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“I was going to call a locksmith to install some new locks, but I wanted to wait to see if you had some suggestions.”
“You need more than locks.”
Geoffrey dropped his arms and shifted to the edge of the sofa, his eyes narrowing. “What do you want to do to my house?” he asked softly.
“You need an entire home security system, Mr. Ralse,” Sven said, proud that he managed to remember to use the client’s last name.
“And what does that entail, Mister Larsen?” It sounded like Geoffrey was grinding his last name between his teeth.
“It’s more than locks. You need a home security system on all the doors and windows. You need motion-sensor lights on the front and rear of the house. Considering the threat and the fact that you don’t know who it is, we would be wise to also place a few video cameras on the exterior of the house that can be monitored. We—”
“Are you shitting me?” Geoffrey yelled, launching to his feet. He paced away, moving in front of the large windows and doors that led to the courtyard. Sven flinched, fighting the urge to put his larger frame in front of Geoffrey’s as he moved. “Cameras? Motion-sensor lights? What’s next? An electrified barbed-wire fence? Or maybe a few guard dogs to patrol the grounds? Oh! Wait!” Geoffrey swung back toward Sven and threw his arms up as he spoke. “A fucking moat!”
“Mr. Ralse—”
Geoffrey ignored him, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “Let me just call for the backhoe now. We can break ground on the trench before it gets dark. We could even fill it with salt water and get a few sharks to swim in it.”
“Mr. Ralse, I’m only thinking of your protection,” Sven said, keeping his voice low and even.
“Exactly! I’m the fucking victim here whether you or Rowe or the cops want to believe it, but you’re turning me into a goddamn prisoner like it’s my fault.”
“I believe you,” he whispered.
Those three words seemed to stop Geoffrey short. He stood in the middle of the living room, his eyes filled with confusion and surprise as he stared up at Sven. “What?” he said, but Sven couldn’t actually hear him. The word was more of an expulsion of air than sound.
Cursing himself, Sven gave in to the temptation to finally close the distance between them and put his hand on Geoffrey’s shoulder. “I believe you,” he repeated with a little more force. He squeezed, his mind briefly marveling at the feel of strong, tense muscles wrapped around slender, delicate shoulders. He wanted to let his hand linger.
“Why?”
Sven opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn’t explain why he believed Geoffrey’s story of the stalker and being drugged at the club. He wanted to say that he knew Geoffrey wouldn’t fabricate something like this or something more profound, but he couldn’t.
He didn’t know this man. Not really. He came in a couple of times a week for an hour or two of self-defense training. He flirted and joked, but there was a kindness behind it all. A hidden sweetness that was buried under all the sexual innuendo and bluster. But he couldn’t explain how he knew, at least not so that anyone would understand or believe him. So he kept his mouth shut.
Instead of answering Geoffrey’s question, he opted for, “I don’t want to take away your privacy or your freedom. I want to keep you safe until we catch this person. When you’re safe again, I think you will be able to remove some of these measures if you feel they are too restrictive. But having them means that you and Finn are safe.”
A little smirk quirked one corner of Geoffrey’s mouth as he stared at Sven. “I hope you don’t think you’re being sneaky by mentioning Finn.”
Sven released Geoffrey’s shoulder and rubbed his palm along the coarse material of his work pants as if to remove the memory of that warmth beneath his hand. “No, but I’m sure Finn would like to know that his big brother is safe.”
With a dramatic roll of his eyes and a sigh, Geoffrey stomped over to the nearest chair and threw his body across it so that one leg was over an arm and his head was resting against the opposite arm. “Oh God. Fine. You win. No more big brother, little brother safety talk. I’m being crushed by the guilt.” He cracked one eye open at Sven and grinned like he knew that Sven was fighting his own smile. “So…locks, cameras, lights, dogs, sharks?”
“I brought a couple of new locks with me and I can replace those tonight. I’ll call in to the office and put the order in for the full security system. They should be able to get most of it set up tomorrow.” He paused and allowed a small smile. “I think we can hold off on the dogs and sharks for now. If we must, you probably just want to go with the dogs. They’d be cheaper to feed.”
