Guardian For Hire: A For Hire Novel by Christine Bell

price for each house. I promise, you’re perfectly safe.”
    He threw the dirty white carpet toward her, and she caught it reluctantly, biting her lip before she squared her shoulders and started up the gate one link at a time. She dared not glance down, careful to focus on the task at hand. As she wrapped the rug remnant around the wire, she heard Gavin’s voice, more soothing than gruff, assuring her.
    “You can do it, Doc. You’re doing great.”
    He repeated it over and over until she’d gotten to the other side and was staring at him through the chain links. Her pulse was still pounding as she dropped lightly to her feet, elation coursing through her. She did it.
    “Thank you. For the coaching.” Heat rushed to her cheeks, but she said it all the same. It was a strange experience for her to have someone rooting her on, supporting her. New. And she kind of liked it.
    His gaze met hers for an instant before he shook his head and grunted. “Yeah, no problem. Toss the carpet over. We’re on a tight schedule for this one.”
    She ignored the niggle of disappointment at his abruptness, worked up all of her might, and flung the carpet as high as she could. It was too high and too far—it sailed down to snag on the high branch of an oak tree beside the fence.
    So much for her big moment. She’d botched it up after all. She swallowed back her disappointment and locked gazes with Gavin. “Do you still have that grappling hook?”
    To his credit, he didn’t blink. He slung his bag over his shoulder, muttered under his breath, “Right then, plan B,” and started up the fence with the agility of a cat, clinging to each link with precision. When he reached the top, he supported his weight with one hand and a foothold and pulled a new tool from his Mary Poppins–style survival bag. Wire cutters.
    He made quick work of snipping the barbed wire before vaulting over the top of the fence and landing in a crouch at the bottom.
    Her mouth was agape, and she snapped it shut, torn between annoyance and awe. That was majorly badass, but…
    “Seriously? Why did I have to deal with the carpet when we could have cut the wire?” Her hands balled into fists, and it was all she could do to keep her voice down to a whisper.
    “A well-prepared criminal would have a backup plan. Besides, how would you ever learn anything if I always let you take the path of least resistance?”
    She stared at him. “You realize I’m not actually your protégé, right?” she reminded him. “This is all just a front.”
    “And the more we commit to it, the safer you’ll be. Now let’s move.” He raised an eyebrow before sprinting ahead of her and motioning for her to follow. Crouching down to match him, she hustled past a row of houses with fenceless yards toward the stone mansion that sat on the very far side of the community. Stone lions sat outside a wrought iron gate while the rest of the house was flanked with tall, green bushes. It looked sort of familiar, not unlike Gavin’s fortress.
    Stopping beside the left retaining wall, he crouched and waited for her to join him. “This is our target. All we need to do is get over these bushes, then the real fun begins.”
    “You’re sure that these don’t qualify as trees?” She strained her neck to see over them, but the tall shrubs were practically impenetrable, a wall of green. She reached out to touch a branch, but he caught her wrist an instant before she’d made contact.
    “Hold on there.” He took a small metal device from his briefcase and threw it into the bush. There was a soft clicking sound, then a muted hum that she had barely registered halted, and the place was entrenched in complete silence.
    “The greenery is fake. It’s a sensored fence.” He turned over the frond she’d been about to touch. “See the underside of these ferns? No red spots. Dead giveaway.”
    “ That’s a dead giveaway?” Forget the fact that she’d almost blown the whole mission, how could