Chapter 32
Roman
The hot water hit my shoulders, and I let my head fall forward.
The day had been way too long. The press conference had taken a lot out of me, but then there were meetings after and security plans. My head was still buzzing from the fluorescent lights and too many voices talking at once.
Steam filled the small bathroom, fogging the glass that encased the shower. I braced my forearm against the tile wall and closed my eyes.
Immediately, I thought of her. Palmer. Particularly the way she’d flushed when I’d mentioned showering.
My mind replayed exactly how she’d stepped back, like I’d said something indecent. There’d been heat in her face, and I felt it too. That warmth hit low in my stomach…and then lower than that.
I gritted my teeth.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.
I should’ve taken a cold shower.
I didn’t know what it was about being alone with her lately, but my body reacted before my brain ever got a say. I wanted to kiss and hold her, though I hadn’t done so since she’d returned from the safe house.
I took a few deep breaths. I needed to stop lusting over my goddamn nanny. I straightened, dragging a hand down my face. That was easier said than done when she was the one woman who stirred feelings inside me that had been dormant for a better part of a decade.
Quickly, I washed off and shampooed my hair. I was eager to be back to her to help with dinner. No matter what she said, her hands must be painful.
I had cut off the water and stepped out onto the bathmat, when an alarm exploded through the house.
My head snapped up. For half a second, I didn’t move. Then, my entire body went cold with dread and panic. Heart slamming against my ribs, I checked my phone. A red flashing notification from the security app alerted me to a front window breach.
I yanked on a pair of sweatpants with wet hands, not bothering with a shirt before moving straight for the gun safe in the closet of my bedroom. It popped open the instant it scanned my thumbprint, and I snatched up the Glock and pushed in the clip.
The alarm kept screaming, so loud my ears hurt. I chambered a bullet as I ran down the hall toward the stairs.
Only one thing was on my mind. Palmer.
A crash echoed from below, and I hit the stairs two at a time, gun raised, adrenaline flooding every vein in my body.
The living room was chaos.
One of the front windows was shattered. Cold air poured in through jagged glass. An armchair and side table were toppled over, but Palmer wasn’t there so I didn’t linger before rushing into the kitchen.
Broken plates and cutlery were scattered across the long table and on the floor. A chair lay tipped backward, with one leg broken. One of the cabinet doors hung open and crooked, hanging by a hinge.
My vision tunneled.
I swept the room, gun steady, checking corners automatically. My limited security training took over while my brain screamed. The stove was on and something bubbled in the pot on the burner, but Palmer was nowhere to be seen.
The back door stood open. Snow swirled in over the threshold, freezing my heart.
I moved, flying outside and scanning the yard. Footprints cut through the snow, leading away from the house toward the tree line. It was one set of them. Just one, but my stomach dropped. Where the hell was she?
Did he carry her?
Did he— No.
I forced air into my lungs and backed into the house.
Sirens wailed in the distance now. Close, but not close enough.
“Palmer!” My voice cracked as I screamed her name, waiting for a response that did not come.
She couldn’t be gone. She wasn’t.
I cleared the living room again, then the entryway and the library room across from it.
Nothing.
My pulse pounded so hard it felt like it was cracking my skull. I cut off the shrill alarm, my ears ringing in the sudden silence.
What if I was too late?
My chest caved in on itself. I returned to the kitchen, my hope draining away. I called her name.
I froze when I thought I heard something. I cocked my head, directing an ear toward the noise that was so faint I might’ve imagined it.
I waited, straining to hear.
It came again, a rustling coming from the pantry.
I spun toward it, gun raised.
“Palmer?” My voice came out hoarse and desperate.
She didn’t answer. I hesitated at the pantry door, lowering the gun slightly as I reached for the handle and yanked it open.
My legs about buckled with the relief that flooded me the moment I saw her. There she was, curled on the floor of my mother’s massive pantry. She had tucked herself between the shelves and the back wall, knees pulled to her chest. Her eyes were glassy with terror as she stared at me.
I rushed to her and dropped to my knees so hard, it jarred my bones. I set the gun on the floor and reached for her, cupping her face in my palm.
“Are you okay?” My voice shook. I didn’t even try to hide it. “Palmer, tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” she said quickly, nodding. “I’m okay.”
Her voice was small but steady, and something inside me gave out.
I pulled her into me, wrapping both arms around her. I held her so tight I felt her heartbeat against my chest.
I’d thought she was gone.
My body shook as I buried my face in her shoulder. I thought I’d failed her like I failed everyone I loved.
I wasn’t sure I would survive that again.
Red and blue police lights flashed through the broken window. Palmer and I stood in the foyer as she answered the questions the young officer had.
Palmer had a thick blanket draped over her shoulders, and she pulled it tighter around herself.
I wasn’t even sure who had given it to her.
Maybe one of the officers. Maybe she’d grabbed it herself.
All I knew was that I was standing as close to her as physically possible without climbing inside her skin.
I had one arm wrapped around her, holding her to me.
I couldn’t make myself let go.
The officer in front of her scribbled in a small notebook while I tried to keep my breathing steady. I was still shaken; everything inside me felt fractured and raw.
When the front door burst open, I jumped, stepping in front of Palmer by instinct. I relaxed at the familiar cadence of boots on the hardwood. August’s dark-blond hair was scattered with fresh snowflakes when he came into view, and I wondered when it had started to snow.
The tracks in the backyard might not last long.
August’s eyes swept the foyer, then the living room, where broken glass glittered across the floor like ice. “What the hell happened?” he barked.
My arm tightened around Palmer, tucking her firmer against my side. The rest of my brothers filed in behind August.
“Someone broke in,” I said.
August’s gaze snapped to me, rage flaring. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” My jaw clenched. “I was in the shower.”
The words tasted like failure.
August looked at Fox, then back at me.
Graham’s attention had shifted to Palmer, to the blanket around her shoulders and the way she trembled.
Reid moved past us toward the shattered window.
August stepped closer. “How did they get inside? The alarm system should’ve gone off immediately.”
“It did,” I said tightly. “Just not fast enough, I guess.”
Fox glanced around the room, sharp and calculating, before his eyes flicked to Palmer and then back to me. “Was anyone hurt?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Fox nodded, then turned toward August. “It’s possible they used a jammer.”
His hands fisted at his sides. “What?”
“They could’ve jammed the Wi-Fi signal long enough to delay the system. The kind we use has a cellular backup, though. It wouldn’t have lasted long, but it would’ve bought them a few minutes before the alert went off and dispatched the police.”
A shudder worked its way up my spine.
“Did you see who it was?” Graham asked Palmer, his voice soft.
Palmer shook her head. “No. I heard the front window shatter, and I ran. I hid immediately.”
Her fingers gripped the blanket, and she seemed ashamed.
“You did exactly what you should have done,” Graham assured her.
“He wasn’t in here long,” Palmer continued. “The alarm went off, and I heard him crashing through the house.”
August’s brows drew together. “Did he say anything?”
“No.”
Graham stepped closer. “Did he even search for you?”
She hesitated, then shrugged. “I don’t think so. But I couldn’t really see what was going on.”
Reid returned from the living room, body rigid. He addressed the officer still standing there. “Do you have any more questions for her?”
The officer slipped his notebook back into his shirt pocket. “No, I think we’re good.”
Reid clapped him on the shoulder. “We can take it from here. If you guys don’t need anything else…”
The officer nodded. “We’ll check in with dispatch and send extra patrols down this street.” He gestured toward the shattered window. “You might want to board that up tonight.”
“We will,” Reid said.
“Stay safe,” the officer added before heading toward the kitchen, where his partner was finishing up inspecting the damage.
A moment later, the two of them stepped out into the cold night.
Silence settled heavily over the house.
My brothers gathered around us.
“Is this house still safe?” I muttered.
Fox shoved his hands into his pockets, scanning the ceiling corners, the walls, and the security panel. “It’s as safe as it can be,” he said. “I don’t know where else would be safer.”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted. My arm stiffened around Palmer.
“Why would someone break in here like that?” I demanded, my voice strained. “What exactly are they trying to accomplish?”
I looked at Graham. He smoothed a hand down his button-down shirt, his gaze moving between Palmer and me.
“Maybe the press conference had the effect we wanted,” he said.
I shook my head. “We didn’t want this.”
The words came out sharp and defensive.
Graham exhaled. He’d already shrugged out of his coat even though cold air was still bleeding into the house through the broken window.
“No,” he agreed. “We didn’t want this. But we wanted a reaction.” His eyes hardened. “I think this was meant to rattle us.”
If the objective was to rattle me, then it had worked. I hated it. I didn’t know what the right move was anymore.
I didn’t want to keep Palmer here.
But where else could I take her? My house didn’t have room for all of us, and right now, splitting up felt like the worst possible decision.
We were safest together.
I glanced down at Palmer. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the safe house?”
My voice wasn’t as strong or steady. It bordered on a plea.
I wanted her safe, where someone couldn’t break through glass to get to her.
She held my gaze for a long second before shaking her head.
“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “I want to stay with you.”
I swallowed.
“I’ll assess the video footage,” Fox cut in.
I shot him a look. “And what do you expect to learn? We already know who did this.”
Fox shrugged. “It’ll tell us what happened and how long they were inside.”
I wanted to snap, but August sent me a warning look.
“I think we all need to calm down and take a breath,” he said evenly.
Reid was already moving toward the living room with a broom and heavy trash bags he’d grabbed from the kitchen.
“We will clean up and secure the house,” August continued. He turned to Fox. “How long before we can review the footage?”
“Not long,” Fox replied, heading toward the library, where they’d set up his computers.
“Let me know when you find something,” August said, then turned back to me. “Why don’t you settle down in your room? We’ll order food and bring it up when it gets here.”
His eyes flicked to Palmer. “And you should probably rest. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Sure.” She nodded once. “I’ll be up in my room, too.”
She stepped away from me, but something inside my chest snapped.
I reached for her and wrapped a hand around her wrist.
Confusion flickered across her face.
“You’re sleeping in my room tonight,” I said.
She blinked. “What are you talking about?”
I closed the space she’d created between us. I didn’t even care that my brothers stood there, watching. I didn’t care how it sounded.
All I knew was that I could not let her out of my sight.
Not tonight.
“You’re sleeping with me,” I said, my voice low and leaving no room for argument.
Color returned slowly to her pale face. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
I lifted my hand and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, my fingers brushing her temple. “I’ll sleep on the floor if I have to,” I said. “But I am not leaving you alone until that monster is behind bars.”
My jaw clenched, because we would find him.
And this time, he was going to fucking stay behind those bars, or I’d put him in the ground myself.