M att looked at his older brother, seeing the same fury he felt in Joel's eyes. It was a clear threat against the twins. They were the only sisters living here now. But what did it mean? Matt didn't have a clue; he was a vet not a cop .
"Joel, any ideas what this means ?"
"It damn well means she's not staying here tonight alone ."
"Perci's on her way home. Nate’s bringing her," Pan said. “I'm not sure why he's bringing her, but he is. She’s not alone. They should be here any minute ."
"That doesn't matter, the twins are not staying here tonight ."
"I can't leave Wind Lover," Pip said. "Or the rest of the horses. It’s me and Perci here right now, until Dad gets back. Someone has to stay with our livestock .”
She looked up at him like he would have all the answers. But Matt didn't. All he had was the anger. And the fear. "Don't worry, baby. I'm staying, too. I'm not leaving you and your sister here alone ."
Matt put his arm around her from behind, resting his hand over her stomach. He pulled her closer. Just breathed her in. Reassured himself that she was safe, and right there in front of him. What if she and Pan had arrived while the sonofabitch was there? What would they have done then? They had the rifle, but he knew the truth .
They were practically defenseless against a man his size. Against a man of any size. They'd fight—he had no doubt that the Tylers would fight—but they would lose. They were just too damned small to defend themselves all that well .
How could he not worry ?
Pip shocked the hell out of him when she leaned back against him. Let him hold her. When her hand wrapped around his arm .
She just stayed there while they watched Nate's truck pull up the drive .
Pip's twin hopped out of the passenger seat and ran up the steps. Matt felt Pip start to shake in his grasp. He let her go. She threw herself at her identical sister and the two of them clung together. Probably much the same way they'd been doing since birth .
Matt looked at Nate as his brother followed behind Perci. The fury was hard to miss on Nate’s face, as well .
It was obvious that Perci was just as frightened as the other two sisters. And why wouldn't she be? She had been just as violated as Pip. Why had someone done this to these women? That's what Joel was going to have to find out. Matt was going to ride his brother’s ass until he did .
"I need to see, girls," Joel said. "But I don't want you touch anything ."
"There's not much to see in Pip's room,” Pan said. "It's as neat in there as always. Except her top drawer is open. And the stuffed horse. Watching everything. Perci's room is where the real mess is ."
"I need to see for myself," Perci said. There was determination in her face. And fear. It hurt Matt to look at her, seeing how much she resembled Pip. It was like seeing Pip’s fear doubled. Nate practically hovered over Perci as they all walked down the narrow hall that led to the bedrooms .
The Tyler house wasn't overly large and it was crowded. Levi and Pan had stayed outside .
Matt was there when Nate and Perci and Joel got the first look at what had been done to Perci's room. Scraps of tattered lace and cotton littered the floor. But it was the big chef’s knife jammed through her blankets into the mattress that made the boldest statement .
They crossed the hall; Matt entered Pip's bedroom just after Joel. He’d never been in her space before. It was painted a cool light blue, neat and feminine. And it smelled like her. The top drawer of the old dresser that was in good need of painting stood open. Empty .
It was the only thing out of place in the room .
The eighteen-inch stuffed horse, yellow with a black mane, almost looked as if it belonged on Pip's pillow .
If they had not mentioned it, he never would've known that it didn't .
To Matt, that horse was more of a threat than anything else had been .
Why would someone go to all of the trouble of vandalizing one twin’s room, and leaving a cute gift in the other’s? Why would he destroy Perci's underwear, and take her sister’s? Who was the real target of the bastard who'd been there today ?
Levi took Pan back to their place. She hadn't wanted to go, but Levi had pulled the dirty card. Reminded her that she had work to do. Told her he was her boss, after all .
It was not exactly how Matt would've done it, but it was effective. It got the youngest Tyler sister back to where she was safe, at least. Which had been Levi's objective in the first place. They all knew that—except possibly Pip and her sisters. He wished Pip would go back with his brother, too. Let him stay with the livestock. Pip would be safe that way .
He knew better than to even suggest it .
There was no way in hell he was leaving her there without him. Perci actually thanked Nate for the ride home, standing close to Nate .
That told Matt exactly how frightened Perci was. And why wouldn't she be ?
Someone had driven a twelve-inch knife through her bed. The place where a woman was the most vulnerable. The bastard had violated it on purpose. It made him wonder if the threat was actually against Perci? Anyone who knew anything about her would know that threatening one of her sisters would terrify her .
Had Pip just been collateral? Had someone been trying to get even with Perci for some perceived slight? It was possible; but it didn't sound likely to him .
It was the stuffed animal that worried him the most. The horse looked remarkably like Wind Lover, right down to the sweet face .
What did that tell them? That someone had been close enough to Pip to see that horse, to go to a store somewhere and buy the stuffed version. Or order it off the internet and wait for it to be shipped—how long had that person been watching her ?
Maybe it was Pip, and Perci was the collateral ?
To get that particular horse, someone had to have been close enough to Pip to know she was the one connected to that horse and not Perci. To know that Perci’s room was the pink one and Pip’s the blue .
It was Pip's underwear that was missing, after all. Pip's that the sonofabitch had taken with him. No, Matt knew it in his gut .
It was Pip that the sonofabitch wanted .