Shelby took a deep shuddering breath and blew it out. “Everything’s okay. It’s just the phones wouldn’t work, and the power was out, and then I kept hearing noises. I’m glad you’re home.”
She let go of Mike and launched herself at Gavin. Sitting on the floor, Gavin pulled her into his lap and held her tight.
“I’m going to check the breaker box and a few other things,” Mike said. Tomorrow in the daylight, he would show Shelby how to check the breakers and how to use the backup generator he had installed.
Grabbing a flashlight, he walked out the backdoor to the breaker box. He noticed none of the other houses around was dark. Whatever it was had just affected his home. As he moved the flashlight around, something felt out of place, almost as if he was being watched. He was glad Gavin was in the house with Shelby. When he got to the breaker box, he saw it was open and the main breaker had been smashed by something.
This was a job for Gavin. He headed back in the house finding Gavin and Shelby sitting on the couch cuddling. Not wanting to upset Shelby or leave her alone, he said to Gavin, “I need you to go outside and look at the breaker box for me.”
Hearing something in his voice, Shelby sat up and asked in a panicked voice, “Why? What’s wrong? I’m going, too.” She stood and went for her shoes.
Pulling her back down on the couch, Mike wrapped her in his arms. “Let Gavin take care of it. We’ll tell you all about it once he has a look.”
Shelby relaxed into his arms and nodded, it wasn’t like he was going to let her get out anyway.
Gavin grabbed the flashlight from Mike and headed out the back door. The minute he saw what had happened, he called the station to see if he could get a CSI crew out to check and did a quick walk around the house, checking for anything else that may have been tampered with.
With only a flashlight and unable to see much outside in the dark, Gavin decided to go inside and check all the windows. He wanted to make sure no one had tried to get in the house. He also wanted to get a better alarm system for not only Mike’s house but for his also. They needed systems that hooked into their phones and into Shelby’s. He and Mike just had basic systems in case of a break-in, and now he wanted something more sophisticated for them.
While Gavin was doing his check, Mike took Shelby downstairs and showed her where the generator was and how to operate it. They might as well have heat and electric. That’s why he had bought the generator to begin with. While they were starting the generator, they heard Gavin come in and hurried up the stairs to see what he learned.
Gavin didn’t want to scare Shelby, but she needed to know what was going on. Guiding her over to the couch and sitting her between Mike and himself, he took one of her hands and Mike slipped an arm around her.
“Someone tampered with the breaker box, that’s why the lights were out. I’m going to check all the windows and make sure they are locked. Then I’ll come back and we’ll talk about the plan and what we need to do to keep all of us safe. Okay?” he asked and brushed her mouth with a quick kiss. “While I’m checking things out Mike is going to stay here with you. I don’t want you alone in the house until we get this figured out.”
Mike nodded in agreement and pulled Shelby closer. While Gavin went to check out the house, Mike thought about the things they needed to do to keep Shelby safe. He didn’t know what this person was after, but they had to keep Shelby safe regardless.
He saw Gavin come down the stairs and crooked his finger for Mike to follow him. Grabbing Shelby’s hand he led her up the stairs behind Gavin and followed him to the master bedroom.
Gavin led them to the window where they could all see it had been broken out. The window had been broken from inside the house. This meant that someone had been in the house, and whoever it was had a hell of a jump to get down from the second story. They would look for ladder marks on the ground tomorrow. Gavin also texted the CSI team so they could check, too.
Mike asked, “Do you know where he got in?”
Gavin nodded in reply, led them down to the basement, and showed them the window that had been broken in.
“Was he in the house while I was here alone?” Shelby asked, her eyes wide and a frightened look on her face.
Mike held her hand tighter and answered honestly. “I don’t know, baby, but we are going to make sure you aren’t alone again until we figure all of this out.” He wanted to reinforce the idea that she wouldn’t be alone.
Making a decision on the spot Gavin
said, “We’re going back to my place to stay tonight.” He held one hand up to stop Mike from voicing his thoughts. “I know the bed isn’t put together. For tonight we’ll just throw the mattress on the floor and all sleep there. I’ll have some of the guys head this way so we can board up the windows and get a couple of the rookies to sit outside all night. I really don’t think the person who broke in will try anything else tonight, but I want us all to feel safe.”
They went back upstairs, and Mike ordered a pizza while Gavin made his phone calls. Shelby sat very quietly while Mike and Gavin took care of business. She was a little shocked, thinking someone might have been in the house while she was alone in it.
As if he could read her mind Mike looked at her. “Honey, they were probably here and gone before you ever got home. Don’t worry about it. Gavin and I will make sure you aren’t alone until we get this all figured out. For all we know it could just be some kids playing games or someone playing a prank. It’s nothing for you to worry about.” Mike said what he thought would comfort Shelby, but he was worried about it. He had no idea why someone would break into his house .
It didn’t look like anything had been taken. Maybe it was just a prankster. Gavin would find out. He knew some of the best detectives in the city, not only the ones on the police force, but also private detectives, too. They would find out what was going on.
A knock came at the door and Shelby almost jumped out of her skin.
“It’s probably just the pizza or some of the guys Gavin called.” Mike tried to calm her and pulled her to the door with him. After they ate and got the windows boarded up, he wanted to get her out of the house and some place she felt safe.
Chapter Nine
Shelby felt like she was the one who had caused the trouble. Mike and Gavin hadn’t let her out of their sight since the break-in. She was never alone and not even allowed to go for walks by herself. One of them often stood outside the bathroom door while she was in there. She had tried to tell them she wasn’t in any trouble in the bathroom, but neither of them listened to her.
Nothing more had happened, and none of the investigators had found anything. Shelby was sure it was just a prankster. Other than the fact that Mike and Gavin watched her like a hawk, nothing had changed. She still went to work each day and still did her job, only now Mike did less work and watched her more, especially when Earl was around. One thing had changed. Earl was even more friendly than he had been before. He was constantly at the desk asking her questions and had started asking her to dinner and to movies. Shelby tried to be nice to him, but he just wasn’t getting the hint.