In Her Sights (8 page)

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “If you’re not going to
allow me to lock the home down, you’ll have to sign a security waiver
acknowledging your choice and that you’re aware your decision is influencing your
protection. Doing so means if there’s a break-in, you will not receive the free
investigation. If you refuse to sign, then I walk away.”

The corner of her mouth tugged. She probably shouldn’t laugh
in the face of his peace offering, but it was tough to hold in. She supposed
that was a standard disclaimer. “Somehow, we’ll manage to afford the
investigation should anything happen. I’ll sign. How does the rest of the house
look?”

He bypassed the chairs before the desk and moved to the
windows along the wall. Behind the desk. Right next to her. This heat that
climbed in her body when they argued needed to be extinguished. It was time to
stick her head on straight for business. As attractive as she found him, cute
even that the argued with her, he was still just a risk she couldn’t afford.

He pointed out the window. “Not bad. The security wall is a
good height. As far as construction to protect the home, I think you’re golden
aside from a few trees needing trimmed back. A couple of the rocks are loose,
and we need to patch those in secure. We’ll install a new and more modern
camera system. Fix your gate at the front with a more involved keypad and
intercom and set a lockdown on the house’s doors and windows.”

“That sounds fine.” Less she said, the better. Thing of it
was, they could install all the perimeter they wanted. None of it would affect
the underground tunnel between her hidden office upstairs to the guesthouse
next door. She just needed to make sure none of those cameras picked up the guesthouse
or the street along the backside to catch her comings and goings.

He cleared his throat and turned away from the window. “We’ll
be ready to start upgrades in the morning.”

“Sounds good. A one-day job?”

He pushed his hands in his pockets. “We’ll focus on the most
important parts first and get most of that knocked out tomorrow. Other parts
will take longer, but we’ll be as swift as possible and do our best to work
around your schedule.”

“Excellent. I have nothing scheduled here any time soon.
Work as needed.”

He nodded. His gaze strayed to the open door of the room
with the safe and then back to her. “What are you planning on doing about the dagger?”

She glanced up and looked at him between her lashes and just
shook her head.

He turned away from her and walked around her office. “I don’t
see how you can be relaxed with this hanging over your head.”

That heat was climbing in her again. She kept her tone light
as she stacked a few folders together. “I have 911 on speed dial.”

“Do you know Arnold Prichard is missing?”

That explained why Julia found no one home when she tried to
return the dagger. “I don’t keep tabs on my neighbors.”

“Lexie.” His arms didn’t go over his chest, but he did stand
closer. Just a few inches apart, and met her gaze. The hard tone on his voice softened
with his exhale. “Whoever’s wanting the dagger could have gotten rid of him and
could be working on you next.”

Let them try. Aggressive, close following? Leaving tacky
notes on a windshield? These were no professionals. Sounded more like gang
activity. Why a gang would be involved, she couldn’t say for sure. She had her
finger on the local gangs though. If they messed with her—and sheer stupidity
said they probably would—she could unload a lot of payback in return. Course,
she couldn’t say all that to Clayton who seemed genuinely worried. She wouldn’t
address the slight thrill tumbling around in her belly because of his concern. A ridiculous feeling
because his caring was inflicting a hardship on her life. “I’ll be fine. You
managed in my home as far as you did with inside knowledge about security.”

“And whoever this is has probably had a lifetime of breaking
and entering for practice.”

No one had ever bothered to worry about her safety before.
Not like this. Obviously, she wasn’t left to walk dark streets to her car after
dinner, but as for her personal security, not this intense. It was kind of
sweet. Until she remembered it was his job. She shook her head. “Everyone
thinks it’s here. Nothing you say or do right now is going to change that fact.
If Arnold Prichard is missing, I would guess he left scared.”

“What makes you say that?”

He still stood close. She turned and leaned against the desk
and tucked her arms under her chest. “I don’t know the family personally, but I’ve
heard them discussed. Spineless, is the term my lawyer uses.”

“For the night, we’ll—”

“
Lexie!
”

Lexie leaned around Clayton’s wide chest as Gen walked in,
dozens of packages hanging from her extended arms.

“You’re back.” Before her friend could get all the way through
the door, Lexie had her pulled in for a tight hug. There was no one more
important, no one who needed her support at the moment more than her best
friend. “How was your trip?”

“Wonderful! I brought you souvenirs.” The bags were held up.

Gennita Griffin. Her husband owned Griffin Motors and had
about eighty percent of the car sales market cornered. More importantly, she
was Lexie’s childhood best friend. She used to live across the street, but when
she married, she moved two blocks down.

Gen’s gaze moved over her shoulder and she stepped to the
side and held out a hand, packages still dangling from her arms. “Gennita
Griffin.”

“Clayton Addison. Nice to meet you. I was just about to head
out.”

Gennita put her hands up, bags and sacks rattling. No one
could shop like Gen could. “No, don’t!” She looked back to Lexie and winked. “I’ll
come back later. I didn’t know you had company.”

If Lexie wasn’t mistaken, Clayton blushed all the way to the
top of his ears as he ran a hand down the front of his shirt and stepped around
them. “I was just leaving anyway.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your date.”

“It’s not a date,” Lexie added.

He smiled at her and took a step away. “Consultation
meeting. I’ll be back first thing in the morning and we’ll get to work.”

Lexie took a step toward him. “Let me show you out.”

He held up his hand as he backed away. “I got it.”

Chapter Seven

Lexie watched until Clayton disappeared around the corner
before turning back to Gen, who dropped her arms. The packages slid off one at
a time to a plastic, crinkling pile that she took a big step over. “I’ll take a
consultation from him anytime.”

“Yeah. So could I.” Even knowing he looked at her closer
than anyone else and could see through the web of images she’d carefully
crafted over the years to become Lexie Olympia, she just couldn’t help but be
tempted. She met Gen’s gaze. “And if you tell Julia I said that, we won’t be
friends anymore.”

Gen laughed. “Consultation for what?”

“Security. I had a break-in last night and yes, I’m fine. No
damage. Nothing. Uncle Gabe insisted on this change.” While Lexie shared
everything from her love life, political stance, and latest pair of new shoes,
Gen was completely ignorant of her assassin life and all things related. And
that included catching men in the middle of the night, whether the man turned
out to be harmless or not. It wasn’t just herself Lexie was protecting this
time. It was Clayton, too.

With all the people in her life, Gen was the only one Lexie
could nearly be herself with. She couldn’t always say exactly what was on her
mind, but when they were together, Lexie got to have fun. And laugh. Take a
moment to just enjoy what she had. Forget politics and all that mess.

Gen sat on a settee and brushed off the top of her thighs. “That’s
a relief. That you’re all okay.”

“Enough about that. Tell me about your trip!”

After a forty-five minute update about their month-long trip
through the UK, Lexie was ready to pack up and go. She hadn’t been on a
non-work-motivated trip in a while. The reason for Gen’s trip, though, made it
easier to smother the desire for travel. The news of infertility had hit Gen
hard. Months of one negative pregnancy test after. Artificial hormones thrown
in the mix hadn’t helped. The entire process had nearly tore Gen and her
marriage apart. Lexie patted Gen’s hand. “How are your hormones?”

Gen was finally brought silent for a moment. The bubbly,
brightness on her face dimmed as she rubbed her arms. “Like a roller coaster.
Some parts are more fun than others.”

“You’re feeling better, though? You look like you’re feeling
better.” Color was back in her cheeks and there was a spark in her friend’s eye
that Lexie hadn’t seen in far too long.

Gen was smiling again. “I am. Wade and I just relaxed. Enjoyed
our trip. It was nice. He didn’t have to worry about work. We just had a good
time.” She bit her lip. “The first couple days were rough. Being around each
other again was awkward. But we found a rhythm.”

“Good.” For a month, Gen had left her husband and moved into
Lexie’s house. She enjoyed having her friend close, but her entire life had
been hampered. She still had secret night work to do. In a desperate attempt,
she sent them on the trans-Atlantic cruise to get privacy to do a job and hope
they’d work it out. Looked like it did.

“A week into the trip, we were both stress-free and feeling
good.” Gen breathed, and that bright smile was back on her face. “It felt like
our honeymoon all over again.”

“I’m happy for you.”

“I can’t thank you enough for getting us both to go.”

“It wasn’t too hard. He loves you, and you love him. You two
are meant to be together.”

Gen rubbed her belly. “We also decided that if I’m not
pregnant this time, we’re done.”

“What?” She sat forward. Growing up, Gen’s dreams were to
have a family. Be a mom. It was a foreign thought to Lexie, but she admired her
friend for knowing what she wanted.

Gen was still smiling. “Babies are born every day, and they
need a home. We have a big one.”

Lexie moved to the seat next to her, wrapped an arm around
her shoulder, and kissed her temple. “I can tell by your smile you’re happy
about this.”

“I am. Adoption was my idea. Wade thought it was a good plan,
too.” She checked her watch and shrieked. “Gah! I was only supposed to be here
an hour. I have to get home and have some sex!”

Lexie laughed and gave her one last hug. “My fingers are
crossed.”

Gen started off, but stopped at the door way and leaned in. “Hey,
Lexie? The consultation guy? You should hit that.”

Lexie laughed and threw a decorative pillow at her. “Get out
of here.”

Gen’s chuckles carried through the house and left Lexie with
her thoughts of Clayton’s broad shoulders and thick arms. Yeah. Not a good
idea. She pushed from the settee and headed upstairs with her packages. As much
as she’d like to sit around thinking about Clayton’s body and all she’d like to
do with him, she had things to do.

Most likely, she’d have some unwanted visitors
sometime
.
Question of the hour: When? Tonight after she didn’t show for their appointment?
Possibly. Or they could put it off to another night to plan. Maybe leave a last warning
note. Either way, she needed to be prepared.

Which was the tricky part. Cleaning up a group of men up wouldn’t
be a problem. But she couldn’t have a house full of dead or beaten bodies while
she got off clean. That wouldn’t fly with the police as self-defense. But she
wouldn’t take the chance they’d walk in and walk out with everything she owned
and destroy her home in the process.

Just a few precautions, and everything would be set.
Starting with her employees. The staff rooms were along the South corner. It
wasn’t exactly a weak end of the house, but it was a dead end. If anyone broke in
and headed that way, Julia, Mike, and Alex would be trapped. For the night, she
moved her employees upstairs to a set of rooms down from hers. Close enough
that if they needed to get out, they could escape through her hidden office to
the guest house next door.

Going from hunter to hunt
ed
was a pleasant change of
pace. A little bit exciting. Enough to put some added bounce in her step.

Only problem: she couldn’t have her fun toys. Her
collapsible staff would be perfect for this. Lightweight. Compact until she
needed its full six-foot length, but she’d used that as Artemis too many times
and didn’t want the bruise pattern associated with her. The black compression
pants and shirt that resisted sweat were flexible, but not ideal if caught in
her home. She pulled out black yoga pants and a black, long-sleeved shirt
instead. Even though it was the middle of spring, it did get cool at night with
the air conditioner running. She went ahead and slipped on black house slippers.
If this night went to hell in a hand basket, at least she had a cover.

Her full mask was not an option. Too difficult to explain. A
dark navy ball cap would look strange, but it would hold her hair up and
conceal the bright blonde color. If all else failed, she could try and ditch
the hat. That left her with her gloves. She couldn’t go without them. Not for
fingerprints this time, but to protect her hands. If she got into a
hand-to-hand fight with someone, she couldn’t have broken skin on her knuckles
before the mayor’s party. If caught, she could slip the gloves off and stash
them in the waistband of her pants. Her shirt was loose enough around her waist
to conceal them.

With the house cloaked in darkness under the cloudy sky, she
moved into position in her office. She tucked in next to the opened office door where she would be completely hidden. No doubt her safe would be the target, same as for Clayton. The dagger
was more than small enough to fit in there. On the off chance that whoever was
coming didn’t go for the safe and managed to disarm her security as Clayton
had, she had her phone clipped to her pants and could easily call the police.
All she had to do was stop them from leaving in the meantime.