Chapter 10
As they drove into town, Quentin called. Since they’d left not five minutes ago, that was enough to make Walker’s radar ping. Hard.
“Someone’s been poking around the perimeter,” Quentin said by way of hello over the car’s nav system.
“Nothing I caught on camera, but they definitely tripped the sensors down by the service road that Benedict and his men used last year. The voice warning activated correctly and warned them away, which might account for the lack of imagery.”
“I just passed there. There are no vehicles at any point along our road or the two-lane into town. I’m gonna turn around and see if there’s anything on the other side.” He pulled to the side of the road and flipped a u-turn.
Serena was quiet at his side, listening, but she didn’t appear alarmed, which made Walker feel all kinds of godlike. Because she trusted in him to take care of whatever this was.
They drove past the turnout the alarms had pinged on, then the entrance to the ranch, and another two miles, seeing only one ranch truck that clearly belonged to a local before they hit the four-lane highway that eventually led to the freeway.
He pulled over and called Quentin. “Nothing. We could have missed them if they were heading for the interstate.”
“Could it be tourists or hikers?” Kujo asked, because of course he was listening in and watching their response.
“Maybe,” Quentin said. “There’s a trail a few miles away that the tin-foil-hat squad think is a vortex or a place to commune with UFOs. They may have ignored the ‘No Trespassing’ signs but been scared by the voice activation and dipped out.”
He wasn’t wrong. “It also might be a reporter trying to get a new angle. Between Hunter’s new online presence in the cooking world and Taylor having some notoriety, you never know.”
Quentin grunted in response, making Walker grin, despite the potential seriousness of the situation.
Quentin had become an expert at avoiding limelight with every fiber of his being.
While he did have a habit of hacking into things he shouldn’t on a regular basis, and that might drive some of his squirreliness, he was also a quiet guy who’d never been comfortable with the attention of others.
Last Light had been in the spotlight for longer than any of them liked after the initial federal law enforcement presence had dissipated last fall.
Most of the recent activity had come from internet “influencers” calling themselves reporters who wanted to put their spin on the shootout and needed the background of the area surrounding the ranch to make it feel legit.
But that’d died down after the first of the year.
With the weather getting nicer, and the snow gone, springtime might be driving new interest.
“Maybe. Wanted to let you know. I ordered everything we talked about for Serena’s place, should be here tomorrow.” Then he disconnected unceremoniously.
“Well…” Serena began, humor in her voice at the abrupt hang-up.
“If you haven’t figured it out, Quentin is a man of few words,” Walker replied with a smile.
“Like we said, it was likely a hiker who was looking for a good picture of Sedona, maybe even a paranormal hunter who’s watched too much television and doesn’t respect signs.
Or someone looking to do an internet story of some kind.
Not much we can do if we can’t get an ID, and as you saw today, our sensors are pretty far out from the house, and we didn’t see any cars.
It’s probably nothing.” But he’d keep it in the back of his mind, even if he was in town with her.
He hadn’t meant to say all of that, but he wanted her to feel absolutely safe, feel secure in his presence, and at the ranch.
Because he was planning on having her visit there as often as he could.
Even if friendship was the only relationship they had, despite the kiss that’d about burned down his world last night, it would have to do.
The thought of that depressed him more than he wanted to admit.
He pushed those feelings down. Right now she needed him to have her back, not obsess about their relationship—or lack thereof.
Garrett met them at The Menagerie. As usual, he wore his uniform like an extension of himself, and Walker realized he’d never seen the man in casual clothes.
It made him wonder all over what had happened between Garrett and Jesse.
But that was none of his business, and right now his priorities were squarely centered on Serena.
The caution tape was already gone from the front of the building, and Garrett gave them the all-clear with a solemn expression.
“Fair warning,” he said. “You’re gonna be slammed tomorrow. Everybody wants to know what happened.”
Walker didn’t doubt it for one second. The residents of Rimrock Creek kept things close to the vest if a stranger came calling, but when something happened to one of their own, their reaction could be as fierce as their curiosity. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
That earned him a sharp elbow to the ribs. “I can take care of myself,” Serena said sweetly. “But if you being here frees up Garrett’s resources, I’ll put up with you.”
The grin at the end of it took the bite out of her words, but he was comforted by the Glock 43 holstered at the small of his back, out of sight, but still readily available.
He wouldn’t win any quick-draw contests with the weapon, but it was unlikely his adversary would even know he was carrying.
Though Walker had no doubt Garrett had noted it immediately.
“I appreciate it,” Garrett said, all business. “I’ll keep you both in the loop on any progress we make.”
Walker could tell Serena doubted there’d be any further progress. She still thought it was kids or a burglar, and she might be right. But small towns hid things. He’d learned that early in his civilian career. Charm and respectability often masked ugly truths.
His early years after his military service had been spent with grunt work; surveillance, cheating spouses, fraud. Eventually he’d moved into personal protection. Between that experience and his time in the Army, he knew he was uniquely qualified to keep Serena Blackstone safe.
If he could help Garrett find the person responsible, even better.
It helped, too, knowing Last Light’s integration with the Brotherhood Protectors was underway. Manpower mattered. Backup mattered.
Walker winced again when he used Serena’s keys to get into the flimsy front-door lock. He’d fix that and the door leading into the living quarters this afternoon as his first course of business.
Serena stepped into her home and place of business with a no-nonsense attitude that mirrored their byplay of moments ago. Walker was glad to see it, glad that she was coping so well. Then she stopped in her tracks, her eyes on the wall behind the cash register.
“What?” Walker’s hand went to the Glock, had it ready within seconds.
Serena walked forward, her eyes intent on the register.
“Serena, talk to me,” Walker commanded as he closed the distance between them in two long strides, then surged past, angling his body to see her face and any potential threat simultaneously.
“The keys,” she said, her voice small. “They’re gone. They were here yesterday when I checked.”
It took him a moment to register what she was saying, but when he finally did, his gaze flew to the multitude of mason jars on the back shelf, and he saw what she had. Someone had taken the jar of keys.
“Get back here, someone’s been in the house,” Serena heard Walker bark into the phone as she sat numbly in one of the dining area chairs. It’d been such a good morning, and she’d been riding high on the concept of coming back home, of getting her life back in order.
She felt the familiar vestiges of a panic attack crowding her vision and cursed. This had nothing to do with a damned hospital, but her breathing was getting short again anyway. She concentrated on the breathing exercise Adam and Mike had walked her through as Walker crouched in front of her.
“Garrett’s on his way,” he said, his voice low and soothing. Grounding her here, to the dining room of The Menagerie. Not floating out in the ether or gasping like a damn fish out of water.
“The keys were here last night,” she said, hating the weakness in her voice. “He came back. That’s not a simple burglary, Walker.”
“No, it’s not,” he agreed and cupped her cheek. “But I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Quentin’s going to grab some door and window locks at the hardware store in Sedona and then we’ll install them. He won’t be back, not on our watch. As soon as Garrett gets here we can head back to the ranch.”
That stiffened her spine like nothing else could have.
“Absolutely not. I will not let him drive me out of my home.” She could tell he was winding up for an argument, so she covered his hand with her own, pressing his palm against her face.
“The ranch is lovely, and on any other day I’d say yes to staying there.
But I need to be here, need to reclaim my home. And you’ll be with me.”
He regarded her with those brown eyes that she’d so loved as a young girl, was starting to care for all over again now.
Garrett pushed through the door, his expression far from placid. In fact, he looked like he wanted to shoot someone. “Where?” he asked, his voice terse.
Walker didn’t budge from his position in front of Serena. “Jar of keys that was on the back of the register area is gone. I remember seeing them yesterday afternoon when we did a walkthrough. We didn’t touch anything. Didn’t make it further into the room than this, to preserve the scene.”
Garrett grunted in response and used the mic on his shoulder to call in his deputies. “Can you go back to the ranch?”
“Categorically not,” Serena said, with even more feeling than when she’d refuted Walker’s suggestion.