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By the time he pulled into Mia’s driveway, he was ready to deal with whatever came his way. He was going to support her in whatever way she needed. At least she wasn’t alone. Her friends Lane and Mike were there, as well. Mia always said that she and Lane were as close as sisters.
The police were gone, and the neighborhood was quiet as he walked up the driveway. His foot was on the top step of the front porch when the door opened, and Mia flew into his arms. He held her for a long time, whispering in her ear that it was all going to be okay. It would be because he’d damn well make sure that it was. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
He’d already decided that he was going to ask her to come back to his town for a while until he could look into her ex or someone else that might be stalking her. Whether she’d say yes was up in air, but he had a plan for that, too. If push came to shove, he could contact the town council and take a leave of absence from his job and concentrate on Mia’s situation. It wasn’t the ideal solution, but he wasn’t going to leave her alone.
If he had anything to say about it, that is. Mia was an independent woman, and he couldn’t go around making her decisions for her and stepping on her toes. But he would make sure that she knew she had options, and that being alone was an undesirable one.
She eventually pulled back to look up at him, her expression bleak. It made him want to wrap her up in a soft blanket and make her tea. Put on her favorite rom-com, maybe. Anything to see her smile again.
“This day is going to suck,” she said bluntly. “Maybe the whole week.”
“I’m hoping the worst of it has passed,” Grant replied. “We’ll have to see.”
“Come inside and meet my friends. Then I’ll tell you the whole story from beginning to end. All the rotten details, although I admit that I don’t know all that much more than what I told you on the phone this morning.”
Lane and Mike were much as Mia had described them. Both were clearly worried about Mia, and Grant wasn’t shocked when Mike pulled him aside while the two women debated about where they should all go for a late lunch.
“I know you’re as concerned about this as we are,” Mike said quietly when they were in the kitchen. “In your professional opinion, what do you think we should do? And no, we don’t think you’re overreacting. I know that Mia keeps trying to downplay this by saying that it’s probably no big deal and doesn’t have a thing to do with the weird feelings of being watched or the texts she’s received, but I think it probably does.”
“I’m glad that you agree that we should take this situation seriously. Although nothing was stolen and Mia wasn’t hurt, I think that’s because of the alarm system scaring the intruder away. Personally, I’m going to suggest to Mia that she come and stay with me while we look into what happened. She, however, may have other ideas.”
“We’ll definitely look after her,” Mike replied earnestly. “She can even stay with us if she doesn’t want to sleep here in the house. She’s like family to us, and we won’t let anything happen to her. She’s been through so much. She doesn’t need this, too.”
It was the control freak inside of Grant that made him want her to be where he could see and check on her. He didn’t doubt that Mia had wonderful friends close by but having her near him was preferable.
“She has been through a lot,” Grant agreed. “We have to see what she prefers. I know what I want, but I’m not in charge here.”
Mike chuckled and gave him a lopsided grin.
“She can be hella stubborn when she wants to be. I’ve always found it’s best to make her think it’s her idea.”
Mia had probably already figured out what Grant wanted. She was an intelligent woman, after all. There would be no way he could pretend that this was somehow her suggestion.
After they’d all went out to eat and come back to her home, Grant walked around the perimeter of the structure. He wasn’t sure what he was actually looking for, to be honest. The police had already been there so any footprints found wouldn’t mean anything. Fingerprints, too.
He found himself checking out the windows to see if they were locked - they were - and whether there was any weakness elsewhere. How easy was it to break in? According to what the police had told Mia there had been no forced entry at the front door. It had a regular doorknob lock that wouldn’t keep out a toddler, but it also had a deadbolt that appeared to be fairly sturdy.
Grant examined it closely, but he couldn’t see any scratches where the lock might have been picked. The lack of them didn’t mean that it hadn’t been tampered with though. The intruder could have been careful, or perhaps used a bump key instead which wouldn’t have left any marks.
“I’ve loaded up the video,” Mia said, coming outside to join him. “Do you see anything?”
Grant wanted to watch her security footage. The local police had a copy, but he wanted to see it as well. Luckily, he hadn’t even had to ask. Mia had suggested it, wanting his input.
“I was looking to see how they might have opened your deadbolt,” Grant replied. “Are you sure you locked it?”
“I’m sure. I check it every night before going to bed. It’s part of my nightly routine before lights out. I check the front door, the door to the garage, and then the sliders to the backyard. Then I make sure the alarm is set. Every single day. No exceptions. I’m weird like that.”
“I believe you. I’m thinking the guy used a bump key to get in. He wouldn’t have left any marks.”
“A bump key?”
“It’s a key cut in a certain way that will open pin-tumbler type of locks.”
“They can open deadbolts?”
Mia sounded alarmed, her voice going up an octave.
“Yes. I’m assuming you didn’t know that.”
