Chapter 9
Ethan parked in front of Paisley’s house and grabbed the plastic bag with the parts before strolling to her door.
He’d spooked her earlier, asking for a key. He hadn’t thought about why that might not work for her until she didn’t answer right away. Once he thought about it, he’d given her an out. When she’d responded immediately, he knew he’d gone beyond her comfort zone in asking for a key.
It bothered him, and yet he understood. If she gave him a key and he went inside her house without her there, he could do things to violate her privacy.
Go through her belongings, plant listening devices or cameras, make a copy of the key and return when she wasn’t expecting him.
It wasn’t something he would ever do, but he didn’t blame her for being cautious.
He knocked on the door, studying the perimeter of the porch ceiling for any signs someone may have planted cameras to spy on her.
There was nothing. It was possible Trey wouldn’t do anything, but Ethan couldn’t help but remember the man’s intensity when they’d been stationed together at HOT and then later when Ethan was TDY at Eglin AFB.
He’d thought little of it at the time because a man had to be intense to do what they did.
To face fear and death on a regular basis, and to stay coolheaded while it was happening.
Ethan had thought nothing of Trey’s story about his decision to leave HOT and go to Eglin full-time, but now he wondered.
Especially since it’d happened before either of them met Paisley.
The door opened to reveal her in a jean vest and long white skirt. She was beautiful, like always. Even with her hair much shorter than he was used to seeing on her, she took his breath away. Her smile wasn’t quite genuine though.
“Hi. Come on in.”
He didn’t move, studying her instead. “Everything okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Bad day at work. Something from your lawyer. Any number of things might ruin your day.”
Her fingers gripped the door harder, the skin whitening. “My day isn’t ruined. But yes, it was a bit of a bad day at the library. Could you come in please so I can shut the door and not pay to cool the outside air? Which, I might add, is a futile effort.”
He stepped inside and she moved away so he could shut the door. “What happened at work?”
She shrugged and gave him more of that fake smile. “Fern Carter and Hiram Watson.”
“Huh. Is that one of those romance novels the women are reading in their book club?”
She stared like he’d spoken another language.
Then she snorted, slapping her hand over her mouth like she was afraid once she started laughing, she wouldn’t stop.
“Lord no,” she finally said. “Fern is one of the library techs. She thinks I stole her job. Oh, and slept with a city councilman to get it in the first place.”
“What?”
“I didn’t, of course. I’ve sworn off men for a while. Maybe forever, if I’m honest.”
Now why did that little piece of information make his gut tighten? “I didn’t think you did. Why’d she say it?”
“Because she’s a bitter cow who thinks she’s entitled to the job and can’t figure out that she’s made life so difficult for people there was no way they’d promote her. Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m good. Keep telling me about Fern while I replace the washer in the sink.”
They went into the kitchen and he got to work, bending over to turn off the valve beneath the sink. Paisley leaned against the counter and watched him work.
“Fern?” he prodded when she propped her chin in her hand and didn’t say anything.
“What? Oh, yes.” She straightened. “Hiram Watson is a library regular. He reads a lot, and he’s always in there getting new books.
He has, shall we say, interesting taste in clothing.
Today’s shirt was pink. There was a unicorn, and the slogan was Not today, Sparkletits.
Except sparkletits had an asterisk where the I is, just to make it less obvious.
Fern took exception, like she always does, and argued with him about the obscenity.
I stepped in, pointing out—quite reasonably I thought—that sparklet-asterisk-ts isn’t really considered an obscenity and we couldn’t ask him to leave.
That’s when she unloaded on me and said she was going to the mayor.
She stormed out and marched straight over to Mayor Green’s office.
I called to warn her. Not sure what she said, but Fern really wasn’t happy once it was over. She didn’t come back to work.”
“Damn, sounds like a reality TV episode.”
She laughed. “Oh yes, The Unhinged Librarians of Sutton’s Creek. A real ratings hog, that one. I hear there’s going to be a Season Two.”
Ethan grinned. “It’s nice to hear you laugh.”
She dropped her gaze and folded her arms across her chest. Protecting herself. He hated that she felt the need.
“Yes, well, sometimes you have to laugh or you’ll just cry. How was your day?”
“Fine. Busy. We’ve been getting more women signing up for self-defense training lately. Between that and the security consulting we’re doing for defense contractors in Huntsville, some days are non-stop.”
“But not all days or you wouldn’t be working with Diego.”
He finished tightening the faucet. “True. I like to be busy, and I like working on house projects.”
Because he didn’t like it when he had too much time to think. The older he got, the more he thought about where he’d come from and where he’d been. And he wondered where the fuck he was going, because he didn’t have some of the things he’d thought he would by this age.
A wife. A kid or two. A house.
Stability.
The guys would laugh if they knew he wanted those things.
Or maybe they wouldn’t since they were all trending that way themselves.
Six of them had moved to Alabama with the intention of sacrificing all for the mission and then getting the hell out if they were alive and able. Now four of them were staying forever.
Then there were the thoughts about Paisley that had returned in full force since she’d dropped back into his life. He didn’t see those going away anytime soon, especially now.
He turned the water on and ran the sink, then shut it off and waited. Nothing dripped.
“I had no idea it was that easy,” Paisley said. “And I should have. I’m a librarian. All I needed to do was look it up.”
He gathered up the bag. “Don’t be hard on yourself. You have more important things to worry about. Let’s get the toilet now.”
She led him to the bathroom. “That’s nice of you to say. But I could have at least looked.”
“Turns out you didn’t have to. You just had to ask me.” He got to work on the toilet. “Where’s Violet?”
“She’s next door. The neighbor’s cat had kittens and she went to see them. She really wants a kitten,” Paisley added with a sigh.
“Why not? A pet’s a good thing for a kid to have. Teaches empathy and responsibility.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Easy for you to say when you don’t have to be the one to take care of it when she forgets to do something. I can’t handle one more living thing in this house right now.”
“Understood. There’s always next month or next year. Kittens happen all the time, unfortunately.”
“Unfortunately?”
“Relax. I like cats. I said unfortunately because people don’t spay or neuter their pets.”
“You’re right. Breaks my heart to see all the strays without homes.”
He knew all about being a homeless stray. Living in shelters at night, on the streets during the day. Wondering where the next meal would come from. It was a part of his life he didn’t share with anyone—but he would never forget how it’d shaped him into the man he was. How it still drove him.
“A fact of life, I’m afraid.” His voice was gruff. “Until people do the responsible thing, there’ll always be more animals than people who care about them.”
More kids, too.
He turned the water on again. The toilet filled and then stopped where it was supposed to. He flushed to make sure the flapper seated itself properly. When it did, he put the lid back on. “There you go. Good as new.”
“Bless you. How much do I owe you for the parts?”
He wadded up the bag with the empty packaging. “Nothing. Consider it a gift.”
Her forehead creased. “You don’t have to do that. I can afford to pay for parts. I’m just not sure about an entire security system right now.”
“It’s no big deal, Payz. It was like thirteen bucks and some change. Buy me a coffee and a muffin at Kiss My Grits one of these days. Or a beer at the Dawg. As for the security system, it’s not as bad as you think. I wanted to talk to you in person, show you where things would go.”
She’d folded her arms over her chest again. “First give me the bad news.”
“This house is old and the walls are plaster, so wiring it would be a lot of work. But we can do a wireless system, cellular, with motion lights on the house and cameras mounted in hidden locations. All for under five-hundred dollars. Professional monitoring adds roughly fifty bucks a month, but you don’t have to go with a company if you want to let us do the monitoring for you. ”
“Us? You mean One Shot Tactical?”
“And security, yes. We’ll respond to alerts faster than a company will, but it’s up to you.”
“How much is that?”
“Nothing. It’s not something we do for everyone so there’s no price structure. It’s me and the guys. We’ll get alerts on our phones, and we’ll respond.”
“What if you’re asleep?”
“Not an issue. The alerts are loud. Or you can go with a monitoring company if it makes you feel more comfortable. They’ll call the police if they get an alert and you don’t respond when they call you to confirm it’s not a mistake.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I honestly don’t have five-hundred to spare. I have to put Violet in daycare once school starts since she’s not old enough for school yet. That isn’t going to be cheap.”
“How about this? I’ll put it in and you pay what you can, when you can. We’ll do the monitoring. If Trey so much as shows his face on the property, we’ll know. And you can share the evidence with the court. How long is the protective order for?”
“Six months to start. The judge can renew it though.”
“A system could be invaluable then. You said you feel like you and Violet will be in danger every day for the rest of your lives. This could give you some peace of mind.”
“I know, but—”
“No buts, Payz. Listen to me when I tell you that I know how Trey operates. If he were to come after you, he wouldn’t just break in and kill you in your sleep.
He’d watch you, trail you, and he’d break in when you weren’t home so he could case the place, make a plan, figure out how to murder you and make it an accident.
He’s violent, but he’s not the kind of man who intends to do jail time for it.
If he wants to kill you, it won’t be in any way that implicates him.
It also won’t be an impulse. So your best shot of stopping him is catching him early, when he’s still making the plan. ”
Her eyes had gone wide. She hugged herself tighter, and his throat knotted. He wanted to kill the sonofabitch himself and put an end to her fear.
“I’m sorry for being so blunt,” he said. “I’m not trying to make it worse for you. I want to help, and I want you to realize why you need that help.”
She dragged in a breath. Then she nodded. “I know. Okay, let’s do it. I’ll give you some money when I get paid, and I’ll keep giving you something every couple of weeks. As long as you’re sure that’s okay.”
He didn’t want to take her money at all, but he would if it’s what she wanted. Hell, maybe he’d donate it to a shelter. He didn’t need it and she did, but she wasn’t going to let him do this if he didn’t accept payment.
“It’s okay. I got you, Payz.”
“Why?” Her voice was soft, whispery. “After everything?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”