Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 102754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“Damn it.”
“Woah, careful.” Sayla was suddenly behind me, appearing like magic and sweeping in to rescue the pan.
She grabbed the spatula, stirred like a pro, and added a bit more stock and a quick handful of parmesan. Somehow, she turned it from “questionable” to “restaurant quality” in less than a minute.
“You weren’t kidding,” I muttered, impressed.
She offered a tired smile. “Risotto waits for no one.”
That’s when I really looked at her. The shadows under her eyes, the slump in her shoulders—this wasn’t just end-of-day tired, this was ‘something happened’ tired.
“You okay?” I asked quietly, stepping closer. “You look beat.”
She hesitated, like she was weighing whether to say anything, then sighed. “Last night, I heard something breaking outside my place, and it put the willies up me.”
I stilled. “What?”
“I didn’t see anyone, but I heard it, so I stayed up for hours afterward. You know when you just can’t settle?”
I clenched my jaw, already moving toward the front door. “I’m gonna check it out.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I do,” I argued firmly, pulling my keys out.
Finding the broken pane in a side window facing the backyard didn't take long. It’d been smashed from the outside, and there were fresh footprints in the soil below it—the kind of thing you could easily miss if you weren’t looking.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Judd.
“We’ve got something,” I told him once he picked up. “Broken window at Sayla’s. Looks like someone tried to get in, but she scared them off.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “You in Piersville right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Man, it’s killing me to remind you, but you need to call DB.”
DB picked up after two rings. “Roque?”
“Hey, we’ve got a situation,” I told him quickly. “Looks like someone tried to break into Sayla’s house last night. We’ve got an active case on our end involving her, and this might be connected.”
He was quiet for a beat. “All right, I’ll send a unit to secure the scene. Keep her at your place, and don’t let her near it.”
“Got it.”
I hung up and took one last look at the window before heading back across the yard, heart pounding harder than I liked. Whoever did this wasn’t just sending a message anymore, they were testing the lock. And I was done waiting for them to knock.
Sayla helped me get the kids down, but they were both so full and sleepy that they barely made a fuss. Kaida was out the moment her head hit the pillow, and Kairo only made it a few minutes longer, mumbling something about the sunflower bird before drifting off.
We crept through to the kitchen, rinsing dishes and stacking them in the dishwasher. She worked beside me like she’d always belonged in that space, sleeves pushed up, her hair a little messy from bedtime chaos.
“Sayla,” I began, drying my hands on a towel, “you can’t go home tonight.”
She straightened, brow lifting slightly. “Why?”
“In about five minutes, Kai’s going to get here to stay with the kids. You and I are gonna walk over to your place, pack you a bag, and you’re staying here for a while.”
She blinked. “Wait, what?”
“It’s sooner than we wanted, I know,” I said, lowering my voice. “I wanted to ease into this because of the kids, but we don’t have that luxury now.”
“What happened?”
I hesitated for just a second, then said it straight. “Someone tried to break in. I found a broken window pane, and the soil was disturbed under it. It wasn’t just a random crack in the glass, it was deliberate.”
She didn’t flinch and didn’t look scared, but she definitely got pissed.
“What kind of asshole does that?” she snapped. “Do they not realize how expensive that’s going to be? I just got the damn plumbing sorted and the bath removed from my living room. My insurance is already side-eyeing me.” She gestured with her arm in the direction of her house. “They’re probably wondering if I’m fit to live alone at this point and if I’m compos mentis. First, the bath drops through the ceiling, now this? Guess I’ll be asking them to help pay for the damn window too.”
“I’ve already started the ball rolling on fixing it,” I assured her calmly. “DB’s sending some guys over to secure the place, and a friend’s coming to fix it first thing in the morning. Don’t worry about it.”
She looked at me for a beat, some of the anger simmering down as her shoulders dropped.
“What about the kids? Are they going to be okay with me being here?”
“We just have to be careful. We keep everything we do around them slow and mindful. Make it feel normal and safe and clear they come first.”
She gave me a look like I’d asked her something ridiculous. “Obviously.”
That simple and firm response told me everything I needed to hear.
A knock came at the door—Kai, punctual as ever.