He nodded and ushered her out the door. Steff should be concerned about leaving a group of strangers in her place, but she didn’t care. That wasn’t her home anymore. It didn’t matter if she’d get penalized for breaking the lease. She was never walking back into that building ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jag washypervigilant as they walked from the parking lot to his apartment front door. He’d taken a roundabout way home, making sure that the person who’d broken into Steff’s apartment hadn’t been hanging around, waiting for them to leave so they could follow them.
The roads had been busy even at almost two in the morning, but he hadn’t clocked anyone following them.
He wouldn’t feel secure until they were safely behind his locked door. Although his apartment complex didn’t have the security measures that Steff’s did. Not that that made much difference in keeping anyone out of her apartment.
Nothing about the break-in sat well with him.
How did they get in, not only the building, but Steff’s place, without smashing any locks?
Why hadn’t anyone called the police?
There were so many unanswered questions and the police looked as if they didn’t have any ideas either. Their only hope was that the forensics team could pull a print, or find other evidence for them to move on. If not, it was likely to get buried beneath other cases that had a higher priority than Steff’s.
What they didn’t know was that Jag and his team would be working to find the culprits, and they had a resource that the police didn’t.
They had Cass.
She’d already advised him she would be going through the security footage in the morning. Given how sneaky and smart the delivery person was in keeping their face away from the camera, Jag suspected that the same outcome would happen this time.
Steff stumbled over the gravel, and he tightened his hold on her. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
How many times had he said those words to her? Too many to count, and he’d continue saying them until the end of time if she gave him a chance.
After what they’d been through tonight, he didn’t want to let her go.
They reached his front door, and he unlocked it, ushering Steff in quickly. With one last look around, he closed it, securing them inside. He would look at getting some better locks for his place. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
“Way to proposition me, sailor.”
He paused, shocked at her sassy comeback. She gazed up at him from beneath her lashes, appearing more awake than he thought she would be. His body reacted to her sexy gaze.
Jag bit back a groan, needing to redirect his thoughts away from what he’d like to do to her in his bed, which wouldn’t happen—yet. It would happen when Steff was ready. “If you think that’s a proposition then I need to work on my game.”
Steff rested her hands on his waist. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight, Dalton.”
Jag stilled. Normally that would be a green light to take things to the next level, but this was Steff. She’d had a verytraumatic night seeing everything she owned treated as if it was unimportant.
There was no sexual suggestion in her request; it was the need for company. To know that she wasn’t by herself anymore. That–as he had told her over and over–he was there for her.
“Then you won’t. But know that I’m not going to take advantage of this.” He wanted her to know that he respected her. That he was keeping his word, and she was in charge.
“I know. I want you to hold me. Keep me safe.”
“Always, hon. Always.” He lifted her hands from his waist and brought them to his mouth where he kissed her knuckles. “How about I find you something to wear? As beautiful and tempting as that dress you’re wearing is, it won’t be comfortable to sleep in.”
“It feels like days ago since I put this on, not hours.”
He smoothed a lock of hair away from her cheek. “A lot has happened. I won’t say things will look better in the morning, but some things don’t seem as daunting in the light of day as they can in the dead of night.”
“I know.”
She yawned. The time for chit chat was over. “The bathroom is down the hall, second door on the right. You’ll find a spare toothbrush in the second drawer of the vanity.”
“Thanks.”
