Page 29 of SEAL's Harmony
“While I appreciate you worrying about me, I think you’re taking this too far,” Harmony said as she headed toward her unit.
“Are you sure?” Ry asked, pointing at her door.
Someone had taped a note made from torn pieces of a newspaper to her door.
Iwarned you. You took everything from me. Let’s See how you like it when you’ve lost everything too.
“Still think it’s not Harry Ericson, sweetheart?” Ry asked softly.
Harmony reached for the note to pull it off the door, but he stopped her. “You should probably call the detective. They are going to want to get fingerprints off it, and they’ll take the note as evidence.”
Ry hated to ruin her illusions about Harry. But when people lose everything, they change. He’d seen it often enough behind the wire. With every instinct he had, he believed Harry Ericson burned her car, and he wasn’t giving the guy a chance to get close to Harmony. No fucking way.
While Harmony called the detective, Ry called Josh.
“What’s up, fucker? I thought you’d be bumping uglies by now.” Josh Hartman was a crude bastard, but he’d trust him with his life and Harmony’s.
“Always the fucking asshole. There was an incident at Harmony’s apartment—”
“What happened?” Josh was instantly all business, and that’s what Ry counted on.
“Someone torched Harmony’s car. Total loss. Police are on scene.” Ry gave his friend the basics. He could fill the rest in after his team got there.
“Suspects?” Josh asked.
That was the tricky one. Ry believed it to be the local threat, but the wildcard was her father. And it was the wildcard that always bit them on the ass. But he also knew Harmony wouldn’t want everyone to know her business.
“Probably the bank customer I told you about earlier, but there might be another tango.”
“Fuuuuuccccckkkk.” Josh’s exclamation said it all. “I’ll call Q and fill him in. What’s the address?”
Ry rattled it off and disconnected as Harmony hung up with Detective Nelson and walked into his embrace. He’d do anything to make everything disappear, but reality had other ideas. The shock of the last hour was taking its toll on her. The color had drained from her face, leaving her pale and fragile looking. Her lips were tight with tension and her eyes red-rimmed from her tears. Frustration that he couldn’t fix this for her increased his tension. While the need to protect her made him tighten his hold on her.
Her frame seemed smaller now, and as she shuddered against his chest, it was like being kicked in the gut. “Everything will be okay, I promise,” Ry murmured, hoping to ease some of her worry and Whiskey nudged her hand. His wet nose startled her.
Harmony sniffled, and when she looked up at him, tears pooled in the depths of her violet eyes that had turned into deep pools of sorrow. “It will never be okay. How can it? It’s all changed, and if it was Harry, then I’m responsible.”
“But it will be, and you’re not alone to deal with this. You have me, my team, and your friends. Harry made his choices. You didn’t force him to take the loan or put his house up as collateral. You didn’t give his wife cancer. It’s a series of horrible events. And I feel for him, buthemade the wrong choices. You. Did. Nothing. Wrong.”
“It doesn’t feel that way to me,” Harmony said as she buried her face against his chest.
The crime scene techs showed up with Detective Nelson. Relieved, Ry could finally move her away from the door and the offensive note. As hard as it was for Harmony to stay there, he wanted to make sure no one touched anything.
“Ms. Taylor, how about we go back over to my car, and we can talk some more?” Detective Nelson asked.
“Can’t we go inside my apartment?” Harmony replied as she turned in Ry’s arms to face the detective.
“It’s a crime scene, at least out here. Until they’re finished, you can’t go inside. And we’ll want to check the interior to make sure no one is inside.”
Ry had already known the answer before she’d asked it. She looked so fragile, although she had a steel backbone. Instead of falling apart, she stiffened her spine and nodded. Even though he’d bet that all she wanted was to run and get as far away as possible.
“Do you have a bottle of water in your truck?” Harmony asked as they headed toward the detective’s car.
“No, but I called Josh and the guys are bringing some water and whatever else they can think of,” Ry said and squeezed the hand the clung to his. Then he looked down at Whiskey. He’d stayed near her on her right, making sure she was safe. He couldn’t have asked for a better wingman.
“We won’t allow your team inside the tape,” Detective Nelson stated.
“I didn’t expect it. We’re aware of what we can and can’t do on US soil,” he responded. He was sure the detective had run his ID and knew he was a SEAL. Ry’s visceral need to protect his woman wouldn’t interfere with any legal investigation. But it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to figure out what the fuck was going on.
