Once inside, I pressed my head against my closed door. Holding Blake in my arms had done more to destroy my control. I knew that my mission to protect her included my own light stalking. “For her protection,” I whispered, eating that lie up.
Taking a deep breath, I needed to focus on the matter at hand. My attempted murderer was out on a technicality. I needed to rein in the lust and protect her like she deserved. Returning to my work, I killed the twenty minutes easily.
Like clockwork, Sean showed up at my door. “Hey, Tate. What’s going on?”
“Close the door, please.” He did and then leaned against it.
“Please don’t tell me you’re quitting on me. I can slow down the trips.”
“No, it’s none of that shit. I got a problem. I told you about why I quit. Well, the son of bitch is getting a retrial because they fucked up on the warrant.”
“Shit. Okay. So he’s getting a fucking retrial.”
“Yes, and he’s asked for a speedy trial, so we can’t get the info we need in time.”
“That’s cool. Getting people to talk is the easiest thing to do. People slip up when they’re confident.”
“Good, but how are we going to get him to talk?”
“We mess with his mother.”
“That’s a good idea. Although not physically, the police can do a couple of searches and get her to talk to her son. Most men can’t handle someone fucking with their mother, even that asshole, and that piece of shit is a momma’s boy if there ever was one.”
I smiled as we considered all the legal ways to get what we needed. He left my office an hour later to take Macy to the doctor for a checkup, so I contacted the DA on the case to see how I could help. By the end of the day, the plan was in motion. Now I prayed it didn’t take long to get Sneed talking.
Chapter 5
Blake
“Oh my God,” I gasped as I entered my office. Thankfully, Macy had gone to the bathroom because I was over freaking heated by that man. All he had to do was exist, and my body grew hot and bothered by him. Every single day I fell more infatuated with Tate. I did my best to not look at him so he couldn’t read the lust in my eyes, but today he touched me. An accident, one I seemed prone to make since I started here. He caught me before I bounced off his taut, muscular frame. My heart fluttered as he held me longer than would be necessary. Did he like me too? His face was hard to read. Most days that he was in the office, he came off as gruff and to the point, dismissing me like he’d done today, but there were moments like when he leaned over my desk where I thought he wanted to kiss me.
I’d never been nervous when it came to kissing a man I liked, but Tate was on a whole new level. I didn’t know how to describe the way he made me feel. Lust was certainly at the top of the list, but none of that mattered because Rick would eventually get out and find me.
The door opened, slamming into my back. I nearly fell over but caught myself before Macy came around the door. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m fine. I really need to be more careful. I wonder if it’s my move here that has suddenly made me clumsy.” She sighed.
“Maybe it’s the stress. This is all new to you. New town, state, apartment, and job. How is the apartment going?”
“It’s good, and secure enough for me to feel comfortable,” I muttered, opening my laptop and hoping to distract her from mentioning men. She knew of my situation with Rick, but some people don’t give up dating because of one asshole, especially because it’s been almost a year since I’d been on the failed date with him.
We worked for another ten minutes in pure silence when it got the best of her. “That’s great that you’re feeling comfortable. Although it would be nice if you had some friends and family around so people wouldn’t think you were alone all the time.” She shivered.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. I was just thinking about how I met Sean. I led him on a high speed chase.” My brows darted up in shock. She giggled. “Yes. I know. He was on his last day on the job when he saw me speeding down the rainy highway. I’d just been pulled over miles back by a man I thought was a cop. He tried to assault me, so when I escaped, I thought Sean was him coming for me. I crashed and then he came up to me and got me to safety, promising me he’d protect me.”
“Wow, talk about a terrible situation. Did they catch him?” Holy shit. I thought mine was insane. How the hell is she so damn normal?
“He was a cop and he came after us. Sean killed him.” She was so bubbly. I would have never guessed that she’d suffered like that.
“Blake, I’m bubbly because my attacker can’t ever get to me again, and I have a loving, protective husband who would do anything and everything to protect me. I feel safe and so unbelievably happy.”
“Don’t you worry that another guy could…” I trailed off, afraid of even thinking it.
“No. First, my attacker really was a cop wearing a different uniform, and still I married a cop afterward. One evil person doesn’t mean all people are like that. It’s crazy how some people can be so damn twisted, but that’s why Sean does this. He gets to help people protect themselves and their families.”
“I suppose you have a point.” It wasn’t as if I feared other men. I feared Rick’s reaction when he finally got out of prison. In fact, only Rick’s crazy ass scared me.
“But see, my attacker is dead. Yours isn’t. It makes it harder for you than it does me.”
“Thank you, Macy.” A knock at the door stopped our conversation.
“Come in,” Macy said with a sing-song voice.
“Hey, beautiful, are you ready to go?” Sean asked, standing in the doorway looking ever the hero. I could see why she fell madly in love with the man.
“Always, handsome.” She stood up too fast and started to sway, but he was at her side.
“Dang, woman. You’re trying to give me a heart attack. You need to move slower.”
“Sorry. I guess my blood pressure is low.”
“We’ll make sure to tell the doctor. Excuse us, Blake. We’ll be back later. If not, have a good day.” They left the room and closed the door, so I went back to work, which I’d fallen behind on.
By the end of the day, I left the office at the same time as Tate.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I asked him. He seemed mad today, and I could tell it was nothing to do with me.
“Yeah. Let me walk you to your car.”
“It’s only over there.” I pointed to the powder blue Hyundai Sonata.
“Matches your eyes,” I swore he said under his breath. Maybe this wasn’t all one-sided. Unable to look up at him, I hurried around to my driver’s side and got in. No matter how attracted I was to him, there would be no way we could be together. Sean hadn’t included a no-fraternizing clause in the employee handbook, and I didn’t push it. Silly of me because I needed to keep Tate at arm’s length.
Starting my car, I dared myself to look out my window. Tate nodded and then walked away. Damn it. I didn’t know which way was up anymore.
Chapter 6
Tate
“Fuck,” I grunted to myself, waking up from another nearly sleepless night. I’d been working for Cavanaugh Security for three months now, and this was my tenth short trip to install our systems and meet with the clients. It went with the job and in the grand scheme of things, it was one hell of a gig.
Being on the road didn’t sound like a bad thing when I first started, but now it destroyed my hopes of seeing Blake. Not that the woman cared to see me ever, but I missed her like fucking crazy. I missed following her around the office with my eyes. We barely spoke to each other unless she had a problem with her computer, which seemed more often than I would have expected, but I never minded the short call for help.
With Sneed lurking in my life again, I hated leaving Blake even more. The trial for Sneed was scheduled for next week, and the cops got a little help from our agency to nail Sneed. He slipped up and spoke to his mother about
the shooting. The bastard should be in prison for life, and Sean and I were working with the attorney to make sure everything dug up against him was legal and admissible. I wanted no way in hell for him to find an out this time unless it was in a pine box.
My phone rang as I exited the bathroom. Sean’s name lit up the screen. I dried my hands on the towel before picking up the call. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Blake’s laptop crashed…” he said with a frustrated laugh.
“Again?”
“To the floor…Macy bumped into her,” Sean explained with a chuckle.
Okay, so this one wasn’t on her. “Shit. Well, her desktop still has the same information. Was there anything stored on the desktop of the computer that she needs?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to ask her.”
“Never mind. Just save the laptop until I get back. She’s going to have to run everything off the desktop. I’m not back, and we’re out of replacements. These fuckers aren’t cheap.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. I’ll update her when I get off the phone. Thanks. And she’s safe, by the way.”
“Oh, I know.” With my own creep out of jail, I couldn’t trust that he hadn’t seen me around her, watching her when no one else was around.
“You’re a sneaky motherfucker, aren’t you?” Sean laughed on the other end.
I could hardly be called a stalker because I didn’t sit outside her apartment. I just made sure she got in safely every night from the security camera feed I tapped into. “What can I say? I want to be around her, but I won’t be that fucker.”
“You know…I don’t think you’re the only one who feels that way.”
Instantly my mind shot to those guys I worked with. I could strangle those fuckers if they thought twice about Blake like I did. I started pacing my hotel room and growled out, “There’s another fucker sniffing around her?”
Another rumbling laugh escaped him, and I itched to pop him in the mouth, boss or no boss. “I meant she’s into you. I noticed it.”
“Really?” Fuck, I felt like a damn schoolboy with a crush. I was a grown-ass man in love with a woman I couldn’t have.
“Yes, but I don’t think it’s smart to make the move. She’s still very vulnerable and jumpy.”
“I know. Thanks. Let me know if there’s anything you need. I’ll be back in the office on Monday.” I hated that he got to spend time with her while I traveled. Even though he wouldn’t think about touching her, he got to enjoy being in her company. Fuck, maybe she enjoyed being in his company too. It was that jealousy that ate me up at night because I forced myself to keep the distance.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The HVAC guy we had suspicions about was arrested for the murder of his wife.”
“Shit. We could have had him followed before he did it.”
“Nah. It was a year ago, but they found her body the day we he came here. Apparently, he was waiting on the life insurance, but so far she’d been ruled a missing person. Then suddenly her remains we found in the woods.”
“How did they know it was him?”
“They realized that he’d unburied her to make sure she was found. And the kicker was he put a piece of jewelry was known for wearing in there, but forgetting the police took pictures of their bedroom and her belongings and it was in the picture.”
“What a stupid fuck. I know that it’s terrible that she died, but it’s clear our instincts are still on point.”
“That’s for sure. Have a great weekend.” He hung up with me, and I felt a little bit of relief that I didn’t talk to her. When I heard her voice, my world shifted and I’d only fallen deeper in love with the woman.
I’d just gotten dressed, checking out of my hotel room so I could be back on the road this evening and then into my work truck to head over to the site when my phone went off again. I thought it was the office, but it was District Attorney Johnson.
“Hello, DA Johnson.”
“Masters, I have something to discuss with you. Sneed’s lawyer called after the latest evidentiary discovery and they’d like to talk a plea deal.”
“A plea deal? Did you talk to the family of the victim?” It wasn’t shocking considering the evidence we had on him, but the bastard shot me to get out of going to prison.
“Yes, and they agree, but as one of the injured parties, I need to hear from you.”
“How long? Conditions?” I wanted to know if that fucker would be a threat and when I would be expecting him to enter society.
“An Alford plea with a sentence of thirty years with the possibility of parole in twenty-three.” Twenty-three would put him in his sixties before he had a chance to plead his case for release. That didn’t sound too bad to me.
“What about appeals?” I asked. A lot of criminals looked for outs after a few years. This was how we got here in the first place.
“No appeals. Once it’s done, it’s done.”
“Good. Do it. I want him in for as long as we can. There’s no guarantee we’ll even win. The fucker got off the first time, so if this is the way to make it stick, let it happen.”
“Great. Fingers crossed we get it done by Tuesday. You know, Tate. I am really sorry about all of this. If we’d known what it would be today, we’d have acted differently.”
“It’s all in the past. I want that part of my life tucked away never to be seen again.”
“Understood. I’ll keep you up to speed when the deal is done.”
“Great. Bye.”
“Bye.” I pulled up to the front of the job site, feeling a million times better. Now, I had to bust my ass to get back to finding ways to steal a moment with Blake.
Chapter 7
Blake
“Did you call Tate about the laptop?” I asked Sean as he grabbed a mug to fill with coffee. Or should I say it was a vat. He had to use half a pot for that “World’s Best Boss” mug Macy bought him. I wondered how he managed to refill that thing more than once. I loved my coffee, but my travel mug wasn’t even close to that size.
I bit my bottom lip, waiting for him to say something, but he took his time, taking a drink first and savoring the taste. I tapped my heel in impatience, which earned me a scowl. In my haste to hear about Tate, I’d forgotten that Sean was still my boss.
He placed his cup down on the counter and said, “Yeah, I just got off the phone with him. He said he’ll look into getting you a new one when he gets back and to use your desktop until then.”
“That’s it? He didn’t want to speak with me?” Sean knitted his brows, and his lips ticked upward into a grin. “I mean, he didn’t need to bitch me out or save my files?” I attempted to correct myself, but it seemed futile, Sean was on to me.
“Nope. He said you shouldn’t get another one yet, but that’s it.”
“It wasn’t even my fault. What an ass,” I grumbled. Macy had bumped into me, sending the laptop to the ground. I made a poor attempt at saving it, but my catching skills weren’t that great to begin with. Both of us were in tears because of it even though Sean assured us that it would be okay.
Sean chuckled and muttered, “Yep,” as he strolled out of the kitchen with his coffee cup.
“I hate that man,” I muttered to myself. Tate was a total asshat, but I couldn’t fight the attraction to him. Every morning I dressed perfectly professional, but I would make sure that I never looked boring. I wanted him to want me even if I shouldn’t.
“Yeah, Sean can be an ass,” Macy said, causing me to jump out of my skin.
“Uh. Oh, shit. I didn’t mean Sean. Tate.” Where the hell did she come from? There were two entrances to the kitchen area, but I didn’t hear her come in.
“Oh. Well, I’m really sorry about the laptop. I just am having a hard time getting used to my growing belly.”
“It’s fine. I have access to everything on my desktop in our office. Besides, you and Sean own the company.”
“I’m so grateful you didn’t lose anything.” She opened the fridge and
grabbed an orange juice. “I don’t know what it is, but I love orange juice. It’s not that I didn’t like it before, but I feel like I can’t have enough.”
“Cravings?”
“I’m guessing so. This is our first baby, and this is all new to me.” She took a long drink as I waited for the next pot to brew. “So do you have any plans for the weekend?”
“I’m going to see my family in Houston. We get together once a month for dinner and game or movie night.”
“That sounds like fun. I’m so glad you have a good family. I have Sean’s family, but mine is another story.” She pulled out another orange juice bottle from the fridge and said, “I have to prepare Sean and Tate’s schedule for the new clients. I can’t believe how many people we’ve picked up in such a short time.”
“Yes, I’m heading that way too. I have to fill out the paperwork for the three guards Sean just hired.”
“So you have a busy Friday as well. Come on. Let’s knock this out before I go back for another bottle.” We both giggled and headed back to our shared office. With so much paperwork to handle, my day flew by, leaving only a few periods of time where Tate snuck into my head.
* * *
“You made it!” Kayleigh hollered, throwing her arms around me.
“When did you get here?”
“About twenty minutes ago. The drive was a total shit show. Apparently rush hour means the exact opposite. So enough about my trip. How was your day?” she asked. I loved how outgoing and animated she was. I used to be that way until Rick. Now, I wished I could be that way again.
“Probably pretty boring to you,” I confessed.
“So no Tate today?”
“Shut it.”
“Whatever. You need to find someone. I know that douchebag fucked your whole world up, but you can’t stay virginal all your life.”
“I’m not a virgin.”
“It’s been so long you’re probably hitting virgin status again. What was his name anyway? Your high school loser boyfriend? Eli. That’s his name.”
Securing Blake: Cavanaugh Security Series Page 4