Of course I spent the rest of Saturday forcibly restraining myself from dropping in to Augie’s Antiques with some pathetic, manufactured excuse to check on the man. Instead, I met up with MJ and forced her to spill all the details from her night with Neckie.

My sister was riding high, and I could tell from the minute I saw her that the two of them had managed to come together in some way.

“Tell me everything,” I said the minute she snuck into the bunkhouse after noon still wearing the same clothes she’d had on the night before. “Look at your walk of shame. Holy shit.”

“There is nothing you can say to dampen my mood. I kissed her, Saint. Kissed her mouth like I’ve dreamed about doing for at least fifteen years.”

“How did we not know she was into women?”

“She dated whatshisname in high school. Remember?”

I thought back to those years and pictured a flakey skinny dude with a buzz cut who was always dressed in camo. “Wait. Dinko? Dirk Dinko? Wasn’t that his name?”

MJ snorted. “Yeah, him. Super quiet dude. But she had a soft spot for him. She told me it started out with her defending him from some bullies at a school soccer game. I guess they were ribbing him for not being able to get a girl, so Neckie sidled up to him and kissed him right on the lips, asking if he was ready to take her home. He followed her in shocked silence until finally finding his tongue in the parking lot. As soon as he found it, he vomited. She felt so sorry for him, she took him to the diner for a milkshake. They talked all afternoon and made a connection. She said it wasn’t some great love, but he was good to her. I remember that, Saint. He was good to her.”

“Whatever happened to him, I wonder?”

I moved a stack of sofa pillows over so she could sink into the cushions next to me. She kicked her shoes off and pulled her feet under her.

“He married the girl he dated in college. They were in the same teacher’s program at UNT in Denton. Neckie said they’re really happy now. They both teach high school in Austin.”

“You seem pretty chill about it,” I said.

She shrugged. “I was so jealous of him at the time, but I also knew that if they were together, he had to be a pretty good guy. I mean… I knew him and he was nice enough. But he was super shy. I never got to know him all that well. And when she and I did stuff together, she didn’t include him, thank god. I would have been a hormonal basket case even more than I already was.”

“Enough about Dinko. Tell me about Neckie.”

MJ got a dreamy look on her face. “She said she’s had a crush on me since eighth grade. She remembered the time Dad and I helped her mom with a flat tire. She even remembers my hair was braided on the side that day.”

I’d never really seen my sister this goofy.

“Do you remember that day too?”

She nodded. “Her hair was wild. Blonde curls everywhere from driving with the windows down. I remember she had her summer freckles, and she looked so different outside of school. Like the sun shone right on her.” MJ turned to face me. “She’s it for me, Saint. And after last night, I truly think I might be it for her too.”

My heart squeezed tightly in my chest. I couldn’t think of many people who deserved to find someone special more than my sister. She’d always been the stoic one, the no-nonsense sibling who pretended all she cared about was a successful career. But I’d always known better. She craved someone to love, and she deserved someone to love her back with everything they had. I couldn’t think of a better match for my orderly, straight-laced sister than the wild-spirited Nectarine Birch who basically lived in a treehouse and probably named all the squirrels in her yard.

“Did you do it?” I asked with a snicker.

MJ shot me the middle finger. “No, we didn’t do it. She’s a thousand months pregnant. We just made out and then curled up together in her big comfy bed and talked for hours. She’s amazing. Did you know she’s always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom? She wants a house full of kids she can homeschool and take on adventures. Isn’t that so interesting?”

I listened to MJ go on and on about her new belle. My sister’s happiness painted the most beautiful brightness on her face—something I hadn’t seen there in way too long. Simply talking about Neckie lit her up inside, and I wondered how long it would take her to realize Neckie’s home was in Hobie while MJ’s was in the city.

The same way Augie’s home was in Hobie now while mine was in the city.

Not that the two were at all similar. Augie and I were merely… what? Student and teacher? Client and bodyguard? Friends? Friends with benefits?

None of those seemed to fit.

As I had the night before, I went to sleep Saturday night with thoughts of the enigmatic antiques geek on my mind, and when I got to Twist the next morning to fake my way through a kickboxing class, I ran into my coworker Rex again. He was leaning on the reception counter sipping coffee and raised an eyebrow at me when I walked in and stopped in surprise.

“Morning,” he said.

“Hey. What are you still doing here?”

“Got a flat a few minutes out of town last night. The garage is fixing it up. Thought I’d come by and fit in another workout before driving back to the city.”

“Shit, man. You could have stayed with me at my family’s ranch. Why didn’t you call?”

He shrugged and grinned. “I found someone to stay with.”

I laughed. Typical Rex. “I hope I’m not related to whoever that was. If you hooked up with a gay guy in Hobie, chances are, he’s a Wilde.”

“Not true. You obviously haven’t opened Grindr since you’ve been here.”

I shuddered, thinking of opening the app and seeing Hobie residents’ dick pics. No, thanks. Too close to home for my taste.

That’s not what you were thinking the other night at the pub.

I shook off the stupid thought and remembered something about Rex’s specialty in computer stuff. “Hey, I was wondering if you could do me a favor when you get back to the office.”

“Probably. What’s up?”

I tapped my fingertips on my thigh as I contemplated whether or not I really wanted to open this can of worms. Rex must have sensed my hesitation but remained quiet while I made my decision.

“You know my self-defense client?” I asked.

“Chris Hemsworth?” he teased. “Yeah, what about him?”

“I think there’s something going on he’s not telling me about. Like a threat or something. I think he’s pursuing these self-defense lessons because he’s scared.”

My friend studied me before responding. “And? What business is it of yours if he doesn’t want to tell you?”

“I think it’s possible he’s being followed.”

Rex just looked at me some more until I broke.

“Goddammit. Don’t look at me with those eyes. You think I don’t know? You think I don’t know it’s none of my business? I do. But I’m worried about him, man. And I don’t want anything to happen to the guy. Can’t you just look into it for me? Please?”

His face widened into a grin. “Ahh, there’s the magic word. I’ll give it a shot.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Later that evening as I was getting ready to return to the ranch, Rex called.

“I found police reports for a home invasion in Hobie about ten days ago and the auto B&E in Dallas the other night. The—”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Back up. Car break-in? When? Where in Dallas? Are you sure it was him? He has family in Dallas. It could have been one of them.”

I heard the click of the keyboard before he spoke again. “No. It was a black Range Rover SUV registered to August Bailey Stiel with a Hobie address. According to the police report, the incident happened in a parking garage attached to the Stiel building downtown at 11:00 p.m. the night before last. I think I saw this car at the garage in Hobie as a matter of fact. Shattered passenger-side window.”

I remembered his mother requesting his presence that night and Augie telling me he wasn’t going to go. Most likely, he’d changed his mind out of guilt. But why hadn’t he told me about the vehicle B&E? It certainly explained why he had a rental car.

“Does the report say what was taken?” I asked.

“That’s the weird thing. There was a messenger bag inside with an iPad and e-reader. But they were still there. The only thing missing, according to the vic, was a box of antique keys.”

“Keys,” I muttered, remembering the box we’d put the spilled keys in. “Why the hell would someone in a downtown parking garage break in to steal a box of random old keys and leave the electronics inside? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the keys go to something important.”

“They don’t though. He simply collects old mismatched keys for fun.”

Rex continued. “There were old keys missing from the home invasion too in addition to other more expected items. Seems like your client has had a pretty fucking bad month.”

“Jesus,” I muttered, letting out a breath. “The old keys don’t go to anything though. And who gets their house and car broken into in the same month? It’s not like he lives in the slums. I’ve been to his—” I stopped talking the minute I realized what I was saying.

I heard the sharp intake of Rex’s breath and could have kicked myself.

“Start talking,” he said with a tone of amusement.

“Nothing. I thought he was being followed by a weirdo last night, so I made sure he got home safely. That’s all.”

“Thereby confirming that he was, in fact, being followed by a weirdo.”

“Shut the fuck up. I’m hanging up.” I pulled the phone away from my ear.

“Be careful Saint-Michel-Devs-Saints,” he said loudly in his best French accent, invoking my given name to get my attention.

“Sure thing, Reginald Xavier,” I replied as I tapped the red button to end the call.

On my way to the truck, I was surprised by a text from Augie.

After what Rex had just told me, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or worry, so I tried calling Augie. There was no answer. After fifteen minutes of no response, I decided to stop by his house and check on him just to be sure he was okay. It was probably nothing, in which case I’d be embarrassed about going to all the trouble of stopping by. But on the off chance something was going on he needed help with, there was no harm in stopping by on my way home from the gym.

After ringing the doorbell, I stepped back on the porch and waited. The longer it took for someone to come to the door, the more I felt like an idiot for coming over there unannounced. Would he think I was crazy?

Augie opened the door hesitantly until he saw it was me. His eyes grew wide, and his face paled. “Saint? What are you doing here?” he asked.

“You texted me about fresh blood and then didn’t answer my calls. I was worried about you.”

“Jesus, I was kidding. I’m fine,” he said, but I caught sight of the edge of a gauze bandage peeking out from behind the door where his left hand was.

“You’re not fine,” I said, stepping forward and reaching for the bandaged hand he held behind the door. One look at the state of his foyer and I found myself pushing my way into the house to inspect the bandaged hand. There was furniture shoved every which way, and blood seeped through the bandage. My heart began to hammer as I wondered what was going on.

“What the hell happened here?”

He seemed startled, whether by my appearance or question, or both, was unclear.

“I… I just cut myself on some glass. That’s all,” he stammered. “I was trying to clean up.”

I continued to hold his arm gently as I took in my surroundings. His house was completely out of order. Large pieces of furniture were crowded and stacked in the foyer, and the rooms to either side looked empty by comparison. Surely this wasn’t still from the home invasion over a week ago. Was it?

After turning back to him, I saw a flash of defiance in his eyes. “It’s none of your business,” he said before I even had a chance to speak.

“Like hell it’s not,” I barked. “What the fuck happened, Augie?”

“I moved some furniture around. That’s all.”

My jaw dropped. “That’s all? This place looks like it’s been gone over by a crazy person.”

Suddenly, I had a thought that made my blood run cold. “Did you get broken into again? Jesusfuckingchrist, were you here when it happened?” I reached both hands up to grip his face and make sure he was looking at me so I could see the truth of his response.

“No. No, of course not. No,” he said. And I believed him. Before I could stop to think about what I was doing, I pulled him against my chest and wrapped my arms around him. I felt my heart hammer and my stomach twist at the thought of someone putting Augie in danger.

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. “Thank god. Baby, are you okay?”

I felt Augie’s body shudder against me, and I pulled back to inspect him again. Just before asking if he was hurt anywhere else, I noticed tears threaten to spill out of his eyes. I wanted to reach a thumb out to swipe at them, but I held myself back for fear of embarrassing him.

“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” I asked as gently as I could. He shook his head. “Then what is it?”

“You’re the first person who’s asked me that.” His words came out in a small rough voice that broke my heart.

“Surely that’s not true. What about your grandfather? He was here last night; he had to have seen all of this mess. Didn’t you tell him what happened?” I asked.

“He knows.”

That’s all he said, but it was enough. Anger spiked at the knowledge that his grandfather hadn’t comforted him. I remembered the bandage and stepped back so I had room between us to inspect his hand. The bandage was mangled as if he’d tried to apply it himself and couldn’t quite reach.

“What happened?” I asked again.

“I told you, just some glass. I was trying to clean up, and I wasn’t paying close enough attention.”

“Where are your supplies? I’ll help you get it cleaned up. Looks like it wasn’t an easy job with just one hand,” I said with a frown.

Augie looked up at me, seeming to weigh the pros and cons of letting me stay to help him.

“Yeah, okay. Through here. In the kitchen,” he said before turning to lead me through the debris.

The house was a lovely old two-story farmhouse with wide plank wood flooring and a warm butter-yellow color on most of the walls. I thought about all the work it would take to replace all the broken items and make it a home again.

“I’m so sorry, Augie. This is awful,” I said softly as we entered the kitchen. “What did they take?”

“You mean besides my peace of mind?” His attempt at humor fell flat, and I finally knew why August Stiel had hired Landen Safekeeping.

When those assailants had broken into his home, they’d taken more than his possessions.

They’d ripped away his sense of safety and destroyed his self-confidence.