Page 35 of Storm Warning

She wasn’t good at this relationship stuff. Riley was bound to make mistakes and alienate Andre. How could she hope to build something permanent with him when she made mistakes that others would know not to make? “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m no good at relationships.” Probably came from not having one of this variety.

“Join the party, babe.” Andre cupped her cheek with his palm. “I don’t know what I’m doing, either. We’ll learn together.”

“Are you mad at me now?”

“Again, I’m disappointed, not angry.”

Riley flinched.

“Whatever happened in your past, Riley, I’m in your corner. Every time for every fight. Let me help if I can. If nothing else, lower those barriers so I can be available for you.”

He was right. She needed to give him a chance, although helping in this situation seemed impossible. How could anyone help with things buried in the past? “What I told Marcus was true. A lot of what happened to Christopher I understand from firsthand experience.”

The muscles in his jaw hardened. “You were abused as a kid?”

She nodded.

“Is the perp in jail?”

“They are.”

“More than one.”

Another nod. Man, she hated this.

“Did you get counseling?”

“Some.” Not enough. She never went back after the first session. Pretty sad she felt unsafe even in the counselor’s office.

“Did you feel comfortable with Marcus? If you didn’t, Fortress has several counselors in its stable. If you go through them all and still don’t find one who can help, we’ll go to an outside network and search for more.”

She stopped him with fingers pressed gently against his lips. “I like him, Andre. I don’t need to look for another counselor.”

“Good. How can I help?”

“You already have by sitting with me while I dumped a bunch of jumbled thoughts on Marcus. I’m still concerned about Christopher.”

“So am I. Trust Brent to sort this out and to protect Chris while he digs through the muck to find the truth.” He brushedher mouth with his. “Let’s go home. We’ll start fresh once we’re on our own turf.”

But would that be soon enough to protect the boy?

CHAPTER SIX

ANDRE OPENED RILEY’Sfront door and froze. Oh, man. This wasn’t good. He should have expected something like this when they returned home, but why hadn’t Fortress received a notification?

Riley frowned. “What’s wrong?”

How did he tell Riley that her home had been trashed while she was on a mission to rescue a kid from terrorists? “Look for yourself.” He stepped aside.

She gasped. “What on earth? Look at this mess!”

“I assume you didn’t leave your house in this state.”

“No, I didn’t.” Her hands fisted. “Fortress didn’t notify me of a breach in my security. Why didn’t they?”

“Maybe because we were on a mission, and they didn’t want to distract you.”

“Perhaps. They could have called me when we were in Bayside to deliver the news.” She motioned to the disaster zone that was her living room. “This is not a pleasant welcome home. In fact, this gives me the creeps.”