Chapter 3

 

Sven pulled the black SUV into the curving driveway behind Geoffrey’s sleek sports car. As the thick green trees withdrew and the house came into view, the bodyguard swore softly under his breath, his hands clenching around the steering wheel. A part of his brain acknowledged that it was a beautiful modern house with a mix of pale stucco and tan stones, but he was there for security and all he could see were windows. Lots and lots of windows.

Windows meant that the occupants of the house were easy to observe from a distance, easy to track, and easy to shoot. He was going to need some help to get this situation under control and keep Geoffrey safe, but first he needed to get a look at the house and the grounds.

While Geoffrey parked in the three-car garage next to a BMW X6 SUV and a blue Chevrolet Malibu, Sven parked behind Geoffrey’s car. He started to reach for his duffle bag of clothes but stopped. He had to check things out, clear the house, and assess Geoffrey’s security needs. Climbing out of the SUV, he was immediately hit with the wall of thick afternoon heat that was steadily baking the earth. Despite the fact that it hadn’t rained in weeks, the river valley air was uncomfortably humid, like pushing through superheated wet cotton. He hated summer in Cincinnati.

Geoffrey stepped around his car toward the trunk, his hands shoved into the pockets of his khaki shorts. He looked a little more relaxed than he had in Rowe’s office, but Sven could still see the tension pulling his slender shoulders tight. He wanted to reach out and squeeze them, tell him that he was going to be safe now, but he clenched his fists at his sides.

Touching a client was unprofessional. He’d never needed to remind himself of that fact in the past. But then, everything felt different about Geoffrey Ralse. Hell, he couldn’t even think of him as Mr. Ralse. He’d spent much of the past several months with his hands all over various parts of Geoffrey in their self-defense classes. Every damn class had included a wink or a smirk or some flirty quip from Geoffrey that was meant to tempt and unsettle Sven completely. Lines were already blurred, but he would get them back on track.

“Do you live alone?” Sven asked.

“Most of the time.” Geoffrey gave a little shrug, his bright blue eyes skimming over the woods surrounding the house as if he were searching for his stalker. “Finn is away at college up in Boston most of the year.”

“And now?”

“He’s in Europe with friends. It’s their last summer of freedom before they start their final year of college.” Geoffrey stopped and a genuine smile spread across his face. “He’s studying biomedical engineering with a concentration in nanotechnology at Boston University.”

Sven stiffened as he looked down at Geoffrey. “Smarts runs in your family.”

Geoffrey’s smile dimmed a little. “Finn is brilliant. I’m just good with a bit of coding.”

Sven started to argue but swallowed back the comment. He wasn’t there to reassure him that he was also brilliant. He was there to keep him safe. “You said that your house was locked when you woke this afternoon.”

The last of the sexy smile on Geoffrey’s full lips fell completely away and a stab of guilt pierced Sven’s heart. “Yeah, the person would have needed a key.”

“Who has a key? Are there other spares?”

Geoffrey shook his head. He shifted from one foot to the other, the rubber soles of his sneakers scraping on the concrete. “Only ones with keys are me and Finn. I don’t have any friends or family who have keys to the house.”

He led the way back into the neat and tidy garage. His smaller frame allowed him to easily move between the SUV and the sports car, while Sven had to turn sideways and shuffle along to fit between the vehicles. As Geoffrey reached for the doorknob, Sven put a hand on his shoulder and moved around him, leading the way with his handgun tightly clenched in his other hand.

“I checked all the rooms before I left,” Geoffrey said.

“But if he has a key, he could have returned while you were gone.” He paused again and looked over his shoulder at Geoffrey. “You will stay behind me until I clear the entire house.”

Geoffrey’s grin returned and he pointedly looked down at Sven’s ass. “That’s not a hardship.”

Sven could feel the blush fill his cheeks as he jerked his head back around to face the door. He wouldn’t allow himself to say anything, not that he could even begin to think of what he could say to something like that. Rowe would have some cheeky remark and probably give a little wiggle of his ass, while Andrei would probably have some appropriately chilling comment that would have put the boundaries firmly back in place. Clenching his teeth, Sven opened the door and led the way through the house with Geoffrey following. Geoffrey only spoke to label each room—guest bedroom, office, master bedroom, media room, Finn’s room, and so on. While his focus was on checking every potential hiding place and window, he noted that the entire house had a free and open feeling to it. The furnishings were mostly whites, tans, and pale grays. There were even more windows at the back of the house, looking out on a courtyard with a swimming pool. And the entire property was surrounded by trees. No way of easily seeing anyone who might be out there watching the house.

“We need to secure the house,” Sven announced as they returned to the living room. He watched Geoffrey flop down on the sofa, his arms resting along the back and his head tilted so he could stare at Sven from under some of his thick blond hair.

“I was going to call a locksmith to install some new locks, but I wanted to wait to see if you had some suggestions.”

“You need more than locks.”

Geoffrey dropped his arms and shifted to the edge of the sofa, his eyes narrowing. “What do you want to do to my house?” he asked softly.

“You need an entire home security system, Mr. Ralse,” Sven said, proud that he managed to remember to use the client’s last name.

“And what does that entail, Mister Larsen?” It sounded like Geoffrey was grinding his last name between his teeth.

“It’s more than locks. You need a home security system on all the doors and windows. You need motion-sensor lights on the front and rear of the house. Considering the threat and the fact that you don’t know who it is, we would be wise to also place a few video cameras on the exterior of the house that can be monitored. We—”

“Are you shitting me?” Geoffrey yelled, launching to his feet. He paced away, moving in front of the large windows and doors that led to the courtyard. Sven flinched, fighting the urge to put his larger frame in front of Geoffrey’s as he moved. “Cameras? Motion-sensor lights? What’s next? An electrified barbed-wire fence? Or maybe a few guard dogs to patrol the grounds? Oh! Wait!” Geoffrey swung back toward Sven and threw his arms up as he spoke. “A fucking moat!”

“Mr. Ralse—”

Geoffrey ignored him, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “Let me just call for the backhoe now. We can break ground on the trench before it gets dark. We could even fill it with salt water and get a few sharks to swim in it.”

“Mr. Ralse, I’m only thinking of your protection,” Sven said, keeping his voice low and even.

“Exactly! I’m the fucking victim here whether you or Rowe or the cops want to believe it, but you’re turning me into a goddamn prisoner like it’s my fault.”

“I believe you,” he whispered.

Those three words seemed to stop Geoffrey short. He stood in the middle of the living room, his eyes filled with confusion and surprise as he stared up at Sven. “What?” he said, but Sven couldn’t actually hear him. The word was more of an expulsion of air than sound.

Cursing himself, Sven gave in to the temptation to finally close the distance between them and put his hand on Geoffrey’s shoulder. “I believe you,” he repeated with a little more force. He squeezed, his mind briefly marveling at the feel of strong, tense muscles wrapped around slender, delicate shoulders. He wanted to let his hand linger.

“Why?”

Sven opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn’t explain why he believed Geoffrey’s story of the stalker and being drugged at the club. He wanted to say that he knew Geoffrey wouldn’t fabricate something like this or something more profound, but he couldn’t.

He didn’t know this man. Not really. He came in a couple of times a week for an hour or two of self-defense training. He flirted and joked, but there was a kindness behind it all. A hidden sweetness that was buried under all the sexual innuendo and bluster. But he couldn’t explain how he knew, at least not so that anyone would understand or believe him. So he kept his mouth shut.

Instead of answering Geoffrey’s question, he opted for, “I don’t want to take away your privacy or your freedom. I want to keep you safe until we catch this person. When you’re safe again, I think you will be able to remove some of these measures if you feel they are too restrictive. But having them means that you and Finn are safe.”

A little smirk quirked one corner of Geoffrey’s mouth as he stared at Sven. “I hope you don’t think you’re being sneaky by mentioning Finn.”

Sven released Geoffrey’s shoulder and rubbed his palm along the coarse material of his work pants as if to remove the memory of that warmth beneath his hand. “No, but I’m sure Finn would like to know that his big brother is safe.”

With a dramatic roll of his eyes and a sigh, Geoffrey stomped over to the nearest chair and threw his body across it so that one leg was over an arm and his head was resting against the opposite arm. “Oh God. Fine. You win. No more big brother, little brother safety talk. I’m being crushed by the guilt.” He cracked one eye open at Sven and grinned like he knew that Sven was fighting his own smile. “So…locks, cameras, lights, dogs, sharks?”

“I brought a couple of new locks with me and I can replace those tonight. I’ll call in to the office and put the order in for the full security system. They should be able to get most of it set up tomorrow.” He paused and allowed a small smile. “I think we can hold off on the dogs and sharks for now. If we must, you probably just want to go with the dogs. They’d be cheaper to feed.”

Geoffrey’s head popped up and his mouth fell open. “I’m sorry. Was that a joke? Did you actually crack a joke?”

Heat burned Sven’s cheeks and he knew they were turning bright red under Geoffrey’s gaze. He felt like an idiot, but his client was at least calmer now, looking decidedly less stressed. That was an improvement.

“I need to get my supplies and check the perimeter. Will you stay in the house while I’m outside?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered with a wave of his hand as if dismissing him. “I’ve got to get some work done in my office. I’ll be there until you get back.”

“You’ve got my cell number if you have a problem?”

“Yep.”

Swallowing back a sigh, Sven returned to the summer heat. He made a slow path along the immediate perimeter, checking for any footprints or indications that someone was lurking around Geoffrey’s house. He spotted only one footprint from what looked to be a work boot. It matched with the path of the lawnmower. He’d bet that the boot belonged to the landscaper, but he’d get the name of the landscaping company later so that Quinn or Gidget from the IT department could run a background check.

After making one complete circle, Sven moved out to the woods, searching for more footprints, paths, or signs that someone was regularly moving through the brush, watching the occupants of the home. He walked slowly, relying on the intense training that he’d received from both Rowe and Noah. The former Army Rangers knew their shit when it came to tracking and looking for signs that someone or something had passed through an area. He did what he could, but he never felt as secure in these skills. He was better at reading people, reading crowds, sensing the mood of a mob and knowing when it was about to turn. Maybe he could call on Royce or Dominic. They were a second set of eyes to put on these woods. They might see something that he was overlooking.

That would allow him to keep his focus on Geoffrey. Even now, a strong pull was trying to draw him back inside. He knew no one was there with him. He’d checked every inch of that house, and he’d kept it in view as he searched the woods. Geoffrey was alone. But until he could lock it down and put electronic eyes on it, he wouldn’t feel that Geoffrey was secure.

He stopped and gazed across the back lawn toward the house. The pool sparkled and danced in the bright late-afternoon sun. Birds chirped and swooped out of the trees to land in the perfectly manicured grass to hunt for a meal. There was the steady droning buzz of cicadas, rising and falling like a wave only to start all over again. It was just an average day, but it felt wrong because it started with a look of fear and pain etched deep in Geoffrey’s face.

But that wasn’t supposed to be Geoffrey. He’d seen the man here and there for more than a year. It was always with a smile on his face. Or a smirk. Or a leer. Or a wink and a dirty proposition. Geoffrey wasn’t supposed to be hurting or afraid. It made Sven want to break the one who’d touched him.

As the thought rushed through his brain, Sven shivered and forced himself to move again. He didn’t harm people. He protected them. That was his job.

He immediately headed back toward the SUV, where he grabbed his bag out of the passenger seat and returned to the house. Sweat ran down the side of his face and spine. The black T-shirt with the company logo clung to him, so he felt somewhat self-conscious as he crossed to Geoffrey’s office. He wanted to grab a quick shower and a change of clothes, but he first needed to set eyes on his client. Only then could he quiet the anxious voices in his head. Dropping his duffle in the main hall, he cut through the dining room and living room to the hall leading to the master suite. There he found Geoffrey seated behind a desk of glass and steel, looking like something out of a futuristic space novel. He was leaning back in his leather chair, frowning at his computer screen. In each hand, he twirled a drumstick as if they were there just to keep his hands busy until he was ready to type.

Geoffrey looked up suddenly and the dirty grin was finally back. “Wow. It’s like Ares has come to earth to punish me for being a naughty boy.”

“Ares?”

“You know, Greek god of war.”

Sven shook his head. “My parents made me learn the Norse gods.”

Geoffrey turned his seat and slid forward, putting both his feet on the floor. In his right hand, he twirled the drumstick a little while the left stayed steady. “You mean like Thor and Odin.”

“That’s a couple of them.”

Stopping the spinning drumstick, Geoffrey laughed and pointed the stick at Sven. “Awesome. You’ll have to teach me about them. When we go out tonight. During dinner or maybe while we stop for drinks.”

Sven pressed his lips together, trying to find the right way to tell Geoffrey that they needed to stay in where Sven could keep him safe. They’d had no time to do any research on who could be stalking Geoffrey or the level of the threat. Heading straight out into public was not a wise decision, but he also didn’t want Geoffrey feeling like he was a prisoner.

Geoffrey made a tsking sound as he sat back in his chair again, the drumstick spinning in his right hand. “I’m starting to recognize that expression. You don’t want to go out.”

“It’s dangerous.”

Frowning, Geoffrey turned back toward his computer screen as if he were dismissing Sven, but he didn’t get the feeling that Geoffrey had really managed to ignore him.

“What’s your schedule? If you send me your complete list of appointments, I can prepare now so your plans won’t be interrupted.”

Geoffrey sighed and looked back at Sven. He was frowning, but it didn’t feel like the frown was actually directed at him. “I don’t have set plans. I just…kind of wing it. I usually go out to dinner or drinking with friends a few times a week. Shake my ass at the club a couple of times a week. Friends text me with invites. We do brunch or tapas. You know, whatever comes up.”

He made it all sound so light and easy, but Sven had no clue how anyone functioned like that. He didn’t have close friends he met for dinner and drinks on the fly. He’d gone out for beers a few times with Royce, a coworker. He saw his sister. They had dinner on Wednesdays when he wasn’t working. He had work and self-defense classes he taught. The rest of his life, he was alone.

“How do your friends know when you’re going to clubs?”

Geoffrey tapped the drumstick in his left hand on the smartphone sitting face down on the desk. “Social media.”

That was a totally different animal they would have to get into. Sven didn’t do social media. He wasn’t on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or any of those other…things. But he’d had more than one client already where he had to request that they shut down their accounts in order to protect them. That was not a conversation he wanted to have with Geoffrey. At least not yet. They needed to tackle his house first. The other could wait a little while.

“You look hungry,” Geoffrey suddenly announced, snapping Sven out of his thoughts. “I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten all day and I make a mean stir-fry. Got all the ingredients already.” Dropping his drumsticks on the desktop, Geoffrey jumped to his feet and walked toward the doorway where Sven was standing. Sven immediately backpedaled, putting space between himself and the smaller man. “Let’s go make an early dinner and figure this shit out. Maybe then you’ll stop looking at me like you want to eat me.”

Sven watched Geoffrey saunter off toward the kitchen while his own mouth hung open. He was not looking at him like he wanted to eat him. But now that the words had been said, the image was in his mind…his mouth moving over every inch of that lithe body, Geoffrey’s breathless cries filling his ears. God, he wanted that. And he had no business doing so.