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Footsteps thudded on the floor in her front foyer and got louder as he climbed the stairs, then fell away and strengthened again.
“Chase?”
“Just checking the place.”
A few moments later, several sharp knocks shook her bedroom door, and she startled.
“Sage?”
“Hang on.” She jumped out of bed, slipped into her robe and opened the door.
Chase stood there in tracksuit pants and a T-shirt. She hadn’t seen him in casual gear in years, since they’d lived at home with their parents. “You okay?”
Unbidden tears trickled down her face, and she threw her arms around him. “I am now.”
“The front door was open. Are you sure you locked it last night?” He held her in a soothing embrace, his tone calm, yet tinged with worry.
“Yes. I double-checked before I went to bed. I think whoever broke in entered somewhere else and left through the front.”
“The laundry. Looks like they jimmied the window open and lifted off the fly screen.”
“Oh.” Any of the three people she’d tentatively considered could fit through there.
“Have you reported it to the police?”
“Not yet.”
Chase pulled away and looked her in the eye. “You should.”
“First I need to check if the intruder took anything. I don’t think they did. They weren’t here long enough. And I wasn’t hurt, so will the cops even believe me? They don’t have the resources to pursue a non-crime.”
“Breaking and entering is still a crime, whether things are stolen or someone is hurt or not, they should investigate.”
“True, but I doubt it’ll rate too highly on their list of priorities.”
“So, what then? You’re pretty shaken up. You shouldn’t be here alone, at least for the next few days.”
“You could stay with me. It’d be like old times. Wrestling over the remote, arguing about what to eat for dinner.”
Chase offered her a warm yet concerned smile. “Normally I would, but I’m going interstate today for a conference.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want me to cancel?”
She adamantly shook her head. “No. No way. I’m a grown woman. I can sort something out.” Her tormentor could fuck up her plans while she researched who they were, what they wanted, but she refused to let them fuck up anyone else’s.
Her brother went all quiet and contemplative for a few seconds, then met her gaze with a broad, I-got-it smile. “I know. I’ll ask Alex to come sister-sit.”
Sage stumbled back and Chase grabbed her arm to steady her. “No.”
“Yes. Hear me out.”
She huffed and shook her head, rejecting his suggestion straight up, determined to shut it down. Visiting Alexander was one thing. She could control when and for how long they were together. However, him in her personal space for hours at a time, days? No. Just no.
“Recruiting him makes perfect sense. He’ll feel helpful, useful, not a blight on society, like he’s contributing in a positive way again.” Chase used his calm, rational solicitor voice—the one that won him cases but wouldn’t win her over.
“No.”
