Resolve stiffened her spine. Rowan would find Alexa no matter who she had to go around or through. No one would keep her from the child’s side.
The possibility that Brent with his amazing security contacts wouldn’t be able to find her made Rowan’s heart hurt. Alexa must be so frightened.
Once they’d signed the statements, Brent stood and helped Rowan to her feet. “I know you need to sleep, Cal. Would you mind following us to the Maxwell place on your way home?”
A faint smile appeared. “Got your own agenda, boss?” he murmured.
Brent lifted one shoulder. “Takes one thing off Rowan’s shoulders. It’s a simple enough favor, Cal.”
“True. The Maxwell home isn’t far from mine, although my place is a lot more modest.” Cal stood. “Give me a minute to turn these in.” He returned a couple minutes later. “Let’s go.”
“Hold up.” Brent handed over the flash drive Adam had copied.
Cal frowned, stared at the black plastic. “What’s this?”
“Something Heather left at my coffee shop yesterday afternoon,” Rowan said. “She asked me to keep this safe in case something happened to her. Heather died six hours later.”
“What’s on it?” The detective’s gaze locked on Brent’s. “And don’t bother telling me you haven’t checked it,” he whispered.
“One file in code.”
A wince. “It’ll take forever for the computer techs to do anything with this. Who’s working on it from Fortress?”
“Adam Walker.”
“Ah. Good.” Satisfaction flowed in his eyes. “He’s magic with codes.”
“Agreed. Gives him a job to do while he’s waiting for clearance to go back on deployment.”
“I’ll drop this off with IT before we leave.”
Minutes later, they were following the detective to Heather’s house. The law enforcement vehicles were no longer parked in the driveway. Seeing the house brought back memories of the night before, memories of terror, blood, and death.
Rowan’s hand clenched. She couldn’t lose it now. Later, when she was alone with no one to watch her fall apart and time wasn’t of the essence in finding Alexa.
“Are you okay?” Brent asked as he turned off the engine.
“I will be.” She turned toward him. “I don’t have a choice if I want to help Alexa. I can’t fall apart. Heather entrusted her daughter to my care. I won’t let either of them down.”
They met Cal at the front of the Brent’s SUV. “Try not to touch anything,” Cal said as they walked to the front door. The detective held up his hand, frowning.
“What is it?” Rowan whispered.
“The law enforcement seal has been broken. Someone unauthorized has already been here.” He turned to stare at her and Brent, eyes narrowed.
“Don’t look at us.” Brent scowled. “Rowan’s been with me the entire time and none of my people are that careless.”
Cal drew his weapon as did Brent. “You follow my lead here, boss,” the detective murmured.
“Copy that.” Brent nudged Rowan behind his back. “Stay here, baby.”
“Forget it. I’m coming with you.”
“Rowan…”
“We’re wasting time,” she whispered and moved closer. “I’ll follow your orders.”
Brent sighed, then motioned for Cal to proceed. The detective opened the front door and froze. He blew out a breath, then stepped aside. “Take a look.”
Rowan stepped up beside Brent and peered through the doorway. Her breath caught. Every place she looked, chaos reigned. She doubted the crime scene techs had done this. That left the men who killed Heather and Jay.
But what was the point? She was afraid she knew what the men were after. The flash drive.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Brent opened his front door and deactivated the alarm. He stepped aside for Rowan to enter. “Welcome to my home, Rowan.”
She brushed past him with her overnight bag in hand. Inside, she glanced around.
Would she like his house? It surprised Brent to note that her opinion mattered.
“It’s beautiful. How long have you lived here?”
“Five years.” He turned, trying to see the room as Rowan might. The chocolate leather couch and love seat, lamps, end tables, coffee table. All chosen for comfort and functionality rather than beauty. A man’s choice, he admitted to himself. He’d only had himself to please for years.
Brent glanced at the large-screen television, expecting to see the shattered glass. Instead, a brand-new television was on the wall, this one bigger than the original one. One of the techs must have replaced his old one. Fast work, especially since they replaced so many windows. They must have brought in a small team to accomplish so much in a short space of time. “Incredible,” he murmured, walking through the house with Rowan trailing behind him. From one room to the next, he noted the changes in each location. That his employees cared enough about him and his home to go to this much trouble humbled him. Brent made a mental note to find out who repaired, replaced, or reorganized his belongings.
“You act like you’ve never seen your own house before,” Rowan said, amusement in her voice.
“When I left here yesterday, I had several broken windows and many other things were destroyed during the break-in, including that china you want to try and match. I asked for techs to examine my computer in case it had been tampered with. I expected to be up late tonight tossing things trashed by Carstairs. My team cleaned up and replaced what they could, not something I asked them to do.”
“They must think a lot of you.”
He led Rowan to the dining room, grateful to see several larger pieces of the china on the table.
“Brent, this china is so gorgeous. I hope my friends can find replacements. I’d love to see a full set of this used at a party.”
Party. Right. Not at the top of his priority list. “The guest room is this way.”
Brent opened the door to the room where Rowan would stay. Thankfully, Carstairs hadn’t gotten this far before the police response chased him off. “This room all right?”
“Are you kidding?” Rowan turned in a complete circle. “A queen-sized bed
