Ben unlocked his door, shuffled inside, and threw his coat onto the nearest chair. It had been one hell of a day. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he headed for the kitchen. His head was pounding, and he kept thinking about the fear he’d seen in Piper’s eyes.

Grady was dead. Piper had covered for him, she hadn’t told the detective that the last time they’d encountered Grady, Ben had been the one punching the guy. He was sure that little detail would have put him high up on the detective’s suspect list.

He grabbed a water from the fridge, lifted it to his mouth and—

Why was the light on in his bedroom?

He froze. The bottle of water was cold in his hand. Slowly, Ben turned his head toward the bedroom. The door was partially shut, and light streamed from the opening.

He was sure he’d turned off the light in there.

But…

He shoved the water back into the fridge. Shut the door, moving as quietly as he could. Maybe he was mistaken. Maybe he’d left the light on when he’d hurried out that morning. He’d been worried about Piper, and he’d hauled ass out of the place.

Maybe he had…

Or…maybe he hadn’t.

Ben grabbed a long knife from the kitchen block, and he crept to his bedroom. His breath came quickly, in and out, as he advanced. He couldn’t move as quietly as Eric, but he was a pretty close second. And while he might not have all of Eric’s fighting skills, he was a second degree black belt. Their father had insisted they both learn Taekwondo when they’d been younger.

His father had thought self-defense was a necessary part of life. Eric had gone on to take all sorts of classes, but Ben had kept his focus on the style he loved the most.

“I don’t want you to ever be the one to start something, but if someone comes at you, you have to be able to defend yourself.” His father’s words swept through his mind as Ben closed in on the bedroom door.

He pushed it open. The door gave a low creak.

And—

The room was empty. The bed still unmade, the light shining from overhead. Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing appeared to have been moved in any way.

The tension slid from his shoulders. He was just jumpy. The whole nightmare with Piper had gotten into his head. He had a security system. If someone had gotten inside, he would have known about it.

But Piper’s system hadn’t gone off.

The thought sent a surge of adrenaline pumping through him—right before he felt the rush of movement at his back. Something slammed into the back of his head, and Ben hurtled toward the floor. The knife slipped from his fingers.

“You don’t fucking deserve her!”