Chapter Eleven
A manda jerked her head back as shock and dread nearly stopped her heart. “What? Dante, you know I keep that door locked.”
“You didn’t use it tonight? How about when you grabbed your laptop?” He nodded to her laptop case sitting on the coffee table.
She shook her head. “No. I went in through my side door like always while Christa was watching the boys clean up. And I locked it before I returned.”
He released her and strode across the room. “Then stay here. Lock the door behind me.”
“What?” She ran after him. “Why? Where are you going?”
“Whoever broke in might still be in your house.”
Her heart rocked. “No. I’ll call the police. Stay here.”
“I already called Gabe,” Dante told her. “He’s on his way. Lock the door behind me.”
Before she could stop him, he was crossing their driveways, gun in hand.
She locked his door and watched helplessly as he entered her dark house. Fear unlike any she’d ever known rushed through her, and she shivered as if a glacial flood iced her veins.
Amanda sent up a silent prayer for his safety, her heart beating so loudly in her ears she almost didn’t hear the knocking on his door.
She rushed to open it but at the last second, she released the handle. What if it wasn’t him? And wouldn’t he have a key?
“Amanda? It’s me, Lyndsey. Let me in.”
Relief brought a rush of tears to her eyes as she unlocked the door and her friend stepped inside.
“Where’s Dante?” she asked, grasping the woman’s shoulders. “Is he okay?”
Lyndsey nodded and hugged her close. “He’s fine. He’s talking with Gabe in your kitchen.”
Amanda drew back. “Then I should get over there.”
“No. Wait for him to come get you.” Her friend shook her head. “Gabe is in sheriff mode, and he knows you’re here. Let them do their job.”
She swallowed. “Job? What do you mean? Why isn’t Dante here? He was hurt, wasn’t he?”
“No. He is fine.” Lyndsey grabbed her by the hand and tugged her toward Dante’s kitchen where she pushed her onto a stool by his island. A few seconds later, she shoved a glass of dark liquid into her hand. “Drink this.”
Her mind was on Dante and whatever could be going on next door. “Did they catch anyone?”
“No. Take a sip.”
She started to lift the glass to her lips but then lowered it. “Then why isn’t he here?”
“Maybe they’re looking around the perimeter or something,” Lyndsey replied. “You’re in shock. You need to take a sip.”
“I don’t want a sip, Lyndsey, I want Dante.” She set the glass down with a thump, and the caramel-colored liquid splooshed over the side and splashed on the counter.
Lyndsey silently handed her a napkin from a nearby holder. She nodded and clenching her teeth to keep her emotions at bay, wiped up her spill.
Amanda knew she sounded childish, but Dante was all she could think about.
“Sorry, Lyndsey,” she said. “It’s just…I don’t give a damn about the house or my possessions. I just want Dante.”
“I’m right here, babe,” he said, walking into the kitchen and straight to her.
She shot off the stool and barreled into him. “Dante…”
He held her close, and she soaked up the warmth in his solid body and reassurance from his steady, sure heartbeat, and strength from the strong arms banded around her. “I’m right here. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Relief shook through her, and she trembled against him. “God, you scared me, going in there alone. Why did you do that?”
“Don’t worry, Amanda, I already berated him,” Gabe said, from the kitchen doorway.
Dante muttered an oath. “I did it because I had hoped to catch the person responsible. No one messes with you, Amanda. No one,” he said fiercely, tightening his hold. “I need you safe too.”
She nodded and burrowed into him again, taking a few minutes to regain her equilibrium to face whatever it was they weren’t telling her.
With Dante safe at her side, she could face anything.
But her insides were frozen.
Meeting Lyndsey’s gaze, Amanda held out her hand, and her friend shoved the glass back into it. This time, Amanda took a sip. The alcohol was smooth as it went down her throat, and after a few more sips, she could feel the glacier inside her starting to melt.
She set the half-empty glass down and turned to face the sheriff. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Your house was broken into,” Gabe replied.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Kind of assumed that since Dante said the front door was wide open.”
Dante set a hand on her back, and she could feel his heat, his strength in that simple touch.
“I’m sorry, Amanda, but whoever did it left a mess.” Gabe shook his head. “I’m going to need you to come with me to see if anything was taken.”
A mess?
She inhaled and her breath caught in her tight chest. She coughed and muttered, “Not again,” as visions of her London apartment flashed through her head.
“What?” both men asked at the same time.
Calling herself all kinds of an idiot, she opened her mouth when a knock sounded on the door.
Amanda gasped.
“It’s okay. It’s just Carter,” Dante said, softly. “I asked him to come over and check out my security feed. Maybe it caught something.”
Good.
She nodded. “Sorry. I’m a bit jittery.” Amanda reached for the whiskey and took another two sips, then a thought occurred. “Why don’t you just check it yourself?”
He turned her to face him and set his hands on her shoulders. “Because I’m going with you.”
His gaze was warm and determined, and she felt better just by staring into his eyes.
“Thank you.” She mustered a smile, then frowned. “But what about Noah?”
Carter entered the kitchen with a laptop. “I’ll be here.”
“Me, too,” Lyndsey said. “We have him covered.”
“Okay, then, let’s go,” Gabe said, motioning with his hand toward the front door. “My team is still in there photographing but some rooms are done.”
Rooms?
Her stomach clenched. How bad was it? Had they trashed the whole house?
“Ready?” Dante asked.
When she nodded, he grabbed her hand, entwined their fingers, and together they followed Gabe outside.
There were two sheriff vehicles in her driveway, and all the lights were on inside her house. Even the outside lights.
Gabe walked ahead, and after he spoke with a deputy at her side door, he had his hand on the knob but didn’t turn it. “I have to warn you, Amanda. It’s a mess.”
She squeezed Dante’s hand and blew out a breath then squared her shoulders. “Okay. I’m ready.”
The sheriff nodded, glanced at Dante, then opened the door.
Upon entering her kitchen, Amanda’s first thought was… I take it back. I’m not ready.
All the cabinets and cupboards were open and empty, because all their contents were on her floor in random heaps. Boxes of food were ripped open and dumped. Even her garbage can was tossed. The fridge was emptied as well as the freezer. Ice cube trays were on the counter and silverware littered the piles of discarded food. Her canister set was upended, their contents on the counter, sink, and floor.
“Breathe, babe,” Dante urged soothingly near her ear, and she released a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding.
After a few inhales, she blinked back a round of stupid tears and shrugged. “I don’t think I could possibly tell if anything was missing in here.”
Gabe nodded. “Let’s try another room.”
Another room?
Hysterical laughter bubbled up her throat. She swallowed it back down and once again, Dante squeezed her hand as if knowing she needed the support. Last time, she had no one. Amanda squeezed him back, and he helped her navigate through the mess on the floor to her living room.
It, too, was trashed, but since there were fewer items in it, the room didn’t appear nearly as horrific as the kitchen.
An hour later, she walked back into Dante’s house feeling drained, defeated, violated, and angry. As far as she could tell, though, nothing had been taken. Just trashed.
Just like last year in London.
“Amanda, I’m so sorry,” Emily said, sliding off a stool where she’d been sitting drinking coffee with Holden, Carter, and Lyndsey. “Are you okay?” Concern darkened her sister’s eyes as she pulled her in for a hug.
She returned the embrace and then drew back. “What are you doing here?”
“I called her,” Lyndsey replied.
Emily shook a finger at her. “Now, don’t go giving us a lecture. She was right to call.”
“Yeah,” Holden said, hugging her then grasping her upper arms before drawing back to stare into her face. “We’re family. It’s what we do.”
Touched and overwhelmed with a myriad of emotions throbbing through her, she blinked the stinging from her eyes. “Thanks.”
Holden released her and shook Dante’s outstretched hand.
“Thanks, man,” Dante said.
Holden nodded and released him with a quiet Hooah.
“So, is it bad?” Emily asked her.
“Yes. They got every room. But I don’t understand. Why would they make such a mess?” she asked with a shake of her head. “Was it just to get their kicks?”
Gabe shrugged as he moved to stand near Lyndsey and set his hands on her shoulders. “Sometimes.”
“But a mess like yours is different,” Dante said.
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Whoever did it was looking for something specific,” he replied.
Her heart lurched. “But why? And what?”
“Only you can answer that,” Gabe said. “Have you been in contact with anyone suspicious lately?”
No. No lately. Not in Harland.
“You find anything, Carter?” Dante asked his buddy who was frowning at his laptop.
“Yeah, but it’s just a sideways catch. I isolated it and cleaned it up as best I could.” He flipped the screen around. “Does he look familiar?”
Amanda sucked in a breath and sank onto the nearby stool, while her heart was pounding where it had leapt into her throat. “That’s Lyle Woodard.”
Emily blinked. “Your ex from England?”
“He’s not an ex. He’s a friend,” she corrected. Then added, “Who went missing.”
Dante stiffened next to her. “What?”
Carter’s brows lifted while Holden, Gabe, and Lyndsey’s narrowed.
She couldn’t bring herself to look at Dante, although she could practically feel him glaring down at her.
Emily grabbed her arm and tugged until she turned and met her gaze. “Lyle went missing and you didn’t tell me?”
Amanda frowned. “Why would I? It wasn’t like you could do something from the States, plus I hadn’t even seen him since our picnic in May.”
“When did he go missing?” her sister asked.
She ran a hand through her hair. “July.”
“And you didn’t tell me,” Emily repeated.
“No, because it had nothing to do with me,” she said. “If it had, then there’s no way DI Bristol would’ve cleared me.”
Several inhales and a few muttered curses sounded around her.
Gabe sat down on a stool next to her and pulled out his notepad. “Think you’d better start from the beginning.”
Amanda glanced around the room. Everyone wore a similar concerned and aggravated expression. Dante’s was like carved bronze.
She blew out a breath and nodded. “Here’s what I know.”