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Sam reached into his desk drawer and produced the key, placing it on the desk instead of handing it to her.

It hurt. He was purposefully avoiding touching her.

“It shouldn’t take the movers long to load up Leigh’s boxes. Should I bring back lunch for us?”

It was an attempt to get things back to somewhat normal. Surely, they could share a meal together?

“Since you’re doing me a favor, why don’t you take the rest of the day off? It’s my way of saying thanks. I’m sure you have things you want to do to get ready for your new job, right? Tomorrow we’ll have candidates to interview.”

Which can’t happen soon enough for you, apparently.

“Okay, if you’re sure?”

She wanted to give him a second chance to backtrack, but Sam Winslow was a stubborn man. He wasn’t going to admit to that, though. Not easily, anyway.

Well, it’s a relief for me to leave, too.

It didn’t take her long to get to Leigh’s condo, and she parked in front of it. Because it was a workday, there weren’t many cars parked in the lot, though a few people walked in the crisp autumn air on the sidewalks that wound through the buildings.

She pushed the key into the lock, but the door swung open easily without her having to turn it. Had she and Sam left it unlocked the last time they were there?

Walking through the foyer and into the living room, her eyes widened at the chaos she witnessed. The boxes she and Sam had so carefully packed were ripped open, their contents strewn across the floor.

A burglar? Were there robberies in Winslow Heights? It had to be a rare occurrence, as her brother Brian had clearly told her before she moved here that crime was practically nonexistent. Had she brought some sort of bad luck from Southern California? So far, she’d been involved with a murder, embezzlement, and now a burglary.

She reached for her phone in her purse to call 911, but heard a sound behind her that stopped her heart. Perhaps the burglar wasn’t done burgling…

Whirling around, she came face to face with the absolute last face she expected to see.

A sweating and panicked Henry Allen.

What on earth is he doing here?

“Henry, you scared me for a moment,” she said, pasting on a smile and trying to act casually. Pretend that nothing was amiss. Had he torn apart the packed boxes? What had he been looking for? Something wasn’t right here, but she didn’t know what it was. “I had no idea you would be here today. I’m supposed to meet the movers coming for Leigh’s things. They should be here any minute.”

A muscle jerked at the corner of Henry’s mouth, and a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead into his right eyebrow.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” he snarled. “You’ve made a mistake.”

She was beginning to become aware of just how mistaken she was to come here as she noticed the glinting kitchen knife clutched in his hand.

Her heart went into overdrive, the blood thundering in her ears. In all her years as a reporter, she’d never been on the wrong side of a weapon before.

“You stupid bitch,” Henry continued, his teeth gritted together. “You don’t know what you’ve done.”

I think I interrupted you searching these boxes. But why?

She wanted to smack herself in the head when she realized what he was looking for. If Leigh had purchase orders that implicated him in embezzlement, he thought she might have tucked away even more incriminating evidence.

No wonder he was panicking. She wasn’t supposed to come strolling in during his search.

“Are you here to meet the movers, instead?” she asked, still keeping her tone neutral. Don’t show fear or worry. Act as if this is all completely normal and fine. “If so, I can just go back to the office and get out of your hair.”

She started to move around him, but he growled and grabbed her arm, his fingers wrapping painfully around her wrist and jerking her backward. She had to reach out and grab the wall to stay upright.

“I can’t let you run back and tell Sam you saw me here,” Henry said, his voice shaking.

“I won’t tell him anything,” Alli replied, consciously trying to slow her breathing. She needed to keep her wits about her and not panic. She could get out of this, but she had to be smart. “You may not know, but I already quit my job. I’m just working out my notice. I’m not loyal to Sam.”