Chapter 3 #2
The moment passed as quickly as it came, and Grant picked up the thread of the conversation without missing another beat. “Dr. Schafer sounds like a good one. I’m proud of you. It takes strength to ask for help.”
She blushed again under his praise. “What about you?” she asked, eager to shift the topic from herself. “How do you like Savannah?” She propped her hand on her chin. “I’ve never been. It looks beautiful in pictures.”
“I love it. Our new facility is top-notch. One-stop shop, so no more shuffling between bases anymore. We’re actually on the edge of Fort Stewart, not in the city itself, but I’ve been able to see some of the sights on my days off.
” He smiled. “I think you’d love it too.
Tons of museums, local markets. Artsy people. You’d fit right in.”
“Maybe I’ll stop in and see you sometime,” she told him. “Say hi to the team.” She wasn’t sure if she meant it or not, even as the words left her mouth.
Before Grant could respond, the waitress swooped in to remove their plates and give them their bill. He pulled out his wallet and refused the cash that Everly tried to hand him. “My treat. I’m really glad we got to do this.”
“Me too,” she said, and meant it. Sitting here with him like this felt right, like she’d found something she hadn’t known was missing. She wasn’t sure she was ready to let it go again.
◆◆◆
“I guess this is goodbye, huh?” Everly remarked as Grant turned into her neighborhood. Or what passed for one. There were just a few townhouses circling the small cul-de-sac at the end of the street—the product of an anticipated housing boom that had fizzled out long ago.
He glanced at her. “Looks like it. Thanks for letting me stay the night, and let me know if you’re ever in Savannah.
I’ll show you around.” He kept his tone light, the words casual, but some small part of him twisted.
He had a sudden, ridiculous urge to ask her to come back with him. Spend a few days in Savannah. Together.
Real classy, asshat. Panting after your buddy’s widow.
Still, she was impossible not to appreciate. Her smile was genuine today, the same one that had knocked the wind out of him the first time they’d spoken. She looked relaxed, happier. And just…beautiful. There was no other way to describe it.
He was preoccupied with reminding himself of all the reasons that he needed to stay away from Everly when she gasped. “Did we forget to lock the front door?” she asked as they approached her house. Grant’s attention snapped to where she stared. The front door was ajar.
A familiar warning prickle of danger crept up the back of his neck.
“Hell no, we didn’t forget.” Daydreams of Everly in Savannah vanished as he whipped into the driveway, then leaned over and popped open the glove compartment to retrieve the .
9mm he always carried when he traveled. “I want you to stay here,” he told her as he racked a round and unhooked his seatbelt.
“Stay down. Lock the doors. Call the police.”
“No.” Everly reached for the door handle.
“I have to make sure that Posie is all right. She could have gotten scared and bolted.” She blew out a shaky breath.
“And if someone is lurking around, I’ll be safer with you than by myself.
” She stiffened her spine and stared at him as if expecting him to protest.
Damn it, they didn’t have time to argue. “Fine, but stick close to me and don’t make a sound. We’ll find Posie, I promise.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. She followed him out of the truck, so close he could feel her body heat warming his back.
Years of training had honed his focus razor-sharp, and he buried the feelings her presence stirred as they inched toward the front door on silent feet.
He nudged it open, weapon at the ready. Everly clutched the hem of his shirt with one trembling hand and crossed the threshold with him.
The sliding door to the patio stood open, and the breeze that blew in stirred the papers and folders that lay scattered across the table and floor.
The kitchen drawers had been emptied out, and all the cabinet doors stood open.
They made their way across the room, papers crinkling under their feet, and Grant glanced through the open doorway into the postage-stamp sized backyard.
Empty. His eyes swept over the landscape, and—there.
A deck chair was pushed against the privacy fence that separated the yard from the woods behind it, and a sizable scuff on one of the slats gave Grant a good idea of how the intruder had escaped.
Didn’t mean that the house was empty, though. He paused for a moment while Everly crouched to peek under the couch. She stood and shook her head, worry creasing her brow. He gave her arm a brief squeeze and jerked his chin towards the stairs.
He braced himself for more chaos, but the second floor looked just as he’d left it this morning.
Everly stayed close as he swept through the guest bedroom and Jeremy’s man cave.
His chest tightened as he entered the room where he and his friend had spent so much time.
It looked exactly as he remembered, as though Everly hadn’t touched it since her husband had died.
He glanced inside the closet, noting with sorrow the folded flag on the shelf—the same flag that had covered the casket as Grant and his STAG brothers carried Jeremy to the grave, fire burning through Grant’s freshly wounded chest the entire way.
The same flag that the kneeling chaplain had presented to Everly at the funeral as she sat in the front row, hollow-eyed and unmoving.
Satisfied that he’d seen enough, Grant shut the door silently and headed for Everly’s bedroom.
A pitiful mew sounded from under the bed as they crossed the threshold. Everly muffled her cry of relief with a hand to her mouth and dropped to the side of the bed to soothe Posie. Grant cleared the room. It was undisturbed, as he’d expected.
He returned to where Everly sat on the bed, clutching Posie and murmuring softly to her. “Looks like this asshole didn’t time his break-in very well. Must’ve scared him off when we pulled in,” he told her. His fingers flew over his phone screen. “I’m calling the police.”
◆◆◆
“You’re sure nothing’s missing?” the older of the two officers asked Everly as he flipped through his notepad, then slid it into his pocket. His partner meandered through the living room, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. Grant clenched his teeth together to keep from snapping at both of them.
Everly shook her head. “No. Just messed up.” In the hour it had taken the police to arrive after Grant’s call, he and Everly had combed through the mess downstairs to see what had been stolen.
Their search had turned up nothing, everything of value in its usual place.
Everly’s laptop was on the coffee table.
Jeremy’s Playstation was next to the TV.
Even his wedding band remained in plain sight on the kitchen counter, undisturbed.
“All right. Probably just some kids messing around. Sounds like you ran them off before they could do any damage. Lucky break.” The cop motioned to his partner and turned towards the door. “We’ll file this report and let you know if anything turns up.”
Grant followed them out the door, Everly close behind him.
“That’s it?” he demanded. “What about her safety? She can’t stay here alone after a break-in.
At least station somebody outside the house.
” His mind raced with the possibilities of what could happen to Everly, alone in a vulnerable situation.
The older cop shot him an incredulous look.
“Sir, with all due respect, our force is stretched paper-thin. Without an immediate threat of violence, the best we can do is step up patrols in this area for a few days. We’re not in the private security business.
” He handed Everly a business card. “In case you think of something to add to the report. Have a good day.”
Grant watched them return to the patrol car and pull away, then turned to Everly. “Un-fucking-believable,” he fumed. “Is there anyone around here you could stay with for a couple days?” He was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
Everly shook her head. “No. But I could get a hotel for a day or two. Until the police catch whoever it was, I guess—”
“Fuck that,” Grant interrupted. “The cops aren’t gonna do shit. This wasn’t some random kid screwing around—they didn’t even steal anything. It’s gotta be connected to the calls and letters you’ve been getting. Which means it’s not safe for you to be here at all.”
Her eyes widened. “What am I supposed to do, then?” Her voice shook at the edges, and Grant fought the urge to pull her into his arms and shut out the world. He couldn’t hold her, but there was something he could do to keep her safe. A place where no one would be able to find her.
“I know somewhere you can stay for a few days,” he told her. Everly’s gaze snapped to his. “I own a cabin a couple of hours north of here, in the mountains. It’s not fancy, but it’s way off the beaten path. You’ll be safe there till we can figure out what’s going on.”
“But you have to get back to Savannah.” She frowned.
“I’ll call Taylor. Let him know what’s going on. I have plenty of leave saved up.”
Everly’s shoulders sagged a bit—whether in resignation or relief, Grant couldn’t tell — and she nodded. “Can I bring Posie?”
“Of course. Just tell me where her things are, and I’ll help you pack.”
“Okay.” She nodded, her mouth a thin line. “Thank you.”
He glanced around the cul-de-sac as he followed her into the house. No neighbors were outside. No barking dogs. Still, he couldn’t escape the feeling that the danger hadn’t passed. “The quicker we can get out of here, the better,” he said, more to himself than to her.
Everly handed him a tote bag, and Grant moved quickly through the kitchen to grab the cat food and treats.
He loaded Posie into her carrier, despite her attempts to latch on to the outside of it, and headed upstairs.
Everly was rummaging around in her bedroom, and he took the opportunity and ducked into the room that Jeremy had claimed for himself.
An idea was taking shape in the back of his mind, and he needed to know if his suspicions were correct.
He approached the desk and grabbed the laptop and power cord that sat there, covered in a thin film of dust. He shoved them both into the bag of cat supplies.
It felt wrong to take it, to suspect that his friend might have had a hand in this mess somehow.
But he’d do whatever it took to get Everly out of danger.
He slipped back downstairs and made one last sweep of the lower level. Jeremy’s wedding ring gleamed dully where Everly had left it on the counter yesterday. He picked it up and tucked it into his duffel.
Everly appeared around the corner just then, pulling a wheeled suitcase behind her.
“Ready when you are,” she told him. The color had left her face again, and her eyes held none of the sparkle they had during breakfast just a few hours earlier.
She’d folded back into herself, same as yesterday.
He understood now—she’d held it together long enough already. He’d take it from here.
He picked up the cat carrier and nodded. “Let’s hit the road.”