She shrugged away from him and moved to the window to stare outside. After a few minutes of silence, she told him what he’d already been told. “I’m part of the witness protection program. Dean and Jim were assigned to my case when I was a kid. The guy they’re worried about is serving a life sentence, so there really isn’t anything to get worked up about. Zod is overkill. I’m not in any real danger or they’d have moved me on by now. They’re just paranoid. Have been since the press conference.”
Carter felt strain in his arms and realized his fists were clenched. Hearing confirmation of his earlier concerns angered him. “Who? Who are they protecting you from?”
“It isn’t important.”
“Bullshit.”
She swiveled on him, her hands rested on her hips. “I’ve already told you why. What you’ll probably hear from Blake once he and Samantha talk. I would never ask my best friend to keep this from her husband, and I know you’ll talk to him. But no more, Carter. I see no need to place you or Sam and her family in any more danger.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Maybe you can. But what about Sam? What about Eddie? The witness relocation program isn’t set up for petty theft.”
“I know that.”
“Then you know I can’t reveal any more than I have. Against my better judgment, I’m standing here and not running off like a scared rabbit. That doesn’t mean I won’t if there is any real sign that someone is after me.”
“Dean is giving you a police dog. They’re worried.”
“Paranoid. Not worried.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Because they gave me a dog and not a human escort, that’s why. I know what I’m talking about, Carter. I’ve lived with this my whole life. If there was any real threat they would ambush me and make sure I had twenty-four hour protection until I could disappear or be as protected as the President of the United States.”
Carter wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or upset.
He was uneasy, regardless of her explanation. “You’ll keep the dog?”
“Will it end this conversation?”
For now. “Yes.”
“Fine. I’ll keep the dog.”
Carter accepted it as a small victory. She’d told him some of the truth, and he accomplished the goal of maneuvering a guard dog into her home.
What Eliza didn’t know was that he planned on being beside the dog every moment he wasn’t working. And if he couldn’t be there, then he’d find a way to have others by her side.
Chapter Ten
An impromptu dinner party began once Blake returned home. In truth, Eliza was comfortable with the distraction. Zod sat on the floor between her and Carter and eyed the people at the table. Police dogs like the massive shepherd were trained to ignore offerings of food from strangers, but that didn’t stop some people from trying to feed them.
“I’m surprised you managed to get away this long, Carter.” Sam was pushing food around her plate, obviously not interested in eating. “I don’t think we’ve spent over an hour in your presence since the campaign began.”
Carter’s gaze drifted briefly to Eliza then quickly to the dog.
“I could use a few days off.”
Gwen placed her hands in her lap. “Do governors take holidays?”
“I’m not the governor yet.” Carter smiled at Gwen and started to slip another piece of his dinner under the table to Zod. Zod glanced at the food, ignored it, and rested his head in his paws.
Eliza caught Carter’s hand and placed it firmly on top of the table. He lifted one side of his mouth in a sly smile.
“But when you are, will you have time for yourself?”
“I’m sure I’ll figure it out,” Carter said. He gave up on feeding the dog and left the morsel meant for Zod on his napkin before reaching for his drink.
“Even our government officials take vacations,” Eliza explained to Gwen. “Speaking of vacations, where’s Neil?” Eliza directed her question to Blake.
“He’s driving Jordan and her nurse back from the summer camp.”
Eliza shook her head. She’d forgotten all about Jordan’s week long outing. Samantha’s sister had the mind of a child and didn’t trust many people. As Sam and Blake’s bodyguard, Neil had taken on the role of Jordan’s protector, too. The whole idea of a bodyguard bothered her when Samantha and Blake first got married, but Eliza viewed Neil as one of the family now. Although the man didn’t say very much, his size and deathly stare would scare any would-be assailant away.
“How did it go this year?”
Samantha smiled. “Well, I think. She’s adjusting to changes much easier in this last year. I think Eddie stimulates her.”
“Eddie stimulates everyone…at three in the morning,” Blake said laughing.
“It’s not that bad.” Sam swatted his arm.
“So Neil will be home tomorrow then?” Gwen asked.
Eliza noted the lift in Gwen’s chin as she directed the conversation back to Neil.
“Before noon.”
“Maybe he can help me move then.”
“Move?” Sam questioned.
“In with Eliza. You haven’t forgotten have you?” Gwen’s gaze shifted around the table.
“Oh, Gwen…I don’t know. Things are kinda crazy right now.” Eliza had revealed enough about her past and the current concerns for her safety to Gwen earlier. Surprise and pity were the woman’s first reaction, but she obviously wasn’t worried about her own security enough to shy away.
Gwen waved her hand in the air. “Oh, posh. I’m not frightened of anyone following you from your past. Besides, having more people around you and not less would be in order.”
Movement at Eliza’s feet caught her attention as Zod sat up licking his jowls. A quick glance to Carter’s guilty face confirmed her suspicion that he was still attempting to feed the dog at the table.
“I don’t have security like Blake and Sam do, Gwen. It’s not as safe.”
“But it’s safe enough for you? If you don’t want me there please say—”
“I didn’t say that,” Eliza interrupted.
“Then it’s settled. Neil can help me move my things in tomorrow. If there are safety measures to be taken, I’m confident Neil can help. Don’t you agree, Blake?”
Blake’s eyes traveled around the table before he spoke.
“In light of the circumstances, and with your approval, Eliza, I’d like to have the Tarzana house wired with safety measures and monitoring.”
She started to argue, but Gwen cut her off.
“Brilliant idea.”
“That sounds expensive,” Eliza finally said.
“But necessary.” Carter folded his arms over his chest.
“I don’t know if I want my privacy invaded with cameras.”
“Small price to pay for protection.”
Eliza nodded toward the dog that was sitting up and staring at Carter. “That’s what he’s for.”
“What about when the two of you aren’t home? Wouldn’t you like to know if you had any visitors around while you were gone?”
Carter had her there.
“I can’t afford it.”
At least two people huffed at the table. Just because all of Eliza’s friends were loaded, didn’t mean she was. Sure, Alliance had managed to put money in her pocket and some in her savings, but dripping in cash, she wasn’t.
“Technically,” Sam started. “The Tarzana home is mine so I wouldn’t expect you to pay to have a monitoring system placed.”
Eliza passed a glare to her friend.
“I love you, Eliza. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Some of the building resentment faded with Sam’s words. “You’re not playing fair.”
Sam winked at her husband. “I’m playing to win.”
“Brat.”
“Glad we have that out of the way.” Carter pushed away from the table and glanced down at the pile of forgotten scraps sit
ting inches from Zod’s nose. “What is wrong with this dog?”
Eliza giggled.
“Seriously. What dog lets perfectly good food lie by its nose without taking a nibble?”
“Police dogs only eat special food from one source. If they were tempted by steak, then the bad guys would learn to keep a T-Bone with them whenever they committed a crime.” Eliza scooped up the food and placed it on her plate. She patted Zod on the head and praised him.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
Carter scratched his sandy blond hair and wrinkled his brow. “I couldn’t get my dog to chase a ball growing up.”
“I doubt Zod knows how to play ball.” In fact, if she remembered right, police dogs didn’t even play with other animals. Which was kind of sad when she thought about it. This dog was a working machine.
She hoped she wouldn’t need him for long.
****
Eliza watched Carter check his text messages, his email alerts, and his voice mail. As each hour past his eyes languished between hardly open to forcibly awake. If he had a passing thought about their intimate moments, he didn’t let on. Sure, Eliza could read the concern in his words, his tone, but he didn’t say anything that wouldn’t be considered polite.
While visiting in Sam and Blake’s family room after dinner, Carter’s eyes gave up the battle of staying open and his chin dipped onto his chest. Zod sat at his feet with his nose tucked into his paws.
“Poor thing,” Gwen whispered, nodding toward where Carter slept.
Carter’s chest rose and fell in slow degrees. Eliza felt a warm pull inside her heart. “He’s running too much.”
Sam patted Blake’s knee as she stood. “I’ll have a room readied for him to stay over.”
Blake shook his head and glanced Eliza’s way. “I don’t think he’ll stay.”
“Why ever not?”
“He told me he’s going to follow Eliza home.”
Sam sat back down. “That’s a good idea.”
“I can make it home on my own.”
“That’s not the point. He’s worried. We all are.”
Eliza started to argue when Carter’s hand slid from the back of the couch and to his lap, waking him. He blinked a few times and noticed everyone watching him. “I fell asleep, didn’t I?” Embarrassment colored his cheeks.
“We were about to place bets on when you’d start to drool,” Blake teased.
Carter ran a hand through his hair, giving it the perfect amount of messy. Eliza easily pictured him as a child with drowsy eyes and thick pajamas. She was certain he was just as irresistible then as he was now.
“You should spend the night here,” Eliza suggested.
“You both should,” Samantha said.
“Thanks for the offer, but I have that meeting with Mr. Sedgwick early tomorrow.”
“The retired real estate broker?”
“Yeah. He’s been threatening his children and grand children that he is going to leave all his property to his next girlfriend if they don’t start getting along.” When Eliza first started working alongside Samantha, she thought that arranging temporary relationships would be among the young or middle-aged. Sedgwick reached his seventy-sixth birthday in the winter, and he vowed to be married by spring. His spoiled, deadbeat children squabbled about everything, and Sedgwick was in need of a strong woman to knock some sense into his kid’s heads.
“If we do find him a companion and something happens to him, those kids are going to scream and tie us up in litigation for years.”
“That’s what I think, too,” Eliza told Samantha. “I need to find a bingo parlor filled with large German widows close to his age.”
“But he wants a young wife.”
“He wants a companion,” Eliza insisted. “Someone to share his time with. His children don’t spare him any of their precious time unless he’s shelling out money. It’s sad.”
Eliza stood and the others in the room followed.
“You’ll call me tomorrow?” Sam asked.
“Keeping tabs on me?”
“Damn right.”
Eliza would do the same if Sam were the one in her situation, so she took it as a concerned friend and not an overprotective measure.
“We’ll work scheduling the security system in tomorrow morning. Do you plan on taking Zod with you when you’re out?” When the dog heard his name, he stood and wagged his tail.
“Restaurants don’t allow animals.”
Carter mumbled something under his breath, but Eliza ignored him. “I should be back before noon.”
“Perfect,” Gwen said. “That will give me time to gather my things.” Gwen leaned in for a hug.
Eliza thanked Sam for dinner while Carter and Blake headed for the door.
Once their goodbyes were said, Carter stood outside with Eliza. “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of following me home, am I?”
Carter shook his head and sent her a cocky, tired smile.
“Fine.” He couldn’t keep up the pace of politician running for office and personal bodyguard for long. She turned toward her car, Zod at her side.
“What, no argument?”
“I’m too tired to argue,” she said over her shoulder.
Carter chuckled and proceeded to follow her home.
****
Lunch with Sedgwick proved to be the highlight of Eliza’s day. Even with the older man’s constant chatting about the world going to hell and how the youth today didn’t know how good they had it, his noise didn’t compare to the noise of Eliza’s home.
Zod greeted her at the door with a need to go outside. Before the dog was finished, her phone rang. With the phone to her ear and the back door to the house open so the dog could get back in, Eliza listened to Neil detail the long list of service men who would descend upon her in less than an hour.
“Parkview securities are sending four electricians within the hour.” Neil’s tone was short and to the point. “They have grey uniforms with black lettering for their logo and names.”
Eliza giggled. “This is important, why?”
“Knowing who is walking through your door should be a priority. I would think you’d understand that.”
The smile drifted from Eliza’s face. Neil didn’t sound very happy with her or the situation.
“Okay, boss, what else?”
Zod finished outside and walked back in the house. Eliza shut the door and continued to listen to Neil’s monotone voice.
“Two of the electricians will work inside the house, two outside. They will wire all the doors and windows and place cameras in common rooms and hallways.”
“I don’t want my bedroom monitored.”
“Bedrooms and bathrooms are excluded.”
There was some comfort in that she supposed.
“A fifth man will arrive a couple hours after the others to set up the monitoring system. His name is Kenny Sands. He’s the owner of Parkview. He’s five-ten, about a hundred-eighty pounds. He will need to show you and Gwen how to work the system and explain how to access your system when you’re away from home.”
“Is Gwen on her way?” Eliza glanced at her watch. It was just past noon.
He hesitated. “We will be there by two.”
“So who is going to watch these cameras, Neil?”
“You’ll have 24-hour surveillance from the same eyes watching Samantha and Blake.”
In other words, handpicked virtual bodyguards who worked with Neil.
“Any questions?”
“Just one.”
Neil was silent on the line.
“How come Samantha didn’t call me with these details?” A phone call from Neil was out of character.
“I told her I would take care of it.”
“She’s afraid I would talk her out of it?”
“Something like that.”
“And there’s no arguing with you.”
“Few have even tried.”
Eliza laug
hed. “I’ll bet.”
Chapter Eleven
Carter’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the text message from Neil that said only one word.
Done!
Although the information Jay was telling him about the latest polls was important, the room around him faded as Carter’s thoughts turned to Eliza. Her house was secure and she wasn’t alone. Not that Gwen would offer much in the way of protection. At least Eliza had company when he couldn’t be there.
The night before when he’d dropped her off, he didn’t want to leave. He had walked around her home making sure there wasn’t anyone lurking in the shadows and hadn’t said a thing. Her arms had been crossed over her chest in an obvious sign of “leave me alone.” Carter took the hint and moved along.
“Did you hear me?” Jay asked.
Carter shook his head, “I’m sorry. I’m distracted.”
“That’s obvious,” Jay scowled and tossed his pad and paper aside. “What the hell is up with you lately?”
Carter rolled his head from one side of his neck to the other, all the while searching for the answer Jay wanted. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“Which is obvious to me and the voting public. Care to share so I can fix your problems and we can move on?”
“You can’t fix my problems, Jay.”
“The hell I can’t. That’s what you hired me for. I find your problems before they submerge from the depths of the Atlantic. So what is it? Family? A woman? What?”
Jay was the best. He’d been in Carter’s employ for a few years. Started out as an assistant and worked his way to campaign manager. Jay had earned Carter’s trust when two years ago Carter’s uncle, Senator Maxwell Hammond, decided to pay an unexpected visit to Carter’s office unannounced.
Jay recognized the senator on sight, but when the man announced he was Carter’s uncle, Jay thanked the man for the introduction and then asked if he had an appointment.
Carter wished he’d seen the old man’s face when Jay slighted him with the question. Maxwell should have been a five-star general in a former life. He commanded attention when he walked in a room, and seldom did anyone question his authority.
Married by Monday (Weekday Brides) Page 10