There weren’t any surprises.”
“Some good came of the security overhaul. While you were driving over here, we pulled the footage on the cameras at the front of Rowan’s house,” Devon added as Brecken turned his monitor so I could see the screen. The video clip they played showed a teenager on a skateboard.
His pace slowed as he passed Rowan’s house, his hand dipping into his pocket just as we lost him. “Shit. Do you think he’s the one who left the letter on Rachel’s doorstep?”
“Give it a minute, and you’ll see,” Brecken urged.
It wasn’t long before the kid was back on the screen, heading in the same direction he’d just come from. “Do we know who he is?”
“Yeah, his dad lives in the neighborhood. Recently divorced and rotates custody with the ex every other week,” Devon explained.
“It didn’t take long to identify him since the guard recognized the kid.
Our guy at the gate just finished questioning him, and he said some guy paid him a hundred bucks to do him what he’d thought was a harmless favor. ”
“Did he remember what the guy looked like?” I asked.
“The guy gave him cash. Of course he did,” Brecken confirmed. “Not that it did us much good. The kid said it was some old dude with dark hair and eyes, who looked fit for his age and was a tall motherfucker. He thought he was around his grandfather’s age but way cooler.”
“That’s not much to go on.” I was frustrated as hell and felt like I didn't have anyone to blame but myself.
“If I'd had my mind focused on work instead of what’s been going on between Rowan and me, I might've caught on to a clue that would've tipped us off to this guy by now. Who knows what I’ve missed?”
“Quit beating yourself up. There hasn’t been anything to miss, Sera,” Devon reassured me.
“I can’t blame anyone else. It’s my fault.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I'm the one on close protection detail. The buck stops with me.”
“That's not how it works,” Devon argued. “We’re a team, just like we were in the military. If one of us fucks up, all of us fuck up. And you didn’t fuck up.”
“But I—”
“Clear the room,” Brecken ordered, interrupting me. He waited until Devon shut the door behind him to turn to me. “I think I know what's going on in your head right now because I've been there. It’s different when you’re protecting someone you've grown to have feelings for.”
“It is,” I agreed with a sigh. “Which is why you should take me off the case. My emotions are getting in the way of my ability to think clearly, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to Rowan or his mom because of it.”
“Are you sure that's what you want to do?” Brecken asked.
I hated the idea of someone else being in charge of his safety, but that was my heart talking and not my brain. “Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll switch things around, but only on one condition.
You need to talk to Rowan about this first. If he’s the reason you feel like you can't do your job, then your feelings for him are deeper than you've been letting on. You shouldn't make a decision like this without talking it through with him first. All that’ll do is hurt your relationship.”
Brecken was right about needing to talk to Rowan, but he was also partially wrong.
I didn’t think I had to worry about hurting my relationship because the stalker had already done enough damage to it.
I highly doubted I was even in one anymore.
And I wasn’t looking forward to facing Rowan after the scare his mom had been through today.
She was the most important person in his life, and I’d let them both down.