Tansy shot up from a deep sleep when the alarm whooped. Beside her, Sam hauled on jeans and yanked the gun out of the nightstand before she’d even thrown back the covers. He tossed her his t-shirt and woke up his phone where he’d installed the program monitoring the alarms.
“Someone tried to breach the window off the deck facing the lake on the main floor.”
The window where they’d been sitting only a few hours before, enjoying tea and making plans for the future.
“No one breached the building. Stay here while I check it out.”
“Not a chance in hell.” This was her home, and she wasn’t going to hide while he investigated.
In the dim light, Sam glowered at her, but sighed and turned to the door.
The floor was cold, but Tansy didn’t waste time looking for her moccasins. Sam moved quickly and silently down the stairs and she followed his pattern. He’d obviously mapped out the creaking stairs in his head and knew where to step. She’d have to memorize the pattern, too.
At the bottom of the stairs, he motioned her to stay behind him.
They passed the front door that was locked up tight. The alarm keypad blinked green.
He moved forward again, not turning off the alarm. No other sounds reached her ears.
At the opening to the main room, Sam stopped and flattened himself against the wall.
Tansy hadn’t been nervous before. His app said there hadn’t been an intrusion, and she believed it.
Now her heart thudded. He was about to stick his head around the wall for a visual and put himself at risk. If someone was waiting, he’d be vulnerable.
Tansy barely stopped herself from grabbing him. Not only would she distract him, but she would only delay the inevitable. Sam would check out the room. And the rest of the lodge.
He was brave, but not reckless. He was trained and smart. She would trust him.
But she would still be scared.
He peeked around the wall and then stepped into the room, cautious but not tense.
Tansy followed.
They stayed close to the wall and away from the windows. No sense in providing a target if someone was looking.
Tansy kept her body poised and ready for action, but Sam’s worry level hadn’t escalated.
Instead of looking out the window, Sam moved back and pointed at the kitchen. They moved there, and he edged to the side of her hydroponic garden and looked out from there.
After that, he did the same from the windows in all the other rooms.
He brought her back to the hallway and opened the closet in the hallway. Stepping inside and shielding his actions with his body, he opened his phone.
She wasn’t tall enough to peek over his shoulder, so she leaned into his side to watch.
He opened the feeds for all the cameras and brought each one up. No people. Sam tapped another few buttons and silenced the alarm.
Keeping his voice low, he finally spoke. “I’m going to rewind the camera from the deck, see what caused the breach. With so much cover out there, a person could be nearby waiting to see what we’ll do. Or he could be testing to see if anyone is here.”
“Or it could be a bear looking for snacks.”
He huffed out a small laugh. “Doubtful.” It didn’t take long to prove he was right.
A hooded human crept up on the deck and looked in the windows before lifting some kind of tool.
When the alarm sounded, the figure fled through the woods. Sam checked the various angles, but there were no more signs of the intruder.
Chills ran through Tansy at the sight. Someone had tried to invade her home.
They were miles and miles from anyone else. This wasn’t an easy target for a smash and grab.
This wasn’t a random act.
Someone had deliberately found their home and tried to break in.
Sam grunted, and Tansy looked down at his phone again.
The camera feed was from the sawmill. The hooded figure was climbing the fence from the road.
Was this a new attack? “This is now?”
Sam shook his head. “No. An hour ago. It’s not some hiker lost in the woods looking for a warm place to stay. I’m going to need to install more than cameras at the mill.”
“Like what?” Tansy had learned a lot about security from Sam that week, but she didn’t have anywhere near his knowledge.
“I think I’ll loop up some beams across the trailhead and a few more places. I’ll get an alert if anyone crosses them, but it won’t sound an alarm.”
She nodded. “That would give us advanced warning.”
Sam tucked her under his arm. “It will. But your property is huge. It’s fairly easy for anyone who wants to get in to come through the woods.”
Tansy leaned into him. “You think that plane was scouting the property, don’t you?”
“It’s a strong possibility. I’ll call Graham in the morning and get him to stop at the airfields on his way here. He knows how to ask questions without arousing suspicion. We’ll see if he can find out anything.”
She didn’t want to live in a world where people were always after her and her ideas. “This will be my last project for the DOD.”
Sam turned to face her fully. “What? Why?”
“Every instinct I have is telling me to run and hide right now. I don’t want to do that for the rest of my life. I want to be left alone to work on my projects. To do what interests me. I don’t want to be a focus for criminals and terrorists.” Her voice wobbled, so she clamped her teeth together, then whispered. “I’m a coward, Sam. I just want to live in peace.”
To her surprise, instead of being disgusted by her words, he chuckled and pulled her in for a hug. One of his grizzly bear hugs that never failed to warm all of her insides.
“Honey, that doesn’t make you a coward. It makes you smart. Most people want exactly that. To do what their heart calls them to do and to live in peace. That’s completely normal.”
His hands ran over the t-shirt she wore. “We’re going to find this guy and stop him. We’re not going to let him hurt you, and we’re certainly not going to let him stop you. You were born to create a better world, and we’re going to make sure you get to do that for the rest of your life.”
A soft mechanical whir had them both flinching, but Tansy knew that sound. “It’s okay. Jane and George are starting their shift.”
Sam huffed out a laugh. “Let’s leave them to it. There’s no way that asshole will be back tonight. We’re safe and secure. Come on back to bed. We’ve got a few hours before dawn.”
“I don’t know if I can get back to sleep.”
“Who said anything about sleep?”
Sam held Tansy as she drifted off. They’d warmed each other in the very best way and now he hoped she could get a couple of hours of sleep.
And he could plot.
Fury zipped through him now that he wasn’t putting on a calm face for Tansy.
Someone had tried to invade her home, probably with an eye to hurting her. Or coercing her.
And the bastard was going to pay.
Sam used his phone to search for local law enforcement. He found Phail had a local deputy who worked out of an office in Phail General.
That was good because he wanted to chat with Troy Phail about this as well.
Knowing Joe and Nico were in different time zones, he held off on texting them. No sense in ruining anyone else’s sleep.
This was another piece of proof that the new business was the right choice. Having more people on the property would be good.
No one would be idiotic enough to threaten Tansy once a security company was on site.
It didn’t surprise him when Tansy stirred after only sleeping for fifteen minutes.
Her small hand patted his chest. “We might as well get started on the day.”
He laughed. “One wolf nap enough for you?”
She smiled. “For now. I can snooze later if I need. For now, I’ve got to update the DOD on the break-in attempt. If it’s about their contract, they have to know.”
Sam hadn’t got that far in his thinking. He’d been focused on catching the bastard instead.
“I want to check for any evidence he might have left behind. Once it’s a reasonable hour, we’ll need to go into Phail and report the incident.”
Tansy shook her head. “You go ahead. I want to finish the hologram project so I can send it off. I don’t want to break the contract, but I want rid of it.”
Remembering the joy on her face about her new invention, anger ripped through him again. Tansy only wanted to improve the world and make life easier for others. She didn’t deserve to be the focus of some jerk.
“I’m going to bring Joe and Nico up to date, have them dig deeper for Stephens.”
“You think this was him?”
Sam shrugged. “He’s a likely possibility.”
Tansy frowned and scooted out of bed. He followed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. “Might as well save water and shower together.”
That got him a smile.
Once they were dressed and in the kitchen, Sam brought the conversation back. “I’d like you to tell the DOD about your connection to Joe, Nico, and me. Let them know we’re concerned and involved.”
Tansy sighed and reached for the jar of tea leaves. “You think that’s necessary?”
“Yes. They need to be aware of all the factors.” And maybe they’d send someone along to help keep Tansy and their investment safe.
Tansy was silent as she waited for the kettle to boil and then poured water into their mugs. Then she frowned at him again. “Fine. And I suppose you’re going to have a hissy fit if I head out to the cabin alone?”
She was annoyed. And back to calling it a cabin, not a fort. “If you call me hog-tying you and carting you with me a hissy-fit, then yes.”
She snorted out a laugh. “You could try. I might just kick your ass.”
“A definite possibility, but I’m unnerved by that guy last night and I think we should stick together until we sort it out.”
“I have to work.”
He nodded. “I know. I’ll bring my plans and laptop with me when we head to your fort, so I won’t disturb you. But I think we should make an official report first.”
Tansy huffed. “Well, if you’re going to be all reasonable about it, let’s go.”
“Let’s send the emails first.”
Rolling her eyes, Tansy pulled her phone out of her back pocket and moved to her favorite seat by the pellet stove. He watched her hesitate when she glanced at the corner of the window where the guy had tried to break in. Then she squared her shoulders and took her seat.
Pride rushed through him. She wasn’t any sort of coward and she wasn’t letting the bastard take any of her pleasure from her.
Sam dropped a kiss on her head as he took the seat next to her.
They didn’t find any evidence on the deck, along the trail, or in the parking lot by the sawmill.
Tansy sighed. “He must have parked out of sight of the cameras. There’s no way he hiked from town to do this.”
Sam agreed. “We’ll see if the deputy can check into any visitors in town. I didn’t notice a motel, did you?”
Tansy shook her head. “I saw a sign for a B&B but I haven’t seen more of the town than you.”
Another sign she’d been isolating herself.
They parked in the same lot and walked to Phail General. Troy greeted them with a smile. “Tansy, Sam. Nice to see you again. How can I help you today?”
Tansy looked at Sam, letting him take the lead. She wasn’t much for interacting with strangers and she didn’t like sharing her private world with others.
“We had an incident out at the lodge last night and we’d like to make a report with your deputy. I understand his office is here?”
Troy frowned and nodded. He moved behind the counter and waved at them to follow.
At the back section of the store, he knocked on a closed door with a sign stating, Sheriff’s Office. Deputy M. Ramirez.
“Come on in.”
Troy opened the door, and they trooped into a larger room than Sam had expected.
Filing cabinets, a seating area, and several desks took up the space. The man at the only occupied desk stood, and Sam knew he was meeting another former military man. Tall, strong, steely eyed.
He walked around the desk with a slight limp and extended his hand to Tansy first and then Sam. “I’m Marcus Ramirez.”
As they introduced themselves, Troy closed the door behind them.
Marcus started the conversation. “What brings you here today?”
When Tansy didn’t speak, Sam jumped in. “Tansy and her brother own the sawmill and lodge property north of town. Last night, someone tried to break into the lodge.”
Marcus frowned. “That’s quite a hike in from the highway isn’t it?”
Sam nodded. “It is. A couple of miles. I have security footage showing him climbing the fence by the gate and then another of him about to use a tool on the window when the alarm scared him off.”
After he reviewed the footage from Sam’s phone, Ramirez looked between the two of them. “This isn’t a random break in. You were targeted. Any idea what he was after?”
Tansy sighed softly. “I’m working on a couple of projects for the Department of Defense. I don’t know if this is connected to that or not. I’ve emailed my contact at the DOD to let him know about the incident and that we’re reporting it here.”
The deputy’s eyes widened slightly, but his expression didn’t change.
“Can you tell me if the contract involved intellectual property or a tangible product?”
Tansy nodded. “Both. I’m creating a few devices for them. The information itself is classified, but I can tell you that I’m working on both personal and group protective items.”
Ramirez nodded. “Okay. I have contacts within DOD myself. My clearance probably isn’t high enough to know details, but I don’t need them.”
The deputy looked at Sam. “Are you working on these devices together?”
Sam shook his head. “I’m currently working for the FBI. Looking into the possibility of creating a personal security training program here, though. I don’t have the head for science like Tansy.”
Ramirez nodded and studied the footage from the security cameras again.
“I’d like to come out and walk through the property, see it for myself.”
Tansy nodded. “Any time.”
“How about now?”