I press a kiss to his chest, right over his heart.
My mother would be horrified, I think as I snuggle against his skin.A security contractor she’s never met. Someone who isn’t a doctor or lawyer. Someone she didn’t choose or approve. But I’ve never, ever been happier than I am right now with Reed.
His arms tighten around me. “Maya—”
“Hey...” My voice is a whisper as I lift my head to look at him.
His eyes are soft in the fading light, his face open and vulnerable in a way that pierces my heart.
I think I’m falling in love with this man.
CHAPTER 7
REED
The laptop screen glows in the pre-dawn darkness, security footage from the past two days playing in accelerated time. I’ve been at this for an hour, searching each feed for anything we missed since I installed the cameras on Tuesday.
Maya’s still asleep in the bedroom. After last night, she needs the rest. I need the distance to think clearly, though even from here I can smell her on my skin, feel the warmth of her body against mine.
Is it possible I could be a different man from my father? God. More than anything, I want a future that isn’t me following in my dad's footsteps. Maya makes me want a future I never thought I’d have a chance at, and I’m terrified at the thought of hurting her like my dad hurt my mom.
I scrub through more footage from the main cameras. Then I switch to the feed from the camera I installed discreetly—the one I didn’t mention to anyone, not even Owen. Old habit from Afghanistan: always have a backup nobody knows about.
And there it is.
Tuesday afternoon, just hours after I installed everything, a truck appears, barely in view of the camera.
“Motherfucker,” I mutter, realizing that whoever this guy is, he’s been watching us since we arrived and Leo’s crew left. The driver clearly thought he was avoiding the visible cameras, but my hidden unit caught him perfectly. The truck has a distinctive dent in the quarter panel.
“Got you,” I mutter, zooming in.
The truck appears again on Wednesday morning, same careful positioning. Then yesterday afternoon, circling the property like a predator.
“Can’t sleep?” Maya’s voice, rough with sleep, makes me turn.
She’s still wearing my hoodie, which ends at the top of her bare legs as she walks to the kitchen and pours a cup of coffee. The sight of her makes my world make sense in a way it never has. I finally get why Owen, Jake, and Kane took the jump into love. Now that I’ve had a glimpse of what a future with Maya might feel like, I’m going to do everything in my damn power to make that a reality.
“Working.” My voice comes out rougher than intended. “Come look at this.”
She pads over, automatically curling into my side as she peers at the screen. The casual intimacy makes my chest tight.
“Do you recognize this truck?” I point to the frozen frame.
She leans closer, and I catch the scent of our sex on her skin, and it makes my cock ache with desire.
“What the hell? That’s Clint’s truck. Clint Lansing.” Her voice sharpens. “He lost the bid for developing this land.”
“Lansing Construction?”
“Yeah. He was very upset about losing. He didn’t say it directly to my face, but I heard he made comments saying I was ‘daddy’s little girl’ and that I didn’t deserve the contract.” She straightens. “You think he’s behind the vandalism?”
“Look at the timeline.” I pull up the footage. “He shows up hours after I installed the cameras. I couldn’t see his plate, but look at the dent there. Then again yesterday morning, and—” I switch to the main camera grid. “Two of my visible cameras went offline during the storm yesterday. But he didn’t know about the one on the porch.”
I turn to face her fully. “Maya, this is our first real lead. He’s been watching us since the moment we got here.”
Her hand grips my shoulder. “The dead fish, the threats—”
“All him.” The rage that fills me is cold and calculated. The same feeling I had in Kandahar when civilians were threatened. “This ends today.”
