Page 26 of The Husband's Secret
“Okay.” She walked out into the small backyard of her home, rubbed at her crossed arms as if she were cold. “I could make sandwiches or call for something to be delivered.”
“Whatever you decide works for me.” He locked the door they had exited. “I’ll have another look around outside before coming in.”
They had done this already, but like the garage and house, a second look never hurt. Obviously, it could save a life.
“Sure.” She faked a smile and then headed into the house.
Ben called Victoria and provided an update.
“This is most unsettling,” Victoria agreed. “It’s the things you don’t see coming that pose the highest risk.”
Ben considered what he wanted to say next. His gaze lingered on the kitchen window in hopes of getting a glimpse of Brenda. This situation was bent in a direction that felt wrong to him. Off somehow. He simply hadn’t figured out what that oddity was. But it was there…waiting for him to grab hold of it.
“I’m not convinced the threats so far have been as deadly as I would expect from the cartel.” He was familiar with the history of the one with whom Devers had gotten involved. They weren’t known for going soft on a target—even an innocent target. “There’s either something else going on here or they have an ace in the hole we don’t know about yet.”
“We’ll keep pressing forward with our research on this end,” Victoria assured him. “Stay sharp, Ben. Like you, I’m concerned this is just the prelude to something far more dangerous.”
Ben ended the call and started his search of the small plot of grass and shrubs around the Devers home. He wasn’t sure he would find anything, but he could use the time to get his thoughts straight. This was something else he had started to recognize.
Most assigned to monitor the activities of another would confess to a growing bond—even if only forming on the part of the observer. But that bond he felt with Brenda was growing far too quickly for comfort.
It was a fine and dangerous line playing the part of protector.
Dangerous for her safety, without doubt, and dangerous to him in ways he hadn’t expected.
Chapter Ten
4:30 p.m.
Brenda had called Janey. It had taken every ounce of strength she possessed not to collapse into tears just listening to her daughter’s sweet voice. She hadn’t been able to tell her anything about what happened, but she had spoken to Mallory afterward and explained the horrifying events to her. Brenda was so very grateful that Janey was away from this nightmare. She wasn’t sure her heart could take having her daughter caught in the middle of this.
The idea that Scott didn’t seem to care infuriated her. If he cared, he would be here helping to set this business to rights.
Focus on the task at hand.
She had gone through her bathroom already. Now she considered her bedroom—the one she had once shared with Scott. If he were going to hide something in her home, the home they had once shared, where would he put it?
She gazed up at the ceiling. The light fixture was the fan type with blades and lights surrounding the decorative metal housing that held the motor. Ben had checked the blades, top and bottom, as well as the exterior of the body, just as the police had. Taking the metal base apart might be necessary if they found nothing anywhere else in the house. Then again, the idea probably wasn’t even reasonable since Scott hadn’t been particularly handy with repairing or installing items around the house. He always called someone. She couldn’t see himdisassembling a ceiling fan and reinstalling it just to hide something.
She doubted he would have a clue where or how to begin.
Moving on, she once again checked behind every piece of furniture. Inside drawers as well as beneath the bottoms. She picked through socks and underthings and the array of items in each drawer. In the pockets of jackets and slacks that hung in her closet. Underneath the mattress and the bed linens. Inside the pillow covers. She checked behind hanging photos. Inside the framed ones lining the top of her dresser.
There just was nothing to find.
Frustration twisted through her. What the hell had Scott been thinking to take something from the cartel and believe he could get away with it? Had he taken whatever they wanted back for the FBI? She found it strange that Agent Cummings hadn’t shown up after the door was blown off her car—the driver’s-side door.
She could have been killed.
Before she could stop the memories, she had flashes of Ben wrapping his arms around her and protecting her from the fall to the unforgiving concrete floor. She shivered as much from the remembered feel of his arms around her as from the shock of the explosion. He had protected her…putting himself in the path of any potential flying debris. He had helped her through the moments that followed while she struggled to come to terms with the new level of her nightmare.
“Any luck in here?”
She jumped. Whipped around to face the door, hand on her chest.
“Sorry.” Ben held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I’ve finished up in the living room and kitchen area.”
Brenda steadied herself. Wow, he worked fast. But then, this house wasn’t filled with memories for him. Those memoriesdistracted her, filled her with emotions she couldn’t quite sort just now.
