Robin kicked the covers off and rolled to look at the clock. Two o’clock in the morning. She squinted in the darkness, wondering what woke her. Her head ached, of course, but it was probably a three on a scale of one to ten.
She slipped out of bed and padded to the door to look out into the hall. On any other night, the night-light would have made the area feel soft and homey, cozy. Tonight, the shadows dancing on the ceiling and walls sent chills down her spine and goose bumps pebbling over her skin.
The silence slid over her. She wanted to call out to Toby or one of the others, but something held her quiet. Where were the two officers from Nashville Clay had recruited to help out?
After Toby had told her his past history with Oliver and Debra, she’d been wiped out, emotionally and physically. She’d fallen into bed, waking just a few minutes ago because she heard something—or thought she did.
A sound came from the kitchen. A footstep? It had to be one of the deputies or Toby. Didn’t it? Instead of returning to his sister’s cottage, Toby had decided to stay in the room off the kitchen that held two sets of bunk beds. The men had agreed to take shifts monitoring the house and the surrounding area and sleeping.
If an intruder had gotten in, surely Toby would have warned her. Unless he was hurt. But what about the others? Asleep? Rattled, she couldn’t remember the rotation schedule. On silent feet, she headed for the kitchen.
A shadow moved to her right, and she squelched the scream that rose. Barely. “Toby,” she whispered. He placed a finger on his lips, and she pressed a hand to her racing heart. “What is it?” she whispered.
“Not sure,” he said, his voice so low she had to strain to hear it. “Stay behind me.”
She did as he said and placed her hands on his waist. He moved down the hallway, so quiet she wouldn’t have known he was there if she hadn’t been touching him.
At the end, he stopped and peered around the doorjamb into the kitchen, then pulled back. Without speaking, he motioned for her to stay put. With his weapon held ready, he hooked around the doorjamb and into the room. “Hands in the air!”
A curse rang out. The back door slammed open, and running footsteps pounded down the steps.
“I’m going after him! Stay here and lock the door!” Toby didn’t slow as he yelled the words over his left shoulder.
Another figure burst from the cruiser across the street and joined Toby in pursuit. Yet another officer approached from the other direction and hurried up the stairs to join her in the kitchen. Officer Paul Sanchez. She’d met him last night when Clay had been here to introduce them as friends he used to work with in Nashville.
“You need to go with them,” she said.
“They’ll be all right. If that was a diversion to get you alone in the house, we don’t want it to work, right?”
“Oh. Right.” She shivered, the chill in her bones due to more than the temperature outside. Officer Sanchez turned the coffee machine on and popped a coffee pod into the top.
Robin clasped her hands and strode into the den to flip the switch next to the fireplace. The gas logs sprang to life and soon, heat blew out of the vent, warming her. She was attempting to thaw the cold knot of fear that had formed in her belly. But she didn’t think that would happen until she knew Toby and the others were safe.
Officer Sanchez walked over and pressed a warm mug of liquid into her hands and she took a sip. “Thank you.”
“Sometimes it’s easier to warm up from the inside out.”
“Yeah.” She took another sip. “Will they call if they catch him?”
“I’m sure they’ll let us know as soon as possible.”
“Good.” She paced to the window, stood to the side and looked out. The darkness covered the town—and just like earlier, what should have been a comforting, soothing sight now seemed eerie. Even sinister. The chill returned, popping goose bumps along her spine. She sent up prayers for Toby and the other officer’s safety and that finally, the killer would be caught.
Toby pulled to a stop outside the door of the empty building with the For Lease sign in the window. The intruder from the B&B had ducked inside and slammed the door shut. Yelling at him to stop had proved useless. Officer George Baxter from Nashville pulled up the rear. “Cover the back,” Toby said.
“I’ve got Clay on the radio,” George said. “He’s on his way with more backup.” George sprinted to the end of the building and disappeared around the side.
Toby wasn’t waiting on backup. He wanted this guy now. He twisted the knob and stepped inside, weapon drawn, adrenaline pumping. The building had once been a convenience store with metal shelves set up in rows from front to back. He’d have to clear it by himself. Toby eased to the first row and darted a peek around the edge.
Clear.
The second, third and fourth rows were also clear.
Heart still thumping triple time, he bolted toward the restrooms. Quickly, he cleared each one, then the storage room and office.
In the office, he found a set of stairs that led up. “Great,” he whispered. Into the radio, he said, “Going up to the roof.”
Step by step, he climbed, wincing with each creak of the old wood, expecting someone to appear at the top and shoot him. He’d be an easy target, trapped on the stairs between the wooden walls. Sweat rolled down his temples and dripped from his chin. Finally, at the top, with his weapon in front of him, he stepped into another storage area. An attic.
A gust of cold wind blasted his face, and he hurried to the open window straight ahead. Carefully, he stuck his head out. Looked up. Down. And there the man went, skittering down the fire escape.
“Stop!” Toby called.
The guy never paused. Why did he bother to yell?
Toby swung out of the window and began the descent. “He’s on the fire escape,” he said into the radio. “Stop him!”
But instead of heading for the street, the figure bolted toward the back alley, scampered up the chain-link fence and vaulted to the ground. Toby followed, but by the time he was on the other side of the fence, the guy was gone.
He gave his location into the radio and hurried after the intruder without much hope of finding him. A multitude of streets led to alleys and business. All of which would provide excellent hiding places. The screech of rubber on asphalt reached him and the wink of taillights disappeared around the next corner.
Toby called it in. “He’s on Round Rock Way traveling north. Make and model of the vehicle unknown.”
The fence rattled behind him and Toby spun to see George drop over and land feetfirst. He jogged over to Toby. “Got away?”
“Yeah. He had a car waiting.”
“He knows this place.”
Toby shook his head. “He had his escape route planned before he even showed up in the house.”
“So, what was the purpose in that?”
“I don’t know. Unless he planned to grab Robin and force her to go with him.”
George shook his head. “He had to know about the security.”
“Yeah. And because he knew, he was able to get past it. That worries me.”
“Had to be an inside job. He got his information from someone.”
“Exactly, but who?” Toby asked. “I can’t imagine anyone I know or work with being involved.”
“No idea, but I recommend making a list and checking it twice this season. Because someone’s not being very nice these days.”
“No kidding.” Toby slapped a hand against his thigh and looked at the fence. “It’s going to be harder to get back over now that the adrenaline rush has faded.”
George laughed. “Come on, old man, I’ll give you a boost.”
Toby shot the guy a tight smile, walked to the gate and unlatched it. “I think I’ll use this, but feel free to do it your way.”
George followed him through the gate while checking in with Clay on the status of the intruder. He hung up. “They lost him,” George said. “Actually, they never saw him.”
Lips tight, Toby nodded. “I’m not surprised. Not with as well as he had this all planned out.”
The bed-and-breakfast was lit up brighter than the Christmas tree on the front porch. Toby rapped on the door and was glad to see Robin hanging back while Paul opened it. When she saw it was him, she rushed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said.
Her concern gripped his heart in a way that had him pulling her into a hug. “I’m fine, Robin. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Me? I wasn’t the one chasing a possible killer.” She stepped back and ran her fingers through her hair, mussing it in a way that he found endearing. His fingers itched to replace hers. Instead, he cleared his throat and ordered himself to focus.
“Why would he break in like that when it’s obvious this place has security inside and out?” she asked. “Why take a chance on getting caught?”
“Because getting to you is apparently worth the risk,” George said.
Toby frowned at the man, but Robin didn’t seem fazed. “This is crazy,” she muttered.
“Or,” Toby said, “maybe he was just trying to see how hard it would be to breach the security around here.”
“Didn’t seem to be that difficult,” Paul said. “Sorry about that, Robin.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said.
“Of course it is. It’s a collective fault. He never should have made it into the house.”
“He’s right,” Toby said. “Of course, it would help if this place had an alarm system we could arm, but people are coming and going at all hours. There’s no way Sabrina could turn it on if she had one.”
“I thought about that,” Paul said, “but figured with all of us here, it wouldn’t matter that much.”
“Please, everyone stop beating yourselves up. I’m still here, he’s gone, and everything is fine. For now.”
A knock on the door stilled them for a brief second. Toby turned to peer out the window. “It’s Oliver.” He opened the door to find his friend with his hand on his weapon.
“Everything okay over here?”
“It is right now. How’d you know something was going on?”
“I was out walking.” Oliver frowned. “You know my sleep habits.”
Toby did. They were practically nonexistent since his wife’s murder. “Come on in.”
“Hold up,” Clay said from behind Oliver, “I’m here, too.”
Oliver stepped into the foyer and shed his coat. He hung it on the antique rack to his right and rubbed his hands together. “Forgot my gloves. I saw all the commotion and thought I’d check in with you.”
Clay didn’t bother to remove his coat.
“We had an intruder,” Toby told Oliver and led him and Clay into the den to join the others.
“He got in the house?” Oliver asked.
“Yes.” Toby clipped off the word and sank onto the sofa next to Robin.
“How? Where was everyone?”
“Not sure. I was sleeping when I heard someone in the kitchen. Paul was walking the perimeter, and George was watching the front door from the cruiser. Clay, Lance and Trent had gone home to get some sleep.”
“What about the alarm system?” Oliver asked.
“There’s not one,” Toby said, then looked at Robin. “I think we’re going to have to move again.”
Robin’s shoulders dipped. “Where? The jail?”
Toby raised a brow. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”
Robin gaped. “I was just kidding.”
Oliver rubbed his chin. “I have a better idea. What if we ask the two special agents who’re in town to join forces and add their protection expertise to this place?”
“I don’t know if I want them anywhere near Robin right now,” Toby said with a deep scowl. “Agent Young overstepped in pushing her to remember. I don’t trust him not to do it again.”
“Toby...” Robin said, brows dipped. “He didn’t overstep. He’s just trying to help.”
“I’ll rein them in,” Oliver said, “but come on, Toby, you know as well as I do that this is a good setup even without the alarm system. You’re right down the street from the police station. The diner across the street is open, and people are walking the sidewalks at all hours.”
“I get that, but it didn’t make much of a difference tonight, did it? Someone still got in the house.”
“How?”
The room fell silent. Then Toby gave a disgusted sigh. “I don’t know. We were so focused on catching the guy and making sure Robin was safe, we haven’t stopped to figure it out yet.”
“Then figure it out and plug the hole.”
“Yeah.” Paul stood. “I’ve got the windows down here.”
“I’ll check upstairs,” George said.
Toby reached for Robin’s hand. “I’ll stay with Robin.”
Clay rubbed his chin. “I’m going to tape off the perimeter of the house until we can take a look in the morning. If someone was snooping around outside earlier, there could be prints. We’ll rule out Paul and George’s shoe prints and see what’s left. If anything.”
The others went to work leaving Toby, Robin and Oliver in the den. Robin drew in a deep breath and pressed a hand to her suddenly pounding head. “I think Oliver might be right,” she said.
“How so?” Toby rubbed her cold hands between his warm ones, and she closed her eyes at the comfort the gesture brought.
“That I should stay here,” she said. “If I leave, he’s just going to follow. And besides, where would I go?”
“A safe house,” Tby said.
“Sounds like an oxymoron in my case,” she muttered.
A sigh slipped from Toby. “Aw, Robin, we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
She bit her lip and looked away. His sweet kindness would have her blubbering once again if she wasn’t careful. She stood. “Thank you. And now, I’m going to go back to bed and try to sleep.” The sun would be coming up in a couple of hours, and even if she found she couldn’t sleep, she could think.
Once she was settled back in her bed, she lay still, listening. And realized she’d left before finding out how the intruder had entered the house. Did it matter? As long as the people guarding her knew, she didn’t need to, did she?
Of course she did. With a sigh, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, dressed and headed to the kitchen since that seemed to be the place everyone congregated.
As she drew close, voices reached her. Toby and Oliver. “...think about her every day, Toby.”
“I know.”
“She shouldn’t have been there.”
“I know that, too. I can’t apologize enough.” A pause. “I’m sorry I pulled away, Oliver. I shouldn’t have. I just...every time I saw you, I relived it. But...that was selfish and I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. Don’t you get it? I should have had someone with her. I should have noticed how far she’d deteriorated. But it was so fast—”
The men fell silent, and part of Robin wanted to stay and listen. The other part of her said she needed to leave, that the conversation wasn’t any of her business. She started to return to her room when she heard Toby finally say, “If I could go back and change that day, I would, but I can’t. And I can’t keep living in the past either.”
A heavy sigh escaped one of them. She thought it was Oliver. “Some days I can’t find the strength to live anywhere else,” the special agent said in a low voice. Then cleared his throat and sniffed.
Robin ached for the two of them. They’d suffered so much. And she didn’t need to keep standing there, but she really wanted to know how the person got in. She tiptoed backward and then approached the kitchen at a slow pace, clearing her throat to give them a heads-up.
When she entered, Toby frowned. “Can’t sleep?”
“Haven’t really tried yet. I kept thinking about the intruder. Did you figure out how he got in?”
“Through a second-story balcony window,” Oliver said. “He cut the glass and simply reached in and unlocked the door.”
“How did he get up there without anyone seeing him?”
“The trellis on the side of the carport,” Toby said. “He climbed up and walked across the roof, then lowered himself to the second-floor balcony. Cut the glass, opened the door and made himself at home.” He shook his head. “I noticed the trellis but didn’t want to request that it be removed since it would be such an invasion. I should have. Instead, I just requested Robin have a first-floor room closest to the kitchen.”
“Were the guys doing predictable perimeter checks?” Oliver asked.
“No, they were supposed to be intermittent.”
Oliver shrugged. “Well, doesn’t really matter. All he had to do was wait him out and as soon as the officer was out of sight, haul himself up the trellis and onto the roof. Easy peasy.”
Toby grimaced, and Robin felt sorry for him. He was blaming himself for a lot of things that he shouldn’t. “I think the fact that my room was on the bottom floor is what saved me, Toby, so don’t beat yourself up. The intruder might have thought I was on the second floor and that’s why he entered that way.”
“No,” Toby said, “that was just the only way he could have gotten in without being detected.” He rubbed his chin. “And now that we know about it, we’ll take precautions.” He nodded. “I think staying here is going to work out. Now that our intruder knows we know how he got in, he also knows we’ll be a lot more vigilant. I’ll be surprised if he makes another attempt here at the house. At least any time soon.”
“So, he’ll wait for me to leave the house to strike.”
“Probably.”
She nodded and bit her lip. “All right. Then let’s set something up so he’ll come after me. But it has to be something that won’t endanger others.”
“No way,” Toby said. “That has disaster written all over it.”
Anger with him flared. She did her best to bite it back. “Not if you’re there to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
He shook his head. “Something always goes wrong.”
I can’t believe you would do this! You used me!
A flash of rage took her by surprise and she swallowed, wondering at the anger—where it had come from and unsure what to do with it. “Are you letting one incident from your past influence this decision?” She slapped a hand over her mouth, appalled the words had spilled out.
Toby went still. So very still. Oliver drew in a quick breath and Robin blinked. Just as quickly, the anger, the hurt were gone—and remorse took over.
Toby blew out a slow breath. “No, I’m not. What’s influencing that decision is the fact that it’s dangerous and, just like the trellis thing, there’s no surefire way to make sure you won’t be hurt in the process.”
“I see. But what if I want to do it?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips and jutting her chin.
He bit his lip. Probably remembering her order not to treat her like a child. She appreciated his attempt to filter his words. He finally nodded. “All right. What if we see if we can come up with an alternate plan to draw the killer out? And if we can’t, then we’ll consider your idea.”
Grateful neither man addressed her stubbornness, she harrumphed—this time without any anger or messy emotions—and crossed her arms. “You expect to come up with a better plan and are just humoring me, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
A giggle escaped, surprising her as well as the two men. She covered her mouth. “Sorry. That just slipped out. I’m so tired I’m giddy, I think.” And the wide swing of emotions scared her. She’d remembered part of their argument and needed to process it. Tears surfaced, and she turned to go.
Toby caught her hand and pulled her against him. She drew in his scent and simply let herself feel safe for a brief moment. Then she pulled away. She wasn’t safe, and the people trying to help her weren’t either. The only way to ensure their safety was for her to remember.