Free Finding Trust (Centre Games) by Natalie Gayle

out of a daze, she realised she would need to give him some directions.
    “Just head as if you are going to the polo fields; we are a couple of properties farther along on the right-hand side.”
    “Okay.” He nodded and squeezed her hand again. She realised he had not let her go the whole time of her self-imposed silence. It felt as if his touch was the only thing that was stopping her from spinning into a million little fragments and just giving in to the enormity of the day’s events.
    Brayden turned in to the drive that was marked with a sign indicating the veterinary hospital. He continued up the gravel drive at a slow pace. He was unsure as to whether he should warn her that her house and hospital could look like a discarded battlefield. Was it better to have her upset again now or in about two minutes? As usual, responsibility won out.
    “Rihanna, I don’t mean to alarm or upset you but your house and the vet hospital may not look exactly as they did when you left them.” He’d turned to look her directly in the eye as he delivered the next likely blow.
    “What do you mean?” she asked, perplexed by his words.
    “What I mean is that it’s likely that the guys who tried to abduct you last night ransacked your place looking for the virus and any other information.” He paused, watching the visible pain of his words. “I’d like you to stay in the car. I want to check the place out first and make sure there are no other uninvited guests here.”
    “No,” she said in a voice so cold it shocked him. “Don’t leave me here. I need to see.”
    She’d made a decision over the last few minutes. Whatever this was about, she would stand up to it, work through it, and get on with her life. Nobody was going to ruin her reputation, her family, and everything she had been working the last years for.
    Her life had not been easy since her mother died but she wasn’t unhappy or disappointed with it. In fact, Rihanna was proud of what she had accomplished. She was a no-nonsense girl to the core. Although she had to admit deep down, it was nice to have Brayden at her side. It wouldn’t be the first time she wondered whether she would be quite this brave or together if he wasn’t standing right beside her through this.
    Brayden wrapped his hands around her upper arms and gave her a gentle shake, never losing eye contact. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
    Rihanna nodded firmly. “Yes.”
    “Okay. You stay behind me at all times and do everything I tell you.” She nodded again, acknowledging his demands.
    Brayden released the door and climbed out; he immediately let his senses scan the surrounds, seeking evidence of anything untoward. As he expected, there were literally thousands of human and animal scents mingling together in the surrounding area. He couldn’t detect any immediate “live” humans but he wasn’t all together confident.
    “Let’s check out the hospital first,” he suggested, guiding her quietly toward the single-story brick building off to the left of the sprawling old Queenslander-styled farmhouse.
    They rounded the corner of the building and as he expected, the front door was ajar and the locks were smashed. He moved cautiously through the door, keeping Rihanna behind him, his senses still telling him that all was safe. The inside of the building was another story. The place looked like a cyclone had gone through.
    Rihanna shrieked as soon as she caught sight of the carnage that was once her pride and joy, her business, her place of work, the real reason she got up in the morning each day.
    Bray immediately cautioned her to be quiet as he continued on. He leaned close to her left ear and whispered, “Where do you do the research work on the virus?” Even in her traumatised state, his whispered breath created goose bumps up and down her arms.
    She leaned into him and whispered, “Down the corridor to the right—the door leads to a lower level that contains our lab.”
    Brayden