Page 6 of Scarred By Sin

It wasn’t a sound that arrested her. It wasn’t something she observed in the shadows. It was a sensation that started low in her chest and radiated outward, sharp and formless, like the moment just before a crack of thunder when the air seemed to compress and hold its breath.

She instinctively placed a protective hand on her stomach.

It took a minute for her to realize that everything was the same as when she’d entered her condo. The hallway was empty. The sconce lighting hummed faintly. The charcoal carpet stretched in both directions, undisturbed. Yet she found herself standing perfectly still in the doorway.

Listening.

Waiting.

She slowly exhaled through her nose. The odd sensation was already fading, retreating back into whatever corner of her nervous system had produced it. But her hand remained on her stomach, and she could sense the faint, rhythmic movement beneath her palm.

The baby was shifting.

Turning.

Settling into a new position.

“You have me on edge, little one,” Brook murmured as she stepped entirely into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Once she’d pulled out a roll of Scotch tape and smoothed the small piece into the top corner, she made her way to the elevator. “Let’s go have our daily caramel macchiato, shall we?”

3

Brooklyn Sloane

July 2026

Tuesday — 7:42 am

The double glass doors of S&E Investigations clicked open before Brook could reach the biometric scanner. Arden Hinnish had been keeping tabs on the security monitor again, though not from the reception area. She immediately spotted both him and Theo through the glass wall of her office. Arden had activated the lock, where he was placing her hot morning beverage on her desk while Theo occupied the guest chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, his posture deceptively relaxed.

The scent of her daily coffee reached her before she'd made it halfway across the foyer, and something in her chest loosened at the delicious fragrance. Her one cup. Her single daily allowance, sanctioned by her OB and defended by her with a resolve that hadn't surprised anyone. Arden had taken it upon himself to have it waiting for her each morning, and she had never once had to ask.

The fact that Theo was already in her office meant one of two things, though. Either someone on the team had a problem, or the Bureau had called with a request. Given that he understood the unwritten rule about not speaking to her before she'd had her first sip of caffeine, she was betting on the Bureau.

“Good morning,” Brook greeted them as she walked through her office door.

“Everything alright?”

The question had been asked in unison.

She almost smiled.

Almost.

Before her pregnancy, arriving twenty minutes late wouldn't have registered. She used to beat everyone into the office by at least a couple of hours, so such a trivial thing would have gone unnoticed. The pregnancy had changed all that. Her body demanded more sleep now, and she'd reluctantly adjusted her schedule to accommodate it. Seven o'clock had become her new baseline, which meant twenty minutes to eight had both men on high alert.

“I stopped by the condo to check on things,” Brook replied nonchalantly as she crossed to the coatrack in the corner and hung her leather bag on the hook. She extracted her cell phone before making her way to her desk. “I hadn't been there in a few days.”

The tension in the room dropped by several degrees. Not entirely, though. It never did anymore. It was impossible to reassure them that Jacob wouldn't eventually surface. He was coming for her, and the only questions that remained were when and how. That reality had settled into the walls of this office like a low hum that no one acknowledged, but everyone could hear.

Arden lingered near the edge of her desk, his salt-and-pepper mustache carrying its usual precise trim. He was a former private detective who had long since traded fieldwork for the steadying role he occupied at S&E. He kept hard candies in a jar on his desk, maintained paper records alongside the digital system he openly distrusted, and referred to every woman under forty as “dear” without a shred of condescension.

His quiet presence at the firm had become as essential as the locks on the doors. He was also the only one who had figured out the complicated coffee machine that doubled and technically tripled for almost every other beverage imaginable.

Brook set her phone down and reached for the mug that had BOSS printed across it in elongated block lettering. She ignored the two men and brought the rim to her lips, taking a long and very slow sip.

She moaned in pleasure.

She couldn't help herself.