Master Unchained (Stealth Guardians Book 2) by Tina Folsom Page A

last night.” He exhaled. “That was quite horrific.”
    “It was, but I’m fine.”
    “Good, good.” Gunn smiled and glanced past her, looking straight at Hamish. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”
    He extended his hand and Hamish had no choice but to shake it.
    “Hamish MacGregor.”
    “Robert Gunn.”
    “I know who you are.”
    Gunn shifted, a gesture Hamish could only interpret as nervousness. “Well, I don’t want to disturb you any longer.” He was already back at the door, when he turned. “Oh, Tessa, before I forget, I was looking for a bunch of files that Yardley was working on before his death.”
    Hamish recognized the name: John Yardley, the previous mayor, who’d been killed in a still-unsolved hit-and-run two months earlier.
    “Yes?” Tessa replied, her eyebrows snapping together.
    “I was told you might have taken them to continue where he left off.”
    “I only took anything related to the Center for Drug Rehabilitation.”
    “Hmm. Odd. Well, then.”
    “You might want to try his widow. I know John’s assistant packed up his personal stuff. Maybe it accidentally got packed in with it.”
    “I thought all that stuff was still in police custody.”
    She shook her head. “No, they sent it to Amanda. She called me just the other day because there was a book in the box that I’d lent him, and she wanted to return it. So she’s definitely got the box. Why don’t you call her?”
    “I will. Thanks!” Gunn smiled and left, shutting the door behind him.
    When Tessa turned back to him, Hamish noticed the sad look on her face. “Were you close to the mayor, to Yardley?”
    “He was a friend of the family. I was a child when I first met him. He was like an uncle to me. So I guess I knew him well. He was a good man. When I heard of the accident I couldn’t believe it at first. We were all devastated.” She looked straight at him. “Particularly my father. John and my dad would play golf together and afterwards, there would be a barbeque at our house.” She suddenly froze.
    “What?”
    “I almost forgot. My father invited us for a barbeque at home.”
    “Us?”
    She grimaced. “I’m afraid I had to tell him that you’re my boyfriend. And now he wants to meet you. I really don’t need this right now.”
    “You think he won’t approve of me?”
    “It’s not you or him I’m worried about.”
    “Then what?”
    “It’s my mother.”

15
     
    Hamish slowed the car as they approached the address Tessa had given him.
    “Are there always this many cars parked on the street?”
    Tessa looked around, then shook her head. “Everybody in this area has a two-car garage, plus a spot or two for visitors in their driveway.”
    “That’s what I thought.” He didn’t like this. Something didn’t seem right, and he was trained to spot things that fell outside the norm.
    “Maybe one of the neighbors is having a party,” Tessa mused.
    “Maybe.”
    He drove up to Tessa’s childhood home, intending to turn into the driveway, but stopped. Two cars were already parked in the visitor spots. He cast Tessa a sideways glance and she rolled her eyes at the car’s ceiling.
    “I’m going to kill her this time, I really am,” Tessa groaned.
    “May I ask who your intended victim is?”
    Tessa met his eyes. “My mother. Why does she keep doing this?”
    “I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m assuming the barbeque we’re invited to isn’t strictly a family affair, is it?”
    She huffed angrily. “Apparently not.”
    Hamish reached over to squeeze her hand, and to his surprise, she laid her other hand over his in a gesture of thanks. “You don’t like parties, do you?”
    She sighed. “Not particularly. All day at work I have to be on ; I have to smile, be nice to people, make intelligent conversation, listen intently. You know what I mean?”
    He nodded. “A life in the public eye isn’t easy.”
    “And tonight, I would have preferred to chill. Not to have to talk to