Page 9 of In Shining Armor

Behind Dieter, Wulfram asked, “How did you open that?”

“Safecracking is a required class at Mercenary University,” Dieter snarled. He cleared his throat. “I took a double-major in safecracking and hostage rescue.”

Wulfram nodded, but he wouldn’t be able to laugh at the joke, not with his sister missing and Dieter wouldn’t even reassure him that she might be alive. Dieter felt even more like an asshole.

Wulf asked, “Did you find anything?”

He scowled. “Not a damned thing. Let’s see what else is here.”

They searched the suite, and Dieter found Flicka’s package of birth control pills in the bathroom. He slipped the blister pack up his sleeve.

One of the lamps in the bedroom was cracked, though it had been returned to the bedside table. There was no other sign that a rape had occurred in this bedroom, just hours before.

Dieter’s molars ground together, and his pulse thudded in his ears. He turned away and poked through a dresser drawer filled with Flicka’s clothes, lest Wulf see the rage boiling in his eyes and blood.

He growled to clear his tight throat again. “There’s no blood. There are signs of a struggle but not violence.”

Wulfram nodded, but his blue eyes were blank. “Strangulation would not produce blood evidence.”

Dieter found a bullet hole in the living room plaster wall above the couch. He poked his finger in it and found cool metal inside.

“Bullet,” he said to Wulfram and examined his fingertip. “Smells like gunpowder. No flecks of blood. He missed.”

“He missed that shot,” Wulfram said.

“The carpet is light blue. We would be able to see the blood if Pierre cut himself shaving.”

Wulfram nodded, but he continued to stare at his feet.

After fifteen minutes of supposed searching, the urge to return to Flicka—to stand over her and guard her—was too much to ignore.

Dieter said, “I don’t think there’s anything here. I’m going to check the surveillance footage and interrogate the concierge staff.” He rounded on Wulfram. “Listen, this looks like a domestic situation, but it might not be. I want you on your toes, all the time. If they came after Flicka this time, they might come after you or Rae next.”

Wulfram didn’t move as he listened. Even his bright blue eyes didn’t waver at the news that his pregnant wife might be in danger.

Dieter paused, gathering his thoughts. “There’s always a chance this was an inside job. Rogue Security and theWelfenlegionhave been rotating coverage on Flicka. I need you to suspecteveryone,absolutelyeveryonearound you, if we’re going to keep you and Rae safe.”

“Can I trust you?” Wulf asked. It felt like an attempt at humor, but his eyes were too flat for laughter.

“You’ve never been able to trust me,Durchlaucht.We established that years ago,” Dieter told him.

Wulfram huffed, an abortive attempt at a laugh when he was being told that the people he trusted most in the world might kill him or the love of his life. “I’ll keep watch.”

“Keep a weapon by your bed at night. Put one on Rae’s side of the bed, too. Lock your bedroom door, or keep them outside of your suite entirely. Don’t let them separate you. Don’t trust any one of them, not an inch.”

Wulf nodded. “I wish I could have you there, but I need you to find her.”

“I’ll tell you as soon as I know anything,” Dieter lied.