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“We can do that,” I told her softly, my heart hurting all over again for this woman so far out of her element, but still trying to make the best of it. “I’d let you go alone, since I’m sure I’m not the type of company that you usually keep, but you know …”
“Yeah, the whole ‘there’s a hit out on me’ thing. I get it.” She looked up at me from under her eyelashes, almost as if she was nervous. “But I would have invited you either way. You’re pretty alright as far as company goes.”
“I think that’s the closest I’ll ever come to getting a genuine compliment from a porn star, and it’s definitely the only pool invite I’ll get from one.” She laughed, and some of the heartache I felt for her loosened. I looked out the window at the sun turning red as it prepared to lower beneath the horizon and lamented the fact that bathing suits weren’t part of my packing instructions. One for her, at least. It would have made for a more interesting bout of time wasting.
“You ready to go now?” I asked, and she nodded, rising to her feet and stretching her arms over her head. I felt like I should avert my eyes as her shirt rose up and exposed me a few tantalizing inches of her stomach before she relaxed again.
I said a quick prayer of thanks that we were in Texas, and no one gave a second thought to the fact that I had a gun on my hip as we squeezed into an elevator full of people, my large frame making plenty of room in front of me for Rachel to stand. She still had that forlorn look on her face, but I couldn’t really blame her.
We ended one of the weirdest days of my life with our feet in a luxury hotel pool as we sat on the concrete edge, trying and sometimes failing to dodge the friendly fire of splashing coming from a group of kids enjoying a moonlight swim.
A server for the poolside bar stopped by to ask us if we wanted anything. I declined, needing to keep a clear head, but Rachel ordered a patron margarita and an order of chips and salsa for us to share.
The light pollution from the city blocked out most of the stars, but the moon was still there, bright and clear.
“I guess I should ask,” Rachel commented, dusting salt from the chips off her fingers. “Do you charge by the hour?”
I guffawed, loud enough that one of the swimming kids jumped. “Thankfully for you, no. It’s a monthly fee.”
“Even for all these extras?” she asked, waving her hand around us.
“Considering I ignored your account for months because I thought your house was empty, but kept accepting the payments, we’ll call it even.”
“That’s fair. I think.”
I tried not to stare as she licked the salt off the rim of her margarita, her tongue the color of berries, and failed. I didn’t think she noticed, and even if she did, she didn’t chastise me.
I thought I looked stupid, pants rolled up to my knees and legs in the pool, and I sighed, deftly plucking the drink from her hand and taking a low draw from the straw before handing it back, even as she screeched, “Hey!”
“Perk of the job,” I told her.
“Jerk.” she replied.
One of the weirdest nights of my life, but a little fun, nonetheless.
Chapter Seventeen
Rachel
I woke up fully rested for the first time in the better part of a week, although I couldn’t say the same for Gunner, who didn’t seem to enjoy his couch- sleeping arrangement as much as I did mine. It was strange to wake up in a new place after staying home for so long, but after giving myself some time to feel sorry about my situation, I got my feelings under control and prepared for the day ahead.
The plan was to go back to the Lace Elm house and go through everything I might have missed. At first, Gunner seemed to think the artifact was going to be in the house, but as he worked through the possibilities, he had finally come to the conclusion that Trevor had probably stored the thing elsewhere and was planning to come back for it later. Our only hope was that he left some sort of paper or electronic trail for us to follow. Otherwise, it was going to be a rough week, if we even made it out alive.
After getting a quick breakfast from the cafe in the hotel lobby, we were back in the Range Rover and on our way to Lace Elm. It was hard holding onto hope when Gunner was so sure we wouldn’t find the Anubis statue today, but some progress would be better than none, I guessed.
During the hour drive out, we talked about anything and everything, from the music on the radio to all of our favorite things. Logically I knew he was trying to keep me calm and levelheaded, but his attention make me feel glowing and warm nonetheless.
I think I formed this rapid connection with Gunner for a few reasons, but most of all, because I finally didn’t have to go through all these new traumas alone. I had suffered for a long time but things were easier when there was another person beside me. Especially such a competent one.
I put my sizzling attraction for the man out of my mind, where it would no doubt spend the day growing into a full on wildfire, but I just didn’t have the mental space to acknowledge it right now. This was a life-or-death situation, and I needed to treat it as such, even if the shadow of stubble that had appeared on his face overnight made him even more of a distraction.
“Shouldn’t you be more heavily armed?” I asked as we finished the final few miles to the house. Gunner was wearing the single handgun in a holster and nothing else, which seemed a bit casual considering what we had experienced thus far.
“I’ve still got a team at the house. They’ll be staying while we do our work, which means no one will be getting through to us.”
He wasn’t lying, either. Overnight, it looked like my house had been turned into some sort of protected fortress; men dressed like Gunner and with rifles were stationed all around the property. It was surreal seeing them outside my normally-peaceful home. Another reason to sell this place and be done with it; it was too big for just me, and I’d been feeling more lost than usual.
We parked, and I walked in at Gunner’s side, listening to his guards pop off quick greetings, things like “Morning boss!” and “Everything’s quiet here, Mr. Stone.” They gave me respectful nods too, which I guess made sense because I was the client, but it was still a bit awkward. I felt like I was walking onto a military base shaped like my house.
