Page 43 of Duty Unbound

Samples. Jesus fucking Christ.

Great. Lawn sanitation just got added to the damned security budget.

I leaned in closer. “You never left anything else? Flowers, maybe?”

Roger’s face lit up with interest. “Does Nova want flowers? I can get her flowers. What kind?”

Not the answer I wanted. If this guy was our flower-leaving intruder, he’d have reacted differently—with jealousy or, at least, recognition. His curiosity seemed genuine. Which meant he might be a creep, but probably not our death-threat stalker.

“Jace is on his way,” Logan informed me, checking his phone. “Dallas PD has been notified too.”

I nodded, turning my attention back to Roger. “We’ll need to check your phone.”

His eyes widened. “No, you can’t?—”

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” I cut him off. “The easy way is you give us your passcode. The hard way is wetell the police exactly how many times you’ve trespassed and what we found in your pockets.”

Roger’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Before he could answer, Jace jogged up, slightly out of breath. “Got here as fast as I could.”

“We need to check this fucker’s phone,” I said. “He’s not being cooperative with the passcode.”

Jace’s mouth curved into a small, dangerous smile. “Not a problem.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a small device. “Phone?”

Logan handed him Roger’s phone. Jace connected it to his device with a cable, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

“What are you doing?” Roger demanded, struggling against his restraints.

“Insurance,” I replied coolly. “In case you’ve been taking pictures you shouldn’t be taking. In case you decide you want to put those on the internet.”

In case I’m wrong and you are a fucking psycho rather than just a pervert.

Jace worked silently for several minutes, eyes fixed on his screen. Finally, he unplugged the device. “Got it. I’ll analyze this back at the command center.”

The distant wail of police sirens reached us, growing steadily louder. Roger’s face crumpled as he realized the severity of his situation.

“I didn’t hurt anyone,” he whimpered. “I just wanted to be close to Nova. I love her.”

“You can explain that to the police,” I said, straightening up as the flashing lights became visible through the trees.

Two patrol cars pulled up to the security gate. I nodded to Logan. “Let them in. I’ll wait here with our friend.”

As Logan jogged toward the gate, I kept my eyes on Roger. He’d gone quiet, staring at the ground with an expression ofdefeat. Pathetic. Men like him never seemed to understand the line between admiration and violation.

The gate swung open, and the patrol cars rolled onto the property. Among the officers stepping out, I recognized the salt-and-pepper hair of Detective Corey Hollis. Good. Having someone familiar with the case would make this easier.

“Got your late-night visitor, I see,” Hollis said as he approached, nodding to Roger.

“Roger Harrison,” I confirmed. “Caught him prowling around Nova’s balcony.”

Hollis crouched down to Roger’s level. “Mr. Harrison. We’ve had reports about you before, haven’t we?”

Roger didn’t answer, just kept staring at the ground.

“Found these in his pocket,” I said, handing over the socks. “Along with this.” I passed him the bottle of Jergens.

Hollis grimaced. “Nasty piece of work, aren’t you, Roger?” He stood up, gesturing to the uniforms. “Get him in the car. We’ll sort this out at the station.”

As the officers hauled Roger to his feet, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. Mel was walking across the lawn toward us, her arms wrapped around herself against the night chill. Even in the dim light, I could see the tension in her shoulders, the worry etched into her features.