Page 37 of Fatal Pattern

“Humor me,” he said, opening her pantry door and glancing inside.

“You gonna check under my bed for monsters too?” She followed him down the hallway, half amused and half irritated by his thoroughness. “Maybe look in my closets for the boogeyman?”

He pushed open her bedroom door and flicked on the light. “Laugh all you want. Your stalker got close enough to lick your ear yesterday.”

“Gross.” The image hit her like ice water.

That hot breath against her ear, the knife’s edge pressing into her throat.

And then there was Forest’s death. No way that was random inmate violence. Someone had orchestrated it. Someone with enough reach to eliminate a federal witness.

Blade checked her bedroom windows, testing each lock and lifting the frames to verify they held. She trailed behind him to the guest room, then the hall bathroom.

Thankfully her cleaning lady had come two days ago. Otherwise, he’d be cataloging dust bunnies along with potential entry points.

“All clear,” he said, returning to the living room. “Keep your doors locked. Call me if anything feels off.”

As he headed for the front door, she caught his arm. “Hey, tough guy. You better watch your six too, all right? Whoever wanted Forest silenced might not appreciate you poking around their business.”

He paused, his blue eyes searching her face. Something shifted in his expression. Recognition of the danger they’d stumbled into, acknowledgment that this case had grown beyond a simple homicide investigation.

He nodded once. “I will.”

Then he jogged to his car and started the engine before he’d fully closed the door. Tori watched his taillights disappear around the corner before she locked the dead bolt and engaged the security chain.

The house felt too quiet.

She scrolled through her contacts and tapped Luna’s name while heading to the master bathroom.

The phone rang twice before Luna answered. “Hey! How’d it go today?”

“Eh. Complicated.” Tori squeezed toothpaste onto her brush and wedged the phone between her shoulder and ear. “I heard about Forest. What’s it mean for you guys?”

“We’re all at the house again. Protective custody. Marshals posted outside, the whole nine yards.” Luna sounded almost cheerful about it.

“Ay, that’s heavy,” she said around her toothbrush. “How are you holding up?”

“Trinity’s handling it better this time. Summer’s treating it like an extended sleepover. Corbin’s like a dad on vacation forcing us to play cards. I almost lost my mind over Phase 10 earlier.”

The casual tone didn’t fool Tori. Luna was scared. They all were.

She spat minty foam into the sink and rinsed. “What about the gym? The Warrior kids?”

“House parents are still rotating shifts. And Harlee took leave from the ATF to run things. She’s handling security and keeping the Warrior program running.”

Tori stripped off her work clothes and pulled on running shorts and a sports bra. Tomorrow’s three-mile loop would be easier if she could crawl out of bed dressed.

“Harlee took leave?” A federal agent stepping away from her career to babysit teenagers. The scope of this threat crystallized cold and sharp as broken glass.

“Temporary reassignment, she calls it. But yeah.” Luna’s exhale crackled through the speaker. “Listen, I should go. Trinity’s making her famous burnt grilled cheese, and if I don’t supervise, we’ll be eating charcoal.”

“Give everyone my love.”

“Will do. And Tori? Be careful, okay?”

The line went dead. Tori set the phone on her dresser and surveyed her reflection. Everyone else was tucked safely behind federal protection or armed security. Luna had Corbin, Trinity, and Summer. Blade had Kiara. Even the Warrior kids had their house parents and Harlee standing guard.

The silence pressed against her eardrums. She’d always prided herself on independence, on not needing anyone’s protection or comfort. But watching Luna build her found family, seeing Blade’s face soften when he mentioned Kiara . . . Maybe she’d been lying to herself about what she wanted.