don’t sound happy for her."
"Of course, I am," I say and that's true.
"But?"
I'm not sure how to answer that without pissing him off or insulting him. He just waits me out though, eyes intent on mine, hand still holding mine. How something so innocent can have me tied in such knots is a mystery.
"Things are a little uncertain with you guys."
I don’t have to point out today's events to make my point. His gaze softens and he releases my hand. He lifts his free hand and strokes his fingers down my cheek.
"I'm very careful. I wasn’t gone much more than an hour. And Trace will be fine too. Hell, if Serenity is pregnant he'll be extra cautious."
I can see he wants to say something more but he kisses me instead. Unfortunately, it ends all too soon. When he steps back he looks determined.
"Come on. Let's go see, Mark."
I open my mouth to argue, but he stops me. "You aren’t going to win this one, Honor."
Fuck. Mark is going to be pissed if I just show up with some guy he's never met. I send him a quick text telling him I need to talk to him and I'm bringing my boyfriend. His response is typically short: no problem. Yeah, he thinks that now.
Hunter drives. Of course. Mark's house is hidden by trees, so it's always a surprise to me going down the long drive and taking the final curve in the road to the gate. A huge Georgian mansion is visible surrounded by an eight foot wall. The gate is heavy wrought iron that slides off to one side after he inputs the security code. Knowing Mark, he'll change it as soon as we leave. Hunter looks impressed with the whole set-up. I suspect I'll be seeing walls and gates going up at our place soon. Whoa. Wait. I haven’t made that decision yet, have I? To stay?
I'm shaken from my thoughts when the car stops. Mark is waiting in the open doorway. I make the introductions quickly and we go into the house, back to the kitchen where he gets us coffee. When he joins us at the table he's wearing his poker face, which means he knows exactly who Hunter is. If I don’t get fired, I'll definitely be getting a lecture later.
"So what's up?" he asks.
"Someone's been following me a couple of weeks. A local guy. I thought he was stalking me." I pause, unsure how to continue, and Hunter takes over.
"It's not nearly that simple, though. He broke into her house and stole her computer hard drive, then my house and stole her laptop. He was murdered sometime after that last night."
The poker face is gone, replaced by one of anger and concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Mark. I would like to know what the hell is going on."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
Ah, part of that pissed off is at me, huh? I should have guessed. Hindsight and all that.
"He was a local drug dealer. I thought if it had to do with anything other than me it would have been…" I trail off.
Hunter gives me a disgruntled look. "Me."
"Have you noticed anyone else following you?"
I shake my head.
"We ran into that guy in Destin," Hunter says.
Mark cocks an eyebrow.
"Neil Cusack."
"So tell me, Mark," Hunter drawls. "Is someone after your work? That's the only reason I can think of someone would steal her computers."
I stare at him a second. Neil should know I don’t have anything, but I can't think of another explanation. "You think someone hired Wayne. He was watching me to learn my schedule so he'd know when to break into my house."
"That's exactly what I think. I thought maybe it was about me, but there would be no reason anyone would think they could find anything about me on your computers."
Mark leans back in his seat, thoughtful. "And you ran into Neil. He has to realize you wouldn’t have proprietary information on your computer, though."
"What's he after then?"
Mark shakes his head. "Nothing he could find on her computers. The companies I work for are very particular about their systems staying private, of course. My work isn’t on any computer that can be hacked," he says. "Neil is a genius, but he's a little
"Of course, I am," I say and that's true.
"But?"
I'm not sure how to answer that without pissing him off or insulting him. He just waits me out though, eyes intent on mine, hand still holding mine. How something so innocent can have me tied in such knots is a mystery.
"Things are a little uncertain with you guys."
I don’t have to point out today's events to make my point. His gaze softens and he releases my hand. He lifts his free hand and strokes his fingers down my cheek.
"I'm very careful. I wasn’t gone much more than an hour. And Trace will be fine too. Hell, if Serenity is pregnant he'll be extra cautious."
I can see he wants to say something more but he kisses me instead. Unfortunately, it ends all too soon. When he steps back he looks determined.
"Come on. Let's go see, Mark."
I open my mouth to argue, but he stops me. "You aren’t going to win this one, Honor."
Fuck. Mark is going to be pissed if I just show up with some guy he's never met. I send him a quick text telling him I need to talk to him and I'm bringing my boyfriend. His response is typically short: no problem. Yeah, he thinks that now.
Hunter drives. Of course. Mark's house is hidden by trees, so it's always a surprise to me going down the long drive and taking the final curve in the road to the gate. A huge Georgian mansion is visible surrounded by an eight foot wall. The gate is heavy wrought iron that slides off to one side after he inputs the security code. Knowing Mark, he'll change it as soon as we leave. Hunter looks impressed with the whole set-up. I suspect I'll be seeing walls and gates going up at our place soon. Whoa. Wait. I haven’t made that decision yet, have I? To stay?
I'm shaken from my thoughts when the car stops. Mark is waiting in the open doorway. I make the introductions quickly and we go into the house, back to the kitchen where he gets us coffee. When he joins us at the table he's wearing his poker face, which means he knows exactly who Hunter is. If I don’t get fired, I'll definitely be getting a lecture later.
"So what's up?" he asks.
"Someone's been following me a couple of weeks. A local guy. I thought he was stalking me." I pause, unsure how to continue, and Hunter takes over.
"It's not nearly that simple, though. He broke into her house and stole her computer hard drive, then my house and stole her laptop. He was murdered sometime after that last night."
The poker face is gone, replaced by one of anger and concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Mark. I would like to know what the hell is going on."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
Ah, part of that pissed off is at me, huh? I should have guessed. Hindsight and all that.
"He was a local drug dealer. I thought if it had to do with anything other than me it would have been…" I trail off.
Hunter gives me a disgruntled look. "Me."
"Have you noticed anyone else following you?"
I shake my head.
"We ran into that guy in Destin," Hunter says.
Mark cocks an eyebrow.
"Neil Cusack."
"So tell me, Mark," Hunter drawls. "Is someone after your work? That's the only reason I can think of someone would steal her computers."
I stare at him a second. Neil should know I don’t have anything, but I can't think of another explanation. "You think someone hired Wayne. He was watching me to learn my schedule so he'd know when to break into my house."
"That's exactly what I think. I thought maybe it was about me, but there would be no reason anyone would think they could find anything about me on your computers."
Mark leans back in his seat, thoughtful. "And you ran into Neil. He has to realize you wouldn’t have proprietary information on your computer, though."
"What's he after then?"
Mark shakes his head. "Nothing he could find on her computers. The companies I work for are very particular about their systems staying private, of course. My work isn’t on any computer that can be hacked," he says. "Neil is a genius, but he's a little
Similar Books
