More reason to pack up and leave.
But who could protect Gwen better than him?
Neil knew the answer before he bothered booking a flight.
He didn’t need anyone thinking he cared about her, thus making her a target.
She stared out the window at the passing traffic on the freeway. She should have been riding in the back, where the tinted windows would obscure her face. But Gwen refused. Said he was no more her driver than she was his maid.
“Do you think about it…your time in the military?”
Her question came from nowhere. He wasn’t sure how to answer it.
“Neil?”
“Sometimes.”
“Was it awful?”
He gripped the wheel, recalled the smell of her hair, and ignored the memory of burnt flesh and blood. “War is hell.”
“I can’t imagine. The only violence I’ve witnessed was my brother breaking the nose of a boy chasing me in school. And you and Carter fighting those men in Texas.”
He felt his spirits lift. He’d enjoyed teaching the man hitting on Gwen a lesson in propriety. He flattened his lips and said, “Violence doesn’t solve as many problems as it creates.”
“You’re probably right. The threat of violence does tend to keep people in line, however. Take today for example. We spent the day firing weapons. I doubt anyone would mess with you but I realize how I might be considered vulnerable. If the people out there who would do me harm knew I had a weapon, my guess is they’d look for an easier target. Don’t you agree?”
“Some.” Purse snatchers and cowards.
“I don’t imagine I’ll ever have the need to use the gun for its intended purpose. It does feel right to have one, however.”
That, he completely agreed with.
Short of that ivory tower he thought of putting her in when he saw her, owning a gun was better than nothing.
“You’ll need to keep it at the house.”
Gwen nodded. “I didn’t think to carry it with me.”
He pulled off the highway and onto the street leading to the Malibu estate. “A Taser fits inside a purse. It’s legal for you to carry.”
“One of those electric zapper things?”
A rare chuckle rose in his throat. “Yes. One of those.”
She smiled at him and damn if he didn’t want to melt into that smile and forget every awful thing about his life.
“Do you have one?”
“No.” He didn’t need one. “But I’ll get one for you.”
“That would be lovely, Neil.”
Only a lady would say a Taser as a gift was lovely.
Neil parked behind Gwen’s car. He placed the larger revolver she liked the most inside her trunk along with an extra box of ammo.
She opened the door, and tossed her purse inside. “Thank you, for today. I feel better knowing I have the proper weapon.”
He liked the ivory tower idea better. “You’re welcome.”
Neil stepped away from the car, intending to give her room to drive away.
“Oh…uhm, the alarm on the house?”
“Yes?”
“All the doors and downstairs windows have to be closed in order for it to set properly, right?”
He paused. Stepped closer. “That’s right.”
“Don’t freak out,” she warned him.
When a woman suggested he not “freak out,” it meant he had reason to.
He lifted his hands in the air and forced the tension away from his shoulders.
“OK…well, I found the back door opened, just a little bit, when I woke up the other day. The alarm said it was engaged.”
“The alarm won’t set if a door is open.”
“That’s what I thought. With all the interference lately, I thought I should mention it.”
“Are you sure the alarm was armed?”
“Positive. I checked it twice. Though I think the cameras and outside motion detectors are overkill, I do think a home alarm is wise.”
“Did you set it before you came over today?”
“I did.”
He fished his cell phone from his pocket, clicked on his mobile app of her home. “Karen’s not home?”
“No.”
The alarm said it was set, and the cameras didn’t indicate any issues. He didn’t like it. Any of it.
“I’m coming over.”
Surprisingly, Gwen didn’t argue.
“I have a few errands to run,” she told him. “Do you mind looking into it without me there?”
He preferred it, actually. The distraction of her being there might make him miss something. “Not a problem.”
“Thank you,” Gwen said as she drove away.
Yet the farther Gwen drove away from him, away from the safety he knew he could provide, the less control he felt.
He hated a lack of control. Made him weak.
“So Blondie has a gun,” the man said to himself as he witnessed the two leave the range.
His camera recorded them, found the subtleties of their behavior that he would analyze later.
MacBain wasn’t acting alarmed. Didn’t even realize he was being watched.
“You’re slipping, dude.”
He doubled around to his perch above the Malibu house and watched as she left alone.
He knew, without a doubt, that she hadn’t mentioned the dead bird in her conversation with Neil.
If she had, he would never have let her leave.
Time to up the ante.
Kenny Sands, the owner of Parkview Securities, met Neil at the Tarzana house.
“This doesn’t make sense.” Ken stated the obvious.
Neil had run test after test. Sure enough, the back door no longer tripped the alarm. Yet when on a chime mode, a feature that let the homeowner know when a door or window was being opened, it made noise.
“There’s been an unusual amount of noise in the backyard motion detectors, too. I thought I fixed it last week, but it seems to light up anytime the neighbors use their hot tub.”
“That shouldn’t affect it.” Kenny picked up his cell phone. “Hi, Jane. I need you to send a team to 5420 Cherry Lane.” He paused. “No, have them bring a full truck. We’re replacing the wiring to the back door.”
Neil moved into the backyard, looked around, and found nothing out of place. He walked to the back fence and looked over to the other side. There was a base around a Jacuzzi complete with a small bar set up. Lucky for him the naked neighbors liked to tub in the dark.
It was midday.
He glanced up at the second story of Gwen’s home and noticed an open window.
Neil walked into Karen’s unusually warm bedroom. He moved through it to the window and tugged it closed. The view to the naked neighbors wasn’t ideal from this perch so he moved to the next room over.
Gwen’s room was filled with soft colors and plush textures. Feminine, just like the woman. The space smelled like her too.
He peeked out the window. “Nice naked view.” He’d laugh if it weren’t screwing with his surveillance.
Something flashed in the corner of his eye. He looked beyond the houses to the hillside that separated Tarzana from Woodland Hills. It was one of the nice features of the location of the house. There was one row of houses behind Gwen, and then a park.
For Neil, it was both a blessing and a pain. A blessing that there were fewer neighbors, a pain because anyone could be hiding in the acres of brush.
He searched for the source of the light but didn’t find anything.
While Kenny’s men worked, Neil took a walk around the neighborhood. Paying close attention to the house directly behind Gwen’s. The shades were drawn and two newspapers were stacked on the front porch. There wasn’t a car parked in the driveway. From the look of the neighborhood, most of the residents parked a car in the driveway or on the street. Very few houses had empty space in front of the garage doors.
Neil attempted a smile and walked to the door and knocked twi
ce.
No one answered.
He tried to look inside the bay window to the front room. They had blackout shades making it impossible to see anything inside. Blackout shades were a staple in Vegas, but in suburbia? Not so much.
Why would people who parade around the backyard naked hide from the front yard?
Neil knew he was as inconspicuous as a semi truck in a parking lot full of Smart cars. So instead of walking around the house, he moved away from the front door and back around the block. For the most part, the neighborhood was quiet. As much as he hated the fact that he couldn’t control it in every way, it could be worse.
He turned a full circle, looking around.
He felt naked walking the streets in the wide-open world without the security of an AK in his hands.
How fucked up was that?
It didn’t help that Rick had dropped a load of shit on his door two days ago. They were both putting out calls to the fourth man who made it out alive.
So far nothing. Mickey wasn’t taking calls, or wasn’t around. He could have gone back in. Units like his seldom left the military, making it a career for life.
He hoped to hell Mickey had gone back in. The thought of something sinister happening to him…to any of them, made Neil sick.
And Billy was dead.
How did anyone get past him?
Back at the house, the wiring for the back door had been replaced, the motion detectors in the backyard swapped out. Neil and the men who worked for him simulated several break-in scenarios, all of which screamed the alarm and notified Neil’s phone and the monitors Dillon watched over at his base.
Neil checked the time, it was nearly five. He considered waiting for Gwen or Karen to return, but remembered Gwen’s ultimatum in the bar.
Back off or step up.
She couldn’t have made herself more clear and after spending the day at the firing range, she’d probably think he was stepping up.
And that couldn’t happen.
He checked the GPS on Gwen’s car, which he’d slipped under her hood when she’d purchased the car.
She was inching through traffic on the freeway, but headed home.
Neil made a point of pulling out before she saw him.
On his way to Malibu, he sent her a text, telling her the monitor and alarms were back up and running correctly. Told her to let him know if there were any more problems.
She didn’t call.
He noticed when she arrived home. He watched her walk through the house, and then check the back door. A look of disappointment crossed her face as she moved into her office and turned on her computer.
Neil left the audio feeds on and listened to every sound in the house. A one-sided conversation on the phone led him to understand that Karen wasn’t coming home again that night.
According to a conversation with Blake earlier that week, Neil learned that Karen would be moving by the following weekend.
Gwen living alone meant the noises of the Tarzana home were going to be his constant companion. Someone needed to look out for her.
Chapter Ten
“You can always back out.” Gwen and Karen sat tucked in a private back corner in a Ruth’s Chris steakhouse.
Karen shook her head. “No way.” She lowered her voice. “The money’s already in the trust.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Karen smiled. “It’s going to be a great year, Gwen. It’s like a long paid vacation where I get to meet new friends and spoil the kids at the center.”
Gwen felt it was her duty to give Karen the out if she wanted it. In theory, getting married for a short time for a lot of money sounded doable…until one said “I do,” then there were doubts.
Gwen lifted her glass of champagne and clicked it to Karen’s. “To a fabulous year.”
“Hear, hear.”
They drank and Gwen continued. “You’ll be back before Aruba, right?”
“Of course. That’s on a Friday?”
“Yes. Why?” Gwen had confirmed the dates with Samantha and Blake, who were planning on going straight to Aruba from Albany.
“Michael told me his Fridays are almost always free. Even if he can’t stay in Aruba, he can make it for the day.”
“That’s a bit of a flight for a day trip.”
“Apparently he doesn’t think so. Says he does that kind of stuff all the time.”
“Eliza and I will be there early. You’re welcome to join us if you can.”
“I’ll try. I assume your mother is coming?”
Gwen hadn’t thought of her in a while. “I can’t imagine her not showing up. Although I don’t think I can stand one more pitying glance from her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
“Oh.” Karen buttered a piece of bread. “I’m sure she just wants to see you happy. Most mothers do.”
“If only I could have a fiancé by that Friday…then she would keep her comments to herself.”
Karen raised her eyebrows. “You have a handful of men in a database at home to consider.”
Gwen smiled. “I hadn’t thought of that.” And if she started to interview men to be her date, how would the man watching over her feel about that?
“On the other hand, I’ll be invited to all kinds of industry parties over the next year. You never know who I’ll meet.”
The waiter arrived with their food. The rich aroma of the steaks washed over the table. There was something about being able to cut into a filet with a fork that made the dining experience even better. After refilling their glasses, the waiter left.
“Have you heard from Neil?”
Gwen used the excuse of chewing her food to keep from answering the question quickly.
“Not a word.”
Karen shook her head. “What’s his deal anyway? He was a marine, right?”
“He was.”
“I guess that explains why he’s head of your brother’s security. But you’d think that would mean he’d be at Blake’s side twenty-four seven. Even if that meant following Blake and Sam to Europe.”
“The only times he’s traveled to Albany were for personal parties and events. Otherwise he’s stayed here.”
“To keep an eye on the house? Seems over-the-top, if you ask me.”
“Blake told me they had been friends before he hired him to be his bodyguard. Samantha indicated that Neil had some kind of loyalty to my brother, though I don’t know what for.”
Karen bit into her steak. “God this is good.”
“The best.”
“Do you think Neil saved your brother’s butt in a fight or something?”
“My brother doesn’t fight.” Not with his fists anyway.
Karen laughed. “All men fight if they need to. It’s in their DNA.”
“I completely disagree. I’ve met men who cried over paper cuts.”
Karen rolled her eyes. “OK…I mean men like Blake and Neil. Blake wouldn’t stop his fists from flying if someone pushed him.”
“I suppose you’re right. I don’t know what transpired between them that led Neil to work for my brother. I suppose someday I’ll find out.” Maybe it was time to ask her brother…or ask Samantha to find out for her.
“Neil seems so angry all the time.”
Gwen felt the need to defend him. “Guarded. Not angry.” She remembered the expression on his face when he’d fought the cowboys in Texas. His hazel eyes turned a dark shade of gray and the muscles in his neck strained with every heated breath. Now that was angry.
“Guarded, angry…whatever. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile.”
“It’s devastating when he does.” Gwen felt breathless just thinking of Neil’s smile.
“Oh, man, do you have it bad. I hope you’re not wasting your time with him.”
“Can I tell you something?”
Karen leaned forward.
“The other day, after we went to the shooting range…I swear he
was going to kiss me.”
Karen blinked. “And?”
Gwen shook her head. “I don’t know. He backed off. Snapped away really. Like I bit him or something. Do you think he’s not taking advantage of what I clearly told him he could have if he were to ask, because he works for my brother?”
Karen shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. If working with your brother was an obstacle to getting to you…and he wanted you, he’d quit.”
Gwen sighed. “I guess that means he doesn’t want me.”
“The man follows you around, and guards you as if you were made of glass.”
“An obligation to watch over me isn’t the same as wanting me.”
“You said yourself he nearly kissed you.” Karen sipped her wine.
“Then ran away. I’ve not seen him since that day.”
“Something is stopping him, Gwen. Find out what that something is,” she said. “And you’ll find the problem.”
Karen was right. “Do you think there was a woman…someone who hurt him?”
“You never know.”
Gwen picked at her food. “Even if I do find out, there’s no guarantee he’ll come around.” The thought depressed her.
“True. But will you live with never knowing whether things might have worked between you? So long as he works with your brother you’ll see him all the time.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Gwen admitted.
“You have one life, Gwen. And you’re a romantic if I’ve ever seen one. You should follow your heart.”
“So wait for him?”
“Waiting is passive. I’d never advocate you pine away for a man who wasn’t showing interest. I suggest you set a time limit for yourself. And then move on. I know you told him to get a hint the other night…but you’re not ready to move on.”
“Not after the firing range.”
Karen smiled. “Just promise me we won’t be having this conversation next year at my divorce party…OK? If Neil hasn’t stepped up, I’m going to kick your ass to move on.”
“I can drink to that.”
They did.
They finished their meals and stepped into the parking lot. Since Karen had started dating Michael the media and plenty of freelance photographers were often close by snapping pictures of her.
Fiancé by Friday Page 8