Forcing her spine to straighten, she avoided both men’s eyes as she crossed the small parking lot. Her throat was painfully dry when she asked, “What can I do for you this morning?”
She could feel those unnerving eyes on her when he said, “I was just about to head to bed, but I wanted to be sure you knew about the changes.”
Dread, thick and syrupy, gathered in the pit of her stomach. She dared to peek at Caldwell’s hard face. There was no hint of feeling there. His features were cut from stone, handsome, and terribly intimidating. “Changes, sir?”
“Mr. Bounds is having lights installed around the estate this week, so there will be a small construction crew moving around. They’ll take over the garden for a day or so, unfortunately.”
…Lights?
Zia’s eyes flickered between the two men’s faces. Mr. Eisele looked bemused, his reedy arms crossed over his chest, and Caldwell looked… impassive. “Ah,” she managed. “I see. What— what day will that be?”
Caldwell’s expression didn’t change even one iota, but shesworethere was amusement in his voice when he answered, “Today. They’re starting on the garden first.”
Her breath left her in a steamy puff of surprise.
“I don’t understand,” Mr. Eisele complained. He shook his head, making the symbol of Burden he wore on a thin chain around his neck sway. “Why in the world would they start in the garden? If we’re putting lights up, shouldn’t we start here, or on the main driveway? Around the house, even?”
Caldwell shrugged and took one step back into the deeper shadows of the gatehouse. His gaze settled on her for a moment before flicking back to the groundskeeper. “Mr. Bounds’s orders. I don’t question them. If I were you, I’d give that a try, too.”
Mr. Eisele closed his mouth with an audible clack.
“Is the work going to be extensive?” She glanced over her shoulder, toward the path that led to the manor and its garden. She was strangely breathless. “If I can’t work today, should I go home?”
“You should be able to work today,” Caldwell assured her. Gesturing to someone over his shoulder with a quick flick of two clawed fingers, he continued, “However, since there will be strangers on the grounds while the work is being done, Mr. Bounds has assigned you a guard.”
Zia shared a perplexed look with Mr. Eisele as one of the guards, a stern-faced demon she’d only met once or twice, squeezed out from around Caldwell. He settled himself to her right, a half step back, and didn’t say a word as she gaped.
“Ihardlythink that’s necessary, Caldwell,” she protested.
“Mr. Bounds’s orders, Miss North. Strangers on the property mean extra security.” Tipping his head at them all, he began to close the door. “I’m going to sleep. If there’s an emergency, try not to need me.”
As the door clicked shut, Zia rounded on the groundskeeper. “Mr. Eisele, what in theworld—”
He threw up his weathered hands. “You thinkIknow what’s going on? I’m as clueless as you, Zia.”
“I donotneed a guard!” She shot a quick, abashed look at the demon. “Sorry, it’s not personal.”
“Mr. Bounds’s orders, ma’am,” he rumbled, those unsettling amber-on-black eyes entirely unsympathetic. He was huge, with great black horns that curled around the sides of his head, and his clear disinterest in her plight made him her current least favorite person.
Mr. Bounds’s orders, my ass!
The subject of lights made her heart flutter, foolish as that almost certainly was, but having a guard assigned to watch her every day until they left was downright silly.Unless…
Zia pointed at Mr. Eisele. “Doyouhave a guard?”
“Apparently not,” he answered dryly.
She paled. Had he assigned someone to watch her because he didn’t trust her now? Surely no one actually thought something might happen to her because a construction crew came in to do some work. There had to be another reason for this, and she couldn’t think of anything more logical than what she’d done on Friday.
Shit.
“I… Fine. Let’s just— Maybe you can talk Mr. Bounds out of this?”
Mr. Eisele shook his head and turned around to climb into his golf cart. “Not likely. The boss isn’t thechanging his mindtype. Not usually, anyway.” He waved her over. “C’mon. I have enough shit to worry about today without being late. Get in, both of you.”
Feeling increasingly uneasy, she gestured for the demon — whose name shereallyneeded to remember — to get in the front passenger seat and then climbed onto the bench in the back.
Hunching her shoulders, she endured Mr. Eisele’s grumbling as he drove them down the path to the garden. By the time he slowed to a stop by the edge of the patio, the sun was beginning to crest the tops of the trees.
