Adored (Masters and Mercenaries #8.5)(47)

“It was kicked in,” Lisa said, sniffling. “I looked past the door but that was all I needed to do. I was too afraid to go inside. I tried to call my sister but it went to voice mail. When I called Will, he told me to call Derek directly and here we are.”

“You did the right thing.” He worried Laurel wouldn’t have. She would have marched in and tried to confront whoever was in her apartment. And why did she still have this place anyway? She was paying rent on a place she didn’t live in. Why would she need to do that? They should have packed the place up and moved her stuff to storage.

Derek gestured back to the techs he had working the scene. “We’ve already got a couple of prints. We need Laurel’s and whoever else would normally be here so we can exclude them. This place only has security cameras at the gates. If someone jumped the fence, it’s likely we don’t have them on camera, but we’re going to look.”

Which meant they likely wouldn’t get much. “I want to know where Harvey Dixon was while this was going on.”

“I’m already on it.”

He looked around at the mess that had been made. Laurel had brought most of her clothes with her. She’d brought books and some pictures, but she’d left her dishes because he’d had his and there wasn’t a ton of room for more. Now he wondered if she’d spent time selecting the pattern. They weren’t in one piece anymore but there was color to her dishes. His were a plain white chosen for utility. Laurel would have picked something she thought was pretty or had reminded her of something that made her happy.

Why hadn’t he offered to bring her things into his home? Was he still thinking of it as his home? Not theirs?

When he thought about it, the house he’d bought when he moved to Dallas didn’t fit Laurel. He’d given the realtor a set of parameters and when he’d found one that met his needs, he’d purchased it. Good neighborhood. Close to work. No big yard upkeep.

Laurel would have liked a yard. He didn’t have anywhere to sit in the back and when she’d brought it up, he’d told her no because it would be hot soon and no one sat outside in the Texas heat. He’d told her it was silly to spend good money on outdoor furniture they wouldn’t use for more than a few months of the year.

And she’d simply sighed and gone in to cook dinner.

Why had he done that? Why was it bothering him now?

Because she’s going to leave you. Because she’s going to find someone who’ll move heaven and earth to get her a damn patio set so she can sit outside and have her coffee even if it’s only a couple of days out of the year. Because she’ll find someone who can make her happy.

“Are you sure this wasn’t random, Mas…Lieutenant Brighton?” Lisa winced. “Sorry, Sir.”

Derek put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine though I notice he’s just Mitch to you. No formalities for him?”

She blushed. “He’s family. You put a baby up in my sister, you’re family. I don’t call my brother by a title either. Ever. It’s not going to happen no matter who spanks me.”

Liam chuckled, but Mitch was thinking it was nice that she didn’t even think to follow club rules with him. Because he was family.

“And I think the note left in her bedroom is solid proof that this wasn’t random.” Derek pointed to the door in the back. “If you’re careful, I’ll let you come back and see it. Try not to touch anything. Mitch, I’ll need your prints, too.”

But he wouldn’t. “I’ve never been here before. Lisa brought her a bag for the first week and when we decided she would stay with me, she came after work and picked up the stuff she wanted. I was stuck on a call about a liability claim against a company I represent.”

“You’ve never been here?” Derek asked, stopping in the doorway. “She’s lived here for three years.”

He’d never been to her apartment because he’d known what would happen if he came here. It had happened anyway. He’d pushed her away back then and now he had to wonder if he wasn’t doing the same thing now. He was crazy about her, but he still kept his distance. He still placed that very significant mileage between them.

Did he want it? Did it make him feel safe because she couldn’t quite touch his essential self?

He followed Derek. “No. I brought her to my place when I could. She worked for me. Our relationship was kept to the office until recently.”

“But she’s pregnant. At least that’s what I heard.”

“Yes, our son or daughter was conceived on my desk.” He nodded as he realized certain truths. “I probably should keep that desk. It’s kind of historical.”

His child—maybe his only kid—had been conceived on that desk. Would it be his only? How much better would his life had been if he’d had brothers or sisters to depend on? What if he hadn’t been alone in the world?

How could he get her pregnant again and quickly, so she would need him even more?

God, he was such a shit.

Liam was chuckling. “It’s good to keep that handy. Avery and I have a couch very much like that, brother.”

Derek laughed and entered the bedroom.

He heard Lisa gasp and felt her move closer to him.

When he saw the far wall, he pretty much wanted to kill someone.