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The woman in the blue car.
“You don’t know that for sure,” I muttered, switching to another camera to see if I could follow her progress, but deep down, I sensed it was. Surely, it was too much of a coincidence that the same day I’m followed, an intruder appears on my property.
“There!”
Spotting her on the camera at the rear of the house, I watched the footage from only an hour ago, horrified to see her surveying the kitchen. Based on the time stamp, there was no question about what had transfixed her. We’d been dining, hence why the whole room had been lit up. It seemed as though our guest had stuck around to watch our meal before gawping at my dessert, then heading back around the perimeter.
“Bitch,” I hissed as I skimmed different cameras, frantically searching for her whereabouts. It wasn’t until I found the camera pointed at the other side of the house that panic flared. Gripping the edge of my desk, I watched as the unknown female climbed into what looked like my downstairs bathroom window.
“She’s in the house!” The air seemed to be sucked from the room as the admission resounded around me.
She’s somewhere in the house.
Heart hammering in my chest, I dashed to my bookcases, yanking out the leather-bound copies of old expensive hardbacks and entering the security code to my safe. There inside were my mother’s jewels, the few remaining possessions of hers that I owned, a wad of cash that I kept for emergencies, and right at the back of the box—my gun. I grabbed the weapon, checking it was loaded and that the safety was off.
Someone was in my house. I didn’t know if it was the bitch who’d followed me earlier, or someone else, but whoever it was, they were about to discover what happened when you messed with Kade Walker.
Chapter Fourteen
Lucas
Endless dark corridors. That was all I knew as I roamed the depths of Walker’s lair. I hadn’t given much thought to what the inside of his castle would look like, but if I had then surely, it would have been like this—each shadowy passageway as threatening as the man himself.
Conscious that he and Noble were still occupied on the other side of the property in flagrante delicto, I stayed close to the bathroom I’d climbed into, investigating various closets and a room that seemed to be a home-equipped gymnasium.
Typical, I mused as I crept along the hall in the half-light. I didn’t dare use my flashlight and attract unwelcome attention.Only a prick as wealthy as Walker could afford to have a private gym at home.There was no chance I’d be able to afford such luxury on my D.S. salary. It was standard these days—the bad guys seemed to get all the breaks while those of us on the right side of the law were left to struggle. I’d just about had enough of—
My thoughts were fractured by the sound of footsteps up ahead and a distant light turning on from an onward corridor.
Shit!
Dread surged in my chest, urging my feet to move to the only available hiding place—a small nearby closet. Opening the door, I squeezed myself inside next to the various outfits hanging there, praying that whoever it was wouldn’t find me. Ear pressed to the door, I listened as the tread grew louder, passing by the cupboard and moving into another room. Waiting until I couldn’t hear any movement, I inched the door open to find the hall cast back in familiar darkness.
Thank fuck…
The shadows that had once been my foe now seemed friendly as I untangled myself from the contents of the closet and pressed myself into the wall. Someone had just come by and wherever they’d gone, they were still close by. Based on the heavy noise of the footsteps, my guess was that it was Walker, and the outline of illumination from the door at the end of the passage told me where he’d gone.
Go!I willed myself, glancing back toward the bathroom that offered the exit.Just go and come back another time.This was dangerous, and if I got caught, God only knew what he’d do.
However, I didn’t take my own advice. Steeling myself, I tiptoed toward the doorway instead of the direction of relative safety. If Walker was ensconced inside, then Noble was somewhere else—alone. I hadn’t seen any evidence that anyone else was around—there were no other noises in the house and no other cars on the gigantic driveway. Perhaps if I could speak to her without his nefarious influence, I could make her see sense? At the very least, I could take a better look around and decide if something was suspicious.
Walker had a proven track record in the art of duplicity and abduction, and I didn’t trust him any farther than I could throw him. Irrespective of what Everly had said, it was possible Walker had persuaded her to come there under duress, that the acts I’d seen playing out in the kitchen were far from consensual.
I shuddered at the idea, striding quietly away in the direction I’d heard Walker come from. Noble was in peril—whether she realized it or not. Even if she’d cooperated in her residency at Barrington House, it was likely that she didn’t recognize how deranged and dangerous Walker was. Breath accelerating, I decided there and then—I had to help her, had to save her. Even if I wasn’t on duty, I had an obligation to protect and serve.
It didn’t take long for me to discover where she was stashed away. All I had to do was follow the light, and the only other room in the mansion with any illumination drew me straight to her sleeping form. Sprawled out under a red, fluffy blanket on a leather sofa, Noble was out for the count as I walked into the room. She didn’t even stir when I scanned the room and took a few pictures as future evidence. In fact, it wasn’t until I was only a foot from her that her eyelids finally flickered open.
“Tiffany?”
It was strange to use her first name after so long referencing her as Noble. Ironic really, because if she’d chosen to comply with Walker’s wishes, there was little that was noble about her at all.
“Wh-What?” Leaping to an upright position, she grabbed the cover and pulled it tighter around her. “D.S. Lucas?” Her brows knitted. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been worried about you.” At least she recognized me. “I spoke to your old boss, and he told me that you’d moved here.”
“Rex?” The puzzlement in her eyes deepened.
“Mr. Everly, yes,” I clarified.
