He knew it wouldn’t help, that the image of the destruction was etched into her mind.
Jag safely assumed that the people responsible for wrecking everything were long gone. If they were still around, they would’ve made their presence known the second Steff cried out.
His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out one-handed, knowing it would be Fox announcing his arrival.
SITREP?
“It’s Fox, hon, I have to respond.” Steff nodded against his chest, her arms clutching his shirt even tighter than she had been.
He rested his cheek against the top of her head while he fired off a response.
Bad. 63535 is the code to get into the building.
Jag had no issues giving out Steff’s code. He would get her to change it in the morning. Not that she was going to be staying there for the foreseeable future. Even once it was all over, he had to wonder if she would want to return. Teresa hadn’t wanted to return to her place when something similar had been done to her.
“Fox is here. He’ll be up shortly. I gave him your code.” He could’ve only told her about Fox, but she deserved to know that he’d given out her door code.
“Okay.” The fact she hadn’t questioned what he’d told her confirmed she was likely in shock. Which she had every right to be. Her sanctuary had been violated. In the worst possible of ways.
Nothing would make this situation better.
Jag caught the faint sound of the elevator arriving on the floor; Fox would be with them any second.
“Steff? Oh my god!”
Steff flinched in his arms at Cynthia’s shriek, and he held her a little tighter. Not wanting to let her go, but also knowing that sometimes a friend’s hug was soothing as well. He stepped back and allowed Cynthia to take his place.
Over the girl’s shoulder he caught Fox looking at the wreckage, shaking his head in disbelief. Jag went over to him. “Thanks for coming.”
“As if I wouldn’t. Fuck, Jag, this is bad. Have you looked anywhere else?”
“No, we didn’t get any further than this room.” Jag’s focus had been on Steff and giving her what she needed. He didn’t believe inspecting the rest of the place was going to be good for her.
“The others are on the way. I also called the cops.”
Jag nodded, not surprised to find out the rest of his team would be headed this way. If something happened to any of their homes, he’d drop everything he was doing and rush over to help them. “Don’t think the cops are going to find much.”
“You never know. Cynthia’s got Steff, shall we go look around? Maybe we’ll find something.”
“Sure, let me check that Steff’s okay.” Jag wanted nothing more than to haul her out of Cynthia’s arms and back into his, but the girls’ heads were close together, and he could see Cynthia talking softly to her.
“You okay, hon?” he asked when he got to them. Tears streaked down her face when she looked up. Pain hit him in the middle of the chest at her distress.
He’d failed her.
He’d promised he’d keep her safe, and, while she may not have been physically hurt, her home had been violated.
His thoughts from a couple of days ago came rushing back to him—he’d thought it was over. Deal had cautioned him not to let down his guard. He didn’t think he had, but the evidence around him suggested that whoever was after Steff had upped their game, which was the wrong move.
Jag was going to make them pay for their mistake.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Steff sat huggingherself on the one chair that hadn’t been damaged by whoever had violated her apartment.
“Here, have some water.” Cynthia handed her a glass, another one that hadn’t been broken.
She took it and swallowed some of it down.
