25

After a thorough exam by the doctor, Jackson drove Avery back home from the hospital, her arm stitched up and thankfully no signs of a concussion. The doctor had suggested she rest the next few days. Right. She’d find time to rest after she found out why someone had broken into her house and attacked her. All she needed now was a hot shower, clean clothes, and she’d be as good as new. Or at least pretty close to it.

Thirty minutes later, she’d showered, dressed, and fed the animals. Someone had already swept and mopped the kitchen floor. There was no sign of Mrs. Whiskers, but Tiger was on her perch, looking content. Too content. All Avery could do was hope it wasn’t too late for the furry rodent.

Mitch had stayed to work with the police going over the crime scene, and had just finished rehanging the door they’d kicked in when she stepped back into the living room. Jackson was opening a bag of fast food at the table.

“Find anything?”

Mitch dropped the screwdriver he was holding back into the toolbox. “The CSU team found a couple of things, including traces of blood on the window where we believe the man cut himself. Hopefully we can find something that will allow us to catch him. Carlos and Tory were here, but returned to the precinct to continue follow-up on leads from last night.”

“I appreciate it. Everything.”

“I know.” He smiled, but the normal banter she was used to was missing. This morning’s incident had them all feeling subdued and out of control. “Feel better?”

The hot shower and pain pills had helped, but even they couldn’t erase the lingering fear. “Physically, yes, but I can’t shake the feeling of knowing someone was inside my house.”

“Unfortunately the emotional trauma of situations like this often lasts longer than the physical scars.” Jackson held up some orange juice. “But hopefully this will help. I picked up some breakfast while you were getting ready. Hungry?”

“Yeah. Actually I am.” That had to be a good sign. And there was no denying she was glad he was here. “Thank you for being here for me. Both of you. If you hadn’t shown up when you did . . .”

“We did show up, so you don’t have to wonder about what-ifs.” Mitch nodded toward the table. “Go on and eat, and I’ll join you as soon as I’m finished up here.”

Avery’s hands shook as she pulled down three plates from the cupboards. She set them down on the counter, then drew her hands back, hoping Jackson wouldn’t notice, but he did.

“Maybe you should go lie down.”

“The doctor said I’ll be fine.”

He rested his hands against her shoulders and turned her toward him. “The doctor also said that you should rest.”

“I will.”

“When?”

“When all of this is over.”

“I’m not sure that’s soon enough.”

“It’s going to have to be.”

She thought he was going to argue with her. Instead, he pulled her closer and let his lips meet hers. All the tangled emotions of the past few days seemed to come into focus as she responded to his kiss. Fear of commitment, of neglecting someone, of not being able to be enough to everyone—even the reality that someone had broken into her house—none of it seemed to matter at the moment. All that mattered was that Jackson had been there when she needed him, she was safe, and they were together.

The cell phone vibrated in Avery’s pocket, then rang. She pulled slowly away from Jackson’s kiss and embrace, wishing she could forget the rest of the world for the moment.

“I’m sorry.” She glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Tess.”

“It’s okay.”

Avery answered the call, then leaned back against the counter, Jackson’s arm still protectively around her waist. Between him, Mitch, and her father, whoever had broken into her house better watch themselves. “Tess. Morning, sweetie.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. How did you sleep?”

She couldn’t mention the break-in. Not yet, anyway. Tess—and her mother—would only worry. “A few bad dreams, but I’m okay.”

“How are the pets?”

Avery hesitated while Jackson moved to finish setting the table and laying out breakfast.

“Mrs. Whiskers is loose.”

“Loose?”

“I’m trying to find her.” Avery shivered. With her luck, she’d find her snooping in her cupboards or crawling across her pillow one morning.

“She’s fast, Mom. You remember when Ricky got out of the cage.”

“Trust me, I remember.”

Tess had been heartbroken. The only thing they’d found was his tail, but they’d still held a memorial service.

“Listen, sweetie, I want you to stay at Grandma and Papa’s for now, but how about we plan on dinner? I’ll bring some sweet and sour chicken takeout.”

“My favorite.”

“I know.” She’d have to explain her injuries, not only to Tess but to her parents as well. Something that would be easier done in person.

“You’ll feed the animals?”

“Already done.”

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, baby.”

Avery hung up and dropped the cell phone onto the counter, her hand still shaking. “Looks as if I have a mouse to catch . . . that is, if Tiger hasn’t already gotten her.”

Jackson was shoving his phone into his back pocket. “I just got a call. A match to the partial print off the card you received last night.”

He had her attention now. “Who is it?”

“His name is Landon Rice.”

“What do we know about him?”

“He’s got a few priors, including burglary and assault, though nothing as serious as murder. But he’s certainly been on the wrong side of the law more than once.”

Until they brought him in and questioned him, everything was simply speculation, but that didn’t stop the scenarios from running through her mind. “So either he’s our murderer or our murderer had him order the flowers since cash would be untraceable and online he’d have to use a credit card.”

“I don’t know, but they’ve put a BOLO out on him.”

“Good. I think I’d rather catch Rice than Mrs. Whiskers.”

Jackson laughed as he finished distributing the food. She watched him, clearly comfortable in the kitchen. They needed time to discover what was happening between them, but for now, she was content to let things continue to develop slowly.

He threw the empty fast-food bag in the trash under the kitchen sink, then turned back to her. “I got the feeling the last time I was here that you’re not as fond of all the pets as Tess is.”

“It’s only the rodent variety I try to avoid. I was bitten by a rat as a child and haven’t been able to get over those evil sharp front teeth.”

“Evil?”

“Yes, evil. But I love my daughter and share her love for animals—for the most part.”

He took a step toward her, his gaze locked on to hers. “You’re a great mother, you know.”

“I try.” She felt her cheeks blush as she sat down at the table, breathing in the scent of sausage, pancakes, biscuits, hash browns—along with a hint of enchantment. She could get used to being spoiled.

Her stomach growled. When was the last time she’d had a bite of greasy sausage? “I normally eat muesli and yogurt for breakfast, so you certainly win brownie points for this.”

“Good, because you need to keep up your strength, and I don’t think muesli is going to cut it today. We’ve got a killer and a thief to catch.”

“And a mouse.”

She tried not to watch him or notice the fact that he was watching her. Today he was dressed more casually, in khaki shorts and a black T-shirt, rumpled from his stint in the car. There was a hint of a shadow across his jawline and his eyes seemed a richer shade of chocolate.

At the table, he offered a prayer of thanks for the food before they started eating. It almost scared her how natural it felt to be with him. How comfortable she felt to state her feelings, questions, or even express doubts about her life.

He took a bite of his eggs. “I think you need to reconsider going back to bed. You look tired.”

“Before the break-in, I didn’t sleep well thanks to a few restless dreams after I finally fell asleep.”

“Nightmares?”

“Yeah.” She had to stop letting this guy get to her.

Mitch entered the dining room and sat down in front of his plate. “Door is hung, and while it might have a few extra dings and scrapes, I’d say it’s as good as new.”

“I appreciate it, Mitch.” Avery bit into the sausage biscuit. She really did appreciate all he’d done, but that didn’t erase the fact that it was still another reminder of how, if someone wanted to get into her house, they could.

“That’s my phone again.” Avery grabbed the phone from her back pocket. Number unknown.

“Hello?”

Avery worked to make out the garbled sounds on the other side of the line. Voices whispered in the background. She couldn’t make out any of the words.

The connection went dead.

“Everything okay?”

“I don’t know. There was a bunch of noise in the background before the call got cut off.”

Mitch took his empty plate to the sink, then turned around and leaned against the counter. “I don’t like this, Avery. If it was meant to be another threat—”

“I didn’t hear anything threatening.” She wanted to brush off their fears—along with her own. “It was probably just a wrong number.”

Mitch shook his head. “I don’t buy that.”

“Me either,” Jackson added.

She tried calling the number. No answer.

“You need to get a trace on the caller.”

“I’m calling Tory now.” Avery dialed the office next and waited until Tory picked up. “Tory, I need you to contact the network operations center and trace a number that just came through on my cell phone. I need a name and address.”

Ten minutes later, Tory called back with the information. “The phone is registered to a Mrs. Jade Chu. You might have talked to her while canvassing the neighborhood, because she lives about two blocks from the Sourns.”

Avery pulled out her notes from the canvassing. “I remember that house. Mitch and I spoke to a young Vietnamese woman and a little boy. We’re going to need a translator.”

“I’m ready to go.”

“I’ll pick you up at the station in fifteen minutes.”

Avery ignored the concerned looks as she grabbed her bag off the back of the kitchen chair, but this time her bodyguards were going to have to go along with her plan. Apparently she’d been right about thinking Malaya knew something. And it was time to find out exactly what it was.