Looked as if he entered through the front door, ripped this room apart, then worked his way down the hall just as Ethan had. Stopping his search after the office likely meant he’d found what he’d been looking for in there.

  He retraced his steps to the end of the hall and took a closer look. The desk remained intact, bookshelves lined with binders all neatly labeled on the spines stood untouched. He grabbed a binder with this year’s date and the word Chicago on the outside. Inside, he found three-ring protector sheets filled with negatives.

  So this was how she stored negatives.

  Empty slots on the shelf could mean the intruder was after negatives. Probably the negatives Jennie had come home to retrieve. Added credence to his theory. This guy didn’t want Jennie’s photos displayed in public, and these incidents were all about the pictures. But why? That was the question needing answers right now.

  Sirens spiraled through the air and Ethan went to meet the police. Jennie, still in the truck as instructed, craned her neck to see him. He wasn’t pushing his luck that she’d sit idly by and wait for him to cross the yard, so he picked up speed. She didn’t disappoint but whipped opened the door and stood on the running board, peering over the top.

  “Is everything okay?” she called out, her voice holding a good measure of concern.

  He jogged to the truck before she jumped down and tried to make her way to the house. “There’s no one inside now, but someone’s been here.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I’m sorry, Jen, but your place has been thoroughly trashed.”

  “What do you mean, ‘trashed’?” She jumped down as if intending to rush inside.

  “Hold up.” He blocked her way. “We need to wait for the police to check it out before you go in.” Technically not true, but he wanted her to get used to the idea of someone vandalizing her house before actually seeing the mess.

  She placed her palms flat against his chest and pressed. “It’s my house. I need to see what they did.”

  Her touch felt hot. He stepped back. If he was going to keep her safe, he had to get a grip and not react to a simple touch.

  “Ethan? Is there something else you’re not telling me?”

  Yeah, you broke my heart and it’s never recovered.

  He shook his head. “They’ll want to collect evidence, and we don’t want to contaminate things.”

  “But you went in.”

  “Because I wanted to make sure we weren’t at risk from a panicked intruder. Now that I know you’re not in any immediate danger, we should sit tight.”

  “Should or have to?”

  He groaned in frustration. “Is this how we’re gonna play things, Jen? I suggest something and you balk at it every time?”

  “I just want to see what they did to my house. That’s all.”

  “I’m not trying to boss you around for the fun of it. All of my directives are meant to keep you safe.” And to minimize her pain—not that he’d mention that part.

  “I appreciate your help, Ethan. Really I do. And I’ll try not to argue. I’ve just been in charge of my own life for so long, I guess I don’t take direction well.” She stared up at him with wounded eyes he remembered so well.

  He fisted his hands to keep from reaching for her. She’d made it clear she wouldn’t welcome his touch.

  A police car flew down the street, drawing her attention as it screeched to a stop.

  “We’ll wait here until the officers give us the all clear,” he said.

  “Can you at least tell me if you have any idea why someone trashed my place?”

  “Looks like they took the negatives for the show.” He waited for her to gasp or get upset about the loss.

  Instead, her expression turned thoughtful, and she glanced at her watch. “It’s too late today, but first thing in the morning we’ll have to go to the bank and retrieve my other set of negatives.”

  “What?” His voice shot up in surprise.

  “I always make a duplicate copy of the negatives for my shows. I store them in a safe-deposit box in case of fire.” She smiled again. “Good thing I’m so paranoid or I wouldn’t be able to reprint the pictures.”

  This was a good thing? Not in his mind.

  If his theory continued to hold water, these thugs would keep coming after her until they were certain she couldn’t reproduce the photos again. And maybe they wouldn’t stop even then.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  No matter Jennie’s desire to see her house, Ethan shouldn’t have let her in. Her private sanctuary had been violated. Rudely violated. Now she stood in the middle of her living room, fear stark and vivid in her eyes again.

  He wanted to slip an arm around her shoulders and escort her from the trashed house to a safe location. Had tried it actually, but she wouldn’t budge. She’d hung with the forensics team as they meticulously collected every fiber of evidence. They, too, encouraged her to get out of there.

  Did she go? No. She wouldn’t hear of leaving them to their job and not questioning every little step they took. He knew there was an element of shock in her behavior, an attempt to find some normality after today’s terrifying events.

  He benefited from it, though. He witnessed the quality of their investigation. The first officers to arrive on the scene took this break-in coupled with the gallery threat seriously, calling in techies, uniforms and detectives to canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, search the house and yard, and collect items.

  If they’d gotten lucky, they’d lifted a latent print and would produce an ID, but Ethan doubted their suspect had been so careless. Still, he’d have his sister Kat keep after her Portland Police Bureau friends to see if any items collected tonight produced a lead.

  Right now, he needed to give Cole a heads-up. They were taking no chances. Someone might go after Madeline, too, and Cole was leading her protection detail.

  Ethan pressed his brother’s speed dial. While waiting for him to answer, he double-checked the new lock the locksmith had just installed on the front door.

  “How’s it going, bro?” Cole asked.

  “We had a break-in at Jennie’s house.” Ethan explained the situation. “I wanted to let you know to be on your guard.”

  “Will do.” A long yawn filtered through the phone.

  “Little early for that, isn’t it?”

  “You’re having all the fun. Madeline’s detail is downright boring.”

  “This guy might be coming your way so keep your eyes open.”

  “I will. For the next hour, anyway. I’ve arranged for Derrick to spell me tonight so I can get some sleep and come back first thing in the morning.” As the youngest brother of the family, Derrick embraced all assignments, as did his twin, Dani, so they generally got stuck with the worst shifts—if, in Dani’s case, they were given shifts at all.

  “Do you think we don’t let Kat and Dani in on the action enough because they’re women?” Ethan asked.

  “Where’s that coming from?”

  “Kat commented on it this morning when I made assignments for this case.”

  “I don’t know, man. I’ve never thought about it, but I guess it’s possible.”

  “So maybe you can ask Dani to take a shift, too?”

  “What about Kat?”

  “I’m taking Jennie to Kat’s house to spend the night.” He looked at Jennie again and imagined the challenge of convincing her to stay with Kat. “At least, that’s what I hope will happen.”

  “You having trouble over there, bro?”

  “Nothing to worry about. I can handle it.” Ethan said goodbye and hung up before his perceptive brother probed deeper.

  “Okay, miss.” The slender man heading up the forensics team stood. “We’re finished here.”

  “So I can clean up now?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” He slid a finger through residual black powder from fingerprinting work. “Sorry about the extra mess.” He lifted his case, the weight pulling down his slight shoulders, and headed out the door.

  Jennie looked around the room as if not sure what to do.

  “You should pack a bag, Jen. You can’t stay here tonight.” Ethan gestured at the mess surrounding them for emphasis.

  “I won’t let them run me out of my own house.” She crossed her arms and straightened her shoulders.

  “I can’t let you stay here.”

  “They got what they came for. There’s no reason for them to come back.”

  “But you don’t know that for sure. The guy came for you on the train. Since he didn’t get what he wanted, he’ll probably come back.” He went closer, softened his tone. “You can stay with Kat tonight, and then we’ll figure out a more permanent solution tomorrow.”

  “Your sister? She doesn’t need me hanging around her place.”

  “She’ll be happy to have the company.”

  “I don’t know, Ethan. I mean, I hardly know her.”

  “I’d suggest you stay with a friend, but you really don’t want to bring someone else into this mess, do you?”

  “Isn’t that what we’d be doing with Kat?”

  “She’s part of the team and trained to handle something like this.”

  “Still, I don’t want to impose on her.” Jennie looked around, and her shoulders sagged a bit. “I’ll go to a hotel.”

  “Hotel logistics make it harder for me to keep you safe. It would easier if you stayed with Kat.”

  “I don’t know.”

  He had to appeal to something she wanted enough to be willing to inconvenience Kat. “If you stay at Kat’s house, she can run your protection detail for the night.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Really? You’d go home?”

  He didn’t think she’d jump on this so enthusiastically. It made his gut hurt again. More than a little. “Yes. Kat is quite capable of keeping you safe for the night.”

  “Okay.”

  “Great. Go pack a few things and we’ll get out of here.”

  She turned without a word and left the room.

  When she was out of earshot, he hissed out his frustration. Was it always going to be like this? So different from the past, when he’d believed they knew exactly what the other was thinking and feeling without asking. Until the end.

  “Women,” he mumbled and texted Kat, another woman who often pushed his buttons. Normally he’d call her and ask if she’d let Jennie stay with her, but as soon as his sister realized their client was his old girlfriend, she’d hound him about how he felt.

  When Jennie bailed, Kat had been there for him and helped him heal. They were still close. More alike than any of the other siblings, they often worked through problems together.

  He heard wheels rolling down the hallway’s wood floor, and he went to meet Jennie.

  “I want to check my email before we leave.” She left her suitcase and headed for her office.

  He’d rather they get out of here, but she should have received the email from her warehouse manager by now. It would be smart to get someone started on investigating the tattoo connection as soon as possible.

  He joined her, leaning on the doorjamb and waiting. She clicked away on her laptop, her face intent and the horror of the day lingering in her eyes.

  The printer whirred to life on the credenza, spitting out paper. She retrieved and handed him multiple pages. “This is all the information my manager has on Javier Caldera. In her email, she said again what a great employee he is. He’s always asking how things are done and trying to learn as much as he can about the charity.” She sounded as if she thought these were good things.

  Not Ethan. He saw it as the guy asking too many questions to find a vulnerability in the organization so he could exploit it, but he’d hold his tongue until he had proof to confirm his theory. “I’ll pass this on to my colleague in Texas and have him follow up.”

  “I need him to be discreet. I don’t want the agency to get into trouble for sharing this.” She closed her computer and put it into a protective sleeve.

  “Don’t worry, Jen. Patrick is a professional investigator.” He folded the email and stuffed it in his back pocket. “C’mon. We should get going.”

  She hesitated as if her feet were planted to the floor. He cupped her elbow and directed her out of the room before she came up with another reason to stay. She sighed, and he walked behind her, keeping quiet, though he wanted to talk with her about the lingering fear he caught on her face. Simple, plain talk, without dancing around their past as they’d done all day. To help her come to grips with the threat to her life.

  But there was no point. She wouldn’t let him help. Never had. She’d always been too proud to accept any help. When they’d been together, he’d worked hard to get her to open up. She’d shared very little about her past, so he’d never understood her reasoning. And now, even when she needed a friend the most, nothing had changed. Even if a killer had her in his sights, she wasn’t going to let him in.

  * * *

  Jennie used the final minutes of their drive to Kat’s house to watch the scenery pass by and to breathe. To focus. To center herself and find some semblance of calm. So what if the guy who stalked her this afternoon was a killer? So what if he’d trashed her house, making her feel unsafe in the place that had always been her haven? She had capable men and women surrounding her and this Munoz guy didn’t know she intended to go through with the show yet. So for now, she was safe.

  They turned into the affluent West Hills of Portland and climbed high above the city twinkling with white lights. This area of town was foreign to Jennie, though she knew its reputation. It had the same wealth and trappings as many prestigious neighborhoods in the country, just not the formal dress code. Gore-Tex was more common here than cashmere, but the narrow streets they wound through still reeked of money.

  Ethan pulled to a stop in front of a fifties-style home in Forest Park. Jennie clutched her camera like a lifeline and waited until he got her suitcase from the jump seat and signaled it was okay to get out.

  He came around the front of his truck and opened her door. Earlier he’d put on a scarred leather jacket that, even as worn as it appeared, smacked of money and privilege so fitting for this neighborhood. She didn’t know if he’d wanted to cover his bloody shirt or if he was reacting to the falling temperature. She also didn’t know if he’d ever tended to his injuries.

  “How’s your arm?” She hopped down and caught a whiff of his musky aftershave on the evening breeze.

  “It’s just a scratch.” He gestured toward the walkway.

  “I wish you’d have someone look at it.”

  “It’s fine.” His gaze moved in sweeping arcs over the area, avoiding her concern.

  She let the subject drop, and before they could reach the entrance, Kat opened the door. She was smiling as she stepped forward, but her mouth quickly formed an O of surprise. She stared at Jennie, and Jennie returned the favor, taking in Kat’s high cheekbones, glossy shoulder-length hair and bright blue eyes.

  “You’re that Jennie.” She socked Ethan’s shoulder. “You should’ve told me.”

  “Can we come in?” Ethan ignored his sister as he pushed past her.

  “Welcome, Jennie. It’s been a long time.” Kat stepped back so Jennie could enter.

  “I’m surprised you remember me.” Jennie moved into the open foyer with stairs straight ahead, a dining room on one side, and living room on the other.

  Kat closed the door. “Are you kidding? Ethan moped over you for years.”

  “Enough, Kat,” Ethan warned.

  “What? You haven’t told her, huh?”

  “Told me what?”

  “I said, enough, Kat.” Anger pierced his words.

  Jennie expected his tone to hurt Kat, but she seemed unaffected.

  “Any word on the picture I emailed earlier?” he asked, setting Jennie’s suitcase at the bottom of the stairs.

  Kat smirked. Jennie remembered how close the two of them were and how easily Kat saw right through him as she seemed to be doing now. She simply stood and watched him until he faced her again.

  “I’m not going there, Kat,” he warned. “Just tell me what you found out.”

  She didn’t speak, as if she wanted to push the subject Ethan avoided.

  “C’mon, Kat, just answer my question,” Ethan said, his tone brooking no argument. “Jennie’s had a tough day, and I need to get out of here so she can get some sleep.”

  “Fine. Narcotics confirmed the tattoo is the Sotos gang’s mark. Also, after Cole gave me Munoz’s name, I called the detective in charge of the gallery break-in and passed the information on. He’ll issue an alert for Munoz and bring him in for questioning.”

  “I don’t suppose they’ll let you be present for the questioning.” Ethan’s phone rang, interrupting the conversation. He dug it out and looked at it. “It’s Cole.” He clicked Talk.

  Jennie could hear Cole’s deep baritone rattle something off before Ethan could say anything.

  “Slow down, bro,” Ethan said and listened.

  “Can’t you just tell me what it is?” He looked at Jennie, and the darkening of his expression told her something was wrong again.

  “I’ll call you back after we see it.” He disconnected and turned to Kat. “Can we use your computer? Cole’s texting a link for an interview Madeline’s assistant did with the newspaper today. He says we need to read it.”

  “This way.” Kat headed into the dining room and through her kitchen boasting avocado-green appliances.