In Her Sights (7 page)

“Let’s say I have it. And gave it to you, and you returned
it. What then? By that note on my car, these people after it are becoming
aggressive and may act before you have it returned. Let’s just assume these are
the same people who followed Arnold. If you return the dagger anonymously, who’s
to say the family will make it public they have it back? If it doesn’t go
public, then whoever these people are will think I still have it.
If
I
had it, I would like to keep it for leverage just in case.”

Was all that supposed to be confirmation she had it without
saying she had it? “I got into your house and into your safe. Whoever these
people are could be capable of it, too. I’d feel a lot better if I had it to
protect.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “It’s a good thing my uncle
hired you, then. You already know the layout and the weak spots. You’ll be
there this afternoon?”

“Yes, ma’am.” From the overgrown shrubbery, trees that
need trimming, extra lighting, and a few weak spots in the perimeter wall.

“Sounds good. Besides. As good as you were, you didn’t make
it upstairs to check under my mattress.”

She smiled a teasing little grin and headed out the door.
She’d better be teasing about hiding it under her mattress.

Chapter Six

Lexie put her hands over her face and wanted to melt into
her hammock and disappear. She’d come to her balcony off her bedroom for the
purpose of hiding from Clayton Addison while he checked her house. Julia had
found her and wouldn’t go away, no matter how much sense Lexie tried talking
into the woman. “No. I don’t need to do anything.”

Julia wasn’t hearing it. “Lexie. He is your guest. I’ve
raised you better than this.”

“He is not my guest. I didn’t visit with the plumber last
year when he installed the water fountain.”

“That man was old, ugly, and rude.”

She softly chuckled. “Alex said he liked you.”

She scoffed.

“Either way, as a plumber, he was still here doing a job,
and that’s exactly what Clayton Addison is doing.”

Julia moved in front of her, blocking the evening sun, and
held up two sundresses. “The red one shows off your curves better, but the
periwinkle brings out your eyes.”

“Have you heard anything I’ve said since we started this
conversation?”

“I’ve heard you. I think you’re being ridiculous. Clayton’s
attractive. I’ve seen you with far worse.”

Clayton hadn’t become the best in the security and
investigation business by being stupid, and she had no interest in killing him
to protect her secrets. There was already something happening between them. He
noticed things about her that others didn’t. The circumstances of how they’d
met didn’t help. No. For all of their safety, she would do well to keep her
distance from Clayton Addison. “You do know what he does for a living, right?”

Julia stepped out on the balcony, lifted on her toes, and
peeked over the edge. As if that would stop anyone from seeing her head stick
up. “I wouldn’t care if he shoveled manure with that body.”

“You’ll care if you end up in jail.”

She let out a low hum. “Look at his backside.”

“I am not hearing this.” Lexie put her hands over her ears.

“So the red one or the light purple?”

Lexie shook her head and dropped her arms to cross over her
middle. “What about something in stripes that says Mississippi State Pen across
the back with a number? Because that’s what it’s going to be if he finds me out.”

Julia laid the dresses over the end of the hammock and turned back inside. “As
fast as you love them and leave them, he won’t be around long enough to find
you out. But the mayor’s thing is soon if you can hold on to him for that long.”

Since Julia walked back inside, Lexie didn’t respond. She
imagined that when she heard others say
Mothers
, this was what they
meant.

“I forgot you had this lovely blue one.” Julia reappeared
with a blue sundress. The one with a low v in the front. She tossed it over the
end of the hammock with the other two. “Any of those will do.”

“Not as well as the yoga pants and t-shirt I’m already
wearing. I have no plans beyond my hammock.”

Julia stepped out to the edge of the balcony again and
looked over the backyard. A low whistle sounded out from her. “You would have a
lot of plans if you dated him. Look at those hips when he walks. Noticed them when
he left the house last night too.”

“You mean after I caught him breaking in and trying to rob
me?”

Julia gave her a dirty look. “Don’t act like you haven’t
noticed. And don’t hide behind that breaking and entering. You’re not fooling
me. I searched him on the Internet today. Besides, you wouldn’t have him in
your house today,
fixing your security
, if you were worried about him
robbing you.”

She put her hands up, rolled off the hammock, and headed to
the bathroom. “The security update was all Uncle Sammy and Uncle Gabe. Take
that up with them.”

“And the company was whose idea?”

Theirs, but after thinking it over, it wasn’t such a bad
idea to use Addison’s Security. If she needed to be sneaky and have the system
tweaked to suit her needs, a little dirt on the boss never hurt to get what she
wanted. “You like him, you date him.”

“Honey, if I was thirty years younger, you wouldn’t have to
tell me. Look at his hands next time. A man with good hands knows how to treat
a woman. I bet you anything—”

Lexie flipped on the water in the sink and washed her face
to drown out Julia’s insistence before she started taking the advice. Sure, she
had a decent sex life. Casual relationships with men. There was too much of a
risk for anything more. There were only so many headaches she could have to
cover nighttime activities. So many excuses for skipping dinner or missing week-long
trips before they grew tired of it.

But none of those men she dated made a living from snooping
into other people’s lives. She picked athletes and businessmen for a reason.
They were too busy with their own lives to take much notice of hers.

Just as she was drying her face, her phone buzzed. She
slipped back in her room and thankfully found herself alone. The call was from
Mike, and she let out a breath of relief. Dinner sounded great. “Yeah?”

“Alex said to call you and tell you Mr. Addison insisted on
discussing one area of your security with you.”

She gripped the phone. “Is this Julia’s doing?”

There was a long pause. “I haven’t seen Julia since lunch.”

“All right.” She tipped her head back and stared at the
ceiling. This would be a quick business talk and nothing more. “I’ll be in my
office in a few minutes.”

She stayed in her yoga pants and shirt as she had said she
would, slipped on her lamb house shoes and headed downstairs. As she stepped into
her office, Alex walked with Clayton along the outer wall outside her window.

Okay, it was tempting. She moved across the room and sat at
her desk where she could see better. Clayton had a nice walk. And if Julia
thought it was nice last night in those cargo pants as he disappeared into darkness,
then she should have seen it this morning in a well-fitted suit. Not that
watching him in jeans this afternoon was any hardship. She cleared sudden
thickness from the back of her throat.

“I can see how not interested you are.”

Lexie turned away from the window to find Julia putting a
tray of veggies and water down at her elbow. “Shut up.”

Julia offered a raised eyebrow, then headed for the door. “Mike
said dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Julia left without another remark, and Lexie quit staring
out the window at what was essentially forbidden territory. She tapped the pen
in her hand and returned to the newspaper clippings she’d left out from the
other day. Because Julia had been right about one thing: she did have that
event for the mayor. A party to introduce the mayor’s grandson, who was
planning to run for governor. Lexie had already gotten the rehearsed-sounding
advertisement about how perfect the grandson was for the job from the mayor
herself, but Lexie didn’t put her money and name behind just anyone. She didn’t
care who they were related to.

She thumbed through the clippings from various papers around
the state covering his speeches and actions. The less glamorous part of
maintaining the ideal Lexie Olympia. It was tiring. Politics were often
frustrating. When all this had started years ago, she had waded into the world
of charities and, somewhere along the way, became respected enough that people
cared about her opinion. It took her easier socialite, philanthropist figure
and pushed her into something important that required nonstop research to stay
up-to-date.

With this new politician, there frankly wasn’t much to go
on. Their family was wealthy. Like her, he spent his time and family’s money on
some philanthropy. A little money on abused centers here. A soup kitchen there.
A playground at an underprivileged school.

Nice things. Generous, even—but it looked like he was
hitting up every operation in the state with a small donation to get a finger
in every pie. She hated dealing with new politicians. There was no track record
to see if he’d stand up for what he believed in or if he’d cave for money or
votes.

“I’m told I can’t secure the back of the house.” The deep
male voice poured through her. The tones were soft and strong all at the same
time.

That lump returned to her throat as she glanced up and
found Clayton leaning on her doorway with his shoulder against the frame. He had long legs with one of them crossed over the other. A hand was pushed in his pocket, the other behind
him. She reached for a quick drink to refresh her suddenly dry mouth. He was
far more exciting than the newspaper articles. “I like my privacy.”

He stepped in the room. “I can work around your privacy
needs.”

“Then do so by leaving the back of the house alone. No
cameras on the concrete.”

“The area is completely unprotected.” His arm waved up in
the air. “You have a lot windows and doors that are easily accessible.”

“I don’t allow cameras over the pool area. I never have and
I never will.”

There was no missing his gaze dropping a moment and then
going back up. “A patio that wide is a vulnerable area. I was hired to see to
your protection and you are limiting my abilities.”

“Work around it.” She straightened her papers. This wasn’t
an agreement he would win. “The pool is a personal, private area, and I don’t
want to be filmed at your office.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, and a brow lifted.
Irritation was riding high, if she was to guess what that stance was supposed
to mean. “My staff is well vetted and sign confidentially clauses. If you’re
concerned about photos of you in a swimsuit landing in the
Melville
Magnolia
Weekly
, it’s not going to happen.”

Pictures of her in a swimsuit in the local society newspaper
wouldn’t be ideal. However, pictures of her naked when she swam and laid out,
not a chance. “I will have my privacy.”

“I can set up a remote location here. You would have
security on on site. The cameras would feed directly here and nothing more. Completely
locked down and in your control. Someone on staff twenty-four hours a day to
monitor.”

Appealing, because video would be easily contained just in
case, but no thanks. Extra people paid to watch her property twenty-four-seven
wasn’t going to happen, either. “Nothing on the pool area, Addison. That’s
final. Set your cameras to pick up each spot off the concrete, but nothing
else. I refuse it.”

The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile, but his eyes
remained tight. “You say that like you do dirty things when no one is looking.”

She leaned toward him on the desk. She wasn’t afraid. “Maybe
I do.”

He shook his head. “I want more cameras inside too.”

Extra cameras in her home weren’t happening. “No.”

“Just on the front door is not safe.”

“My privacy will not be compromised.”

“Not even for the sake of your safety?”

With her heart pounding a little faster, she had to admit,
she did like him. Even though he was being a pain in her backside at the
moment, he did get her excited. Other people caved to what she wanted far too
easily. “If you’re good at what you do, the outside will be secured while
working around my privacy needs, rendering the inside unnecessary.”

He pointed to the floor. “What about in here?”

“In my office?” Where Julia had opened the box with the
dagger in it just yesterday?

“Yes. You probably have a lot of information in it. This
room is a target.”

This room was off limits to spying cameras. Not that she did
contract work in here. That stuff happened in the hidden room upstairs, but
this was still just her space. Cameras in this room were out of the question.
She devoted most of her life to being in front of the cameras to be what everyone
wanted out of her. She wasn’t giving up the privacy she had within her own home,
too. “No.”

“Your safe is in here.” He crossed his arms over his chest
and looked as serious as he could be.

She walked to the smaller room next to her desk and opened
the door. It was just her safe and a few office supplies. The door was opened
maybe once every two weeks by Julia. Lexie would give him this and let him
think he won this round. “You can put a camera in here, on the safe. Don’t face
it at all on my office. You can also mount a camera directly outside my window.
Either looking out or looking at an angle off the window, but it doesn’t look
inside.”

“But—”

“No buts.” Anger pooled in her belly, but she’d covered her
emotions up so much that he wouldn’t know. “That’s it. I have secure
information in my office at times from Olympia Organization, and I don’t want
it viewed.” She crossed her arms under her chest and matched his stance. She
didn’t have his wide shoulders or height, but she could toss her head back and
stand shoulder width apart with the best of them.