Page 7 of Unfounded

“We got your six, Luke,” Bo replies. “Rosco and I are on our way. I’ll send Dalton and Kelvin with Enos to check his lead. Hang tight. We’ll be there soon.” Bo ends the connection. I know they’ll do everything they can to help me keep Marley safe. I just hope they get here in time. We don’t have much further to go before we reach Marley’s place. I debate whether or not to call her and warn her, but I don’t want her to be afraid. I keep an eye on the sedan as we near her place. The car keeps pace with us, but doesn’t make a move to overtake us or intercept. I watch in fear as Marley turns onto her street. She pulls into the driveway of a small duplex. I slow my vehicle. I debate what to do. Should I pull in behind her or drive on by. I don’t want to alert the other car to my presence unless necessary, but, at the same time, if I let them know I’m with Marley, they might not try anything, not wanting witnesses.

I flip my signal on indicating I’m turning into Marley’s drive. The car pulls out from behind me speeding past. Pulling into thedrive behind Marley, I turn off my engine and take a survey of the neighborhood before I make a move to disembark from my vehicle. I note there’s another Ford sedan parked across the street. It’s a dark blue with Virginia plates, though from this distance I can’t make out the numbers. I look back in the direction from which we just came and see my brother’s SUV coming down the street. Relief floods me. They’re here to help. I begin the process of getting out of my vehicle. Marley and my brothers are waiting for me when I’m on the ground.

“Let’s get you inside,” I urge Marley toward the front door of her home. Despite the heavily tinted windows, I know there’s someone in that car across the street, watching us. I don’t want to give them time to decide to rush us before we can get Marley out of sight. She unlocks the door, and we enter a narrow foyer. A waist-high table sits just inside on the right. Marley drops her purse onto the table and hangs her keys on a hook just above it. There’s an archway to our left, but the room on the other side is shrouded in darkness. Once we are all inside, I pull Rosco aside.

“Did you notice the dark blue sedan across the street?” I ask him. He nods. “Go see what you can find out.”

“Will do, brother,” Rosco answers as he turns to Marley. “Where’s your back door?” She looks puzzled for a moment, but then gives him instructions to a combination kitchen-dining area where there is a sliding glass back door. Rosco makes his way through the house and outside to the backyard of the neighboring house. Marley turns to look at me in confusion.

“Someone was following us,” I tell her. My gut clenches when I see the color drain from her beautiful face. I want to shield her from all of this, but I know I can’t. I need to be honest with her. Knowledge is power. If she knows who to be watching for, she can better protect herself. “They drove on by when you pulled in your driveway, but there’s another car sitting across the street. Rosco is going to investigate and see what he can learn from whomever is in there.”

Marley just stares at me a moment, fear evident in her eyes. “Isn’t that dangerous? I don’t want him getting hurt because of me.” Her voice cracking in her fear.

“He’s well trained,” I assure her. “He is a former Navy SEAL. He’ll be fine.” She continues to look at me in fear, but eventually she nods, biting her lower lip. A heavy sigh leaving her as she walks toward the kitchen. She stops suddenly. A sharp intake of her breath lets me know she’s seen something shocking. I wheel my chair around to follow her. As I reach her side, I see what’s alarmed her. Several drawers have been pulled open, and their contents scattered over the floor and counters in the kitchen.

“Oh my God!” Marley exclaims as she turns to look at me. “Someone’s been in here.” Bo stiffens beside me, thinking the same thing I’m thinking. I move toward Marley intent on getting her out of here. Whoever ransacked her home, could still be in here. Bo reaches inside his jacket and pulls his 9mm from his shoulder holster as I do the same pulling my Sig from its hidden holster in my chair. He heads down the hall to check the rest of the home while I urge Marley back toward the front door. The terror in her eyes is nearly my undoing. I want to keep her as far away from all of this as possible, but I can’t. At least, not right now.

“Go Marley!” I whisper sharply. “Hurry! Out the front door!” Marley follows my commands. We exit her front door with less finesse than I’d like. Bo and Rosco had helped me enter her home without a ramp, but going out on my own is a bit of challenge. Marley looks back and sees me struggling to maneuver my chair over the threshold. She comes back and, with surprising strength, pulls the front wheels of my chair over the hump, helping to steady me as I wheel the back wheels on out the door. Once we are off the stoop and on to the sidewalk, I urge her to get in my SUV. “Get in the passenger seat. Lock the doors and wait for me.” I hand her my keys. She stares at me a moment. I can see she wants to argue with me but finally decides to obey. She surprisesme by kissing me fiercely. “Be safe,” she whispers before running to climb inside and lock the doors.

Keeping my head on a swivel, I scan the street. The sedan is still parked across the street. I don’t see any movement from the car, but I notice Rosco as he approaches the car from behind. He’s crouched down inching up on the driver’s side door. Keeping my Sig in hand, I wheel back down the sidewalk, keeping watch over the front of the house. Thankfully I’ve had plenty of practice wheeling myself around with my gun in hand. It’s something I’ve worked at to be as effective in the field as possible, not a liability. I don’t go out often because I know my brothers will be somewhat distracted by my presence. They know I’m at a disadvantage if shit goes sideways, and they will put themselves at unnecessary risk to protect me. We’ve run drills on worse case scenarios, but anything can happen in real life. While we’ve trained and hope to be as prepared as possible, I know you can’t really plan for every possibility.

Bo exits the front door as Rosco makes contact with the car. The revving of an engine draws my attention as the sedan suddenly speeds away from the curb. Thankfully Rosco manages to get clear of the car and not mowed down by it. He jogs across the street to meet up with us. I turn to Bo, curious to see what he found when he searched Marley’s house.

“What did you find?” I ask as he reaches my side. I hear a door shutting and look around to see Marley coming to join us. I don’t like her being out in the open. Her stalkers could come back for a drive-by or anything.

“House is clear,” Bo replies. “But someone has ransacked the whole house.” Marley gasps. I look to see fresh tears in her eyes. It guts me to see her upset. I move toward her and take her hand.

“Let’s get inside,” I suggest. “It’s not safe out here. I know you’re scared, but I’ll take care of you, Marley. I will find out who did this and put a stop to it. I promise.” She nods her head and leads us all back inside. The hallway where we entered the homeappears untouched, but the rest of the house has been destroyed. Marley flips the light on for the living room. A startled cry leaves her lips. The room is strewn with stuffing from the cushions of her furniture. The sofa and chair have been shredded. The coffee table laying on its side, magazines scattered across the floor have had the pages ripped from them. A potted plant has been slammed to the floor. The pot shattered. Dirt and leaves from the plant scattered around. Marley starts toward the room, but I catch her hand. She whips her head around to look at me.

“Don’t touch anything,” I tell her. “The police will need to collect evidence. You’ll contaminate the crime scene.” More tears fall at my words, and I mentally kick myself. I could have broken it to her more gently than I have or at the very least worded it better. I tug on her hand encouraging her to come to me. I pull her down onto my lap. She buries her face into my neck and cries. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. I can feel her trembling in my arms, and it makes me even angrier at whomever did this to her. Bo moves up beside us placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I’ve called the police,” Bo says. “Det. Mark Atwood is on his way. Rosco and I will make sure the perimeter is secure. Enos, Dalton, and Kelvin will be here in about twenty minutes.” I nod and watch as my brothers split up, Rosco heading for the front and Bo taking the back of the residence.

“Marley, sweetheart, I need you to get some clothes together,” I say softly. She raises her head confusion and concern on her face. “You can’t stay here. It’s not safe.” I see the realization dawn on her face. Her eyes widen as fear fills them.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Marley says on a whisper. “I don’t have money for a motel room. My credit has been destroyed. I no longer have a job. Oh God! What am I going to do?” Marley is staring off into her demolished kitchen. She’s not really asking me. She’s worrying out loud. I take her face in my hands and turn her face toward me.

“Everything is going to be okay,” I assure her. “Let’s go see if there’s anything you can salvage. You’re going to stay with me until I know this threat has been eliminated.” Marley looks shocked I would suggest she stay with me, but there’s no other place I want her to stay. No other place where I’ll feel like she’s secure. I have made sure I have top of the line security in and around my home. No one will ever get to her if she’s in my home.

“You want me to stay with you?” Marley’s voice is full of wonder.

“Yes,” I answer honestly. “I have plenty of room, and I know I can keep you safe there. I have enhanced security. No one will get to you if you’re in my home.”

MARLEY

Ican’t believe this is happening to me. My life is completely falling apart, and at the same time, my greatest fantasy is coming true. I should be having a mental break down over my house being destroyed, someone following me home, watching my house, and doing a damn good job at ruining me, but in this moment, all I can think about is Luke wants me to stay with him, in his home. How many times over the last year have I daydreamed he would ask me out? Too many times to count. This isn’t him asking me out, but he did kiss me.

In my daydreams, we would have a romantic dinner, spend the evening talking, laughing, and enjoying one another’s company. Eventually things would lead to me spending the night with him. I know it’s a foolish fantasy. He’s a smart, handsome, successful business man, and I’m a broke, virtually homeless waitress. I never thought I’d have a chance with Luke Robertson, but here he is basically telling me I’m going to move in with him for the foreseeable future. Not only that, but he’s kissed me senseless and held me while I’ve cried my eyes out.How can the worst day of my life also be my best day ever?This can’t be real. I need clarification.

“You really want me to stay with you?” I ask. Luke nods. “In your house?” Luke chuckles at my foolish questions.

“Yes, Marley.” Luke’s voice rings with truth. “I want you to stay in my house…with me.” I bite my lower lip in contemplation. This is real. It’s really happening. I can’t even enjoy it, because my life is a complete disaster. Someone is really trying to hurt me. Before today I’d thought someone was out to ruin me, but in the back of my mind, I told myself there was another explanation. Today it’s been thrown in my face. This is real, not just my imagination. Reality comes crashing down. I can’t breathe. My chest tightens as I fight to get my breath. My hands begin to tingle, as a crushing weight presses on me. I’m dying. Try as I might, I can’t breathe. I can hear my rapid, harsh breathing. I need to get control, but today has just been too much. I’ve lost my job, my home has been violated, someone was really following me, and I’m penniless.

“Marley.” Luke’s voice breaks through my fears. “Slow your breathing. You’re having a panic attack. Focus on me.” I blink my eyes. Luke is right here in front of me. He’s holding my face in his hands. I’m sitting in his lap, in my ruined kitchen. I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. I’ve had panic attacks a few times before, but I’ve never had anyone to help me talk myself down from the edge. Slowly I manage to get some control of my emotions. Tears still leak from my eyes, but my hands are no longer tingling, and the weight is lifting from my chest. I’m not sure I can speak without my voice cracking. I take a couple more calming breaths and lick my dry lips.

“I’m sorry, Luke,” I finally say, my face flushed not only from my panic attack, but from my shame at having one in front of him. I look away. I can’t stand to look at him right now while I’m so embarrassed and broken. “I…I’m just overwhelmed with all that’s happened. I’ve been on my own since I was old enough to get my own job. I’m not going to say I’ve never had hard times before, but this is a bit more than I can handle.” I let out a shaky breath.

“You’re not alone anymore, baby girl,” Luke replies, surprising me with the endearment. “I’m here, and I’m going to take care of you, if you’ll let me.” I lift my eyes to look at him. I still can’t understand why he’s suddenly so interested in me. As if he can read my mind, he continues, “I’d been wanting to ask you out on a date for a while, but I hadn’t gotten up the nerve to ask yet. Now isn’t really the time for us to get into this discussion, though. Let’s get your things and we’ll talk more at my place, all right?”

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