Chapter 12 #2
“Max,” she replies. As he steps aside to let her into the room, they exchange a look. Unhappiness flits across Sage’s features, but it’s gone just as quickly.
Then her gaze sweeps the room, eventually landing on me. “Hey, Angel,” she says kindly. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay,” I reply, though I’m feeling the furthest thing from it. “I’m not hurt.”
“That’s good.” She crosses the room and comes to a stop a few feet from the bed. “Looks like the cavalry showed up,” she adds with a small smile.
“I was on the phone with Angel,” Ronan says, “when the intruder broke in. We called 911, but I wasn’t about to wait for you guys to show up.”
“No, I wouldn’t have expected you to,” she replies. “But we’re here now.”
“Took you long enough,” Max mutters. “What if Angel hadn’t had us to help her? Then what?”
Sage flicks a startled, almost hurt, glance at Max. “Officer Quillian and I were out on patrol. We got here as soon as we could. Same with Officers Brazelton and Kennis.”
Speaking of her partner, Patrick Quillian comes into the room and quickly surveys it. His lips twitch. “Looks like the gang’s almost all here. Where are Alec and Gage?”
I know Sage and Patrick are friends with the GMG guys, and according to Hazel, they often collaborate on cases together. So I don’t think they’re upset that Ronan and his friends showed up. I think they’re just teasing a little to lighten the mood.
But it’s not helping. Not for me, at least. Not when I don’t know for sure that Haley’s safe.
Tugging on Ronan’s arm, I whisper, “Haley. I need to know—”
“I know.” Ronan looks over at Enzo. “Any word from Alec or Gage yet?”
Enzo lifts his chin at him. Then he glances at his phone. After a moment, he nods. “Alec’s there. He’s checking the exterior right now.” He pauses. “Gage just arrived. Between him and Alec, they’ll make sure the house stays secure.”
Sage turns to Enzo. “Where are Alec and Gage? I’m assuming this has to do with the break-in.”
“They’re at Garrett Ryan’s house,” Ronan explains. “That’s where Haley is. She’s having a sleepover with his daughter, Tess. We want to make sure whoever broke in doesn’t go there, looking for Haley.”
Sage and Patrick exchange a quick glance. Then Patrick asks, “Who would be looking for Haley?”
“Her father,” I answer. “Justin Maxwell. He’s not in her life. He hasn’t been since before she was born. But recently, he’s been calling. He hasn’t said what he wants, and I’ve been directing him to my lawyer. But…” Fear squeezes my chest. “What if he came here to try and take her?”
Patrick jots something in his notebook, drawing my attention to the sparkly-topped pen he’s writing with.
“We’ll find him,” Patrick says. Then he notices me looking at his pen.
“My niece. She loves giving me sparkly pens. I promised her I’d use them, so…
” He allows a quick smile. “At least I’ll know if anyone steals it. ”
“Justin’s been bothering Angel,” Ronan states, looking very unhappy about it. “I’d put him as a suspect, for sure.”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning,” Sage suggests. “When did you realize someone was breaking into the house? How?”
I know I need to tell her. But it’s hard to think about anything other than my worry for Haley.
In the seconds I hesitate, Enzo’s phone buzzes again. My heart jumps in anticipation.
He reads the message, then gives me a reassuring smile.
“Alec says everything is clear. No sign of any activity at the Ryans’.
They’re taking up guard, and Gage is using one of his drones with thermal imaging to check the surrounding area.
No one’s getting inside that house, Angel. Alec and Gage won’t allow it.”
The worry banding my chest releases a little. It’s still there; I won’t breathe easy until Haley is right beside me. But I know Alec and Gage. I trust them.
“So,” Sage gently prods. “I hate to push. But if we’re going to find the person who broke into your house…”
“I know.” It’s just so hard to focus. Exhaling shakily, I turn to meet Ronan’s gaze. “She’s okay?” I whisper. “I know Enzo said, but…”
Ronan rubs my shoulder as he hugs me to his side. “She’s okay,” he replies quietly. “I’d trust Alec and Gage with my life. They won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Okay.” I swallow hard. “Okay.” Then I look at Sage and say, “I was on the phone with Ronan when the camera by the back door was triggered. I thought it was an animal at first. Even though Alec said he changed the settings so animals like raccoons and possums wouldn’t set it off.”
Sage nods. “And then what?”
“Then I looked at the camera,” I reply. “And I saw a person. Or part of one. Right by the kitchen door. Then I heard this noise. Kind of… metallic.” I glance back at Ronan. “But how could they get inside? I have a deadbolt. And I’m sure it was locked.”
Before Ronan can respond, Patrick does. “Unfortunately, a deadbolt only does so much. With a set of lock picks and some videos online…” He shakes his head. “Sometimes there’s stuff online that shouldn’t be.”
“I should have installed better locks,” Ronan mutters. He looks pissed at himself. “I should have thought. With that asshole—” He stops. Glowers.
“So you heard a noise downstairs,” Sage prods. “What did you do then?”
At the memory, my body involuntarily shivers. I don’t want to think about those first terrifying moments when I realized someone was breaking into my house. I don’t want to relive the breath-stealing fear when I wasn’t sure if I’d be hurt or assaulted or worse.
But I learned early on that being an adult means doing a lot of things we don’t want to. So, after another shaky breath, I tell her the rest, from my mad scramble to the cubby at the back of Haley’s closet until Ronan showed up to help me out of it.
The room is silent by the time I finish. Everyone’s expressions are grim. Still sitting beside me, Ronan is carefully still, but I can feel him vibrating with anger.
“So you think Justin may have done it?” Patrick asks.
Ronan’s arm tightens around me.
“Maybe,” I answer. “I don’t know why. He’s never been interested in Haley before. And my lawyer said he hasn’t received anything from Justin regarding custody.”
“Because he knows he won’t get it,” Ronan mutters bitterly.
“The guy’s been absent Haley’s entire life.
Now he gets some idea in his head, maybe he’s got some new girlfriend and he thinks he’ll pretend he’s a good dad or something.
But no judge would grant custody. Not even partial.
The best he’d get is supervised visitation. ”
I glance at Ronan in surprise. His cheeks turn the slightest pink and he says, “I talked to the attorney I told you about. Charlie. I just wanted to know what we—you—were dealing with.”
My heart thuds hard.
That doesn’t sound like something he would do if he didn’t care about me. If he didn’t care about Haley.
“It’s a motive,” Patrick agrees. “And we will definitely follow up on it. Is there anyone else you can think of who might have reason to break in?” Before I can answer, he adds, “It could be random, Angel. We’re not ruling that out.
But the more information we have to go on from the start, the better. ”
“I can’t think of anyone else,” I reply.
“What about Phil?” Ronan asks. He looks between Patrick and Sage as he explains, “I don’t know if you heard. But Phil got arrested after he shoved Angel at Blissful Brews. She didn’t press charges of assault—” His jaw tightens.
He wanted me to. But I didn’t want to complicate things, and it wasn’t like Phil had done it intentionally. He was just drunk and acting stupid.
“But Frank pushed for drunk and disorderly,” Ronan continues after a second. “If Phil’s still pissed off about it, he could come after Angel in retribution. That’s why I wanted the cameras. Just in case.”
“Okay.” Patrick’s pen makes another sparkly swoosh as he writes in his notebook. “So we’ll follow up on Justin and Phil. And we’ll look through the footage on the cameras, see if any of the neighbors saw anything.”
“We’ll search the house, too,” Sage adds. “Look for fingerprints that shouldn’t be here and any other forensic evidence. Chances are, we’ll find something.”
As what she says sinks in, my stomach plummets. “Does that mean I can’t stay here?”
Not that I want to. Not knowing how easily someone broke in. But what’s the alternative? A room at the Blissful Sleep Motel? I wouldn’t bring Haley there. And the Bliss Bed and Breakfast is far too expensive. Plus, how would I explain it to Haley without scaring her?
“Not yet,” Sage replies. Her expression is apologetic. “We should be able to get you back at some point tomorrow. You’ll want to change the deadbolt, of course. And—”
“We’ll take care of it,” Ronan interrupts. He looks at Enzo, who gives him a quick chin lift. “New locks. More security. More—fuck.” He turns to me. “You can stay with me until this is resolved. You and Haley. My place is safe. Alec installed a full security system. And I can protect you.”
I blink at him. “Stay with you?” It’s a big jump from a few hours ago, when I thought Ronan might be breaking up with me. And now he wants me and Haley to stay with him?
“Yes.” His gaze burns into mine. “You know what I used to do, Angel. I haven’t forgotten any of it. And anyone who even thinks they can take me on…” His eyes flash dangerously. “I won’t say it, not with certain people present. But in a battle, I can promise I’ll win.”
Is it strange that I find Ronan extra sexy when he’s acting all tough and dangerous?
Should I even be thinking about it right now?
I’m not sure about the first. And for the second, probably not. But regardless, here I am. Thinking about it.
And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.
Yes, I’m mad at him. Yes, I’m still hurt. And I’m not sure what he can say that’ll make up for it.
But that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring about him.
It doesn’t mean I don’t feel safer with him than anyone else.