Page 63 of Unfounded

“It’s nice to meet you, Luke,” Shelby comments. “I can’t believe someone has stolen Marley’s heart so quickly.” Shelby grins to soften her words. I’m sure it is a shock to her. We’ve had manyconversations over the years about how men can’t be trusted, especially after my epic failure so many years ago.

“She’s the heart stealer,” Luke returns affectionally, pulling me onto his lap for a kiss. I can feel my face flush. Shelby’s never seen me with anyone since high school, not that I dated a lot even then. I’m not ashamed to show my affection for Luke in front of her. I’m just not sure how she will react. Shelby is really shy and, to my knowledge, hasn’t dated anyone, ever. I can see she’s a little uncomfortable with our PDA. I slide out of Luke’s lap and take Shelby by the hand.

“Come on, let’s give you a tour,” I say. Shelby nods and follows me through the house as I show her the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I can tell she’s as impressed with the kitchen as I had been the day I’d arrived. Luke patiently follows us around giving little details about the house that I don’t know. “You have to see the patio!” I declare after seeing her reaction to the kitchen. “You’re going to love it.” Grabbing her hand, I lead her out to the patio.

Shelby gasps as she takes in the patio and all of Luke’s cool cooking gadgets. I knew she would be amazed at his set up. Shelby loves to cook. We are always sharing new recipes. “Wow!” Shelby turns to me, her mouth hanging open in awe. “I’m so freaking jealous!” I giggle at her declaration.

“I guess we need to have a barbeque,” Luke says with a huge smile. Shelby’s face lights up in a big way. “I’ll let you help me cook.” Shelby whoops in delight as she claps her hands and makes a jumping motion.

“I’d love to have a setup like this,” Shelby confesses. “Having an apartment on the tenth floor isn’t conducive to having something like this.” She stares at the grill, griddle, and outdoor sink as she continues speaking, but I think it’s more to herself than to me. “I need to consider getting a house. I have plenty saved up but seems like a waste when it’s just me.” I frown at the sadness I hear in her voice.

“You still aren’t dating?” I question, but already know the answer. Shelby just shakes her head, before walking over toward the boardwalk to look out at the ocean.

“Such a beautiful view,” Shelby says breathlessly.

“It sure is.” Bo’s voice booms across the patio. I turn to see him staring at Shelby’s back as she takes in the waves crashing on shore. He stalks out to stand beside her. Her back straightens as she takes a step away from him which causes his body to tense, too. Something definitely happened on the trip over. I’m going to need to have a talk with Bo. I doubt Shelby will tell me what happened. She’s a peacekeeper, never one to rock the boat. She wouldn’t tell me if Bo upset her not wanting to make a scene.

Shelby turns abruptly away from Bo. “I’m kind of tired. Would you mind if I go up to my room?” she asks as she approaches me. I begin to shake my head, fully intending to take her upstairs. Bo is suddenly at her side, taking her elbow in hand.

“I’ll walk you up.” Bo’s tone brooks no argument. Shelby’s head whips in his direction. I can see her eyes narrow at him, but she doesn’t argue. She lets him lead her into the house.

“What was that all about?” Luke asks the question before I can. I shrug my shoulders as I watch them walk away.

“I don’t know, but I think something happened between them on the ride here,” I tell Luke. “They were glaring at one another when I went to the front door, but neither of them said anything. Both of them get tense when the other one is around. One of us needs to ask Bo about this.” I turn to Luke. “Shelby is sensitive and shy. She won’t tell me if Bo upset her. She wouldn’t want to cause problems between me and him. She will take a ton of shit to keep someone else from having to deal with it.” Luke looks thoughtful a moment.

“I’ll talk to him. I don’t think he would do anything to upset her, at least not intentionally, but he can be childish and clueless. He may not even realize he’s upset her.” I nod, because I’ve been thinking along the same line.

“Thank you, Luke.” I drop onto his lap, sharing a kiss before I go up to check on Shelby. “Don’t be too hard on him. He may not have done anything. She may have just taken something the wrong way.” Luke kisses me again before letting me go.

LUKE

Iwatch as Marley heads into the house. I don’t like being away from her, but I love to watch her leave. I snicker to myself at the thought. I sober, though, as I think about the exchange between Bo and Marley’s friend. I’ll have to kick his ass if he’s hurt Marley’s friend. I can’t image Bo doing something to hurt her on purpose, but he acts like a pre-teen most of the time, which means he could have done something unintentionally, just insensitive.

I sigh as I begin to wheel myself back into the house. I’m met by Agent Morris who isn’t looking very pleased, at the moment. I wonder what has that look on his face. “Luke, we need to talk.” I cringe. Those are words you never want to hear from anyone, but especially from the FBI agent responsible for your fiancée’s safety. I follow him to the dining room. He drops into a chair as if he can’t hold himself up another minute.

“I’m a little concerned about having all these people coming into your home,” Agent Morris informs me. “Yes, we are vetting them, but the more people we have around, the more likely this crew could force or convince one of them to turn on Marley.”

“Be serious, Jim,” I growl my anger at his insinuation. “Do you honestly believe someone in our family is going to turn on us?”

“The woman who arrived today is not family.” Jim raises an eyebrow. I hear the accusation in his tone. He’s letting me know he doesn’t trust Shelby or anyone for that matter. I roll my eyes in annoyance.

“Marley and Shelby have been friends since childhood,” I declare. “I don’t believe she would ever put Marley’s life in danger. If I did, she wouldn’t be here. You know that.” Jim sighs and nods his head.

“Look I’m not trying to be an asshole.” Jim pins me with his stare. “I’m trying to keep your woman alive and out of the hands of terrorists.”

“I know. It’s just after Marley’s kidnapping, we realized just how quickly our lives could be over. We want to make what we have official and have our closest family and friends to witness our union.” Jim nods his understanding.

“I get it, but you aren’t making my life any easier,” Jim grumbles. I grin at his grumpiness.

“Sorry not sorry?” I muse as Jim glares at me. I bark out a laugh, but quickly get myself under control. Pissing off the FBI is not in our best interest, right now. He could pull Marley out of here, and I’d be powerless to stop him without committing several felonies. “The only other people who will be staying here, besides Shelby, will be family.” Jim gives me a look that says he doesn’t believe me.

“What about Daisy’s man?” Jim accuses. “He isn’t family.” I huff.

“He is,” I insist. “They might not be married, but Ace is a good man. He’s a Special Ops Marine for Christ’s sake!” I can’t believe I’m having to defend Ace to this man. He’s run his background checks on everyone of us. He knows Ace would never betray us. I don’t understand where Jim is going with this. “What’s really going on?” I demand, realizing Jim knows more than he’s saying.He shakes his head, but I give him a look that lets him know I won’t take no for an answer.

“I don’t have any proof or know anything for certain.” Jim lowers his voice, glancing around, as if he expects someone to be lurking in the shadows to eavesdrop on us. “I think there is someone on the inside that’s feeding our terrorists with information.”

“Okay, but why would you suspect Ace or even Shelby, for that matter. She literally just got here.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com