Three Mates for Judith by Cara Adams Page B

usually the kind of person who liked to spend time planning her clothing or if she often got dressed as easily as this.
    When she went to leave the room barefoot, he shook his head and said, “You need to wear shoes. You don’t want to step on a splinter.”
    “Hmm. That’s true. Wearing my boots might be better in case I want to kick someone, too.”
    By the time they went downstairs to Cherise’s rooms, Nelson and Nahum had disappeared. Instead of knocking on the door, Judith took out her cell phone and called her mom. Her mom woke just as fast as Judith had and answered with a “Fuck that fucking man. I haven’t even had a chance to check whether he’s stolen anything from the brownstone yet.”
    The door opened while Cherise was still taking, and Naftali blinked at the flowing nightgown his lover’s mother was wearing. It was completely decent but was a frothing sea of turquoise, blue, and green lace that trailed behind her as she retreated to her bedroom.
    “Put shoes on as well,” Judi called after her mother.
    Cherise didn’t get dressed as fast as Judith had, but she didn’t take an inordinately long time either. Still, Naftali was on edge. If the shit hit the fan while they were downstairs, he knew Judith would want to be part of the defending party, and he wanted her safely out of the way long before then.
    Mrs. Davey appeared, fully dressed and carrying a large wooden rolling pin like a character out of a B-movie. But if it made her happy, Naftali wasn’t going to say anything.
    The moment Cherise returned, he hurried them out of her rooms, waited while she locked the door, and then followed Judi and Mrs. Davey back up to Judi’s attic. There he ensured she’d locked her door as well, and he trailed behind them into the living room.
    Mrs. Davey had laid her rolling pin on the kitchen counter and was busy making coffee. Cherise wandered around the room for a while and then dragged a chair over to the bookshelves. Naftali watched, intrigued. Was she planning to read a book right now? But no. She stood on the chair, pulled a handful of books off the top shelf, and put something she took out of her pocket behind them before replacing them.
    It appeared her ex-husband wasn’t the only person who liked to hide things around the house.
    “Do we have any reason to believe it’s dear old Dad outside?” asked Judith.
    Naftali shook his head. “Not at all. It might be someone who’s innocently broken down and whose cell phone has a flat battery. But on the other hand…”
    “On the other hand, my husband has a vested interest in removing as much of my personal property as he can and selling it before the divorce is finalized, damn him.”
    “Pretty much,” Naftali agreed.
     
    * * * *
     
    Nahum and Jake were watching the back of the house. Nelson had already called the Alpha, who wasn’t getting anymore sleep tonight than they were. The Alpha, in turn, had alerted the authorities, who were very much hoping it was Lutterworth about to break and enter and not some innocent, lost passerby.
    Nahum wondered if it was considered breaking and entering when this had been Lutterworth’s home for many years. The fact that he’d been forced to leave and the locks had all been changed made him think the man was committing a crime. But likely it’d be better to wait until he was actually about to leave with some item that definitely wasn’t his before confronting him. That was their plan, anyway. Unless he attacked one of the women. Then every bet was off. Judith and Cherise’s safety was paramount.
    He and Jake moved constantly and silently from vantage point to vantage point, making sure their shadows were never visible through any of the windows. Nahum’s favorite place to watch was from the staff’s bathroom. It had a single window, which he could only see out of when standing on the side of the tub, and it gave him a perfect view over the backyard of the property. Also, it was the one window a