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The security cameras followed their progress, and for a moment, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what bothered him. It took precious seconds before his hand tightened on her hip and he pulled her to a stop just before reaching her door.
"Stop. " The command was low, his tone intense enough that even he nearly winced.
Kia flinched and stared up at him before glancing around the hallway.
"Kia, your door is open. "
Chase stared at the display on the security pad by her door. It was active, and appeared normal. He saw the slightest crack at the joint. The door hadn't closed firmly.
"It should be closed. " Her voice was whisper soft, filled with trepidation, as he moved her back quickly. "I always check the door, Chase. "
He knew that. Kia was a grown woman, well aware of the dangers of leaving doors open, of not watching out for herself.
He continued to pull her back until they reached a turn in the hall that led to the other side of the building. With the protection of the wall between them and her apartment door he jerked his cell phone from his hip and hit the speed dial.
"Hey, bro, I'm leaving Ian's. Where are you?" Chase heard something in his brother's voice, some knowledge, a sense of the bond they had once shared as boys.
"Kia's apartment. Door's open, security's been jacked. I'm calling Detective Allen but I need you here. "
"It's going to take me at least twenty," Cameron informed him briskly, obviously moving at a fast pace. "Are you secure?"
"As possible," he grunted. "I want to watch the door, but the only cover we have is the bend in the hall. I doubt that whoever got in is still there, but I want this covered, and I want Allen checking for prints. "
Carl Allen, a detective who had also been given membership into the club years before, was the only one Chase trusted at this point. After the fiasco that summer, Moriah's death and Carl's efforts to cover the fact that Chase had fired the death-dealing bullet, Chase knew he could trust him to cover this as well.
"Get him there. " A car door slammed at Cameron's end. "Ian's with me, and I'm putting a call in to Khalid. They share ownership of the building and can make certain everything goes smooth for Allen as well as Kia if there's any trouble. Stay in place, we'll be right there. "
"Twenty isn't 'right there', brother," Chase grunted. "Allen will be here in less. I'll let his men enter before assessing the damage. Get your ass here, though. I don't know yet what we're looking at. "
He cut the call off, then hit Detective Allen's number.
"Allen here. " The detective answered on the first ring.
"It's Falladay. I need you at Kia Rutherford's apartment. " He gave the detective the name and address of the building. "Bring some men with you. Someone's tampered with the security and left her door open. "
"Did you enter?"
"I'm not stupid," he snapped back. "She was mugged a week ago, but the locks and key code were changed that night. Something's not right here, Carl. "
"We're headed your way," Carl told him. "You caught me at the office. I have a team coming in. We'll be there in about five minutes. Stay away from the door and wait where you are. "
"We're on her floor at the corner of the hall, to the left of the elevators. "
"Got it. In five. "
Chase disconnected the call before glancing down at Kia's pale face. She was staring back at him, the same knowledge in her eyes that he felt burrowing through his brain.
"It wasn't a mugging, was it?" she whispered past lips that had gone nearly as pale as her face.
"We don't know that yet, Kia. "
"They took my purse. " She shook her head. "I didn't think I should have had the locks changed immediately. "
"Ian took care of it," he said. "The pass code to your security was changed as well as your locks the night it happened. Whoever did this did it after they were changed. "
"But how?" She stared up at him, fear in her eyes now.
That fear enraged him. It had him wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close, and wishing he'd brought a weapon with him.
