Guardian For Hire: A For Hire Novel by Christine Bell Page A

anyone have noticed such a minute detail?
    “Well, sometimes it’s literally a dead giveaway. Bunnies tend to find these types of things more often than people and sometimes chew through the wiring and get zapped.”
    “So is it safe to climb now?” she asked.
    “Should be.” He nodded, lending half a shrug to his attempt at convincing her. Comforting. “I deactivated the sensors with that little scrambling device. Just don’t try to chew through it.”
    She bit back her response and followed his lead as they both made quick work of the fake shrubbery, climbing over the lower hanging ones and scuttling under the larger ones. By the time they got to the other side, her kick-ass clothes were streaked with dirt and grass. A familiar bubble of nerves surfaced as she swiped at stains. Grandmother wasn’t there to look down her nose and scold her because she’d gotten her clothes dirty. She was a damned grown-up, and the fact that those feelings still surfaced at times was infuriating.
    She dropped her hands and let the dirt stay exactly where it was. As she clenched her fist, she wondered how calloused Gavin’s fingers and palms must have been after years in special ops. After only one fence and a wall of fake greenery, every inch of her hands was angry, red, and sore, having been pinched and prodded in every way possible. But when he whispered her name, she snapped back to attention, prepared to prove herself a worthy soldier. He was peering around a corner, and it was another long moment before he spoke again.
    “The storm cellar is two yards ahead. You ready?” She nodded before he continued. “On my six, and pay attention.”
    On his six. She knew that one. That meant get directly behind him. Her blood hummed with excitement as she followed his lead, sprinting alongside the stone monstrosity. A half a minute later, he stopped in his tracks, running a hand over a crack in the wall. He crouched down and pushed a particularly worn stone, and a man-size opening appeared.
    She stared at it in awe. It was like something straight out of a James Bond movie. Her grandparents were wealthy and had some pretty serious security, but this was unreal. Gavin shimmied inside, almost too large to make it at all. Still, he moved with a deftness she wouldn’t have thought such a large man was capable of and waved her in behind him. She stepped in, sucking in a deep breath. Her first B&E. She was officially now a badass.
    The dank, earthy smell hit her, and she tried not to panic as the door closed behind them, plunging the tiny, empty room into total darkness. Almost as if he’d read her mind, Gavin switched on a light on his belt, and a soft glow lit their surroundings.
    “You’ve got one, too. The buckle has an embedded light.” He reached toward her and pressed the round, metal fastener. His fingers brushed her stomach as he pulled away, and a thrill surged through her.
    “Thanks.” She felt half an urge to switch her light back off. First, to quell the irrational desire for him to touch her again, and second to veil the red that was assuredly painting her cheeks.
    He turned away before she could think too hard on either and navigated them toward the wooden stairs leading to the main level. Before setting foot on the first step, Gavin turned to her and whispered, “We need to get to the second-floor office. Quick and quiet. That’s our motto, got it?”
    She nodded, but he didn’t bother keeping his attention on her long enough to notice. Instead, he climbed the stairs and eased the door open before giving her a silent go-ahead.
    She set foot on the first floor and that’s when she heard it. The alarm. A long, low series of foghorn noises on repeat. It was faint but certainly present. Her heart leaped, and despite Gavin’s assurances, already she was picturing herself, face plastered across the television again. This time she’d be the criminal instead of the crime.
    Infamous Doctor Sarabeth Lucking hits rock bottom,