Her house was a neat little ranch-style house in a fashionable section of Dallas. It wasn’t Highland Park, but it was certainly upper middle class. According to his records, this wasn’t the home she’d shared with her husband.
Her yard was lush and green, the house set back amidst a small copse of old trees. There was a small patio at the front of the house with a little fountain. It was hidden by Spanish style walls and a gated entry that wouldn’t keep a three-year-old out. It was a lovely house, but tactically it was a bit of a nightmare.
“Fuck,” Jake said as he put the SUV in park. “I hope her backyard is bare.”
“Probably not. It’s more than likely as much of a nightmare as the front.” Adam knew what Jake objected to. There were far too many places to hide in that front yard. It wouldn’t be difficult at all to conceal a body in any number of places. The trees were huge. The porch itself was surrounded by lovely brick walls, covered in ivy. Adam was sure it was beautiful in the daylight, but in the gloom of night, all he could think was how easy it would be to hide there and attack the lovely homeowner as she searched for her keys.
“She parks in the driveway. That means she has to walk all the way across the yard. Anyone could walk right up to her and force her to let him in the house.” Jake’s low, angry voice gave Adam a tiny bit of hope. He wouldn’t be this upset if Serena Brooks hadn’t moved him in some way.
“We’ll obviously have to talk to her about some security protocols. She needs to park in the garage. Well, if she has a garage door opener. God, I hope she has one. And an alarm system.” Adam snapped the hold on his seatbelt. “That is if she doesn’t slam the door in our faces. What time is it anyway?”
“Almost ten. I doubt she’s gone to bed, but I intend to lecture her if she actually answers the door.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Jake shrugged. “Then I’ll praise her for being smart after we’ve broken in and proven to her she doesn’t have enough security.” Even in the dark shadows, Adam could see that Jake’s face was set in stark lines. It was a bad sign. Adam knew his partner. Jake could be dangerous when he was on the edge.
Adam kept his tone light and easy, not wanting to feed Jake’s beast. “Come on. Hasn’t she been through enough? Shouldn’t we go a little easy on her?”
“I doubt this stalker, if there is one, will go easy on her. And if she’s playing us all, then it might do her some good to get a little scared.”
He was so fucking frustrating. Adam took a deep breath. How long was this going to go on? It had been over a year since they’d tried a long-term relationship. Adam had known almost immediately that Lila wouldn’t work out, but he’d been so sick of one-night stands that he’d held on for four months. “You know not every woman in the world is out to screw you.”
Jake turned back, his mouth a flat line. “And not every woman in the world is trustworthy. Can we figure out which one Serena Brooks is before we sacrifice another career for a woman?”
“Don’t you blame me for Jennifer. You found her. I didn’t even particularly like her.” He slammed the SUV door, hoping it would give the poor woman some warning that they were here.
Jennifer had been the reason they got their asses kicked out of the Army. Jennifer was the reason his family no longer spoke to him. He’d lost as much as Jake. It had been years, and the bitterness had faded. He still didn’t talk to his father or his brothers. He was still the first Miles in four generations to get kicked out of the Army. But he wasn’t going to give up on life.
Jake walked down to the end of the yard. He looked up and down the quiet street. There were cars in the driveways and at the curbs. No one would probably notice someone parked and watching.
“I bet she doesn’t know her neighbors past the ones on either side,” Adam commented. The world didn’t work like that anymore. Especially in an upscale neighborhood. These were two-income, highly ambitious families. They sent their kids to private schools and worked twelve-hour days.
“If she even knows those.” Jake pointed down the street. “Those lights are out. I wonder why they haven’t been fixed.”
“I’ll call the city tomorrow.” It would be first on a list of things he was going to have to do to make her home safer.
“And she doesn’t have motion sensor lights. We’ve been standing out here for five minutes. She should have called the cops by now.” Jake’s head shook in disappointment.
Adam looked back at the house. The shades had been drawn in the front. The house looked neat and tidily shut up. He strode up to the door. The gate opened, creaking slightly, but there was no movement inside the house. No one opened a shade to check outside. If she was listening, she hadn’t heard him. Her porch light was off, the small enclosed space locked in gloom. Even if she looked out the peephole, she wouldn’t be able to see the person requesting entry to her home. He sighed and rang the bell.