“Okay, we should go.In and out, right?”She grabbed gloves.“I’ll follow your lead.”
He took out his phone.With a few taps, he disabled the security at the ranch-style house.Made sure the cameras went offline.A camera at the front door.A camera at the back door.Then he led the way to the rear of the house.A quiet, unassuming home.The detective had lived there alone for two years.
He put the key in the lock.Opened the door.Stepped inside.
All the blinds were drawn, he’d noticed that as he approached.No one can see in.His gloved hand hit the light switch.
And he found chaos.The same chaos that he’d seen at Lily’s place, only the destruction at Benedict’s wasn’t limited to one room.Everywhere he looked—smashed, destroyed, slashed.
Lily bumped against him.“Atlas?”
He hadn’t reviewed the security feeds from the house.But he sure as hellwouldbe reviewing them all, ASAP.If the intruder had come in via a side window, though, the person wouldn’t have been caught on the two cameras at the doors.
Obviously, the perp had gotten in without setting off the alarm.He’d just needed to disengage the system.Something any good thief could do.But this doesn’t look like theft.This looks?—
“This is bad,” she said.
Yeah, it was.
She darted away from him, and he threw out his hand, grabbing her wrist automatically.When she hissed out a breath, he realized that he’d curled his finger around her bruised wrist, and he immediately eased his grip.“Stay with me.”
A nod.“I was just…” Her voice was whisper soft.“The files that Benedict had were in the room to the right.”
He went first because if there was a threat waiting, he’d face it.He had a gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.He didn’t think she’d even seen him grab it from beneath the driver’s seat.He’d grabbed it while she’d been busy putting on her gloves.
But there was no threat waiting.Just like everywhere else in the house, the blinds were drawn in the room Lily had indicated.He turned on a lamp, and the pool of light showed more destruction in what appeared to be a small office.Empty files.A smashed desktop computer.A shredder that had overflowed, and its thin strips of paper had been littered across the floor.A wide, brown cork board hung askew on the wall beside the desk, half torn papers still on it, as if someone had ripped them away.
He eyed the board with vague interest.“Guessing that was his crime board, huh?And was I prominently featured on it?”
“That board wasn’t up when I was here before.”A soft reply.She pulled open a drawer in a black filing cabinet.The drawer screeched.She peered in the drawer.So did he.No files inside.“Someone took everything.”Lily’s voice held worry.
Atlas was betting thatsomeonehadn’t been the friendly local cops.They would have no need for such destruction.“Let’s get out of here, now.”
“You think…do you think there could beanother bomb?”
Only if the killer had anticipated that he and Lily would come to that place.And as Lily had said, few would expect him to commit a B&E personally.No, if anything, people would figure that he would send his team to do the dirty work for him.His security personnel.
But there were just some things you liked to handle yourself.
Without another word, he took Lily’s hand.Turned off all the lights.They left the house, didn’t look back.Tension knifed through him as they used the shadows and the darkness to cover their steps and then they were back at the SUV.He put her in the vehicle first.Atlas shut the door on the passenger side before he stalked around to the driver’s side and entered the vehicle.
Quickly, he pulled out his phone and reset the cameras at Benedict’s place.He turned the security system back on.
Lily pulled off her gloves and stuffed them into the glove box while Atlas cranked the ride.He did not turn on the SUV’s lights, not until they were a bit away from the house.The silence in the SUV was intense.
They traveled a bit more down the road.
And a pair of headlights flashed on behind them.
Lily inhaled and flipped around.“Oh, no, is it?—”
“It’s Desmond.The guy always has my back.”He forced his jaw to unclench.“I told you before, you would have an army guarding you.”
She turned to face the front of the vehicle.
“I mean it, Lily.I will keep you safe.”
Her breath shuddered out.“I’m not worried about myself.I’m worried about you.You’re the target, don’t you see that?He’s trying to destroyyou.He has my files.He has Benedict’s files.He set the trap with the bomb because he wanted to take out your guards.Your team.YourfriendDesmond.He knew Desmond would be the first one in the door to save you.Just like Desmond has your back right now.I don’t…” Lily stopped.
