“Yes. That box over there is from the safe at the Ezzatis’ main residence.” He pointed at the box that I’d already gone through. “Any weapons and valuables were taken elsewhere, of course. Only unimportant documents are supposed to be here.”

“Right.” But everything else he was referring to was at my place, so Meg would’ve gone through it already and found it if it were there.

“We can have the house searched again if you want,” he said.

“No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you.” We’d found more than one safe in the house, even a few that had very good security, so it was unlikely we had missed one, and yet... Had one of my men really taken the papers with those keywords, or was that what James was trying to make me believe?

If Brent was right, then James could be attempting to get me to stop trusting my men. If I made a rash move and accused them of theft or being traitors, then there would be unrest among my men, which could lead to all kinds of problems. I had to be very careful about how I handled this.

My guards were waiting for me outside, and as I made my way to my car, they formed a ring around me so that absolutely no one could reach me. I knew it was all for my safety, especially with the recent sudden attacks and possibly one more in the making, but I was getting tired of this. This was our area, and my men were everywhere, and yet, I was still more like a prisoner here.

Once I got back home, I wondered what I should do. The best idea was to go check the house again, but if the secret compartment was truly in some well-hidden part of the house, then we wouldn’t easily find it. I’d need James to tell me where it was. That would be the easiest way. I’d never thought I’d have any actual use for him. Still, for now, I was glad I hadn’t killed him.

I found Brent in one of the rooms. He was going through something on the tablet in his hand, but he immediately stopped and came toward me when he spotted me. I wasn’t too inclined to see him so soon after what happened between us, but he was still my second, and we had to put business first. There was no space for any feelings when it came to this. Hugo had told me that over and over again, but sometimes I forgot about it.

“We need to search the Ezzatis’ residence again. There might be something we missed and that might help us. I need to go too.”

“Alright.” He tapped his tablet again. “We can get to it next week.”

My mouth fell open. “Next week?”

“Yeah, we don’t have enough men to both protect you and search the house.”