toward the noise, past the front door and around to the side patio. The patio door stood wide open, and sounds of a struggle came from inside. Aaron plunged into the house, following the clamor. Only a few lights were on, but there was no missing the figure cloaked in white outside one of the bedroom doors. The ski-masked intruder was slamming his shoulder against the door in an effort to get inside, while Cally shouted at him from within the room.
Aaron dove at the man, tackling him at the waist. They fell against the hardwood floor, the impact jarring Aaron’s knees and lower back. He tried to grab for the man’s arms, intending to pin them back, but the angle at which they’d both fallen left the intruder’s legs and feet too close to Aaron’s face.
The goon slammed his heel into Aaron’s jaw. Pain ratcheted through Aaron’s entire head, momentarily blinding him. A second hit clipped the side of his forehead, and he felt the man slip from his grasp. He tried to regain focus as the assailant scrambled across the floor, shoved past him and Cally—who’d exited the bedroom and was trying to take a swing at the intruder with a side table lamp—and rushed back out into the cover of night.
Aaron rose, took two steps and stumbled.
“Aaron!” Cally bounded over and caught him by the shoulders before he toppled over. “Should I call an ambulance?”
“No, no.” He tried to wave her off. The sparks in his vision were starting to clear, but he needed to call Leo right away and tell his brother which direction he planned to search for the home invader. “I need...I need to call...”
“You’re not calling anyone. I’ll do it.”
Aaron pressed his back against the wall and slid to the floor. “Thirty seconds and I’ll be on my feet again. That guy’s kick packed a wallop. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Cally exhaled sharply. “I wasn’t expecting someone to break into the house after all those promises everyone made to me about how safe this area is. I’d like to say there’s a first time for everything, but I’ve had quite enough of that today, thank you.”
How was everything going so wrong, so fast? He took several deep breaths, then pushed into the wall to stand again. His head still spun but he felt well enough to go out to the patrol car and call for backup. “Wait right here while I call this in. Lock the door when I step outside, and don’t open it again until I knock. I’ll go to the front door so you can look outside and see that I’m there.”
He heard the click of the patio door’s lock behind him as he left the house. It took only a few moments to call in the incident, and Aaron was still shaking his head in disbelief as Cally let him back indoors.
“I don’t know what to say. Usually this area is incredibly safe. Our biggest issue for the past decade has been drug use and illegal weapons, save one incident earlier this year that had nothing to do with our town. It was an outside company’s interference, and—you know what, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re a guest in Fort Mason and we’ve done nothing but let you down at every turn, and you haven’t even been here a full day. Are you all right? Did the intruder harm you in any way?”
His cheeks warmed at the look she gave him, a mixture of gratitude and skepticism. And here he thought he was too old to be embarrassed, but the events of the day so far made him, the town and by extension the entire province, look bad.
That potential transfer just keeps getting more and more unlikely... If she complained and the reasoning was found valid, he was certain there’d be an investigation into his ability to run the detachment, not to mention a possible demotion. It also didn’t help that he felt a certain personal responsibility to ensure that she not only had a good stay, but an excellent one. It would make him happy to see her happy.
Because it was his job. No other reason.
She was attractive, yes, but she was also a perfect stranger.
Still, his heart hitched a little when a crooked half smile appeared on her face. Why was she looking at him like that?
“Your shoulder,” she said, pointing to his arm. “You’ve got something hooked over your shoulder.”
It took longer than it should have for her words to register, thanks to the hit to his head—no other reason, he continued to rationalize—but when he patted his shoulder, he remembered.
“Yes! That’s why I was on my way over here so quickly.” He pulled the strap of her purse over his head. “It was in my brother’s car, between the front seats. Good thing I found it easily, or else I wouldn’t have arrived as quickly as I did.”
She took the purse and disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. Aaron checked and double-checked all the locks while he waited for her return. When she rejoined him, he couldn’t help but note the weariness in her expression.
“Thank you,” she said. “I guess it was silly of me to think I could escape drama, regardless of where I go. I feel like it’s following me. Not that being attacked in an airport and a home invasion are the same thing, but here we are and it’s kind of feeling that way. Everything back home is so harried, everyone has things to say even when they should probably keep their mouths shut—” She paused with her mouth open, then flicked her gaze up to meet Aaron’s with a look of mild horror. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to unload—”
“It’s quite all right. I’ve checked all your locks and they’re in good order. I wish I could explain why someone felt comfortable enough to waltz into this place unannounced, but I’m coming up short. My first thought was the person might be a squatter, but if that were the case, why not say something? And surely I’d have noticed some trash or disturbed blankets during my walk-through when we first arrived. I even checked the basement and didn’t notice anything unusual.
“It’s possible he was a standard home invader, but there aren’t a lot of people in this town right now. We’re going to notice anyone new, and if it was a local, well...my team should have this solved in due course. Rest assured that either myself or another officer will be going door-to-door first thing tomorrow morning and asking if residents have observed anything out of the norm or seen any newcomers lately. Leo is planning to delay his trip to Fort St. Jacob by a few days until it’s dealt with.”
She sighed and sank into the couch, resting her hands between her knees. “Thank you, but he doesn’t need to do that. I appreciate the attentiveness, though. I keep trying to think of a reason why someone would want to harm me, but I simply can’t imagine one. And like I said before, very few people know about my trip here.”
Aaron pressed his lips together to think for a moment. “Would any of those people who do know be under the impression that they could get to the Amaran royal family through you? Either via abduction or otherwise?”
She laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “They’d have to be well versed in Amar’s historical lineage, or have taken a close look at my passport. I mean, I suppose I’m in all the family tree information online, but someone would have to go looking for it. And to be quite honest, the connection is distant enough that I haven’t spoken to those relatives for years.” She paused, her voice growing soft as her gaze dropped to the floor. “Actually, that’s not quite true. The whole extended family came to Esai’s funeral, but it wasn’t exactly the grand catching-up affair that would prompt someone to think there’s enough of a relationship to matter. It was more a courtesy than anything. They’re not bad people—please don’t take it that way. The family is just very large, and that means the more distantly related, the more like strangers they are
