Page 28 of Raven's Nest
“On whether I get to make you breakfast in the morning.”
“You can bring it to me in bed.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “Then, why are we still standing out in the rain?”
She laughed, backed up the two steps to her door, then turned. “Zain.”
He frowned, moving in beside her. The door sat slightly ajar, a wedge of light illuminating the floor. “Are you sure you locked it? The wind could have blown it open.”
She scoffed. “You insisted on personally installing a security system after all that shit went down with Striker. Do you really think I’d insult you by not ensuring it was armed, every day? Besides, you’re not the only one with trust issues.”
Zain had his Sig in one hand, his cell in the other a second later — had Chase on speed dial.
Chase answered on the second ring. “Are you calling because she invited you in or because she didn’t?”
“Door’s ajar. Any chance Greer checked up here and forgot to lock it?”
“Shit.” Something rustled on the other end for amoment. “You’re on speaker, and Greer just pulled up. Hold on a second.”
Foster yelled something in the distance before a huff echoed over the line.
“Zain?” Greer, and she sounded exhausted. “What’s this about Saylor’s door being ajar?”
“We just rolled up, and her front door’s cracked open. Any chance that was you?”
“I didn’t go upstairs. Just did a tour of her office and the boathouse. And I armed the system when I left.”
“Figured as much.”
“Brother?” Chase, again. “Do you want backup?”
“We’ll check it out, first. If I don’t ring you back in five, come running.”
“Fuck that. Keep us on speaker.”
“I can’t sweep the place and hold the phone.”
“Then, put it in your damn pocket.”
“Fine. Hang tight. I’ll come back on once it’s clear.”
Zain slipped the phone into his inside breast pocket, then nodded at Saylor. “I’ll go, first. You sweep behind me.”
She nodded, waving her fingers at him. “I’ll need one of your spares.”
“Where’s your Beretta?”
“In a hidden lockbox on my boat where I keep it. And Atticus still has my spare, so…”
Zain removed a pistol from his right ankle holster and handed it to her. She cleared the chamber and checked the mag, then chambered a round. He grinned. The girl had skills.
He showed the countdown on his hand, then shovedopen the door, already working on how he’d grab her and launch them both back out if he heard even the suggestion of an IED.
Having the door swing inward without so much as a creak started them off on a good note. Taking a couple steps inside and not getting pelted with automatic fire, even better. Saylor swept in behind him, gun at the ready, gaze scanning the shadows. All the places he’d checked.
The room had been gutted, all the furniture either ripped apart or tossed aside. Books and foam covered the floor, the photos she’d hung now in pieces on the ground.
He made a few hand signals, then quickstepped across the open area and over to the kitchen. He cleared any space large enough to hide an armed tango, then moved on to the short hallway.
