Page 37 of Storm Warning

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, it does. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be holding back.”

She scowled. “The information doesn’t matter to anyone but me.”

“Although I don’t know if it matters or not, I need to see all the pieces of the puzzle to put a complete picture together.”

“I’m telling you this has nothing to do with the break-in.”

“Since you don’t know that for sure, let’s err on the side of caution, all right? You don’t have to give me details. A broad outline will do for now. I promise whatever you tell me stays with me unless it applies to your kidnapping.”

Riley closed her eyes for a moment, then turned away from him, arms hugging her middle tighter than before.

What on earth was so upsetting that Riley didn’t even want to speak of it to him? Of all people, she shouldn’t be afraid to speak the truth to him. Andre was in her corner and always would be.

“I was doing some private research.” She swung around, her glare fierce. “It wasn’t anything illegal, just something that mattered to me, no one else.”

That wasn’t enough information. He needed more. “What kind of research? I need more information.”

“Into my past, all right? Like I said, it didn’t matter to anyone else but me.”

Huh. Not what he’d expected. Why did she need to look into her past? Andre thought about what he knew of Riley’s background and realized he knew absolutely nothing. She had shared nothing with him or his teammates.

He frowned. Did the rest of Artemis know her history? Those women were as close as family. If anyone knew, they would. Well, they would along with Maddox and Zane. Fortress ran deep background checks on potential employees before it offered an employment interview.

The echo of a car door closing brought Andre’s attention to the front of the house. He palmed his weapon and crossed to thelarge picture window and stood to the side. He peered carefully outside to see who had arrived. Andre relaxed some of his vigilance. “It’s Maddox.” He motioned to his boss to come inside.

The Fortress CEO stepped over the threshold and glanced around. He whistled. “Do all the rooms look like this?”

“Unfortunately.” Riley folded her arms across her chest, scowling as she glanced around. “So far, it looks as though they only took my computers.”

Brent’s eyebrows shot up. “Computers? As in plural?”

“I had four.”

“All of them hooked up and working?”

She blinked. “Of course. What’s the point of having a computer if it doesn’t work?”

“What about your Fortress laptop?”

“In my Go bag.” She pointed to the duffel bag by the door. “I always have it with me.”

“You’re sure nothing else is missing?”

“We were about to go through the house more carefully, sir.” Andre wrapped his arm around Riley’s shoulders and hugged her to his side.

Brent turned to Riley. “What about the alarm system? Are you sure you set it before you joined your team at the airport?”

“Positive, sir. I’m obsessive about security.”

A smile curved his lips. “I think all of us are. Have you seen signs someone is looking for you or tracking your movements?”

“Not that I’m aware of, sir. Although I haven’t asked Zane specifically about that, he would have told me if one of his bots caught a search.”

“None of your bots caught an inquiry?”

“No, sir.”