The Girl Next Door (Shadow Agents 6)

Fear twisted within her, but she wasn’t about to stay in that hallway by herself. Maybe that was the killer’s plan. Divide and conquer. So when Cooper stalked forward, she leapt right after him.

Her hands fisted around her keys—and the mace attached to that keychain. Having her own weapon made her feel a little bit better.

Until they got to her bedroom.

And she saw the clothing that had been slashed. The other room...it had almost looked as if someone was searching for something in her den. But this—this was just destruction.

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Her pillows had been slit open. Feathers covered the floor. Her sheets were cut, her mattresses sliced.

Her dresser mirror was smashed.

All of her drawers had been yanked out and tossed. Her breath heaved in at the sight.

Rage. She could feel it in the room.

Cooper’s body stiffened, but he didn’t speak. He kept searching her home—checking the closets, the bathroom.

No one was there.

The intruder was long gone.

Gabrielle found herself standing in the living room, gazing around with dazed eyes. Everything that she’d valued was gone.

Cooper was on his phone. Probably calling the police for her. Again.

She rubbed chilled arms. The cold wasn’t just on the surface, though, it went bone deep.

Cooper shoved his phone back into his pocket. He’d already holstered his weapon.

You can fall into me. She wanted to fall right then, but Gabrielle was afraid that if she did, she’d never be able to get up again.

“I told you,” she said and was surprised by how eerily calm her voice sounded. “Someone was watching me.”

“You were right.” His eyes blazed with a barely banked fury. She should be feeling a similar fury, but she wasn’t. That coldness seemed to be cloaking all of her emotions.

“I called in a favor,” he told her. She couldn’t look away from his eyes. She didn’t want to look anywhere else. Everything is gone. “I’ve got a team coming over here. If the SOB left any prints, any evidence, we’ll find him.”

That seemed...odd to her. “You didn’t call Carmichael?”

“He’ll be informed.” His fingers curled around her arms. “Right now, I want you to come downstairs with me. You’re going to be staying at my place tonight.”

His place. Her eyes widened. “What if—what if he did this to your apartment, too?”

“I don’t think—”

She pushed past him and ran down the stairs. Cooper was working with her now. What if the intruder had realized that? What if he’d destroyed Cooper’s place, too?

Breath heaving, she staggered to a stop at Cooper’s door. He was beside her. Always, moving so fast. He unlocked his door. Hit the lights.

Untouched.

The intruder had just gone after her. He’d just destroyed her home.

“I’m glad,” she whispered as her shoulders slumped. “I didn’t want him hurting you...because I pulled you into this mess.”

He swore and tugged her closer to him.