He wanted to help her. But first, he needed to hear her side of the story.
Flashes of light in his peripheral vision yanked his attention to the windows facing the pool area on the far side of the main house. Strange.
The sun had completely set, and what looked like a flashlight beam, no,twoflashlight beams were dancing around near the pool.
He clicked away from the afternoon's video recording to access a live video feed from his camera closest to the pool.
Both security guards, Frank and Manny, walked toward the pool house, directing their beams at Lena.
Oh no.
Nash darted out of his apartment and across the lawn, hoping to intercept the two guards before things got too complicated.
As he approached, the guards' agitation was clear. Jabbering over each other, both men pelted her with accusations.
Because the men were incapable of talking without their hands, the erratic motions of their flashlights made it look like they were in a lightsaber duel rather than questioning a suspect. Lena looked like a deer caught in the headlights—if the headlights were flailing flashlights.
He needed to de-escalate the situation as soon as possible.
"Hey, guys," he said, walking up behind the guards, who spun on their heels and blinded him. "Hey, it's just me, Nash, the driver."
They lowered their beams.
"What do you want?" Frank asked.
"I noticed your flashlights. Wanted to see what was going on." He waved to Lena. "Oh, hello," he said, keeping his tone as casual as possible. He turned back to the guards. "So, what's up?"
Frank's lips pressed into a thin line, obviously irked at Nash's interruption.
Manny, on the other hand, was excited to share. "We caught her snooping around here," he said proudly, like he captured a bank robber.
"I was just . . ." Lena said. "Just . . ." She lifted Nutmeg's dog leash. "We were out for a walk."
Nutmeg's tail pinwheeled. Even in the dim light, Nutmeg looked utterly delighted that everyone ran over to visit him. Because, of course, that's why they were all standing around in the near-darkness.
"I was just curious," Lena continued. "I was looking around. I wasn't trying to—"
"She was peeking in the windows of the pool house." Frank growled the words at Nash. Then he snapped his head to Lena. "Why were you looking in the windows?"
"I . . .I wasn't . . ."
The fear on Lena's face twisted his stomach. Lena Ashworth might have come after her cousin with good intentions, but if Frank and Manny could rattle her, she was way out of her league.
"Hey, guys," Nash said. "You heard her. She just wanted to look around. It's an impressive estate. You get it?"
Lena nodded. "Yeah, I was just . . . I was just exploring. I didn't mean to bother anybody."
Frank purposely shone the flashlight straight into her face. "You don't need to be looking in windows. What's your name?"
"Gentlemen," Nash interrupted out of fear Lena would forget to use her fake last name.
Nutmeg pounced around everyone's feet, clearly confused why no one was playing with him.Read the room, pooch.
"Let's be polite to the lady," Nash said. "This is Miss Erickson. Victoria Van Horn hired Miss Erickson. She's here to take care of Miss Van Horn's dog while she's away. I'm sure Miss Van Horn will be glad to know you're so concerned about Miss Erickson's safety."
Both guards stiffened. Nash wasn't sure which Van Horn signed their checks, but he was sure Victoria's name carried some weight.
Manny nodded slowly. "Yes, well, we don't want you stumbling around in the dark off the pathways. Stay on the pathways after dark."
