“Yeah.” She smiled.
Sophie thought he was finished, but then Jason’s voice got quieter. Softer. And he shocked the hell out of her when he said, “For the record, we both agreed earlier that we’ve waisted a lot of time not going for what we wanted. Lord knows, I have. And I’m not sure how you did it, sweetheart...” He licked his lips before continuing on. “But you’ve changed something in me. Something that, even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could ever change back.”
“I feel different when I’m with you, too,” she confessed.
“I’d say that’s a good start.” He smiled. “Now, come on. Let’s get through the rest of the house, and then we can call Eric and relay our findings.”
Less than an hour later, they’d walked through every room in the house. Sophie had looked over every piece of furniture. Every picture frame. Every book on every shelf.
As far as she could tell, nothing else in her home had been disturbed except her closet.
“The asshole was looking for something specific.” Jason stood in her living room with his hands on his narrow hips.
His jeans and hoodie had been replaced with a pair of navy-blue dress pants and one of what she suspected to be many of his white button-up shirts. He’d left the jacket at home, though.
Something Sophie found herself inwardly smiling about.
Maybe he is becoming more relaxed.
“Why do you think the man was searching for something in particular?” she asked, curious.
“Because he hit the one place in your house you’d most likely keep stuff hidden. Your suitcases, the boxes...all places you might conceal something you don’t want anyone to see.
“Like what? I have nothing to hide from anyone. I don’t even keep cash in the house.” That’s what her bank was for.
“Is there a safe anywhere? A place you might have put important documents or heirlooms?”
“I don’t have any heirlooms, and all my important documents, like my mortgage and insurance paperwork, are in a safety-deposit box at my bank.”
Jason ran a hand over his beard and absentmindedly glanced around the room they were in. “And there’s nothing of major value here? Jewelry, artwork...nothing?”
“My jewelry collection is minimal because I’m always working. And the artwork you see mostly came from too many nights of online shopping. Not from a fancy gallery.”
She watched his wheels turning, wishing she could read his mind. Luckily, she didn’t have to.
“Maybe you’re right.” He grabbed the back of his neck and started rubbing the muscles there. “Maybe this was random. You have one of the nicest homes on your block. Maybe our guy was hoping to get lucky and find a wad of cash stashed away in your closet.”
That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.
Sophie couldn’t fault him, though. One thing she was learning quickly was that Ryker was nothing if not thorough.
And protective.
“So, what now?”
“Now, we call West.”
She sat on her couch and waited while Jason made the call. After explaining that nothing was disturbed, other than the things in her closet, he then told the detective about their thoughts and theories.
From what she could make out, Eric agreed. While they were still keeping the case open and active, most likely the intruder was long gone and was smart enough not to come back.
To be on the safe side, however, Jason had convinced her to still stay at his place for the next few days. That would give Jake and the rest of R.I.S.C. plenty of time to get the new security system installed and test it out, and make sure the coast was clear as far as the almost-burglar was concerned.
Not that it took a lot to convince her. Like him, something had shifted inside her over the past twenty-four hours. She prayed it wasn’t just some sort of adrenaline-induced love affair.
She’d seen those before, and like that one nineties movie starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock claimed, those kinds of relationships rarely lasted.
Putting her bags in the trunk of his car, Jason shut the lid and walked to the driver’s door. Sliding behind the wheel, he turned to her and asked, “You hungry?”