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“You make no sense,” I said softly. “You go from mean to nice at the drop of a hat.”
“Part of the job,” he admitted. Gunner lifted his hands off me, and unlike when Buck would try to cop a feel, I found I wouldn’t have minded if Gunner continued to touch me.
“How is that part of the job as a security company owner?”
Gunner walked behind the kitchen island, opening cabinets until he found a glass. “It’s a little more complicated than that,” he said, taking the glass to the refrigerator to fill with water. “But we don’t have to get into that right now. Here. Drink.”
He set the water down with a clink, the glass already frosting with condensation. I took a long drink, getting my shaky breathing back on track. “So, does that mean you can’t help me with my security system?”
He laughed, a deep, rolling sound like thunder. “No worries, Idoactually own the company. I just do a little extra on the side, you could say. But yes, I can help with your security system.”
“Thank God,” I groaned. “If I had to call someone else and wait even longer, I was going to scream.”
Gunner sat on the stool beside me, looking ridiculously big compared to the dainty seat. “Before that, though. Can I speak to you seriously?”
I nodded, taking another sip of water.
“I am here to fix your system, but I’m also looking into some of the things your husband was dealing with, legal and otherwise. I’ll be straight with you, since I can’t seem to figure you out anyway and I might just sink right down to hell if I make you cry again.”
I smiled at that, and he rubbed his hand over his scalp again, as if embarrassed.
“This is personal for me. If my suspicions are correct, your fiancé was into some things that affected someone in my family, and I have to get to the bottom of it. I know this must be horrible to hear, but if you let me investigate your home, I swear to keep you as separate from everything as I can, since you’re an innocent party and all.”
“What if I want to know everything, though? It is my house.”
He grunted. “Yes, it is. But trust me when I say this isn’t something you want to get mixed up in.”
“I think that’s my decision, though,” I pointed out.
Gunner frowned, his eyebrows drawing together. “You’re not making this easy on me, you know that?”
“Says the man who barged into my foyer, made me cry, and then poured me a glass of water while telling me my fiancé was a hardened criminal,” I grumbled.
“Fair enough.” Gunner sighed. “Would you be okay telling me about anything strange or erratic he was doing in the last few weeks of his life?”
“It seems disrespectful. Will it really help you?”
“Absolutely. You’ll be helping me put together a mystery that has been plaguing me for months now. Getting your call was like the first bit of hope I’ve had in a long time.”
I closed my eyes, thinking about what he was asking. I’d told no one about any of the strange things Trevor had been doing, or how much his personality had changed. It was a private, painful secret that I carried close to my heart. But if the information could help Gunner, was it worth sharing?
I knew basically nothing about the man sitting next to me, but when he admitted that whatever Trevor was into was affecting his family, it had made me feel terrible, thinking that there was nothing I could do to help.
He didn’t even tell me what kind of family; kids, parents, siblings, maybe even a spouse? Gunner could be a villain in his own right, for all I knew, but his blunt honesty was refreshing. And being able to help someone would make all of what I had been through hurt a little less.
“I’ll tell you if you swear that you’re not going to use the information to hurt anyone,” I said finally, still not positive about my decision.
“All I’m trying to do is help someone close to me,” Gunner said solemnly. “I’m not trying to profit off your tragedy, or anything like that.”
“Okay.” I tried to put on a brave face, and Gunner rewarded me with a pat on my knee. Again, I didn’t mind for some reason.
Taking a closer look at Gunner, he was handsome in a rugged sort of way, with heavy features and thicker eyebrows over his lovely eyes, but when all those features were put together, it gave him a sort of animal magnetism I couldn’t deny.
I was so twisted up inside, not to mention exhausted, that I dismissed the fluttery feeling in my stomach when he looked at me. Things like attraction and romance were far from my mind. But there was something about Gunner, something besides those arms and those eyes.
“Where do you want me to start?” I asked.
“Just tell me when he started to act strangely, and what that meant for Trevor.”
