Feel the Heat by Desiree Holt

clenched his fists and a muscle twitched in his cheek.
    “How come you never told us it was this bad before?” he demanded. “Didn’t you trust us to be able to help you?”
    The smile she gave him was tinged with sadness. “First of all, you know how Mom and Dad would have reacted. Mom would love for me to deny all my gifts as it is and they’d use this to try to force me into not accepting any more patients. I can’t do that. They’d also demand I move in with them, which would be a total disaster. And finally, I’ve been handling it and I don’t want this mess to spill over into anyone’s life.”
    Geoff glanced at Troy. “But you let a perfect stranger into your life.”
    “That was Mark and Faith’s doing.” She wet her lips. “The media mob was a little crazier this time and my stalker decided to ramp up his calls. And believe me when I tell you that I feel a lot more secure having a professional in charge. No slam on you,” she added quickly. “It’s just what they do.”
    Geoff looked hard at Troy. “Who’s paying for all this? The phone setup, the security system, the guard and you. This doesn’t all come cheap.”
    Lauren glared at her brother. “First of all, I’m not exactly poverty-stricken, in case you haven’t been paying attention. I can pay my own way.”
    Troy cleared his throat. “The Hallorans are good friends of Lauren’s and Mark made her a special deal on the equipment. It’s much safer for a woman living alone than her old one. As far as any fee where I’m concerned, I happen to be on vacation and visiting Mark and Faith, not doing much of anything. I was happy to volunteer my time.” He stared back at Geoff. “For as long as it takes.”
    Geoff just shook his head then looked at Lauren. “Okay, kiddo. I guess I have to accept the fact you’re a grown woman and know what you’re doing. But that doesn’t mean I won’t still worry about you.” He glanced at Troy again. “Or make sure this guy is on the up and up.”
    “No problem.” Troy stood up, pulled his wallet from his back pocket and extracted a card. “Here’s where to find anything you need about us.”
    “Thanks.” Geoff stuck the card in his shirt pocket then rose to give his sister a hug. He looked from one to the other. “I don’t know if there’s anything else going on here between you two and you’re right, it’s probably none of my business. But I care a lot about Lauren. She’s had a hard time in relationships of any kind because her abilities affect how other people look at her. I just want you to know that from the start.”
    Troy nodded. “Point taken. You can trust her with me.”
    “Damn it, Geoff.” Lauren fisted her hands on her hips. “Enough already.”
    “Don’t be too mad at me,” he begged. “I just want to protect you.”
    “I know. But don’t you be mad if I tell you to butt out.”
    He laughed. “We’ll get through this.” He held out his hand to Troy again. “No offense?”
    “Not at all. If it was my sister I’d probably feel the same way.”
    When she’d closed the door behind her brother Lauren let out a long breath and turned to Troy.
    “Thanks for being such a good guy about it.”
    He cupped her cheeks in his palms and gave her a slow smile. “It’s fine. I’ve dealt with a lot worse.”
    At that moment the tiny radio he kept clipped to his waistband crackled alive.
    “Mr. Arsenault? It’s Craig outside in the car.”
    “Yeah, Craig. Go ahead.”
    “For some reason, the crowd seems to be growing again. I think we could use one more person around here for a short while.”
    Troy had answered the door whenever someone was bold enough to actually come up to the porch and ring the bell. He’d thought after he tossed the reporter from Psychic Journeys he’d pass the word, but apparently the ones still out there were more tenacious. Now he moved to the living room window and drew the curtain aside just enough to look out. The guard was right. The