Devil in the Details

by Morgan James

  The second my lips brushed his, an iron band came around my back, holding me close. His free hand cupped the back of my head, and his mouth pressed hard against mine. He lifted his head with a soft growl. “One more for the road.”

  He swept down, consuming me, pushing all thought from my head. I knew it was his way of offering reassurance, putting me at ease, taking my mind off the situation at hand. He grounded me, made me feel safe and protected—and I appreciated it more than I could say.

  Breaking away, breathing hard, I clutched at his biceps. “Thank you. For everything.”

  He gentled his hold, allowing me to peel myself from his arms. Still lightheaded from that one last kiss, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. I tossed one more glance over my shoulder before it shut behind me and found Xander’s intense gaze fixed on me. It filled me with warmth and something more—something I had no business entertaining. The feelings he instilled in me weren’t safe. He’d been back in my life barely more than a week, yet he’d destroyed nearly every defense I’d put in place after Shawn left me. I couldn’t let myself fall for him—because he would consume me entirely, heart and soul. And once I gave him my heart, I knew I’d never get it back.

  Nerves twisted my stomach into knots as I sped toward the shop, and blue lights pierced the gray light of dawn up ahead. By the time I pulled to a stop at the curb, I could tell it was more than a simple malfunction of the alarm. Three cruisers sat outside the shop, and the front door stood wide open. I couldn’t tell if they’d found it that way, or if they’d left it open for ease as they made multiple trips in and out.

  I made a beeline toward one of the officers standing out front and introduced myself. I followed him into the salon, my heart sinking at the destruction that greeted me. Dresses had been ripped from the racks and strewn about the floor. Accessories from the glass cases littered the carpet, and every shelf was completely bare, their contents swept onto the floor.

  One of the officers guided me through the salon. “Are you able to tell if anything is missing?”

  They had already begun to fingerprint the doorknobs and several other surfaces, the black dust stark in contrast to the myriad of white gowns littering the floor.

  Trying not to touch anything, I examined the contents of the empty glass cases and jewelry shelves that now littered the floor. With a defeated shrug, I turned the officer. “It’s hard to say, but I don’t think we’re missing anything. I would have to do a full inventory to check though.”

  He nodded. “I was afraid that would be the case.” He popped his hands on his hips and looked around. “On the bright side, if there is one, it doesn’t look like anything was truly destroyed.”

  As I gazed around the room, I realized he was right. Someone had made a hell of a mess, but they hadn’t done a whole lot of damage. Thank God for that. I turned back to the officer. “What now?”

  “We’ll check with the surrounding businesses to see if any have security footage, but getting warrants for those will take some time, if they’ll even approve it. We’ll analyze the prints we picked up here to see if we can find a match. If nothing comes up...” He offered an apologetic shrug, and I knew without asking what he meant. If the perp wasn’t in their system, and with no witnesses, they had nothing.

  He took my fingerprints in order to eliminate them from the dozens they’d collected from the doorknobs and other surfaces, then stowed them in an evidence bag.

  Once that was all taken care of, I turned back to him. “When will we be able to get back in here?”

  “We’re wrapping up right now. Maybe half an hour or so.”

  I fired off text messages to my employees, letting them know that the salon would be closed today. I was drained mentally and physically and had no interest sticking around for several more hours to clean. Instead, I asked the girls to meet at the shop an hour early tomorrow to get everything back in order. I called Brenda and asked her to reach out to the clients we had on the calendar today and reschedule them.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and stood off to the side, watching in despair. The shop was my baby. Who would do something like this? Immediately, Caryn Anderson’s face came to mind. I shook it off. She was a royal bitch, but I doubted she would be caught breaking and entering.

  As the officers completed their work, they began to pack their things away and file out the front door. Exhausted, I closed and locked it behind them. Once they were gone, I surveyed the mess before me with a grimace. Though I was dead tired, I hated to leave thousands of dollars worth of material just lying on the floor. Scooping a handful of dresses up, I flung them over my forearm and carted them off to the back room. Once everything else was cleaned up, I would have Gwen check the dresses and see if any were salvageable. Hopefully, whoever had broken in wouldn’t have had much time to do a whole lot of damage. It seemed that whoever was in here had just pulled them off the hangers and thrown them on the floor. I hoped that was the case—it would be much easier to fix a few beads than have to damage out several dozen dresses.

  I picked up the jewelry scattered on the floor and spent a good portion of time untangling the strands from each necklace before setting them aside to be checked for quality. Tears burned the back of my eyelids, and now that I was alone, I let them fall freely. I allowed myself only a couple moments of pity. I needed to get back home and take Alexia off Xander’s hands. Almost as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I heard the soft rumble of an engine pull up outside then cut off. Craning my neck to look out the front window, I saw a familiar truck sitting at the curb.

  I watched in fascination and relief as Xander climbed out of the driver seat, then opened the rear door of the cab. My heart jumped into my throat, and I burst out the front door and down the steps to meet him. I reached the truck just as Xander extracted Alexia from a bright pink car seat. It looked completely out of place in the huge truck, and I blinked at the sight.

  “When did you get a car seat?”

  A small smile tipped up the corner of his lips. “I called in a favor. Took me damn near half an hour to get the damn thing installed.” His face contorted into a grimace. “Might not be able to get it out ever again.”

  I let out a laugh and took Alexia from Xander as she stretched her arms out for me. I cuddled her close, burying my nose in her fine blonde hair, soaking up her sweet scent. God, what was it about babies that smelled so good? It was like they were so clean, so pure that they took all the bad away. Holding her in my arms, Xander at my side, I felt the tension begin to leave my body.

  Xander turned to me, his voice quiet. “How did everything go?”

  Blowing out a sigh, I gave him a brief rundown of the past several hours. “They lifted some fingerprints and poked around a little bit, but I don’t think they have anything concrete.” I shrugged. He nodded but didn’t say much as he reached into the cab for something.

  I glanced up at him. “Why are you here?”

  He paused his rustling around in the back of the truck and met my gaze. “Gonna do some work here, and I thought you’d like to see Alexia for a bit.”

  Immediately on guard, I examined him warily. “What do you mean, ‘do some work?’”

  My grip tightened on Alexia, and she squirmed in my arms, reaching for Xander. I reluctantly handed her back to him and watched as she snuggled against his broad shoulder. The sight caused a momentary pang in my heart, and I rubbed the heel of my hand over my chest.

  Xander slammed the cab door and gestured with his chin to the small silver sedan that slowed to a stop behind his truck. A pretty, petite brunette climbed out of the driver seat, while a hulking giant of a man unfolded from the passenger side. It was almost comical to watch, and I couldn’t help but smile. The man rounded the car and slipped an arm around the brunette’s shoulders as they made their way toward us.

  With Alexia balanced on one hip, Xander gestured toward the couple with his free hand. “This is Blake Lawson.” The man nodded in greeting, and Xander continued. “
And this is his girlfriend, Victoria.”

  The woman held out a hand, and I slipped my palm into hers. “Nice to meet you.”

  The confusion must’ve been evident on my face, because Xander laid a hand on the back of my neck and squeezed gently. He directed his words to Blake and Victoria. “Why don’t you guys head inside, and we’ll meet you there in a second?”

  Victoria shot me another soothing smile before heading up the stairs. I watched as the man he’d called Blake placed a hand on Victoria’s lower back and held the door of the salon open so she could enter. Why were these two here? The question weighed heavily on my mind, and after a long morning, I wasn’t inclined to beat around the bush. “What’s going on?”

  Chapter Thirty

  Xander

  I watched as the weariness in her eyes turned to outright suspicion. My hand still rested on the back of her neck, and I slid my thumb along the cord of her throat. “You’ve had a rough morning. I thought I would call in some reinforcements.”

  Her head tipped to one side. “What does that mean exactly?”

  I lifted one shoulder. “They’re good people, and I would trust Blake with my life. He works for QSG also, and Victoria is a psychologist downtown.”

  Lydia gave a jerky nod, still looking unsure as hell. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight from foot to foot. With a gentle tug, I pulled her closer until she was flush against me. Her hands moved so that one rested on my chest, the other on Alexia’s back.

  For a long moment I stared down at the two of them. I had a daughter. A wife. A family. It made me more determined than ever to fix whatever had happened this morning and take the worry and tension from Lydia’s shoulders.

  “You’ve been up for hours,” I explained gently. “You have to be exhausted.” Lydia made a little face, but she didn’t disagree with me. I took that as a good sign as I continued. “Blake is going to help me set up some security cameras, and I thought Victoria could watch Alexia for a while. Maybe take her to the park and play for a bit, so you can go home and get some sleep.”

  Her eyes widened. “Cameras?”

  I dipped my chin in acknowledgement. “So this won’t happen again. And if it does—”

  She was already shaking her head. “Xander, I can’t afford that.”

  “Hey.” I bent my knees until I was eye level at her. “Don’t worry about it. QSG had some extras in their stock, and Con was more than happy to help.”

  I knew her security system was pretty basic, intended to go off only if someone breached the premises. But the cameras would come in handy to help identity the perpetrator if it ever happened again, which I hoped it didn’t. Still, better safe than sorry.

  She bit her lip and her gaze moved toward the salon. “I don’t know. I mean, Alexia doesn’t know Victoria, and—”

  “Liddy.” I captured her gaze again. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”

  Her head tipped up, those pretty gray eyes staring into mine. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.” I dipped my head and brushed my lips across hers. “I can see how exhausted you are. Let us take care of the baby for a few hours, then I’ll bring her home for naptime once we’re done here.”

  Lydia practically melted against me, burying her head against my chest. “Thank you.”

  I’d been in the salon before, but I wasn’t sure where everything was located. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Can you show me where your hookups are before you head out?”

  “Sure. I have to get my purse anyway.”

  Alexia still cuddled high on my chest, I slipped an arm around Lydia’s shoulders and together we headed inside. She spoke as we walked. “The electrical box is in my office.” She paused to pick a couple stray dresses off the floor and draped them over her forearm. “What all do you need access to?”

  I gestured at the drop-tile ceiling. “Actually, that should be good. We can run the wiring right over the tiles. My plan was to put a camera at each entrance outside and one at the front of the store near the register. Any problem with that?”

  “No, that sounds great.”

  Lydia stepped into the alterations room to deposit the gowns on a worktable. “I’m not looking forward to fixing all those,” she noted with dismay.

  I rubbed a hand over her back. “Sorry, babe. I know it’s been a shi—” I caught myself before I swore in front of Alexia. “Crappy morning.”

  “Yeah.” She exhaled heavily. “It has. But I really appreciate your help,” she added softly.

  Sliding my hand up her back, I cupped the back of her neck and pulled her close. “Anything for you.” I dropped a kiss on her lips. “Now let’s get to that fuse box so you can get home.”

  She held out her arms for the baby, and I handed Alexia over, knowing that Lydia needed the physical reassurance right now. She made her way through the attached door to her office and pointed to a white door recessed along the back wall. “Right over there.”

  I poked around for a second. “Good deal. I’ll take it from here.”

  Her lips turned up in a tight smile, and she hugged Alexia closer. “Okay. Well...”

  I knew if Alexia started crying, Lydia would never leave. The dark circles beneath her eyes had intensified, her exhaustion apparent. “Let’s get you home, sweetheart.”

  I followed her out to her car and kissed her goodbye, promising once more that everything would be fine. Juggling Alexia in my arms, we waved goodbye and watched Lydia’s taillights disappear around the corner. I turned to my daughter. “Want to go to the park?”

  I smiled as her little head bobbed enthusiastically. Back inside the salon, Blake and Victoria were seated in the chairs near the front desk. I introduced Victoria and Alexia and, after a few tears, they headed out the front door.

  I’d met Victoria for the first time this morning, but I knew Alexia was in good hands. I’d called Blake just after seven o’clock and asked them to run to the twenty-four-hour department store to grab a car seat for Alexia. Sweet and subdued, Victoria was Blake’s opposite in almost every way. Despite her obvious exasperation at his overprotectiveness, they fit like two pieces of a puzzle.

  Although, if I were him, I’d be overprotective too. The man who’d attacked her was dead, but I was sure that was a small consolation after everything she’d been through. I tossed a look at Blake now that we were alone. “She doing okay?”

  He lifted one shoulder. “She says yes, but she’s still having nightmares.”

  “Hopefully time will fix that.” Blake just nodded, and I changed the subject. “She’s good with kids. You guys have any?”

  He pulled out a spool of wire. “Not sure she’s ready for that yet.”

  I let out a short laugh. “I understand that. Hell, I didn’t know I had a kid until last week.”

  His hazel eyes met mine. “Looks like it agrees with you.”

  “Scared me shitless at first, but now...” I shrugged. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  Blake hitched a thumb over his shoulder in the direction Victoria had wandered off. “Gotta talk this one into moving in with me first.”

  For the next half hour, Blake and I worked in companionable silence, running the wiring so we could affix the cameras to the walls. Deciding to tackle the outside first, we focused on the front and rear doors and getting the wires run across the building. I was standing beside the front door when a compact maroon sedan pulled up to the curb outside and parked. A young woman stepped out and glanced around before making her way toward the salon. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her. Her short dark hair swung just above her shoulders as she approached the front door.

  In an attempt to cut her off, I stepped outside and greeted her. “Sorry, we’re closed today.”

  The girl paused on the third step and met my gaze with a shy smile. “I know, Lydia sent me a message a few hours ago. I felt bad and thought maybe you guys could use some help.”

  As I studied the girl, it fina
lly hit me who she was—Gwen, Lydia’s assistant. I held the door wide and allowed her to enter. “Lydia headed home to get some sleep. You just missed her.”

  “That’s okay,” Gwen replied as she stepped further into the salon. “I know she said there was a lot of damage, so maybe I can get a head start on the repairs.”

  I was grateful for anything that would help Lydia at this point. “That would be great,” I replied honestly. “It’s really nice of you to offer, thank you.” I led her to the back room where I’d seen Lydia stacking some dresses.

  Gwen took a look at the white mound of fabric in the middle of the table and made a small sound of dismay. “Goodness.”

  “I know,” I commiserated. “You don’t have to do this.”

  Her eyes cut to me. “Oh no, I want to,” she reassured me.

  I offered her a smile. “Well, thank you. It means a lot.”

  Leaving Gwen to deal with that, I started back toward Blake. I scanned the salon, absorbing everything still in disarray. It was normally so neat and tidy, and even after several hours of cleaning this morning, things still looked out of place. Lydia hadn’t told me much, other than that the place had been wrecked. Blake threw a look at me as I propped my hands on my hips and glanced around.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I wasn’t honestly sure. “I kind of want to see a copy of the police report.”

  He lifted a brow. “Why’s that?”

  I shook my head. “I can’t figure out why they didn’t seem to take anything. And like Lydia said, that was an awful lot of damage in a very short amount of time. Any idea what response time was?”

  “No, but I can find out.” Blake pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times, and I assumed he was shooting off a text to our boss, Con. “It seems strange to me,” he remarked. “Even the costume jewelry. It’s not worth much, but it’s still something. This just seems like somebody wanted to make a mess for the sake of makin’ a mess. Somebody upset with her?”