Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65112 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“We have to do something,” he says.
“You know what will happen if we call the police,” Val says to him, and I hear an edge. They share some kind of understanding that I’m not in on.
I can’t prove it, but I think this is about her ex. If she’s afraid to involve the police, he must be even more complicated than I thought.
Either way, she’s right. The police would walk through, find no forced entry, no theft, no immediate signs of violence, and write this off as a nuisance call from a woman too rattled to trust her own memory. They might phrase it more politely, but they wouldn’t do a damn thing.
And that’s before you factor in the less official reason I don’t bring police into situations unless I absolutely have to. Nico knows that, too. I can see it in the set of his jaw.
Val looks between us and lets out a bitter laugh. “Great. Glad we all agree I’m on my own.”
“You’re not on your own,” Nico says immediately.
“No?” She gestures toward the house. “Because it really feels like it.”
I step in before the whole thing tips into another useless argument. “The only thing that matters right now is making sure the house is clear.”
That lands cleanly enough to redirect them both.
I look at Val. “Did you touch anything besides the door?”
“I walked into the living room and kitchen.”
“That’s it?”
She nods once.
“Good.”
Nico exhales through his nose. “I’ll go through the house.”
“No,” I say.
His eyes cut to me. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll do it.”
Val watches both of us, tension pulled so tight through her body I can practically feel it from where I’m standing. She doesn’t need this turning into a pissing contest.
Nico folds his arms. “And why exactly are you better suited?”
Because I know what to look for. If her ex really did break in, he may have planted cameras. In situations like this, it’s not about what a person took, it’s about what they left behind. I’m far better suited for that kind of search. I don’t say all of that.
“You know exactly why.”
Val goes very still at that.
Nico stares at me for a second, furious but smart enough to hear the truth in it. “Fine.”
I look at Val. “You stay here with him.”
Her mouth tightens like she wants to argue on principle, but the fight seems to drain before it reaches her voice. “Okay.”
I head into the house alone. Under different circumstances, I might take a moment to look around and get a read on her personality from her décor. This isn’t a social call, though.
Everything looks normal enough, but that’s often the point. Men who want to terrify women without leaving clean evidence rarely break things unless they’re stupid, emotional, or both.
I close the door behind me and stand still for a few seconds, listening. The good news is, there’s definitely no one else here. He’s not lurking in a corner, waiting to attack her.
Still, I move room by room to confirm there’s no threat.
I start with the entryway. The lock on the door isn’t damaged, and there are no pry marks on the frame. He either picked the lock or found her spare key. Neither option inspires much confidence.
The rest of the house is so tidy it almost looks staged. I don’t dwell on what that says about Val. I’m not here to judge her choices, I’m just here to find what’s out of place. I check her computers for any hardware that shouldn’t be there. They’d be easy enough to hack. I’ll recommend she replace them right away, just to be safe.
I comb the bookshelf carefully and find nothing concerning. She doesn’t keep any random tchotchkes, so any camera would have to go in a book. There’s no sign of one.
Upstairs, I scan her bedroom slowly. Smoke detector, air vent, lamps, charger blocks, closet corners, the undersides of her nightstands and dresser. Nothing.
It doesn’t make sense. What was this asshole’s endgame? I shouldn’t be so frustrated about not finding bugs, but the clean sweep doesn’t give me any peace of mind. He came here for a reason, and we’re no closer to knowing what it was.
What kind of man does this?
Someone who feeds on power and control. Someone who gets off on psychologically torturing a partner. He’s a sick fuck. I’m starting to piece together what she went through with her ex, and it makes her personality so much clearer. Control was a luxury to her. Now it’s her greatest commodity.
I walk back outside and find them where I left them. Val sits in the passenger seat with the door open, elbows on her knees, staring at the pavement. Nico leans against the hood, scanning the neighborhood. They both look up when I step off the porch.
“Well?” Nico asks.
“I didn’t find anything.”
Val’s shoulders tense. “Are you sure?” Her voice is hoarse.