Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 144(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
God, I don't deserve this man.
I reach up, cupping his jaw. "I'm okay," I promise. "And so are you."
He jerks his chin in a nod, his jaw tight, and kisses my fingers.
Dillon pulls in behind my car.
I fight the urge to squirm as he hops out, striding toward us. He glances between us, a ghost of a smile on his lips, but he doesn't say a word about us. Instead, he looks at me. "You all right, Molly?"
"I'm okay. I'm not sure about my house, though."
Easton sighs. "He wrecked it, princess."
My stomach sinks. I had a feeling he was going to say that. Whoever the man was, he's been leaving every house he breaks into in shambles by the times he leaves.
"There hasn't even been an open house around here," I mutter, peering down the block.
Easton and Dillon exchange a look.
"What?"
"When did you put your house on the market, princess?"
I stare at him blankly.
"Your house was listed early this week," Dillon says. "The address came up in a list of houses for sale when we requested them from realtors in the area."
"Oh," I whisper. "Um, it's not mine. My landlord decided to sell when I told him that I was planning to move," I explain. "I didn't know he listed it already, though. I haven't been home…"
Easton and Dillon share another look.
"Will you two stop doing that!" I groan, glaring between them. "Go whisper over there if you need to discuss classified information or something."
Dillon cracks a smile. "It's not classified. We're just mildly concerned that our suspects MO has changed. Unless you got a really good look at him, him changing the script now is going to make catching him a helluva lot harder."
"Seems like it makes it easier to me," I mutter.
"How so?"
"Because you're assuming he was attending the open houses. But maybe he was just using them as cover," I say, explaining my thought process. "If he timed the break-ins to coincide with an open house, it looks like it's someone attending the open houses. Meaning, you guys have to look through everyone who was there, question them all, figure out if they could have possibly done it, and all of that. Meanwhile, he was never actually there to begin with. He just has access to the same information you do. Surely that list is shorter than the other."
"Well, damn." Easton scratches his chin, grinning at me.
"She may have just solved your case," Dillon says, cocking his head to the side. "You still sure you want to be in dispatch?"
"I don't want to be a deputy, Dillon. I like it right where I am."
"You asked her to be a deputy?"
"Only every goddamn week. She turns me down every time." Dillon smiles, letting me know he doesn't mind. "Chasing goats isn't what she wants to do with her life."
"Can we please focus on the issue at hand here?" I huff, unnerved by the way they're both looking at me. "Someone broke into my house. Go dust for prints or something so I can actually get some sleep before I have to be back to work tonight."
Easton and Dillon exchange another one of those infuriating looks.
"What now?" I groan.
"You aren't staying here, princess."
I blink at him. "Um, yes, I am. Until I buy a house, or the landlord sells this one, I live here."
"No, you aren't."
I stare at Easton like he's grown two heads.
"You've lost your mind," I mumble, turning on my heel and marching toward the front door. No way does he get to tell me that I have to leave my house because he thinks he's the boss of me. I bet he didn't tell any of the other victims that. Nope. Just me.
He grabs my arm, spinning me back around to face him. "Molly, dammit, I'm serious," he growls. "You aren't staying here."
"Unless you told every other victim the same thing, yes, I am," I growl, glaring at him. "You don't get to change the rules just because you…"
"Because I what?" he says, his voice dangerously low. "Go ahead and say it, princess."
"Because you want to sleep with me."
"You think that's what this is about?"
"Isn't it?" I challenge. "How many other victims did you guys kick out of their houses, Easton?"
"We aren't kicking you out."
"So I can stay."
"No," he growls, his gray eyes flashing. "Hell no."
"So I am kicked out."
"Dillon, you want to help me out here?" Easton growls at our boss.
"Nope," Dillon says, grinning between us like he's enjoying the show. He slaps Easton on the back. "You're a big boy. You can talk yourself out of this shit all by your damn self."
"Coward," Easton mutters, making Dillon laugh as he strolls back toward his SUV, leaving the two of us facing off in my driveway.
"Look, you want to protect me, I get it," I say, trying to be patient with him because I know this is hard for him. He may be infuriating, but he does actually care, and someone just broke into my house. He wants to jump in and save the day, make sure I'm safe. I can appreciate that. Part of me adores him for being that guy. "But I can't live in this world if I'm afraid of every little thing. How am I supposed to do my job if I run and hide whenever something happens? That's not realistic, Easton. I can't live in fear when my whole job is facing it so you guys can face it. And if I run and hide now, it makes it that much easier to panic or freeze when something serious happens."