Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,106
earrings, a couple of rings, one with opals, one with sapphires.” The sapphire ring had been a gift from Michael. It was all she had left of him. Her heart squeezed. “They weren’t worth a fortune but they were valuable to me.”
The officer made a note. Down the hall, heavy footsteps sounded. She turned to see Ben walking through the bedroom door, a grim look on his face. For an instant their eyes met, hers frightened, his worried.
His gaze went from her to the two police officers. “What’d they take?”
“Laptop. Her jewelry. That’s it so far.”
He looked at Claire. “Any money in the house?”
“A little in a jar in the freezer. I didn’t look there.” They walked in that direction. The jar was there, but the money was gone. She walked back into the living room, feeling dazed and shaken, her gaze going over the destruction in her apartment.
Her heart beat dully. “They found my jewelry and my money. Did they really think they would find something valuable inside the cushions on my sofa?”
Ben surveyed the chaos in the room. He was standing so close she could feel the warmth of his body, comforting somehow.
“Meth heads,” he said. “Or someone had a bone to pick with you. You had any trouble at work?”
“No. I’m not taking cases, and I haven’t been there long enough to make any enemies.”
He stood beside her as the officers took her statement. They wrapped things up and headed for the door.
“You have someone you can stay with tonight?” Officer Renick asked.
“She’s staying with me,” Ben said. He turned to Claire, waiting for her to protest, those ice-blue eyes on her face. “I’ll bring you back to get your car in the morning.”
She knew she should argue but she didn’t. There was nowhere else she wanted to be.
The moon shone through the branches as they walked outside. She watched the patrol car taillights disappear into the darkness as the police drove away.
“You got some kind of insurance?” Ben asked.
She looked up at him. She was so glad he was there. It was dangerous to feel that way. More frightening than her apartment being vandalized. “I have a renter’s policy with State Farm.”
“You need to call them right away. They’ll give you the name of a company that can clean up this mess.”
She looked back at the apartment. “I need to collect a few things.”
Ben walked her back inside, waited while she packed an overnight bag with clothes she picked up off the floor and a couple of business suits that were still hanging in her closet, enough for a couple of days.
As they left the building, she paused at the bottom of the front porch stairs. “You don’t think they’ll come back, do you?”
“Depends on why they were here in the first place.” He didn’t say more, but she knew him well enough to be sure he was thinking about it, drawing some sort of conclusion.
Ben waited while she drove her car into the garage and closed the automatic door, then helped her into the Denali.
She felt safe sitting next to him. She always felt safe with Ben.
It was her heart that was in danger.
Thirty
Sam was watching TV with Mrs. McKenzie when Ben got back to the house. The boy grinned when he saw Claire and ran to give her a hug.
“I asked Ben if you could come over, but I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”
“Claire’s staying for a couple of days while they do some work on her apartment.” He cast her a glance, still waiting for her to argue. He’d been surprised she had agreed without a fight.
She just looked down at Sam, and though her face was pale, she gave the boy a smile. “I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the sofa.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I made lasagna,” Mrs. McKenzie said. “There’s plenty for company.” She was a small woman, rotund, with silver hair and tiny wire-rimmed glasses. She looked as though she had stepped out of an ad for homemade jam. Sam loved her. Ben was damned fond of her, too.
“Mrs. McKenzie, this is Claire. She’s...a friend.” She was way more than that. Not his girlfriend. Not exactly. But something close to it. He wasn’t sure when he had started thinking of her that way.
He wasn’t sure what word Claire would use to describe their relationship. Or lack of one.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. McKenzie,” Claire said warmly. “Sam thinks a lot of you.”