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might do her some good to get a little scared.”
    He was so fucking frustrating. Adam took a deep breath. How long was this going to go on? It had been over a year since they’d tried a long-term relationship. Adam had known almost immediately that Lila wouldn’t work out, but he’d been so sick of one-night stands that he’d held on for four months. “You know not every woman in the world is out to screw you.”
    Jake turned back, his mouth a flat line. “And not every woman in the world is trustworthy. Can we figure out which one Serena Brooks is before we sacrifice another career for a woman?”
    “Don’t you blame me for Jennifer. You found her. I didn’t even particularly like her.” He slammed the SUV door, hoping it would give the poor woman some warning that they were here.
    Jennifer had been the reason they got their asses kicked out of the Army. Jennifer was the reason his family no longer spoke to him. He’d lost as much as Jake. It had been years, and the bitterness had faded. He still didn’t talk to his father or his brothers. He was still the first Miles in four generations to get kicked out of the Army. But he wasn’t going to give up on life.
    Jake walked down to the end of the yard. He looked up and down the quiet street. There were cars in the driveways and at the curbs. No one would probably notice someone parked and watching.
    “I bet she doesn’t know her neighbors past the ones on either side,” Adam commented. The world didn’t work like that anymore. Especially in an upscale neighborhood. These were two-income, highly ambitious families. They sent their kids to private schools and worked twelve-hour days.
    “If she even knows those.” Jake pointed down the street. “Those lights are out. I wonder why they haven’t been fixed.”
    “I’ll call the city tomorrow.” It would be first on a list of things he was going to have to do to make her home safer.
    “And she doesn’t have motion sensor lights. We’ve been standing out here for five minutes. She should have called the cops by now.” Jake’s head shook in disappointment.
    Adam looked back at the house. The shades had been drawn in the front. The house looked neat and tidily shut up. He strode up to the door. The gate opened, creaking slightly, but there was no movement inside the house. No one opened a shade to check outside. If she was listening, she hadn’t heard him. Her porch light was off, the small enclosed space locked in gloom. Even if she looked out the peephole, she wouldn’t be able to see the person requesting entry to her home. He sighed and rang the bell.
    “I don’t hear anything,” he said after a moment or two. He tried again but nothing. “Maybe she’s not here. Maybe she’s staying with a friend.”
    “Not according to Ian.” Jake walked back out to the driveway. “I talked to him before I changed out of my leathers. He said Lara spoke to her earlier in the evening, and Serena had promised her she would stay locked up tonight. Apparently she’s working on another book. Ian was going to call her to let her know we’re coming. If she’s pissed off, well, she’s in for a surprise. She’s not really the client. Lara is. I’m not about to let her little temper tantrum keep me from doing my job.”
    Adam slapped his partner on the back. “Just keep talking that way, buddy. That’s the attitude that’s going to have her eating out of our hands.”
    “I’m sorry.” Jake sighed heavily. “I just wish this case was a little more cut and dry. If she’s doing this for publicity, you’re going to get hurt again.”
    And he wouldn’t? Jake was the badass, but there was a soft spot underneath that had been damaged in the past. It was up to Adam to gently push him toward the right outcome of this little mess. If Jake wanted to be the bad cop, Adam would let him play it that way. But only to a point. “Fine. But let’s not call her very reasonable anger, with you I might add, a temper