6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

W ill had walked slowly back to his truck, but Zara screamed. He spun around and bolted to her door. But it was locked. "Zara!" He knocked on the door. She didn't respond.

What happened? Was she okay?

He knocked again. "Zara!"

Nothing.

He tried the door again, but it was definitely locked. He stepped away from the door to go look around back, but her door opened.

"Will?"

He whipped around, and she slammed into him. "What's wrong?"

After squeezing him tight, she stepped back. "Someone was in my apartment."

"What?" But he didn't wait for an answer. He ran to his truck and, from the safe that was bolted to the floor, drew a Sig Sauer P365. With the other hand, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911.

While waiting by the truck for backup to arrive, he offered Zara his elbow and talked to the dispatcher.

Two minutes later, a squad car pulled into the parking lot. Officer Frank Marcos got out. An older officer who had taken the cliched donut-eating as a challenge. "Hey, Cooper. And Grant, right? What seems to be the issue?"

Zara nodded. "Someone trashed my apartment."

Will hung up with dispatch and slid his phone back into his pocket. To Zara, keeping his voice low, he said, "Stay in the truck?"

"I don't think so."

"Figured." He turned to Frank. "Help me clear it?"

"Sure." He hiked his pants higher.

Hopefully, no foot chase would be necessary.

Frank went in first, and Will followed with Zara right behind him.

They stepped over the items that had been tossed from the closet. He'd noticed the lack of doors earlier. They'd been there when he and Logan had helped her move in.

In the kitchen, cabinets were open, and boxes of food had been pulled out. But nothing was broken.

The living room was the same. Cushions pulled from the couch, movies strewn about, the TV was crooked, but nothing broken.

They cleared the bedroom and bathroom last. Again nothing was broken. But it was a disaster. Her drawers had been dumped, covers ripped from the bed. And another doorless closet had been tossed.

With a pointed expression, Frank turned to Zara. "What were they looking for?"

"I have no idea." Other than being pale and quiet, Zara seemed to be holding it together.

"Well, they wanted something. Good luck figuring out what they took. Seems safe for now. The detectives will be here shortly. Don't touch anything, but you know the routine. I'm gonna get back to patrols."

Frank left the room, leaving Zara with her mouth agape. Once he was gone, she grunted. "What on earth? He can't simply leave and abandon me like that."

"He's just grumpy, always has been. You need the detectives at this point anyway."

"Maybe, but way to disregard protocol." Her body was tense.

"Don't worry about it." He extended his hand to her. "Let's go wait for the detectives out front."

She slipped her hand in his. It was shaking.

Instead of walking out of the bedroom, he pulled her close. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "Someone was in my apartment. What if I had been home? It doesn't look like they took anything—I don't have anything to take. I don't understand. Were they looking for me? If they wanted to steal something, you'd think they'd at least take the movies or heck"—she walked to the dresser—"at least the jewelry. It's not that valuable, but"—she lifted a necklace—"this one is a real diamond. It's the most expensive thing I own, but it's here."

"Hello? Cooper? You guys here?"

Will stuck his head through the doorway. "Back here in the bedroom."

Detectives Doug Ramirez and Wyatt Remington came around the corner.

Will introduced them to Zara, and she walked them through what happened when she got home.

The air-conditioning unit, the only item that was broken, had been yanked out of the now-closed window it resided in. That was the point of entry and exit.

A crime-scene unit came in and dusted for prints. Jocelyn Riley, the department's forensic photographer, documented the break-in. But no distinct evidence was found to point to any suspects.

Wyatt leaned up against the counter. "Zara, has there been anyone you've arrested since you arrived in Hazel Hill that you think would have animosity toward you?"

She looked at Will and sighed before telling them about her run-in with Ernie this morning.

When she admitted the vulgar statement Ernie had made to her while he was in lockup, Will cringed.

By the time the detectives and CSU left, it was after one. While Will locked the front door behind them, Zara sat on the couch and dropped her head into her hands.

He joined her and rubbed her back. What could he do to fix this for her? He wished he knew.

The warmth of Will's hand on Zara's back brought immense comfort. But what would she do when he left? He wouldn't stay the night. That would be asking too much, and she knew him better than that.

She couldn't afford a hotel though, so she'd have to stay in her defiled home. By herself. Without air conditioning.

"Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?"

He'd read her mind. "I'll be fine here."

"You are not staying here."

"What choice do I have?"

"What about Jenna? I can call her. She was friends with one of my sisters, so we go way back."

"I don't know."

He sank deeper into the couch and tugged her with him.

She curled into him, wishing they could stay like this for the whole night. She relaxed against him, willing the stress away, but allowing herself to let go of her tightly wound anxiety released a flood of emotions she wasn't prepared for. She fought them, but it made her throat ache.

Why was this happening? Hadn't she come to Hazel Hill to get a new start? To get away from the mess her dad had made? To be able to live a quiet life for once?

She just wanted answers. Maybe this was random and not targeted at her, but what if it was?

Her phone rang, and she jumped at the sudden sound.

"Who's calling you at such an ungodly hour?"

"I have no idea." Pushing off Will, she hopped up and retrieved her phone from the kitchen counter. "It's AJ. Do you know her?"

Will let out a dry snort.

"Is that a yes?"

"We were in the same homeschool group as kids."

"Don't like her?"

"She's fine. Answer it."

Zara watched Will, hoping the answer to the unasked question could be read in his face. But there was nothing. She answered the phone. "Hello."

"Zara! Are you okay? I heard on the scanner what happened."

"Why are you listening to the scanner when you're off duty?"

"Uh. Never mind that. Are you okay?"

She wandered into her bedroom and picked up a few things while they talked. "I'm fine, just a little creeped out. Not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"Why don't you come to my place? I have a couch, so you can sleep, and Harry's here to keep you safe."

"Harry?"

"My Smith & Wesson."

Zara laughed. "I love it. I feel safer already."

"Can I come help you clean up tonight, or do you want to leave it until tomorrow?"

"Will and I did a little while the detectives were here."

"Is Will still there?"

"Yes. And I'm not sure I can sleep anytime soon."

"If Will is all right with it, I can come over and help now if you want."

"I think that would be good."

"Ask him though."

"But why?"

"We haven't always gotten along the best. I want to respect boundaries."

"I want that story."

"One day."

Zara stepped back into the living room where Will sat on the couch, texting. "AJ offered to come help with this mess but wanted me to make sure you were okay with her coming."

"She really asked that?" Confusion flashed on his face. "You aren't going to be able to sleep anyway. And I don't really want to leave. It would be good if she came."

Zara relayed his approval and hung up. She wanted to press him for details, but maybe it was a personality thing or one of those stupid high-school things that just hung on forever.

When AJ arrived, Zara let her in. "Thanks for coming over."

"Sure thing. I know what it's like to not have a lot of people you can call on to help when life is sideways."

They walked to the kitchen where Will had started cleaning. He smiled at them. "Hey, AJ. Thanks for being willing to come help."

"My pleasure."

Will laughed. "You worked at Chick-fil-A too long."

AJ joined in his laughter.

While Will continued in the kitchen, AJ helped Zara with her bedroom. They chatted about random things, and AJ told her about life at Fire Station Seven. A new firefighter was starting soon, and AJ was nervous about how the dynamic would change. Around two a.m., Zara yawned, and once one came, she couldn't stop.

AJ said, "Will, you need to pull rank on her and tell her to get some sleep."

He looked up from the movies he was organizing and chuckled.

Zara dropped to the couch. "Fine. I admit it. I'm tired."

AJ clapped. "Good. I'll let you two have a minute. I'll wait in my car, and you can follow me to my place."

After AJ left the room, Will stood and strode to Zara. He extended his hands to her, and once her hands were in his, he tugged her to her feet and against his chest.

She leaned her head against him and soaked in his strength and comfort. The break-in might have shaken her up, but at least she had Will by her side.

Zara took the mug of tea AJ handed her and snuggled deep into the squishy couch that had been made up as a bed. It was so strange to be staying at someone else's home, especially someone she'd known only a short time. She'd never had a friend who would open up their place for her.

AJ sat in an ancient armchair, clearly a thrift-store find. In fact, most of the furniture in AJ's over-a-garage apartment looked like resale-shop treasures. It was quaint and seemed to fit AJ's sweet, easy-going personality.

They chatted about what growing up in Hazel Hill had been like. Her childhood sounded much different than Will's but nothing like Zara's. Homeschool, Christian home that wasn't quite healthy, and an older brother she'd grown distant from over the years.

Zara sipped her tea. "Will said you went to the same homeschool group?"

AJ nodded. "Sure did." Her eyes became distant as she stared at the floor.

"Can you tell me about what Will was like then? Or is that too much?"

AJ's smile returned, and she met Zara's gaze. "Nah, he's fine. He was a total goofball. He's settled down a lot as an adult. I think a job like y'all have does that. But he was always a dreamer. ‘What if we …?' was a common phrase out of his mouth. Got him and his friends in trouble on more than one occasion, but it was mostly harmless."

"Sounds like he was fun."

"Definitely. He always wanted to be a cop."

"Logan too?"

AJ nodded. "And Will always talked big about becoming a detective. He would have made a great one too."

"Do you know why he didn't?"

"Simple. He never finished college. Can't be a Hazel Hill detective without a college degree. Even Logan and I finished. If we managed, he could have."

"Why didn't he finish?" Zara's concern was piqued.

"That's just Will. He's an idea man, runs headlong into something until he gets distracted or it gets hard. Don't get me wrong, he has a great work ethic but struggles to look long-term."

"Is that something I should worry about as far as our relationship?" Was Will a quitter? She didn't want to have anything to do with a quitter.

AJ shook her head. "Nah. I've never seen him so smitten with anyone else."

"He said Victoria scared off his last girlfriend."

AJ laughed. "I don't doubt it. I don't know anything about that because I've hardly talked to Will in the last five years, but his sister is a force to be reckoned with. She babysat my brother and me when we were little. No one got away with anything. She may be a second child, but she has zero second-born characteristics."

"I guess being the oldest daughter of a large family does that."

AJ laughed. "For sure. Do you have any siblings?"

"Not that I know of. My dad left when I was six, so anything could have happened after that, but he never said anything."

"Just you and your mom then?"

Zara snorted. "Hardly. More like just me. I mean, Mom put a roof over my head and made sure I went to school every day, but there wasn't much more than that. She was too busy getting high or finding a new boyfriend."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I learned how to do things for myself. And now I'm trying to learn to let Jesus take the wheel in my life. That's a whole new challenge."

"That's for sure. I haven't always walked close with the Lord. I chose to follow Him as a kid, but I let life crowd Him out for a while. It's so good to be back to letting Him lead and guide my life."

"Good decisions have never been my MO, but I want to make them, especially when it comes to Will."

"Keep taking it to Jesus. He'll show you. I'll be praying for you too."

"Thank you. It's been so good to talk about things other than what I found in my apartment."

"Then don't start talking about it again."

Both women laughed. After another ten minutes of chit-chat about AJ's furniture, which she said was mostly from an estate sale, they both turned in for the night—what little was left of it anyway.

Zara pulled the sheet up to her chin and closed her eyes. Instantly, she saw Ernie chasing her around her car this morning. God, please clear my mind. Keep me safe from whoever ransacked my place tonight.