Mine - HelenKay Dimon Page 0,74

only way. A backdoor way of finding out.

Gabe insisted on control and depended on family. As a third party she could step in. Call in a few favors through Eli and Wade. Get the answer that plagued them all.

The plan was simple. She and her teams had done versions for years when it came time to collect blackmail material. She’d snagged an extra toothbrush from the hall closet. The thing had more supplies than some pharmacies. After a quick trip downstairs, she had the rest of what she needed for tonight’s adventure. The plastic bags and the will to follow through.

Gabe would be furious. She knew without asking him, not that she wanted to ask. He’d see this as an interference. But, really, she took this risk for him. For his family. The ripping and tearing wouldn’t stop until they had answers. Pretending the problem didn’t exist or that it would go away hadn’t worked. It was time to face it head-on.

In her life she’d always found knowing was better than not knowing. At least people could move forward.

With quiet steps she opened the door to the bathroom off the bedroom Gabe said Andy sometimes used when he stayed there. This room and Brandon’s shared the same bath. Peeking through from one door to the other, she could see the one to Brandon’s room stayed open a crack. Her gaze zoomed past the opening to the lump in his bed. Thanks to the darkness she couldn’t make out much else.

Careful not to make noise or drop anything, she reached across the counter of the double sink. Her gaze stayed locked on the unmoving figure asleep in the bedroom, but she kept going. She snagged the toothbrush and dropped it in a plastic bag, replacing it with the new one. Same color and same type. She hoped he didn’t figure it out.

Sneaking back around the corner she made it into the empty bedroom without getting caught or having alarms flashing or sirens roaring. She rested her back against the nearest wall and let out a quiet sigh as she struggled to bring her breathing back under control.

She was partially done. With Brandon headed back to school tomorrow, she’d had a relatively small window within which to act when it came to getting something with his DNA. Collecting Gabe’s would be much easier.

Now to get back to her bedroom without being seen. She had no idea what kind of security Gabe had in the house. Well, some idea. She’d staked out the place earlier, checking for cameras and such. She knew what she could see, but he would be just paranoid enough to own some new technology that she couldn’t even pick out when looking at it.

She slid into the hallway and tiptoed back down toward her room. Right as her hand touched the doorknob she heard a sound. Turning around, she watched as Gabe’s door swung open.

With only seconds to make a decision, she pitched the closed bag into her room, hoping it landed somewhere easy for her to find and hard for Gabe to see. Frozen by the soft creak of the hinges, she stood there. Gabe appeared in the opening. Even in the low light from the rooms behind each of them she could make out his frown.

He took a few steps and got closer. That’s when she realized he wore only a pair of boxer briefs, and those were on kind of sideways with the seam running at an odd angle. The man clearly slept naked and rushed to put something on.

“Why are you up?” she asked, dreading what he might say.

“I heard a noise.” He rubbed his head. “Why are you walking around?”

She thought through every possible answer and decided to go with the true one. “I was hoping the offer to share that big bed was still open.”

She’d grown accustomed to sleeping by his side, to the noises he made. Being in a strange house, in a strange room had her on edge. So did her mystery project.

But he didn’t invite her in. Instead, he stood there watching her.

Finally, he held out his hand. “You should consider it a standing invitation.”

She was down the hall and by his side in two seconds. Forget the DNA test she planned to run and all the other barriers in their way. Forget climbing into bed without him. After that comment she doubted she’d ever be able to sleep again.

TWENTY

Andy walked into his office in the morning and came to