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“All’s quiet, but Isobel hasn’t made her presence known. Her vehicle’s here. She came ahead to secure the location. Hope’s in the vehicle with me, but I need to check it out.”

“You check the camera feed?”

“Yeah. It just shows her doing her perimeter sweep, but nothing about her actions indicates she suspected trouble. She steps off camera and never steps back in the frame.”

“Just got responses to the alert. Wings and Zane are en route. Zane has Bridget with him. Wings is five minutes out. Zane is seven. Leave me on the phone with Hope while you check it out.”

“Copy that.”

He squeezed Hope’s hand before releasing it. “Stay here. Lock the doors behind me. Sam will keep you company. You’re safe as long as you stay here.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

Brick killed the headlights but left the SUV’s engine running. He stepped from the vehicle and waited until he heard the click of the locks before he moved toward the house, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He circled Isobel’s vehicle. The doors were secured, and it seemed intact. He moved to the front door of Hope’s home, and again, there was nothing suspicious. What the hell happened here?

With one glance back at his SUV to make sure Hope was still safe inside, he then moved toward the back. Hope had a small backyard that she had turned into a relaxation spot with comfortable outdoor seating and a firepit. A firepit that hadn’t been lit all day but now had dying embers with thin wisps of smoke drifting upward, blending into the night enough to make him step closer to see it. If he saw it, Isobel definitely had, so why hadn’t she seemed more defensive on camera as she continued her sweep?

The scream was sharp, splitting the stillness of the night like a knife slicing a man’s artery. It rose above the faint barking of a dog and the chirping of crickets that started when the sun went down. The scream was feminine and froze Brick’s blood. His heart stopped, and his body reacted on instinct.

His hand reaching for his gun in a move smooth enough to be second nature, he took off at a dead run, praying he wasn’t too late.

Chapter Nineteen

“Idon’t know how you guys do this.”

Hope voiced the thought not really expecting a reply from Sam. It was more to fill the silence in the SUV with something other than the crickets chirping. Brick’s reaction had put her on edge, and once he stepped out of sight behind her house, her apprehension took on a life of its own. She worried for him, for Isobel and for herself.

“We’re trained for this. We forget sometimes that our clients and our loved ones aren’t.” Sam’s voice was reassuring, and she was grateful to have him there with her, even if it was only by phone.

“You say that like someone who leaves loved ones at home.”

“You could say that. I have a son, Aidan. He’s five.”

“That’s right. Brick asked about him and…Chloe? Is that right? Is she your wife?”

“She’s a friend who watches after Aidan for me. I’ve never been married.”

“Me either. My…”

Movement among the shrubs separating her property from her neighbors’ stopped Hope’s train of thought. Her breath caught on a gasp.

“Hope? Are you okay? What’s happening?”

“I don’t…” A shadowy figure emerged stumbling, then falling, then crawling closer to the SUV before attempting to stand. Hope’s jaw dropped when the figure fell off once more, and she realized who it was.

“Oh, God! Sam! It’s Isobel. She’s hurt.”

She flung open the door, ignoring Sam’s warning cries for her to stay put. She rushed to Isobel’s side just as the investigator raised a hand to the back of her head. Hope dropped to her knees and lightly touched the spot. When she withdrew her hand, a wet, sticky substance coated her fingers.

“Isobel? It’s me. Hope. Can you stand? Let me help you to the SUV.”

She braced her hands against the concrete drive and pushed up to balance on her toes. Her arms went to grasp Isobel under her armpits when two strong arms caught her around her biceps.

“What…” Her words caught in her throat as she was hauled to a standing position. Warm breath stirred the hair at her temple.

“We’re finally together.”

The voice was different, strange but familiar at the same time, but she didn’t have to recognize it to know it washim.She’d played right into her stalker’s hands, and he started to drag her into the shrubs and trees, away from any witnesses.