10. Lily
10
LILY
I put my bag of art supplies in my car after the class ended. The day was perfect. Bright blue skies, even a little on the warm side for early April. I thought about taking a walk through the downtown area, maybe doing a little shopping, but I had something else on my mind.
A lot of somethings, if I was honest. I leaned against the car, watching the Saturday shoppers. It had been a week since I moved into the master bedroom. Colin didn’t want me sleeping in the apartment anymore. He thought it was too far away, and I was glad to be closer to him. I’d been very close when we awoke that morning. A smile crept across my face. Each time we’d come together had been amazing and special. I felt a little stunned by it all.
I knew that we’d have to talk at some point. Colin knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t a short-term fling. Over the past months, I had been starting to work out what I wanted, finding what I liked in the art world, learning to live for myself. Maybe that’s why I’d engaged in the affair with Colin. That, and I was ridiculously attracted to him. He came into the room and my hormones practically leaped with excitement.
It was fun, too, knowing I could sneak a kiss when I wanted one. We were cautious around Sofia, but there were still lots of opportunities for touches or kisses that the toddler didn’t notice. I had lived in a sexually excited bubble all week.
Today, I was alone. And there was something I had to do. I got in my car and headed for my former apartment building. If John Stout had left those footprints in Colin’s backyard, I wanted to know how he’d gotten my new address.
In the complex’s rental office, I asked to speak with the manager. The office was busy, but he was able to give me a few minutes.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Rhodes?” the manager asked as I took a seat across from him. “Looking to move back in? We have a nice place that just opened up. A little bigger than the unit you had before.”
“Not at this time,” I said. “I’d like some information, though. I think someone in this office gave out my new address.”
The manager’s eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. “We would never divulge the personal information of any of our tenants—or former tenants. That’s against company policy. But I can check your file and see if anyone requested it.” He tapped at his keyboard, then turned the screen so I could see my information displayed. My new address was listed, but under a category titled “Inquiry” nothing showed. “That’s where we would document it if anyone did request your address. Sometimes creditors do, but we would be sure to notify you if that happened.”
“So you’re sure about this?” I asked. The manager seemed confident in his system and his employees.
“Yes. We’ve never had a problem like that since I’ve worked here. I can reasonably assure you that whoever gave out your new address, it wasn’t us.”
I thanked the manager for his time, believing he was telling the truth…which didn’t help me understand how John had located me. If he had. Maybe I was being paranoid. Even if he knew where I lived, how could he have known that I’d be in the park at that time? Maybe it really was just a coincidence that he happened to be there, too. I cut across the complex’s courtyard and was just about to exit through the gate when a voice caught my attention. It came from behind a wall that separated the courtyard from a maintenance building.
“Your obsession with this girl is going to ruin everything.” The stranger’s voice was low but emphatic. “What if you’d hit her that day in the rain? What if she saw us? Focus on your job, you moron. Besides, have you seen the guy she’s living with? He’d snap you like a twig.”
“Yeah, but she’s his nanny, not his wife.” John’s nasal voice reached me. “I’m going to get her eventually.”
I didn’t wait to hear more but ran to my car, hopped in, and left the lot. My heart raced. Fortunately, the men hadn’t noticed me. If they had… I shivered, not wanting to think about it.
When I reached Colin’s house, I stepped from my car and took a worried look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but I was frightened, nevertheless. Colin would help relieve some of my fear if I could tell him about the conversation I’d overheard.
It might have to wait until late, since Colin had a bunch of people coming over that night to play poker. The game was usually at the old McCallister house, where he used to live, but this week he’d insisted on hosting it at his place, not wanting to leave me and Sofia alone if he didn’t have to. Considering what I’d just heard, I was grateful for his concern.
When I let myself into the house, I heard Colin’s deep voice and Sofia’s giggles coming from the living room. Despite my worry, I smiled. I loved the way Colin cared for his little girl. He was such an awesome father, even if he’d come to the role unexpectedly.
“Teaching her pretty young, aren’t you?” I teased as I entered the room. Colin sat on the couch with Sofia on his lap. On the coffee table, he dealt out cards. “I don’t think she’s ready to master poker.”
“But this isn’t poker, it’s bridge. I’m guessing you don’t know either game.” He shot me a grin.
“Bridge, no, but poker… I’ll let you believe what you want to there.” I gave him my best sultry look. “It’ll be easier for me to win that way.”
“Sweetheart, if we play the kind of poker I’m thinking of, you’ll definitely win.” He shuffled the cards in his hands. A blush rose on my cheeks when I got his meaning. “Guess that makes you a naughty teacher,” he added.
“Colin,” I protested with a meaningful glance toward Sofia. “Not in front of little ears.” Both the flirty conversation we were having and my need to tell him about my day would have to wait.
“She doesn’t understand,” he said, distracting Sofia with a showy shuffle.
“That doesn’t matter. She has ears and can speak well enough to repeat things, whether she understands them or not.” Which, with kids, usually happened at inopportune moments. I could imagine Sofia telling someone about the naughty teacher in her house. That would raise some eyebrows.
“I see your point,” Colin conceded.
“I do need to tell you something I heard today,” I said, becoming more serious. “It can wait until later, though.”
His blue eyes went to my face, scrutinizing it. “Something not good, I take it.”
I nodded. He wasn’t going to like it. He’d get all protective, as he had in the park—which, secretly, I liked. It made me feel…I didn’t know exactly, but it was good.
“How worried should I be?” By his tone, he was ready to take instant action.
“Not at all tonight,” I assured him. “Is everyone coming former military?”
“A lot of them,” he confirmed. “Some are cops.”
“I’m sure we’ll all be very safe.”
“It’ll be late when they leave,” he said, and I understood his meaning. He wasn’t going to sleep tonight without us talking.
“You’ll know where to find me.” Asleep in your bed , I added in my head, because there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
Colin
I caught Steve as he entered the house that night. The poker game was in the dining room, but I motioned for my friend to follow me into the kitchen for a minute.
“Anything else on that car?” I asked as I put the six-pack of beer Steve had brought in the fridge.
“Nope. I could widen the perimeter if you want me to. Pushing it out to a fifty-mile radius, though, might give you more hits than you can manage.”
“I haven’t run down the thirty-four addresses you’ve given me yet, but one’s got me concerned.” I’d studied the list, eliminating some owners due to age and other factors, but one stuck out.
“Yeah?” Steve helped himself to a slice of pizza.
“My nanny used to live in an apartment complex not far from here,” I explained. “One of the addresses on the list went back to her building.”
Steve let out a low whistle. “So you think this might be about her, not you?”
“Maybe.” Truth was, I was almost sure of it, except the name of the car owner didn’t match the name Lily had given me for the creep who’d stalked her. Could be lots of reasons for that, but none of them that I could think of were good. I knew two things: the guy was bad news. And I was going to have to neutralize that threat to Lily. The question was, how did that look in the civilian world? I couldn’t use the combat methods I’d been trained in. I had to take a different route.
“Hey.” Alex, my younger brother, poked his head into the kitchen. He was currently home on leave, staying at the McCallister house. “Are we playing or talking?”
“Be right there,” I said. Steve followed Alex out, but I stayed behind to grab a tray of food I’d put together earlier, wanting a minute to think. It was time to rely on resources beyond Steve. Alex, still an active SEAL, was due to ship out on a mission soon, so I couldn’t be sure if he’d still be around to call on if the situation turned physical, but I could still get his advice. And I was definitely going to pull Zach and Chance into the discussion. They’d have useful perspectives to offer, too, and they would be around to help me, no matter what.
Resolving to talk with the other three as soon as the night was over, I joined the men in the dining room so play could start. The evening passed with enough distractions that I could almost forget what was on my mind, but not quite. Twice I left the game to check the house, securing the perimeter. Once, I used the excuse of kissing Sofia good night, but the second time, I felt Chance, Zach, and Alex’s scrutiny on me when I returned from a trip around the exterior of the property.
“You were distracted tonight, Colin. I haven’t fleeced you like that in a while.” Everyone had gone home except for family. Alex wadded up the money he’d won and shoved it in his pocket before turning to Zach. “And you didn’t fare much better. Must be being bona fide family men. You lose your edge.”
I regarded my younger brother, who was always cocksure and unafraid to say whatever was on his mind. As the middle brother, I had often been the peacemaker of the three. Fortunately for me, by the time we were teens, I had two inches on each of them. That came in handy. I’d stepped in the middle of their brawls more than once.
“You try having a kid, a woman, and a demanding job. Making time for all of it isn’t easy,” Zach shot back.
“I’m too smart for that,” Alex returned with a grin.
“Sounds to me like you’re too dumb to appreciate a good thing when you have it,” Chance said, with a teasing smile that took any sting out of his words. “I was driving past the old place the other day and saw a very pretty lady getting out of her car.”
“Soledad’s terrific, but it’s not serious between us.” Some of the attitude went out of Alex as he said it, though. “It’s not like we’re living together. She’s got a place of her own, too.”
“Uh-huh,” Zach said, giving Alex a smug smile.
“Hey, you can stop what you’re thinking,” Alex said. “Soledad and I hook up when I’m between missions. I like her, but there are no strings.”
“So if you came home and found her with someone else?” Zach kept at it.
“I’d be cool with that,” Alex insisted.
“Bullshit you would,” Chance said.
Alex shrugged off the comment, showing more restraint than I was used to seeing in my younger brother.
“What about you?” Alex turned his attention to me. “You’ve gotten almost lighthearted since the last time I was home. The dating thing must be going well.”
Zach laughed, speaking before I could. “Nope. He’s got the hots for his nanny with the sexy glasses.” I winced when the other three all turned their focus to me. “Except she doesn’t want him.”
“Is that right?”
“Not quite.” I didn’t feel the need to tell them that Lily was at that moment in my bed upstairs. They could probably guess, and that was good enough. “She doesn’t want a long-term relationship.”
“Wasn’t that your goal?” Alex questioned.
“It still is.” I grinned. I’d made no secret that I was searching for the right woman, but I’d never expected she’d be living in my house.
“I get it now,” Alex said. “Mission: Nanny Impossible?”
“Something like that.” I didn’t think the situation was impossible, but caution and transparency were required. I’d been a little short on transparency, which needed to change. Soon.
“Wish I was going to be around to see that unfold.” Alex’s upcoming deployment was estimated to last at least a few months. His trips home were sporadic, so I was glad to spend time with him while he was around.
“Too bad you’ll miss it.” By the time I saw Alex again, what was between me and Lily would have developed into something lasting…or died out.
“I can’t blame Lily for not falling head over heels for you,” Alex commented wryly. “The only thing you’ve got going for you is my adorable niece.”
“Thanks for that, but we’ll see where things stand next time you’re on leave,” I said, feeling confident that I could win Lily by then. But as good as I felt about things with her, there was no denying that we had some problems to work out. The stalker creep was at the top of my list. After that was taken care of, operation nanny impossible, as Alex called it, would begin in earnest.
“But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you guys about,” I said, turning serious. “I’ve got another situation going on, and I might end up needing backup.”
“You know you’ve got it,” Chance said, while Zach and Alex both nodded their agreement. I’d known they’d say that, but it was still good to hear. I gave my own nod of thanks and then started to explain about “creepy guy,” the gray Camry, and the other things that had my senses on high alert.