Rafe flung open the passenger door the second the car rocked to a stop, with Antonio seconds behind. Before they reached the townhouse’s front door, it was flung open, Serena highlighted in the opening. Her paleness made him want to pull her into his arms, shelter her from whatever’d caused her distress.
“You gonna let me in, Serena?” Rafe gently touched her arm, and Serena started, her eyes wide with fright.
“I—sorry, come in.” She stepped back, allowing them inside. Rafe immediately began looking around the living room, though Antonio wasn’t sure exactly what he was searching for. Serena stood there, her arms wrapped around her midsection, a slight hitch in her breathing the only indication of her nervousness. Something had spooked her, though he didn’t have a clue what it might have been.
“Talk me through what happened.” Rafe’s voice when he spoke was soft, filled with concern. “What makes you think somebody’s been in your home?”
Antonio stiffened at his brother’s words. He’d forgotten Rafe mentioned something about a possible break-in when he’d gotten the phone call. Somebody had been here? This was Serena’s home. Her safe place. “Somebody’s been here?”
Rafe shot him a look, telling him without words to shut his pie hole. Antonio raised his hands, telling his brother he’d gotten the message. This was Rafe’s job, his jurisdiction, and he’d play along. For now.
“I met with Tessa, Jill, and Beth earlier. Had a girls’ morning at Daisy’s place. Then I ran a few errands. Picked up some groceries, general chore stuff. I didn’t notice anything amiss until I sat down and put my feet up.” She pointed to the coffee table. “Things were out of place. Here and here.” She touched the tray with the remotes and a small plant.
“How do you know they’d been moved?”
Serena gave a shaky laugh. “I tend to be a little—okay, a lot—OCD at times. I line things up so they’re symmetrical or centered. These were right where they were supposed to be this morning, but now they’re not. Am I making sense?”
Rafe nodded. “Is there anything else out of place?”
Serena stood, and motioned down the hall. “I didn’t check the guest room in depth, but a few things are out of place in there, too. But, in my bedroom—” she broke off speaking and closed her eyes, drawing in another shaky breath.
“Show me, please.”
Antonio couldn’t help noticing how well his brother handled Serena. He treated her with kid gloves, making her feel safe and taking her concerns seriously. His brother was darned good at his job. It was tough keeping his mouth shut, especially after what he’d discovered about Serena’s alter ego. He was sure things could and would be discussed once Rafe figured out what was going on. He’d started to tell Rafe anyway before they’d been interrupted, because A) he was the county sheriff and doing his job, and B) it might be related to what he’d found out about Big Jim’s case.
He followed close behind Rafe and Serena, his gaze focused on her. He knew she had a backbone of steel most of the time, but this invasion of her home definitely had her spooked, though she was doing a good job of trying to hide the fact. Stopping in the doorway of her bedroom, he couldn’t help looking around. He fantasized about being in Serena’s room, though under distinctly different circumstances.
The room itself was big enough for a king-sized bed, covered with a dark turquoise spread. Accent pillows adorned the top. He’d never understood the need women had for adding so many frou-frou pillows on their bed. They always ended up on the floor when you climbed in bed anyway. Seemed like a waste, but at least the ones she’d chosen were nice. Silver lamps sat atop nightstands on either side of the bed. The headboard and footboard were white, which gave the room a beachy feel. It wasn’t what he’d pictured for her, yet somehow it fit her personality.
“At first, I didn’t notice anything, not like in the other rooms. Not until I saw this.” She pointed to the bra strap caught on the drawer. “I definitely didn’t leave it like that this morning.” Again she wrapped her arms around her midsection, and Antonio fought the urge to pull her close and wrap his own arms around her. “I made sure not to touch anything, once I realized somebody had been here. In case you wanted to check for fingerprints or whatever.”
“Exactly what we’re going to do, Serena.” Rafe pulled out his cell, then met Antonio’s gaze. “Why don’t you two go back to the living room while I call my team to come and take a look?”
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s do what Rafe says. The faster the techs get here, the faster we’ll figure out who did this.” Antonio gave his brother a brisk nod, and placed his hand on the small of Serena’s back, gently steering her back to the living room. With the light touch, he could feel her body trembling beneath his hand, belying the calm exterior she tried to project.
“Okay.”
He eased her down onto the sofa, and sat beside her, taking her hands between his. They felt icy cold, and he gently rubbed them, holding them until he felt the warmth return.
“Do you have any idea who might have gotten into your place?”
She shook her head, her eyes locked onto the floor. It was funny how she’d barely looked at him since they’d gotten here, which seemed kinda odd. They were friends—at least he thought they were, even though he’d wanted more. Until he’d seen her picture in that stupid FBI file. Now everything was topsy-turvy and he didn’t know up from down, because the woman he knew, the Serena Snowden
