Page 5 of Sins of Leo

She frowned. “How would bringing them to an apartment tower have helped if this person was targeting you?”

His lips flattened. “Better security. It would have never found them.”

“It is common after experiencing a tragedy to indulge in would have, could have, should have,” she replied. “In hindsight, there are many actions taken over the course of our lives that we would change, but the sad reality is, the past is the past. When something traumatic occurs, dwelling on it won’t change the outcome.”

“No shit, but how am I supposed to stop?” His harsh rebuttal. “It’s with me every single second of every fucking day.”

“Obviously work hasn’t provided a distraction.”

“Nope.”

“I assume you’ve not tried dating, either.”

He uttered a harsh chuckle. “Who wants to be with a miserable fuck? And before you think I am hung up on Kylie, I’m not. Like I said before, we were on the verge of divorce. Probablywould have split and shared custody if not for what happened. My problem now is, I’m just not interested. Not in dating, or even living.”

Before she could ask if he’d been having suicidal thoughts, she heard a thump from overhead. She glanced at the ceiling with a frown.

“Noisy neighbors?” he stated, having noticed her distraction.

“Not likely, since I own the floor above,” she murmured as another thud occurred.

“Sounds like a cat or dog jumped off something.”

“I don’t have pets.” She rose from her seat. “Would you excuse me for a moment while I go see?”

His lips pursed. “Shouldn’t you be calling the cops if you have an intruder?”

“I wouldn’t want to waste their time if it turns out to be nothing. Could be I left something too close to an edge and it fell.” She didn’t believe that for one moment. Ruth hated clutter, and her home reflected it. She owned no knick-knacks, ergo nothing that would have fallen.

“I’ll come with you,” he offered, rising, his height and width dwarfing her. While not a petite woman at five seven and very curvy, beside him she felt practically dainty—and a bit daunted.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Then it will only take a minute and we can go back to me feeling like a piece of shit while you try to convince me I’m not the asshole.”

Internally, she debated the wisdom of taking a patient up to her private residence. On the one hand, she didn’t know him and, as a woman, she knew better than to trust a stranger, especially one that could easily overpower her. On the other, he had the bulk and professional experience that made him more than capable of handling an intruder in her home.

Another thump decided it for her. “If you don’t mind, then yes, it would be reassuring to have someone with me.”

“Lead the way.”

Ruth exited her office and punched in a code on the keypad for the door that led from her waiting room to the vestibule of her home, rather than go outside and through her main entrance.

The entryway showed her front door still deadbolted. The stairs leading upward ended in a tight landing where she felt slightly intimidated by the large man at her back. A quick punch of her code gave them entry to her residence, and she wondered if the intruder heard the beeping as it unlocked.

The moment she entered, Leo brushed past, murmuring, “Stay here while I look around.”

He could move quite stealthily for a man his size, his steps making not even the slightest whisper as he trod from her hall into the living room where the noise originated.

Waiting grated, especially since she could hear nothing. After a minute, she dared to peek her head around the corner and couldn’t restrain a gasp. Her living room had been ransacked, the cabinet doors in her entertainment center wide open, movies and albums dumped on the floor. Her lamps had been knocked from the side table. The television lay shattered on the floor.

Still hearing and seeing nothing, she moved past her living area to the dining room, which appeared untouched. Same for the kitchen.

No intruder, but also no Leo.

He must have gone to check upstairs. She trotted up the steps and immediately saw the open window. A window that led to the fire escape, which explained how the intruder got in. Before she could call out for Leo, a bright flash from outside had her blinking. What was that?

She ran to see, but there was nothing there. Not on the fire escape or in any of her rooms. Whoever had entered her home had disappeared, as had her patient.

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