Chapter 3
3
B y the time they reached Rhodes Ripley’s house, Ethan had had enough of the city.
Not a good start.
The house was set back behind electric gates. They drove down the driveway and came up to a Spanish-style house. It didn’t look that big from the entrance, but he knew that was probably deceiving. They’d driven past multiple mansions on the way here, and nothing on this street looked to be worth less than fifty million.
As they exited their rental car, a thin, short man in a white shirt and tan pants stepped out of the house. He walked over to them with a large smile.
“Hello! You must be Tracey Callahan.” He held his hand out to Seth, who was the most clean-cut and corporate-looking of all of them.
“Actually, that’s him.” Seth nodded over at Ink.
“And it’s Ink,” Ink said in a clipped voice.
The smile drooped. “Ahh, right. Nice to meet you. Rip has told me lots of good things.”
Ink just nodded.
“Listen, here’s the thing, boys.”
Boys? This guy looked to be around their age, yet he was talking to them like they were kids.
“I told Rip it would make much more sense to get a local team in to protect him. I’ve been after him for ages to hire a permanent bodyguard, but he’s always refused. But this would be a good way for him to find someone he can work with long-term. You get what I’m saying?”
Kind of.
It did make sense, but if it wasn’t something the client wanted . . .
“If Rip wants that, then he’s welcome to tell me,” Ink said, eyeing the guy. “But I need to hear it from him.”
“Look, here’s the thing,” the guy said. Again. Did he know he was repeating himself? “Rip won’t say anything because you’re an old friend. He wants to give you the work. You know how generous he is. And seeing as you’re small fry from the country, you probably aren’t that busy, I’m guessing. So he would feel bad about putting you out of a job. But if you tell him you can’t do it, he’ll understand.”
Ink crossed his arms over his chest. “You want me to tell Rip that I can’t do the job?”
“Yes, you understand. Good.”
“Even though it’s obvious we just flew hours to get here? Changed our schedules? Uprooted my men from their homes?” Ink added.
“Uh, well, I’m sure you can come up with a reason.”
“Who are you?” Brody asked, peering at the guy.
“Oh, I’m Rip’s agent. Kevin Knightly.”
Kevin Knightly? No way that was his real name.
“Here’s the thing, Kevin,” Ink said, repeating the other man’s words. “Rip asked for my help and that’s what he’s getting. Now, you need to stop preventing us from doing our job and get out of our way.”
“Fine, fine. If you’re not going to pull out, I guess we can work together.” Kevin gave Brody a skeptical look.
To be fair, Brody did look like he was in a state. He’d met them at the airport. Ethan didn’t know how he’d even gotten to Los Angeles, but he looked like he’d fallen asleep at some stage during the trip. His hair was standing up on one side and there was a curious stain on his T-shirt.
“One other thing I need to talk to you about before you go in.”
Ink sighed.
This guy was gonna be a problem.
“What is it?” Ink asked.
“It’s about Rip’s sister. She’s a bit, uh, odd.”
“Are you implying that there is something wrong with Cate?” Ink asked in a low voice.
Kevin held his hands up. “No, no. Not at all. I’m telling you because I don’t want you to make her uncomfortable.”
Uh-huh.
Ethan wasn’t so sure about that.
“Just don’t try to touch her. She hates that. Or mess with her routine. All right?” Kevin laughed weakly.
“My men have been briefed,” Ink told him.
“Good, good. The other thing is, well, Rip will want you to protect her too. But she rarely goes anywhere, so she won’t need much. Rip is the main focus.”
“We know how to do our jobs,” Ink replied. “Even though we’re simple country folk.”
Ink stepped past Kevin and into the house. Ethan quickly followed him.
Yep. The house was definitely an illusion.
The entrance opened out into a huge great room with wooden beams and white walls. He stared out of the large accordion doors to the infinity pool and the view of the ocean beyond.
Now, that view was something he could get used to.
“Ink!”
Ethan turned as Rhodes Ripley strode into the room and hugged Ink close. “Man, it’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”
Ethan continued to look around the room as the two men greeted each other. Brody had already sat down and was pulling out his laptop while Seth kept close to Kevin.
So it was Ethan who first spotted her. He froze as he took her in.
Her photo didn’t do her justice.
Because she was stunning. Hair so pale it was almost white, blue eyes, pink, perfect lips.
Fuck.
Was it possible to fall for someone at first sight?
No. That was ridiculous, right?
He needed to get hold of himself. He was here to protect her.
Nothing more.
A small scar that ran through her upper lip. Which was just as well because otherwise she would have been too perfect to look at.
She wore a pair of black pants and a thick cowl neck sweater. Which was surprising when it was quite warm in here.
“Cate.” Ink walked over to the vision standing in the doorway.
A small smile flickered over her face as Ink reached her, whispering something to her.
She nodded and then moved over to Rhodes, who wrapped his arm around her.
“Let me introduce you guys to everyone,” Ink said. “This is Rhodes, or Rip and his sister, Cate. Rip and Cate, this is my tech guy, Brody. He’s only here for a couple of days to set up the cameras and security. Then he and I will leave you with Ethan and Seth.”
Brody glanced up briefly and waved before staring at his computer once more.
Ethan waited for Rhodes or Cate to show annoyance or discomfort at his anti-social behavior. But Rhodes just nodded, and Cate’s expression never changed.
“This is Seth Blue. One of your bodyguards.”
Seth grinned, rocking back on his heels. “Nice to meet you both. Rip, I’m a big fan. And darlin’, lovely to meet you too.”
Cate’s expression stayed even. Hmm. There weren’t many women who were immune to Seth’s charms.
“And lastly, this is Ethan Stone. Your other bodyguard.”
After nodding to Rhodes, Ethan moved toward Cate slowly, trying to soften the look on his face. He knew he could come across as hard and gruff. “Hello Ms. Ripley.”
“Please, call me Cate.” She glanced up at Rhodes, who winked at her. Then, she seemed to relax slightly.
Brody cleared his throat. “I’m going to need a few things from you, Rip.” He rattled off stuff that Ethan didn’t understand.
To his surprise, Cate stepped toward Brody. “I can help you with all of that.”
Brody stared up at her. “Oh, good, thanks.”
She looked over at Rhodes again. Almost as though she needed reassurance.
Ethan felt a weird urge to be the person she looked to for reassurance.
When Rhodes nodded to her, she turned to Brody. “I like your T-shirt.”
Brody glanced down at his T-shirt as though he didn’t even know he was wearing one.
It had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it, all posing with their weapons.
“Thanks, my girlfriend bought it for me.”
Cate sat next to him and they started talking back and forth.
“Let’s leave them to it for a moment,” Ink said, and they all moved away to sit at the large wooden table behind the sofa.