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“Nowhere. I mean”—she raised her arms— “this was his whole life.”
“Exactly. So where else can they search? This is the most logical spot, unless…” He frowned. “Do you have any siblings? Did your grandfather have any other relatives?”
“No, it was just the two of us. Why?”
“Because…” He didn’t want to scare her, but it had to be said. “Because if they didn’t find whatever it is here, then the only other logical place to look would be…” He hesitated again.
Her eyes got big. “My place? You think they’re going to search my place?”
He gave a small nod. “It depends. You live in an apartment, right? In a building?”
“Yes.”
“Does it have a doorman?”
“No.”
He hated to keep asking questions, but he had to know what the likelihood of success was if they decided to break in. “What floor are you on and in what part of the building? How many neighbors do you have on your floor?”
She wrapped her arms around her stomach as if to hold in her growing fear. The news was not going to be good. His gut tightened.
“I live on the ground floor. There are only three of us on the floor. It’s a small walk-up.” She swallowed hard. “The windows are on the alley and face the backyard.”
His gut was well and truly knotted now, and his heart rate had ticked up a notch or two. His biggest nightmare. “Okay, do you have security bars on the windows?”Please say yes.That would be something at least.
She shook her head. “No, the building won’t put them on. I’ve asked, but they say it’s not necessary.” She cleared her throat. “And to be fair, it hasn’t been so far.”
“So far,” he mumbled. He’d like to meet the owners of Remy’s building in a dark alley and show them what was necessary. His blood roared in his veins. His entire body was going into fight mode for a woman he’d only just met. He needed his head examined. “I’m going to make some calls and get you set up with a security system. It’ll probably be a day or two before it’s done, so we’ll have to plan for that.” He pulled his cell out of his pocket.
“I really can’t afford a security system. Up until six months ago when my grandfather died, I worked as a librarian at the New York Public Library. They don’t exactly pay fabulously. I have some savings, but nothing that would cover some high-tech security setup.”
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it, and we can work out something later.” There was no way in hell he was going to let her turn him down. She needed protection, and he was damn well going to make sure she had it in one form or another.
Her eyes narrowed. “Just what do you mean—"
“Hey, Logan,” he said when the man answered, purposely cutting her off. He didn’t want to get into an argument with her. She needed security whether these people broke in or not. Ground floor apartment without security bars.Jesus. “I need a favor.” He went on to explain what he needed and then got her to provide the address. It would be Monday before Logan could get anyone over to her place. He apologized for it, but Hawk brushed him off. “I get it. Monday is fine. And thanks. Tell Lacy I’ve got this, and Remy will be okay. I don’t want Lacy to worry. Also tell her I started doing some research as we discussed and it’s not looking so good.”
“She trusts you, Hawk. We all do. We know you’ll help Remy with whatever she needs. Consider it a trial run with us. Your first job at Callahan Security. If you like it, then you come to work for us full time. Call with anything you need. We’ll get it to you.”
Shit.
He paused. “That’s …great. Thanks, Logan.” He signed off and put the phone back in his pocket. Was it great? Suddenly he wasn’t so sure.
Remy stood there in the hallway, glaring at him. “You just ignored me. How am I going to pay for this?” She folded her arms across her chest. “And what research are you talking about that doesn’t look so good?”
Right. Of course she’d caught that. He’d come over this morning to get his gloves back and to tell her that his initial poking around about the locksmith company had turned up the fact that they incorporated the year before her great-grandfather had. He had no idea if they’d already had the logo at that point but, technically, they were around first. She was going to need that trademark paperwork if she had a hope of winning her case.
“Don’t worry about the cost of the system. I’m sure Logan and Lacy will work with you on it.” He wouldn’t let that happen. He’d pay for the damn thing himself. “It should give you some warning, at least, if someone tries to break in.” He took in her fighting stance and decided he might as well tell her everything and give her a push while he was at it. No point in beating around the bush. “You need to move.”
She blinked rapidly, trying to process what he’d just told her.
He held up a hand. “Before you yell at me, I’m just being logical. A bottom floor apartment that’s on an alley without bars on the windows is like an open invitation for criminals. You need to be in a more secure location. I know Manhattan apartments are expensive, but sacrificing your safety is not a good plan.”
“No shit. I never would’ve thought of that,” she fumed at him. “I don’t know what you earn, but I don’t make a lot of money, and I needed an apartment near my grandfather. My place is what I could afford.” She put her hands on her hips. “I don’t need you to lecture me on how unsafe it is, thank you very much.”
He lifted his hands up again, a conciliatory gesture. “I didn’t mean to lecture you. It’s just…it bothers me that you are living somewhere that isn’t the safest.” A serious understatement.
“Well, it bothers me, too, but that’s fucking life sometimes.”
