Chapter Twelve

Grant pushed the door open and stepped inside the room—into total destruction. It looked like a bomb had detonated. Beakers and test tubes and ring stands and digital balances and hell, he didn’t even know what most of the equipment was called, but it was all destroyed almost beyond repair. Filing cabinet drawers hung open, papers strewn everywhere. The perp had even ripped posters of Jade and Layla and the others promoting her product from the walls.

After clearing the rest of the house, he headed back to the garage, dreading what came next.

“Did they take—Grant, what is it?”

“It’s your lab, honey.”

“What?” She rushed past him and burst inside the house, stopping when she came to the room. A small sob caught in her throat.

He couldn’t stand to see her in distress. He’d give anything to take her pain away. He gathered her into his arms. She looked so lost. Her eyes shimmered with tears and he prayed she held them in check. He wasn’t very good with crying women. Either of his brothers could handle them better than him. He was a battle-hardened warrior. He didn’t do codling. Both of her hands clutched his shirt and she pressed close, burying her face against his chest. She was shaking but making no sounds. He stroked her hair, the silky strands flowing over his fingers. He gave her time to gather her strength and then he leaned back to peer into her eyes.

“Better?”

She nodded and stepped back. His body mourned the loss.

“It looks like they were searching for something. Do you keep the recipe in here?” He didn’t know squat about face cream, but hers’ obviously worked. It might make someone eager to get their hands on her formula.

She shook her head, her eyes surveying the damage. “I mix it by memory. I only have it written down in one place and I keep that in a floor safe in my bedroom upstairs.”

“Did you check to see if it’s still there?”

“I took it with me when we left last night.”

“Smart. If you want, I’ll put it in one of our safes to keep it protected.”

“Yes, I would appreciate that.”

Melody gasped and spun around when her doorbell rang. He placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “I texted the Addison’s and they called the police. It’s probably one of them. But let me go first, just in case.” Not that a thief would ring a doorbell, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

It was Noah and Ethan. He showed them the destruction and the cabinet in the garage where Melody had stored the product. Then he loaded her in the SUV to head to her shop. The brothers would deal with the police. Melody needed to get to her store as soon as possible.

#

Melody didn’t remember anything about the drive to her store. Someone had broken into her house. Again. This time, they destroyed her lab. Bob the Beaker, Tony the Test Tube, all gone. She was self-aware to realize she had a rather pathetic habit of naming inanimate objects, but she spent so much time in her lab, they’d become her confidants. She chatted with them and they never talked back. It was her way of not feeling so alone. And even though she’d named them, Bob was actually the twenty-third or twenty-fourth. She’d lost count. Same with Tony. So yes, the items were all replaceable, but it was the invasion of her privacy that burned the most. Someone had come into her private sanctuary and destroyed it. Thank goodness she hadn’t written the formula down. She was absentminded sometimes, especially when she was working, but she’d been making Harmony so long, it was ingrained into her DNA.

As horrifying as the break-in had been, that wasn’t why she couldn’t concentrate. Grant had kissed her. It had been totally unexpected but oh my, she could think of nothing else but the feel of his lips, soft yet firm. It’d been over practically before it started, but it was enough to make her want to taste him again. Longer. Deeper. All night long.

“The parking lot is behind the building?”

Her eyes snapped open, surprised to realize they were already at the shop. She guided him to the lot and he backed into the space. She noticed he did the same thing last night in her garage. Then it hit her—he wanted to be prepared in case they had to make a quick get-away. Smart. They used the small walkway between her shop and the kitchen gadget store to enter through the front door.

Two women were conversing with Deanna when they arrived. There were only seven bags of product left on the shelves, so they must have had a few people in already. Deanna waved, but continued to make a sale.

“Thank goodness you’re here,” Raine said, hugging her. “I wasn’t sure what to do.” She glanced around. “I thought you were stopping for bottles from your house?”

“Change of plans,” Melody said, not wanting to get into the destruction of her home. It was all she could do to keep the tears at bay. “We’ll get to work on making more here.”

Mason walked up to them with a grim look on his face and eyeing Grant, nodded towards the front of the building. “Let’s grab something to eat from the bakery down the block.”

She shot a surprised look at Grant, whose face had transformed into a mask of fury. Something was wrong, but she missed whatever had passed between the two men. She hurried to catch up. This was her business and if something was going on, she needed to know about it.

Raine watched them go with a look of confusion. “I’ll be right back,” she tossed over her shoulder. Deanna looked up from the album of before and after pictures she was showing two middle-aged women. Melody smiled reassuringly at her and grabbed the door before it closed in her face. Mason waited until they were inside the bakery before he spoke. The smells were so decadent, she almost missed what he said.

“Three listening devices. Two in Melody’s office and one in the lab.”

“What?” Someone had bugged her office? Why?

“Any video?” Grant asked.

Mason shook his head. “Just the three audio, and they’re pretty basic.”

“How long have they been there?” Melody asked.

“No way to tell. I left them up for now.”

“We were hired to upgrade her security, so it would make sense that we find the devices when we install the equipment.” Grant turned to her. “That could be how someone knew about the extra boxes stored at your house.”

“It could. I told Kendall about them when she asked if I had enough supplies for the grand opening. I was talking on my cell in my office at the time.”

Mason raised a brow, so Grant explained, “Someone broke back into Melody’s house and stole all of her remaining supply and destroyed her lab.”

Mason cursed softly under his breath.

“I need to get back and start making more, but I should take a box of cookies back so Deanna and Raine don’t wonder what we’re doing. I don’t want them to know about the bugs.”

“I was going to suggest that you not tell them,” Grant agreed, as they waited their turn in line.

“I looked around and didn’t find any signs of tampering with the locks. I was just about to check the surrounding building for security feeds,” Mason commented.

“I’ll come with you,” Grant said.

She placed an order for an assortment of two dozen cookies and they headed back to her shop.

“Remember the bugs when you’re in your office,” Grant warned as they neared her store. “No sensitive information. We’ll get them out of there as soon as possible.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She really wanted him to lean in and kiss her again. “We’ll be back soon.”

She tried not to feel disappointed when he and Mason continued on to the shop next to hers. She sighed and pushed through the door. Raine and Deanna were huddled together talking. They both looked up when she entered. She pasted on a fake smile.

“Is something wrong?” Raine asked.

“Besides someone stealing all of my product?” She shook her head. “The guys have a sweet tooth, so I bought some cookies.”

That seemed to pacify both women. They each dug into the box and selected a treat. She placed the container on the table in the small kitchenette. The cookies looked delicious, but there was a huge knot in her stomach. She didn’t feel like eating.

After Raine finished, she followed Melody to the lab, where they got busy mixing more of the product. Together, they were able to replenish most of the missing stash. She did all the measuring and mixing, while Raine filled the bottles. Hours passed without her noticing. Deanna had brought sandwiches for lunch, but that had been a while ago. Raine had carried dozens of bags out to fill the shelves. When another knock sounded on the door, she checked her watch, shocked to realize it was so late.

They’d used up almost her entire supply of bottles, so she needed to put in a rush order for more. They would need them for the grand opening. Her supplies were getting low, too. She’d thought to lock the key ingredients in a heavy duty safe that came with the building. It had been built into the wall of the storage room and she kept the entry concealed. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t told anyone about the safe, not even Grant. Too bad there hadn’t been enough room to store the bottles of Harmony in there, too.

She opened the door and found Deanna on the other side, a wide smile splitting her face. “We had a great first day. We sold more than I thought we would.”

“We’ve got most of the stock replenished, so that’s good. I’m going to clean up here.” She glanced over at Raine. “You two go home.”

“You sure?” Raine asked, fighting a yawn, as she pulled off her chunky clear goggles. “I can stay and help.”

“I’ve got it. Thank you both.”

She followed them out and locked the front door behind them before she headed to her office. She wondered what happened to Grant and Mason. Grant had stuck his head inside the lab to let her know that he’d be back later, but she hadn’t heard from him. She took out her cell and found a text from him, telling her he would be back soon.

As if conjured, her cell pinged another text.

I’m outside.

She turned to see him standing at the door with a smile on his face and her stomach somersaulted. Not good. Her legs were shaky as she walked forward to unlock the door.

“How’d it go today?”

“Pretty good. We were able to replenish the stock and even sold quite a few bottles.”

“That’s great. We’re going to get the place wired for security.”

“Now?”

“Yep. It won’t take too long. I spoke with the owner of the building.”

“You did?” Why hadn’t he called her back?

“Yeah. He wanted me to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. He was out of town yesterday. Most of the equipment we’ll be installing isn’t permanent, but I do want to add an alarm system and I couldn’t do that without his permission in case he needed to get inside.”

“What did he say?”

“It was fine with him. I gave him the code, so he will be the only other one besides you and your two employees, and of course, us, who has it.”

Mason arrived with a stunning woman in tow. She was the kind of beauty who turned heads when she walked by…both male and female. Gorgeous long hair, luminous blue eyes, a fit, tone body. She was incredible. And her skin was flawless.

“Kayla!”

Melody hugged Grant’s coworker with affection. She was one of Melody’s satisfied customers, investors and a good friend. “When did you get back?”

Kayla had been on a job out of state for the last few weeks. She hadn’t been able to participate in the infomercial, but she’d shot several before and after photos and her face was featured on one of the posters hanging on the wall.

Kayla glanced at it, did a double take, and cringed. “Gah. Couldn’t you find someone else to use as a model?”

“Are you kidding?” Melody looked from the poster to Kayla. “You’re perfect.”

She mock-shuddered. “Anyway, to answer your question, I just got home last night. I’m supposed to be resting up but when I found out what happened, I wanted to help.”

“Don’t hold the door for me or anything,” another stunning blond grumped as she pushed it open with her back. This one was carrying a huge box, a trained dog at her side.

“I’m sorry, Hillary,” Melody apologized. Hillary Billings was also a customer, investor and friend. She was featured on the poster along with Kayla, her former roommate. Hillary was now engaged to Reed “Abs of” Steele.

“Oh, honey, I was kidding.” She placed the box on the floor and hugged her. “I was just giving these two a hard time. We had to detour so Kota could do his doggie business.” Her eyes widened. “Is it okay for him to be here? I should’ve asked first.”

Melody was petting him absently. “Of course. The lab is the only sterile environment.”

“I’ll keep him out of there.”

Between the four coworkers, they unloaded the boxes and got down to business. She watched them work in perfect synchronicity. Mason carefully removed the bugs and then popped out the batteries so they couldn’t transmit. He’d used gloves and she wondered if they would try to find fingerprints on the devices with little brushes. It would be something the crime scene techs would do on CSI. Granted, they weren’t crime scene investigators, but they were very good at their jobs. They didn’t miss one detail.

The four demolished the leftover cookies as they worked. There wasn’t so much as a crumb left in the bottom of the box. She wondered how people so amazingly fit could eat so much sugar and it not affect their body-fat percentage. If she ate that many sweets, they’d show up on her hips. Not fair.

She remembered to tell Grant about the hidden safe. He asked her to show it to him and after he examined it inside and out, he nodded. “Excellent quality. You’d have to be Stella Bridger to crack this baby.” At her confused look he added, “Charlize Theron? The Italian Job?”

She shook her head. “Sorry. I haven’t seen it.”

He sighed, like she was so pitiful. She didn’t watch many movies. She would rather be in her lab, cooking up new products and chatting with Bob and Tony.

“Who are Bob and Tony?”

Melody slapped a hand over her mouth. She had to quit talking without realizing it. How to explain this so she didn’t sound like a crazy science lady? Grant was staring at her with a probing intensity. She sighed. No way to explain but the truth. “Bob is, uh, a beaker and Tony—”

“Test tube?”

Her eyes snapped to his to find them glittering with humor. “Yes, okay? I name things. My car, my Ficus, my chemistry equipment. I can’t help it.”

She could tell he was fighting a smile. “Mary the Microscope?”

She crossed her arms. “Marco, if you must know.” Except for Pearl, she usually gave the items male names. Huh. She hadn’t realized it.

He threw back his head and laughed before pulling her in for a quick kiss. She’d been so shocked she hadn’t even had time to pucker. “Don’t ever change, Mel,” he said before walking away. She stared at his back in shock. Another kiss? Really? And he didn’t even give her time to enjoy it.

She forced herself to focus. He had an annoying habit of completely discombobulating her. She arranged the items in front of the safe so it was hidden. When the landlord had showed it to her, she wondered if the space had once been used as a bank. But, surely the vault would have been much larger to hold money or gold or gems.

Most of their sales would be online, but she did have a small amount of cash on hand to use for change if someone walked in and paid. Depending on the amount, she would either store it in the safe or drop it by her bank on the way home, though she didn’t expect to do much cash sales.

She headed to her office and dropped to the rug to rub Kota, who was stretched out, relaxed but watchful. He was such a sweet dog, but she knew he was a trained weapon. His liquid brown eyes pulled you in and she nuzzled his soft mahogany fur. Hillary’s brother trained dogs. Maybe she’d look into getting one. She’d feel safe with a dog at her side. Not as safe as Grant, but beggars and all that.

Kota plopped his arms across her lap and with a big doggy sigh, he dropped his head down on them as she rubbed his back.

“Keep doing that and he’ll never want to come home with me,” Hillary remarked as she entered the office. Kota proved her statement wrong, as he abandoned Melody for his mama. “Are you ready to go home, my big ol’ ball of feathery fluff?” Kota woofed.

Melody pushed to her feet. “Are you guys done?”

“Yep,” Kayla answered as she bent down to nuzzle Kota’s black mask. The dog closed his eyes and nuzzled her back.

“Melody?”

Hearing her name uttered from Grant’s lips never failed to cause a shiver of happiness. It sounded so…melodic. She mentally rolled her eyes. Now she was getting maudlin.

“You ready to see how it works?”

She nodded and he walked her through the system using an app he’d installed on her phone. It was sophisticated, but straightforward. She called Deanna and Raine and gave them the code in case they arrived before she did in the morning.

“That should be everything.”

“Thank you all. I appreciate it.” While the other three packed up their equipment, she pulled Grant aside. “I didn’t get to sign the contract.” She knew he wouldn’t screw her over and charge her more for the system than it cost, but still, she wanted the legal document to prove she was paying.

“We’ll worry about that later.”

“No, Grant, I want to do it now.”

He sighed. “Fine. You can sign it when we get back to the compound tonight.”

“That’s something else I need to talk to you about. I was in such a rush this morning, I forgot to bring my bags with me. I hate to ask, but if you don’t mind driving me back to my house after we sign the contract, I would appreciate it.”

Silence. She stared at the giant with his arms crossed. Finally he rumbled, “You aren’t going back to your house.”

She blinked at him. “Of course I am. I was only staying at your place because of the concussion.”

“No, Mel, I was staying at your place because of the concussion. You were staying with me because someone broke into your house.” He held up two fingers. “Twice.”

She paled. He was right. “Then I’ll stay at my brother’s house. He’s out of the country so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I assume there’s a spare room for me, because you aren’t staying alone.”

“Oh, well, yes there—”

“And he won’t mind if we upgrade his security system, if he has one? Alarms, sensors, the whole nine yards.”

“Um—”

“And he won’t care if his neighbors are put into potential danger?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’ll stay…but only for another day or two.”

His smile was smug as he walked around her and muttered, “We’ll see.”