Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Callie picked up horse magazines and a show program that were scattered across the coffee table. There was a glass on the end table, too. Not hers, but Nikki’s. She picked it up, clutching it to her as she turned to Seth.
“Sorry. Nikki isn’t the neatest kid on the planet. But neither was I at her age.”
Life and cares had worn her down, made her conscious of her surroundings in a way she hadn’t been as a spoiled kid who had everything. The furniture she’d bought when they’d moved here wasn’t expensive, not like what she’d grown up with. There were no original oil paintings on the walls, no custom fabrics, no high-end antiques. Her mother would be horrified.
Then again, everything she had, she’d paid for. It’d be a shame to leave it all behind, but what choice did she have?
Seth only nodded. She didn’t know if that meant he understood or he didn’t care. Heat flared. She didn’t know how to handle having him in her space. It was too much, and yet it was necessary too.
She cleared her throat and went to the kitchen to deposit the glass, along with her package that she knew held scrapbooking supplies. The kitchen, at least, was clean. She’d done that before she’d driven over to One Shot Tactical.
A current of dread snaked through her. Too late now. She’d made the choice to go, and she’d told them far more than she’d intended. It’d been impossible not to.
When she returned to the living room, it hit her how out of place this man looked. Like a Hollywood heartthrob had somehow gotten lost and ended up in the back end of nowhere.
His body was honed, his muscles damn near swoon-inducing. He wore the One Shot navy polo that clung to his chest and arms like a lover. There wasn’t an ounce of fat hanging over where his shirt was tucked into his jeans. His waist was trim, and his faded jeans hugged his hips and crotch in a way that made a girl think naughty thoughts.
She did not need to be thinking naughty thoughts about this man. She needed to be figuring out how to get the hell out of town fast.
But it’d been so damn long since she’d gotten busy between the sheets. She and Mikhail had never, thank God. Not that she hadn’t wanted to when they’d first met, but he’d never made the move. She’d thought he was just adorably old-fashioned. It’d never occurred to her that he’d had an ulterior motive that wasn’t about having a relationship with her. Not that there’d been sparks, but she didn’t really believe in them anyway. That was a romance novel thing, not real life.
Seth was looking at a framed picture of her, Nikki, and their parents. They’d gone to Disney that year and they were all wearing mouse ears. She’d been seventeen, Nikki seven. It was one of the most fun trips they’d ever taken as a family.
He turned his attention to her, and her heart thumped. Hard. Why did he have to be so damned beautiful?
Those eyes were intense as he gazed at her. Maybe she’d been staring too long. Callie cleared her throat.
“The house has four bedrooms and two full baths. You can tell which ones Nikki and I are using, so you’re welcome to whichever of the other two you prefer.”
“Thanks. I’ll settle in after I do a sweep.”
She frowned as she thought of her sister walking through the door later today. Nikki had been an outgoing kid until the accident that claimed their parents. Now she was far more reserved. Wary. She wasn’t going to like having someone she didn’t know in the house. And then there was the problem of the gun on his hip. It was ominous.
“I don’t know what to tell Nikki about you.”
“Why not the truth?”
Callie shook her head. “And scare her half to death? No. No way. She’s been through so much already. I’m not telling her about… what’s going on.”
She couldn’t say Mikhail’s name again, not here. What if he was listening? He could have planted a device when she was at work. Oh God, if he was listening now….
She picked up her phone and typed in the words, turning it to show Seth. If Mikhail was listening, then he’d already heard what they’d said. Panic clawed into her. Why hadn’t she considered it before?
Seth calmly reached into his backpack where he’d dropped it on the floor and pulled out a small black box. “I’ve jammed any signals. Nobody’s listening. If he’s put microphones or cameras in your house, I’ll find them. But right now, he’s not getting any information from them.”
Relief was a tsunami inside her. “I guess I didn’t give you enough credit. I’m sorry.”
His expression didn’t soften an inch. “You aren’t the security professional, Callie. I am. Trust me, I’ve got this.” He tucked the jammer away and straightened. “As for your sister, I don’t know what to tell you. That’s not my area of expertise.”
“I’ll think of something. But, uh, could you maybe not wear the gun so openly?”
“I’ll put it in a concealed holster. Will that work?”
She hadn’t thought he would agree so easily. “Yes, thank you.”
He nodded. “I’m gonna get on with the sweep now. Unless there’s something else you want to say?”
“No, it’s fine. Sorry to interrupt.”
“I need to go into every room. Is this a problem?”
She didn’t think Nikki would like anyone in her room without her permission, but it couldn’t be helped. “Do what you need to do.”
He didn’t acknowledge her as he went over to one of the windows at the front of the living room and flipped the lock open and closed. He did it to the rest of the windows then gave her a brief nod and disappeared down the hallway.
Her breath left her like a slow leak from a tire until she found herself sitting on the edge of a chair. What the hell was she going to tell Nikki about this giant of a surly man squatting in one of the spare rooms for a few days? Even concealing his weapon, he wasn’t capable of pretending to be anything other than what he was, which was a man primed for protecting others from violence. Maybe even committing some himself.
Who was she kidding? There was no maybe. He was definitely capable and no doubt had. How did you get to be a security professional if you couldn’t fight back?
You didn’t. The man had certainly been involved in violence in his life. Many times if she had to guess.
Which was a good thing for her since Mikhail wouldn’t shrink from it in pursuit of his goals. She wouldn’t have believed it until last night, but now she did. Down to her bones, she knew he’d been behind the fire. A warning shot across the bow. One last chance to dance to his tune.
Callie shoved those thoughts into a box for now. They didn’t solve her problem about what to tell Nikki about Seth. The truth was out of the question because she didn’t want her sister to withdraw again. If Nikki knew that Callie might be in danger, it’d wreck all the progress she’d made over the past few months. Losing Mom and Dad had been devastating. To know her only remaining family might be in trouble too?
Callie couldn’t do that to her. But how could she lie? Their parents had spent a lifetime lying about their circumstances. The shock of dealing with creditors, of finding out how their lives had been built on a house of cards these past few years—it’d been devastating to deal with on top of their untimely deaths. There’d been so many calls from creditors. So many inquiries about repayment.
Her parents had stopped paying their life insurance premiums years ago. They hadn’t made provisions for Nikki at all. It still made Callie mad, and it made her feel guilty for being mad. They couldn’t have known they weren’t going to make it off that mountain.
But that didn’t change the fact they shouldn’t have been there in the first place because they couldn’t afford the trip.
“Locks are all functional,” Seth said as he walked back into the room. He stopped at the look on her face. Callie worked to ease the tension and smile.
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“What’s wrong?”
Callie blinked. “I, uh…. Nothing. Why?”
He tipped his chin toward her. “You’ve wrapped your arms around your body, and you look upset. Why?”
She dropped her arms. She could make light of it, tell him he was wrong, but it was too much effort to pretend. So she didn’t.
“I was thinking about my parents. And how hard it’s been for Nikki. I don’t want to lie to her about what’s going on, but I don’t see another way.”
She’d have to tell her sister soon enough. Like when it was time to leave town. There was no way she could tell Nikki about that plan before it happened. She couldn’t take the risk of her intentions getting out. Of Mikhail knowing.
“So what kind of lie would she believe? You could tell her we’re dating, but she’d see through that since you haven’t mentioned me before and I’m suddenly moving in. I could be an old friend from college or another job, but that’s not going to work because everyone in town knows everything about everyone, and they know I’ve been here for months. Someone would mention it to her at some point. I don’t know shit about horses, so I’m not here for any horse stuff either.”
He wasn’t wrong. None of those were options. Though her mind was hung up on the dating for some reason. The idea of being romantic with him…
Stop.
She frowned, thinking. “What if you need a temporary place to stay? There’s a leak in your ceiling and you can’t stay in your place while they fix it. We know each other from my work because you were there, and I said you could stay here with us while the repairs were being done.”
“There’s nowhere else I could go? Really?”
“Work with me here, dude. I’m trying. You have a better idea?”
He tilted his head back and sighed as if he were the most put-upon person on planet earth. “Fine. If you think that works. I have a leak at my place?—”
“No,” she said, snapping her fingers. “Lead paint. You live in an old house, and you’ve got lead paint. You can’t stay there while they scrape it off.”
“Okay. Lead paint. Whatever trips your trigger.”
“It’s the best option. You still get to be who you are, you’re still going to advise us on cameras so we can keep an eye on Charlie, plus the security system in the house because why not, and that’s that. But we have to be friendly. You can’t do that silent, moody thing you do all the time.”
His eyebrows arrowed down. “Just because somebody doesn’t talk a lot of nonsense doesn’t make them moody.”
Callie huffed a sigh. “I know that, but Nikki’s a teenager. Trust me when I tell you she’s moody. And whether you are or not, you look like you are because you don’t smile much or say a lot.” She waved a hand around. “Just act like you like me, okay? Like we’re friends—or friendly anyway. If all you do is frown, she’s going to know something’s wrong.”
He forced a smile. “Better, friend?”
“You aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”
He looked genuinely surprised. “What? I’m smiling, aren’t I?”
“With attitude,” she grumbled. “Just pretend to be friendly when I introduce you and then go do whatever you do, okay? You don’t have to hang out with us.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” he said, grabbing his backpack, shouldering it. “If you’re done telling me how to arrange my face, I’ve got work to do.”
“I wasn’t…” She sighed, frustration hammering into her. Didn’t matter what she said because he was already walking down the hall toward the bedrooms.
Daphne said he was grumpy with everyone. But Callie knew, like she knew how to write her own name, that he was extra grumpy with her.