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It was weird how the fear that had seized her so hard until then just vanished. Even in this explosive situation, she’d takencontrol of the situation like a real field agent. Deep down, she knew it was what Brandon would have done, and that gave her the peace of mind she welcomed on the verge of death.
Locked eye to eye, Noelle saw wheels turning behind those determined eyes and didn’t dare look away and break contact, so when Erin moved, she expected to hear a shot followed by terrible pain, but instead, a fresh scent filled her nose, making her vision blur and her head spin.
As her world tilted, Noelle swore she heard Erin’s voice thanking her for her insightful advice and sacrifice.
CHAPTER 18
Brandon rubbed the back of his head, trying to deal with the growing frustration that made him want to punch the wall, more than use his brain to try to figure out what was going on.
When he’d received the call about the break-in, everything in his brain went on high alert. However, when he joined Callan, nothing ticked. The intruder hadn’t left anything behind. No prints, no clues, no obvious signs that would give him a lead. It was like a ghost had left empty-handed and without a trace.
He and Callan painstakingly tried to retrace the intruder’s steps, even beyond the apartment complex, to no avail.
The more he searched and asked around, the less he felt he was making headway. More disturbing, he felt as if he was running out of time.
“Hey, Brandon. I don’t think we’ll find anything else. And this light is making it difficult. CSI hasn’t found anything either. I guess we have what’s going to end up a cold case on our hands.”
Callan’s words frustrated him more than anything, but Brandon didn’t dare to let it show. Callen mentioning the CSIteam caused his mind to wander to Noelle. He’d been able to keep thoughts of her at bay while working the scene. It was important that he uncover the threat and keep her safe.
Of all the things he’d done in his life, he couldn’t fail Noelle. Damien’s memory would always haunt him, and he’d do anything in his power to keep her safe.
“I think we should call it a night. We haven’t eaten yet, and I’m sure Noelle is tired of being locked in her lab and would like to go to dinner.”
Brandon nodded and fished out his cell phone to find it switched off. “Dammit! I forgot to recharge the battery last night.”
Callan cursed. “Come to my car. You can charge it there while we head back to the station.”
Brandon left his apartment as they were barricading his broken door. If he needed anything for the next couple of nights, he’d use the spare bag he kept at the station for emergencies.
As soon as he plugged in his cell and it started up, messages popped up at an alarming rate. He cursed when he saw most of them were from Noelle and he dialed her number, but only got her voicemail.
“What the hell is going on?” As he scrolled and checked the text messages, he saw one advising him she’d evaded the guy he’d assigned to protect her.
His fingers shook as he scrolled down his contact list.
“Hey, Brandon. Go easy. Noelle is a brilliant woman. I don’t think she’d deliberately put herself in danger.”
His friend’s words made sense, but doubt remained. Noelle had a mind he admired, but her sense of justice was right up there too, which meant that to protect the people she loved, or right any wrong, Noelle Breaux would take unspeakable risks.
“She wouldn’t go to her apartment alone, so she must be with one of her friends.”
Callan made sense, even if he didn’t like it. As he continued scrolling through the messages, he saw one from Roseline asking him to call her, followed by several exclamation marks. It exacerbated his worry and he immediately called her.
“Roseline! Talk to me.”
“Damn it, Brandon! Don’t you ever answer your phone?”
“Tell me what’s going on. Where is Noelle?”
With a sigh, Roseline’s voice lost its bite. “I don’t know.”
Those three words almost made him scream. “What happened?”
Roseline rushed to give him a rundown of what had happened from the moment she’d joined Noelle in the lab to the moment they parted at her apartment. “I got worried when she wouldn’t wait for you to call back. I tried to reason with her, but you know Noelle.”
He hadn’t had the time to delve into the mystery of who Noelle was as much as he would’ve liked, but from what he did know, Roseline painted an accurate portrait.
“Where was she going? We’ll head there now.”
