The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(12)

“Don’t you blame me for Jennifer. You found her. I didn’t even particularly like her.” He slammed the SUV door, hoping it would give the poor woman some warning that they were here.

Jennifer had been the reason they got their asses kicked out of the Army. Jennifer was the reason his family no longer spoke to him. He’d lost as much as Jake. It had been years, and the bitterness had faded. He still didn’t talk to his father or his brothers. He was still the first Miles in four generations to get kicked out of the Army. But he wasn’t going to give up on life.

Jake walked down to the end of the yard. He looked up and down the quiet street. There were cars in the driveways and at the curbs. No one would probably notice someone parked and watching.

“I bet she doesn’t know her neighbors past the ones on either side,” Adam commented. The world didn’t work like that anymore. Especially in an upscale neighborhood. These were two-income, highly ambitious families. They sent their kids to private schools and worked twelve-hour days.

“If she even knows those.” Jake pointed down the street. “Those lights are out. I wonder why they haven’t been fixed.”

“I’ll call the city tomorrow.” It would be first on a list of things he was going to have to do to make her home safer.

“And she doesn’t have motion sensor lights. We’ve been standing out here for five minutes. She should have called the cops by now.” Jake’s head shook in disappointment.

Adam looked back at the house. The shades had been drawn in the front. The house looked neat and tidily shut up. He strode up to the door. The gate opened, creaking slightly, but there was no movement inside the house. No one opened a shade to check outside. If she was listening, she hadn’t heard him. Her porch light was off, the small enclosed space locked in gloom. Even if she looked out the peephole, she wouldn’t be able to see the person requesting entry to her home. He sighed and rang the bell.

“I don’t hear anything,” he said after a moment or two. He tried again but nothing. “Maybe she’s not here. Maybe she’s staying with a friend.”

“Not according to Ian.” Jake walked back out to the driveway. “I talked to him before I changed out of my leathers. He said Lara spoke to her earlier in the evening, and Serena had promised her she would stay locked up tonight. Apparently she’s working on another book. Ian was going to call her to let her know we’re coming. If she’s pissed off, well, she’s in for a surprise. She’s not really the client. Lara is. I’m not about to let her little temper tantrum keep me from doing my job.”

Adam slapped his partner on the back. “Just keep talking that way, buddy. That’s the attitude that’s going to have her eating out of our hands.”

“I’m sorry.” Jake sighed heavily. “I just wish this case was a little more cut and dry. If she’s doing this for publicity, you’re going to get hurt again.”

And he wouldn’t? Jake was the badass, but there was a soft spot underneath that had been damaged in the past. It was up to Adam to gently push him toward the right outcome of this little mess. If Jake wanted to be the bad cop, Adam would let him play it that way. But only to a point. “Fine. But let’s not call her very reasonable anger, with you I might add, a temper tantrum.”

Jake’s face remained closed. “Fine. I was an *. But we both know I’ll be an * again. Let’s go around and check out the back. She’s got the front closed up, but she has windows everywhere. You want to bet they didn’t secure the small windows?”

Jake looked at the small metal sign that proclaimed which security firm proudly protected the home. “No way. I know that firm. They secure the doors and large windows. They never tag the smaller ones.”

Despite the fact that he didn’t want to scare her, he always did like a little breaking and entering. It reminded him of those days in the Green Berets, going on covert operations. He’d been a different person then. He’d loved being part of a team. It was why he’d been happy to join McKay-Taggart. “Let’s get going then.”

Jake’s lips curved up in a grin. “You know you would have made a good criminal.”

“Absolutely.” Adam followed Jake toward the back of the house, stopping at Serena’s car. “Wow. Nice ride.”

The little Audi A6 was a pretty car.

“Apparently writing has been good to her. Between this car and that house, she seems to be doing well.” Jake got to one knee, his hand tracing the sleek lines of the car. “Although if it was parked in the garage all the time, no one would guess that she lives alone.”

Adam could hear the suspicions underlying Jake’s tone. Some people would do a lot to keep a lifestyle like this. Some people would do even more to move up. An odd line on the car’s side caught his eye. It was a jagged white streak that looked wrong against the black of the car. “Is something wrong? Is that some damage?”

“Someone keyed her car.” Jake showed him the thin line that ran across the passenger side of the Audi from the rear all the way to the front.

“Bastard. She didn’t mention property damage this morning.”

Jake got to his feet. “No. She said it was just threats. Looks like this guy is escalating at precisely the right time. Just as she thinks we’ve turned her down, something worse happens. Interesting. I want security cameras around the perimeter of this house.”