Page 14 of Unstable

He turned his attention to Shepler. “I’ve been with her here for the past three days, and her car hasn’t moved. I also do perimeter checks every hour, though we don’t know for sure that whoever’s sending the notes knows where she lives.”

“They don’t come here?”

Roman shook his head. “So far, they’ve been sent to her studio each time. She’s received around a dozen over the past two months.”

“Interesting.” He met Roman’s gaze. “You think it was intentional?”

“Absolutely.” And it pissed him off that he’d missed it somehow.

He nodded slowly. “I glanced underneath, but the lines don’t appear to have been cut. We’ll need to bring it in, take a look to see if we can determine exactly what happened. Does anyone else have access to her house or garage?”

“Not that I’m aware of. She uses an electronic lock on the front door—I’m sure you saw—because she hates keys. I know this door”—he pointed to a steel and glass door in the corner of the garage that led to the side yard—“is always locked. I check it each time I make rounds.”

He pushed to his feet and strode that direction. It was still locked from the inside, and he yanked on a pair of blue nitrile gloves before he flipped the mechanism, then pulled the door open and inspected the handle from the outside. “Some minor scratches here.”

“Someone broke in?”

Shepler lifted one shoulder. “If I had to guess, I would say no. They look more superficial than anything, but I can’t afford to write anything off at this point. We’ll get one of the techs out here to print it, but I would suggest replacing the lock as soon as possible. We’ll leave this one in place until you get it swapped out, then I can have someone check the tumbler inside to see if it’s been tampered with.”

The thought made Roman see red. He was never this lax, yet someone had apparently managed to get into Rina’s garage without his knowledge. Granted, without a witness, they wouldn’t have any idea of when, exactly, it had occurred. The knowledge didn’t stem the anger and self-recrimination swirling in his gut, and he gritted his teeth before speaking. “I appreciate it.”

“I’d like to print both of you, if you think she’s up for it.”

Roman tipped his head toward the house. “Come on in.”

Rina stood by the couch, watching curiously. “Everything okay?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he lied. “Lt. Shepler just needs to get our fingerprints before he leaves.”

“Why?” Her brows drew together in confusion, her arms clutching even more tightly around her middle.

Roman chose his next words carefully, not wanting to give too much away. “In case they find fingerprints on anything, they’ll know which ones are yours and mine.”

It seemed to satisfy her curiosity, at least a little bit, and he breathed a sigh of relief despite the unease churning in his gut. Things had just gone from bad to worse, and he had a feeling this was just the beginning.

CHAPTER

SIX

“Someone want to tell me what is going on here?”

She jumped and shrank away from the harsh voice, and a splash of water hit her feet. The sound of the front door closing reached her ears, immediately followed by the heavy footsteps of two large men headed her way. The water bottle shook in her hands, and she hastily set it on the counter. A pair of dark eyes settled on her as Roman and the second man approached, sending a slither of unease down her spine.

“Ms. Sterling, you remember Knox Castillo, my boss.”

“Yes. Hi.” She shifted awkwardly.

The man tipped his chin at her, then glared at Roman. “Care to explain what happened?”

A muscle ticked in Roman’s jaw. “As I was telling you on the phone, we were just getting ready to come into headquarters when her brakes failed. She blew through the stop sign and hit the median.”

Knox’s face darkened. “Your orders were to stay inside. If you can’t handle this, I’ll find someone else who can.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” she immediately cut in. Both men’s eyes jumped to her, and she trembled under the force of Knox’s intense gaze. She swallowed hard. “I’m the one responsible. Roman tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t listen.”

Knox stared at her. “You put your life in jeopardy, as well as one of my agents. I won’t tolerate that. You either follow the instructions given to you, or I will terminate the contract right now.”

She knew if she dismissed Roman, Louis would just insist on getting someone else. Arguing with this man would be an exercise in futility, but she steeled her backbone and strove to remain calm and rational. “My brakes failed, that’s all⁠—”