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calling?
    Mike returned, sliding a plate of cake in front of her. After mouthing, “thanks,” Paige answered the call. “Dr. Brennan.”
    “This is Safe Harbor Security,” said a young male voice. “May I have your code, please, Dr. Brennan?”
    That was a safety precaution in case someone else answered her phone. “Glimmerglass.” Usually she didn’t like for anyone else to hear, but she considered Mike trustworthy.
    “Dr. Brennan, an alarm’s gone off at your house,” the man said. “Are you at home now?”
    “No. Please call the police.”
    “Right away. Excuse me.” She could hear him telling someone else to make the call, and then he returned to the line. “My associate is doing that now.”
    “Which window?” Paige asked. The kitchen window rattled when large trucks passed, although so far never hard enough to activate an alarm.
    “It’s the window in the rear door.”
    That gave her a bad feeling. The door, which led directly into the bathroom, opened onto a small courtyard off an alley. She considered it the most tempting point of entry for a would-be burglar. “I’ll go home immediately.”
    “Please use caution,” the man warned. “Don’t approach the house until the police arrive.”
    “If someone’s broken into my place…” She halted, fighting her distress. “You’re right. I’ll be careful.”
    Paige cut off and collected her purse. At Mike’s question, she explained the situation tersely, concluding with, “I have to go.” Before leaving, though, she took a bite of the cake for good measure. Delicious.
    “I’ll come with you.” Mike stood as she did.
    “Thanks, but I’m not dizzy anymore. I can drive just fine.” Adrenaline had cleared away the last of her cobwebs.
    “I’ll follow. I’m an ex-cop, remember? Let me take a look around.”
    She didn’t want Mike anywhere near her house, especially while she was in a vulnerable state. Besides, she remembered something Erica had said about how she and Lock first connected. After he witnessed her narrowly escape being hit by a car, he’d driven her home and stayed to comfort her. One thing had quickly led to another.
    Paige refused to let that happen with Mike. “I’m fine.”
    “You’re not arguing me out of this one,” he replied firmly. “Even if you never speak to me again, I’m not going to risk having you stumble into an intruder.”
    “I’m sure the police will be there before me.” Response times in this small town ran less than five minutes, Paige had heard.
    “It never hurts to have somebody in your corner,” Mike returned. “Trust me. There’s nothing routine about a burglary.”
    About to object, she remembered the halfway house. While her first concern had been theft and damage, what if she was the intruder’s real target? He might be watching from down the block. He’d see the police depart and know she was left with a broken window in her rear door.
    As Mike had said, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone in her corner. Right now, depending on a guy didn’t seem like such a bad idea. And unlike Erica, she wasn’t going to collapse in the man’s arms.
    “Okay. Thanks,” Paige said, and went to take a hurried leave of the bride and groom.

Chapter Four
    How ironic that Mike had been trying to finagle an excuse for visiting Paige’s home, and now he was simply worried about her. This invasion of her property might make her angry enough to stalk inside and confront a burglar, and while the police usually responded quickly, they could be delayed.
    He intended to be there, just in case. Nothing more.
    In her shiny blue coupe, she made quite a picture driving along Harbor Bluff Drive with her rich auburn hair drifting around her shoulders, Mike noted through the windshield of his late-model silver sedan. If she opened that sunroof, her hair would whip around like a firestorm. Today, though, she was clearly too intent to bother.
    A woman living alone in a small town like Safe Harbor ought to be