“Um, well, my coworkers don’t know who I am, or about my stalker, so Caleb’s just been waiting outside for me. And he’s sleeping with me. I mean, in my apartment, on the couch,” I hurry to correct, my face igniting again. Teddy’s eyes have a curious twinkle, and the last thing I need is for him to tell Father something suspicious is going on between my bodyguard and me.
“But, um,” I continue. “I don’t think there’s a need for two more people.”
Teddy shakes his head. “Nothing we think is going to change the fact that the governor gave an order. You’re stuck with us,” he says, finishing with a smile.
He really is very handsome, and closer to my age than Caleb. So why does his smile not make my stomach do somersaults like Caleb’s?
“You’re going to need to change,” Caleb sighs, sounding resigned. “You have G-man written all over you. Then again, the stalker might be too busy taking shots at you to bother Basia,” he adds with a tilt of his head. “Keep the suit, maybe flash your government-issue gun too.”
Teddy’s laugh fills the lobby. “Still a bucket of laughs, I see.”
“Uh, guys?” I interrupt. “Can you measure your guns later? I’m running late over here.”
Though if they want to measure something else, I’ll be in the front row for sure.
8
CALEB
Basia laughs at Teddy’s stories as we walk from the car to her apartment building, and I want to snatch every note from the air before it reaches the fucker’s ears. It’s been a long day.
“And then Aegis grabbed the grenade from his hand and threw it at the insurgents across the road like he was trying out for the Yankees.”
“Oh my god,” Basia gasps, peering up at me with clasped hands. “You could’ve been killed!”
“Hah,” Teddy exclaims before I can speak. “We could’ve been killed ten times a day on a good day.”
She blinks at him, clearly not seeing how that’s meant to help. Maybe I can shoot him and blame it on the stalker?
As we round the corner, I note the courier pulling out, but see no visible threats.
“How long have you been with the Secret Service?” Basia asks Teddy as she punches in the front door code.
“Not very long, just a couple of years. I stayed in the military longer than Ward, seeing as he’s the old geezer.”
“You, me, the mat,” I mumble. “Anytime, anywhere. I’ll wipe the floor with whatever’s left of you.”
“Touchy,” he drawls. “But admittedly right. Always bet on him, Miss… Basia.”
“Nice save,” she beams at him. My trigger finger twitches. “And I’d always bet on Caleb, sorry. He’s not my rock, but a whole darned mountain.” She starts walking backward so she can grin at me while speaking. “Get it? It’s funny because he looks like one.”
My eyes are glued to her smile, and Coleman’s the one to spot the package first.
“Stop. Stay back, Miss Langford,” he warns, reverting to her legal name in the moment.
I move Basia against the wall and approach Teddy and the package addressed to her.
“Could be an explosive,” he says quietly. “Know any bomb technicians?”
“Kane gave me a portable scanner,” I reply. “Let’s check for metal parts before we outsource it.”
Coleman whistles long and low. “Fancy.”
Ignoring him, I unlock and duck inside, my hand on my weapon just in case. I find the portable scanner among the rest of the equipment Ethan gave me and turn it on as I walk back. I place it over the box and check the display.
“No metal. No heat signature.”
“How about chemicals?” Teddy asks skeptically.
