Page 35 of Crossing Paths
“Did you set the alarm before you took Warrant for a walk?” she asked, trying to take comfort in thealarm armedmessage and red light that indicated the security system was on.
“Of course,” Cara said with a bit of an offended huff. “It’s not like I’d forget after beingkidnappedand all.”
Molly patted her sister on the shoulder, getting that fiercely protective look she always wore whenever Cara’s abduction was mentioned. “It was definitely set. I triple-checked it.”
Norah frowned. She would’ve felt more secure if they’d forgotten to set it. “It was off when Dash and I arrived, and the front door was open.”
Leaving her sisters to process that disturbing news, Norah moved to a small side window so she could watch as Dash carefully navigated the lawn that separated their house from Mr. P’s. “I should’ve offered to pick the lock for him.”
“Something tells me that man can pick a lock,” Molly said, squeezing next to her so she could watch out the window as well. “I’m telling you. He’s a find. Knocks out a bad guy with one punch and then cleans up the mess? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”
Maneuvering between them, Cara joined them. “He hasreally nice hands too. Not quite as nice as Henry’s but still an honorable mention.”
Norah gave her sister a poke with her elbow. “You and your hand obsession.” It was hard to see well from their vantage point, but she could tell that Dash had dumped Zach unceremoniously onto Mr. P’s porch and looked to be making a call. It was short—the police, she guessed. Once he returned his phone to his pocket, he started working on the front door lock. “I still think I should’ve offered to pick the lock for him. It would’ve only been polite when he’s doing all the work just to save us some hassle.”
“If any of us should be picking the lock, it’s me,” Cara said. “I got the best time last practice.”
“When did you two become so interested in fieldwork?” Molly asked. “And can you please stop? Worrying about the pair of you is giving me an ulcer.”
Leaning forward so far that her nose almost touched the windowpane, Norah sucked in a breath. “Looks like Zach’s waking up.” His hands moved to clutch his head, and Norah couldn’t hold back her smirk. “Good. I hope his head hurts.”
With a snort, Molly said, “Look at you, Miss Ruthless.”
“He broke into our house…for thethirdtime. Also, he stole your car and sold it to a weed dispensary that painted marijuana leaves all over it.Andhe hit Fifi over the head.” As she listed just some of Zach’s recent crimes against them, Norah found herself growing angry all over again. “Plus hestinks. Just wait until you smell how bad Cara and Charlie’s closet reeks now.”
Cara groaned. After a slight pause, she asked, “Think Dashneeds us to knock the bastard out again?”
Norah seriously considered going to help, but Molly just said dryly, “He has it under control. Look.”
Sure enough, Dash had Mr. P’s door unlocked and was currently hauling a groggy Zach to his feet and twisting one arm behind his back. He pushed him up against the house next to the slightly open door and held him with one hand while using the other to wipe the lock picks he’d just used on his sleeve. Tugging his sleeve over his hand, he used the improvised glove to tuck the tools into Zach’s pocket. As the man wriggled in his grip, Dash pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Dash is an ice-cold badass,” Cara said as if making an announcement of vital importance. “And I say that as someone who is dating another one.”
“Agreed.” Molly was watching Dash handle the burglar with professional approval. “Look how he’s keeping him pinned with only one hand. Sometimes I wish I were that big. It would make my job so much easier.”
“Maybe.” Cara didn’t sound convinced. “You’d lose the element of surprise though. If you were six four and covered in muscle, all the skips would see you coming and either run or grab their guns. Dash was able to get the jump on Zach because he was just expecting to deal with uspoor, defenseless ladies.” She cooed the last three words, her mile-long eyelashes batting innocently.
“Plus, I’d just beaten up Zach, so he was off-balance because of that.” As admirable as Dash was, Norah felt a little miffed he was receivingallthe credit.
“Right,” Cara agreed. “And it was easier for Norah to pummel him because he wasn’t expecting it. Our small adorableness is part of our disguise, hiding the ferocious warrior women within.”
Molly appeared to be considering that when Norah’s phone buzzed with a call. Her tightly strung nerves made her jump, but she quickly recovered and pulled out her phone. As she’d expected, Dash was calling her.
She accepted the call and immediately asked, “Why are you on your phone? Don’t you need that hand for other things right now?”
He gave one of his rusty, short laughs. “I’ve got him. Just figured you and your sisters would want to listen in.”
In the background, she could hear Zach’s groggy questions growing increasingly louder and more heated. The sound of a faint siren joined his complaints.
“We would. Thank you.” Turning the phone on speaker, she placed it on the windowsill in front of them.
“It’s like a drive-in movie,” Cara whispered, making Molly laugh.
“Quiet. You’re on speaker,” Dash warned.
The command in his tone made Norah press her lips together as if preventing words from accidentally leaking out. A sideways glance showed her sisters both covering their mouths with their hands, and Norah had to smother a nervous giggle. They were like two copies of the “speak no evil” monkey. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to mute their side of the conversation, but she didn’t want to lose the option of being heard. What if they hadto shout a warning?
A marked police car pulled up at the curb in front of Mr. Petra’s house, and Dash casually dropped the hand holding his phone to his side. Before the first cop had even managed to get his door open, an all-too-familiar unmarked sedan parked behind him. Norah winced at the sight, holding back the groan that wanted to escape. Just as they’d thought, Detective Mill had heard the dispatched call and come running, even though the address wasn’t theirs. She was so grateful to Dash for taking the heat. Even the thought of Mill and the other cops tramping through their house again, tearing things apart in a poorly concealed effort to find any hint of the necklace, made her stomach hurt.
