Relief shook through her, and she trembled against him. “God, you scared me, going in there alone. Why did you do that?”
“Don’t worry, Amanda, I already berated him,” Gabe said, from the kitchen doorway.
Dante muttered an oath. “I did it because I had hoped to catch the person responsible. No one messes with you, Amanda. No one,” he said fiercely, tightening his hold. “I need you safe too.”
She nodded and burrowed into him again, taking a few minutes to regain her equilibrium to face whatever it was they weren’t telling her.
With Dante safe at her side, she could face anything.
But her insides were frozen.
Meeting Lyndsey’s gaze, Amanda held out her hand, and her friend shoved the glass back into it. This time, Amanda took a sip. The alcohol was smooth as it went down her throat, and after a few more sips, she could feel the glacier inside her starting to melt.
She set the half-empty glass down and turned to face the sheriff. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Your house was broken into,” Gabe replied.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Kind of assumed that since Dante said the front door was wide open.”
Dante set a hand on her back, and she could feel his heat, his strength in that simple touch.
“I’m sorry, Amanda, but whoever did it left a mess.” Gabe shook his head. “I’m going to need you to come with me to see if anything was taken.”
A mess?
She inhaled and her breath caught in her tight chest. She coughed and muttered, “Not again,” as visions of her London apartment flashed through her head.
“What?” both men asked at the same time.
Calling herself all kinds of an idiot, she opened her mouth when a knock sounded on the door.
Amanda gasped.
“It’s okay. It’s just Carter,” Dante said, softly. “I asked him to come over and check out my security feed. Maybe it caught something.”
Good.
She nodded. “Sorry. I’m a bit jittery.” Amanda reached for the whiskey and took another two sips, then a thought occurred. “Why don’t you just check it yourself?”
He turned her to face him and set his hands on her shoulders. “Because I’m going with you.”
His gaze was warm and determined, and she felt better just by staring into his eyes.
“Thank you.” She mustered a smile, then frowned. “But what about Noah?”
Carter entered the kitchen with a laptop. “I’ll be here.”
“Me, too,” Lyndsey said. “We have him covered.”
“Okay, then, let’s go,” Gabe said, motioning with his hand toward the front door. “My team is still in there photographing but some rooms are done.”
Rooms?
Her stomach clenched. How bad was it? Had they trashed the whole house?
“Ready?” Dante asked.
When she nodded, he grabbed her hand, entwined their fingers, and together they followed Gabe outside.
