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fill out a report at some point.”
    “Crap.” She let out a long breath. “I have no idea who would break my window. You said they didn’t get in, right?”
    “They didn’t, but when I was coming back from the garage, I flashed the light on the door and it looked as if someone tried to kick it in but failed.”
    Her stomach churned. “Why didn’t they try another window if they were so determined to get in?”
    “When I find them, I’ll be sure to ask.” He blew on the steaming cup and then drank the hot brew.
    “For a moment, I thought it might have been Brody, but he knows where I keep my spare key.” As she sank back against the sofa, she spotted the two pieces of paper she’d found on the floor. The one on the bottom had been a receipt for a shirt she’d purchased. The other she didn’t remember. Curious, she picked it up, and as she read it, her heart nearly stopped.
    “What is it?” Cord’s voice was laced with concern.
    “I’m not sure. It says, ‘Time’s running out.’” She handed the paper to him but he held up his palm.
    “Set it on the table face up. There might be fingerprints on it.”
    She didn’t care about that, but she did as he asked. “What do you think it means?”
    Cord looked off, as if he was weighing his options. “I didn’t want to bring this up before, or at all really, but I think you should know what happened in that alley.” Cord was holding his coffee with both hands as if he needed the support.
    Her stomach tumbled, and she was glad she hadn’t picked up her drink yet. She would have spilled it. “Tell me, please.”
    “When I arrived on the scene of your brother’s attack, one of the men shouted at Brody, saying he needed to pay them what he owed or the next time the beating would be worse. Perhaps they want you to convince Brody to pay—that his time is running out.”
    She clasped her hand to her chest to stop the pain from squeezing her heart. “I’ve never known him to gamble, and I don’t want to believe he’s doing drugs.”
    “In either case, I doubt it’s something he’d tell his big sister. Perhaps he borrowed money for some other reason, and now is having trouble paying them back, especially if they charged him high interest rates.”
    She thought she had a better relationship with her brother, and that he’d have come to her if he’d been in trouble, but apparently she’d been wrong. “I hope that’s it.”
    Her mind spun. Piper thought back to the time when Brody had borrowed about four hundred dollars from her. He kept saying he’d reimburse her when he could, but he never had. Then there was the fact he’d forgotten to pay his cell phone bill. Damn. These little details pointed to Brody having some kind of addiction. “Do you think these men are trying to extort money from me?”
    “I have no idea what to think, but I’m betting Brody can shed light on the situation. Do you think you can call him?”
    “I was going to while you were in the garage.” She told him about his cell phone being cut off due to lack of payment. “He works at Chandler’s garage and will be there tomorrow morning. I can get a hold of him then.”
    “When you do, see if you can convince him to give you the names of the men who assaulted him. We don’t need them coming around here again.”
    “I will, but I can’t promise anything.” She ran her hands down her pants. “Thank you for everything. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d come home, seen the window broken, and then found that note.” Yes, she did. She’d have been scared shitless.
    “I’m glad I was here.” Cord set down his cup of coffee. “I’m not trying to scare you, but it’s possible this person might come back tonight.”
    Fear assaulted her, and she grabbed his wrist. “Why would they do that? They already delivered their message.”
    “Desperate men do desperate things, which is why I’m staying the night.”
    His authoritative comment took her breath away.