Chapter 41
Roman
Palmer disappeared through the back door and was engulfed by the darkness behind the house.
I stared at the door long after it had closed behind her, my heart so heavy it was hard to breathe.
She would be safe. I reminded myself that she was exactly where she needed to be. August’s team knew what they were doing. They were professionals. Palmer was in good hands.
Finally, I turned away from the door.
“I’m going to change and leave,” I grumbled to the rest of the security team.
I didn’t wait for one of them to reply before I left the kitchen. I paused passing the living room, where the lights were on. My gaze drifted to the window that had been broken less than a week ago.
The glass had already been replaced. The evidence of that night was erased completely.
We’d added more security cameras around the outside of the house since then. Some of it was real security; some of it was for show. Graham had suggested it so it seemed like we were reinforcing the house after the break-in.
But every time I saw that window, all I could think about was how close Amos Anderson had been to Palmer.
My hands fisted at my sides, and I turned away from the window before the anger had a chance to grow into something worse. I headed upstairs.
When I stepped into my bedroom, Phantom was stretched out across the bed like he owned the place.
The gray cat lifted his head and let out a sleepy mewl. He had hidden away in Hailey’s room the first few days after my brothers had shown up, but he had grown used to the company and was back to his usual self.
I ignored him and walked straight to my dresser and stripped off my dress clothes. The button-down shirt and slacks landed on the floor in a heap, and I replaced them with dark jeans and a long-sleeve shirt.
Though I was trying to focus, it was impossible to ignore the signs of Palmer in the room. Some of her clothes were folded neatly on top of my dresser. That damn pink satin robe she liked was draped across the end of my bed.
Somehow, in just a short time, she had woven herself so thoroughly into my life.
I tightened my leather belt, my hands tense with nervous energy as I shoved my feet into my boots. After lacing them, I sat on the edge of the bed and dragged a hand down my face.
Breathe.
Palmer was safe.
That was the whole point of tonight.
Phantom rubbed against me, his soft body pressing on my arm insistently. I sighed and scratched behind his ears.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered.
Even the stupid cat was a reminder of Palmer and everything she’d brought to this house.
Phantom purred loudly, his bluish eyes drifting closed in contentment as he leaned into my hand.
My thoughts shifted to Hailey, and I was thankful she wasn’t here. At least she was far away from all of this.
That thought brought me a small measure of relief, but it also made my chest ache. Video chatting with her every night before bed wasn’t enough, and I missed her more than anything.
After a few more minutes of stroking Phantom’s soft fur, I forced myself to stand.
Waiting around wasn’t doing me any favors. I left the bedroom light on and headed back downstairs. It was my turn to fulfill my side of the plan.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I lifted my phone to my ear like I was already on a call.
No one was actually on the line, though, as I headed for the front door and stepped outside. I needed to make it look like I’d been called into work and that Palmer was in this house by herself.
A sitting duck.
I locked the door behind me, armed the security system, and hurried down the porch steps toward my truck.
A minute later, the engine roared to life and I pulled away from the house, heading straight toward the fire station.
The live camera feed from the bed-and-breakfast filled my phone screen as I sat in my office. The house sat quiet and still under the pale wash of the night vision. Snow clung to the yard in uneven patches, the wind occasionally stirring the barren tree branches.
Nothing moved.
Not a single damn thing.
It had already been over an hour.
I slouched back in my chair, my stomach twisting tighter with every passing minute. I’d been watching those cameras obsessively since I got here, waiting for some sign—anything—that Anderson had taken the bait.
The place was a ghost town.
There was still time, though. The fundraiser didn’t end for another hour. If he was going to strike, it should be soon.
I couldn’t explain it, but something was off. The feeling had started the second Palmer walked out that back door and I tried to ignore it. I’d thought I was just anxious because she wasn’t here, but the longer the night dragged on, the harder that feeling was to shake.
I wished I could contact her.
That thought had been circling around my mind for the last twenty minutes like a pissed-off hornet.
I should have gotten her a burner phone.
It had seemed unnecessary at the time. She wasn’t supposed to be gone long. She would have a bodyguard with her the entire time. If anything happened, Jude would call.
Still, I would’ve felt ten times better if I could send her a text right now.
It irritated the hell out of me that I hadn’t done it.
A knock hit my office door, making me curse.
I reluctantly set my phone down on the desk, the live camera feed glowing on the screen, and went to the door.
When I opened it, Shawn stood on the other side.
“Well, look who it is.” He grinned. “Damian told me he saw you come in, but I didn’t believe him. What are you doing in the office so late?”
I shrugged and stepped back, letting him lean against the doorframe.
“Had some stuff to take care of.”
Shawn studied me for a second, clearly not buying it. “Weren’t you at the fundraiser tonight?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “I just decided to stop in on my way home.”
He tilted his head. “Boss,” he said carefully, “is there something you need to talk about?”
I sighed. Shawn was one of the few people I trusted. If anyone could keep their mouth shut, it was him. But there was too much that could go wrong right now. I didn’t have time or the energy to talk about it.
Before I could come up with some kind of excuse to get him out of my office, my phone rang.
My head snapped toward the desk. August’s name was on the screen. He wasn’t supposed to be calling me.
I crossed the room in two strides and answered before the second ring. “What is it?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“There’s something wrong.” August’s voice was stiff and gruff.
My knees nearly gave out, and I gripped the edge of my desk. A cold wave of dread washed over me.
“What happened?” I demanded.
August made a frustrated noise under his breath. “I need you to stay calm when I tell you this, Roman.”
I felt anything but calm. “Tell me,” I snapped.
“I’m serious,” August said. “I need you to keep your head clear.”
“Goddamn it, August,” I growled. “Tell me what the fuck happened.”
After another pause, August said, “There was an incident at the cabin.”
The blood drained from my face.
“Jude was patrolling the perimeter of the cabin,” August continued in a rush. “Palmer was secured inside the house. He saw someone in the woods behind the property.”
It was hard to breathe through the tightness in my chest.
“Jude moved to subdue the intruder,” August explained. “But while he was in pursuit, someone came up behind him and knocked him out.”
My whole body started to shake, not only from the terror of Palmer getting hurt, but also from the pure rage.
“I thought you said she was going to be fucking safe,” I spat through clenched teeth.
August huffed out an angry breath. “She was safe, Roman,” he insisted. “I wouldn’t have put her with someone I thought was incapable.”
My chest heaved. “Then how did this happen?”
“We weren’t expecting two attackers, Roman,” August seethed.
I froze, my brain processing what he’d said.
Jude had been chasing someone, and got attacked from behind.
“Two attackers?” I repeated.
“Yeah,” August said. “We weren’t prepared for two people. No one was supposed to know Palmer was at that cabin in the first place.”
I stared down at my hands braced on the top of my desk.
My knuckles were white, the muscles in my forearms rigid as I tried to steady myself.
How the hell would anyone know where Palmer was?
Sweat prickled along the back of my neck. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was trying to break out of my chest.
“Where’s Palmer now?” My voice cracked.
August didn’t answer right away.
“When Jude came to, the cabin was unlocked…” He let out a long breath. “Palmer was gone.”
Gone.
I closed my eyes.
Gone.
The word echoed through my head like a gunshot.
She couldn’t be gone.
When I didn’t say anything, August continued, “Fox and Reid are already on their way to you. Roman, I need you to stay alert.”
But I barely heard him. My phone vibrated in my hand as a text message came in.
It felt like I was moving through a dream; my body went numb as I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked down at the screen.
Unknown number.
My thumb moved without thinking as I opened the text message.
It was an image that plunged a knife right into my chest.
Palmer was lying down on some kind of old table. Her wrists were bound in front of her, a rope cutting into her skin. Her ankles were tied together too, leaving her completely helpless.
A strip of fabric had been pulled tight across her mouth.
Her head had fallen to the side, hair tangled and spilling across the dirty wooden surface. For a terrifying second, I thought she might already be dead.
At the bottom of the image was a single butterfly emoji.
The room spun, and I barely kept my bearings as everything inside me shattered.