Page 57

Amusement shines in Mila’s eyes before she leaves. “You sound very certain for a man who has met Cassie once. I look forward to hearing how well certainty works for you.”

Drew waits until the door closes. “She has a point.”

I want to deny it, but Cassie has already ignored several of my instructions and argued with the rest. “Call Benitez,” I tell him, pressing Cassie’s name before he can offer another opinion.

She answers on the second ring while a police officer asks Birdie about the departing vehicle.

“Harris called you,” Cassie says instead of greeting me.

“He did. Are you hurt?” I ask as I return to the hall and close Drew’s door behind me.

“We’re fine. Birdie is holding a candlestick like she plans to duel with it, and two police officers are examining the door.” Fear roughens the edges of her voice. “Harris said he lost the man.”

“The stranger knew the alleys well enough to use an escape route Harris couldn’t see from the street. That suggests he examined the area before today.”

“Thank you for making that more frightening.” She lowers her voice, and I hear a door close near her. “The officer found scratches around the lock. Whoever did it had a thin tool, but he didn’t damage the frame enough to get inside.”

“You aren’t sleeping there tonight.” I enter my office again and take the gun from the locked drawer beside my desk. The familiar pressure of the gun against my back helps me focus in a way the conversation can’t. “You will stay at the vineyard for now.”

Silence follows, and I can picture her blue eyes narrowing before she says, “You skipped the part where you ask.”

“That part would waste time because I won’t accept the wrong answer.”

“This is my home, Andrei. I’m not leaving because one man touched my door.”

I pace toward the windows and look out over the rain-soaked vineyard. “He chose the rear entrance used by the woman who lives above the store. He waited until the business was closed, placed a tool against the lock, and tried the handle after your brother vanished. He wasn’t confused about where he stood.”

“The police are adding the bookstore to their patrol route, and your man is outside,” Cassie reminds me.

I turn from the windows and brace one hand against my desk. “Harris can’t guard the entrance and remain beside you at the same time. Until Drew has enough people for both, you will stay here.”

“You keep saying ‘will’ as if my opinion is a minor scheduling problem.” Her voice rises as fear gives way to anger. “You don’t decide where I live.”

“No, but I decide whether I leave you in a building that a stranger studied before trying the lock.” I glance at the security footage still open on my computer. “He may believe Connor hid evidence there.”

She releases a breath into the phone. “I have a bookstore to run.”

“It’s closed today, and tomorrow can be handled when tomorrow arrives.”

“That’s easy for a billionaire with employees in every building to say,” she replies.

“You don’t like that I’m taking the decision away from you, but refusing my protection won’t make you safe.”

Another pause follows. When Cassie speaks again, her voice is lower. “Birdie comes with me, and so does Murphy.”

“Agreed.”

Cassie releases a disbelieving breath. “You didn’t even pretend to consider the cat.”

“He’s part of your household,” I tell her. “Of course he can come.” I hear Birdie laugh in the background, followed by Cassie telling her that encouragement is unnecessary. “Pack clothing for several days, bring Connor’s planner, and take whatever Murphy needs. Harris will remain with you and follow your car here.”

“Murphy hates carriers, cars, strangers, and men who issue orders,” Cassie warns me.

“Then we already have common interests,” I reply.

Her reluctant laugh eases the pressure across my shoulders, which irritates me because she shouldn’t affect me this easily.

“Agreeing to stay there doesn’t put you in charge of my life,” she insists.