She stepped back and let me in.
The inside of the house was airy and lived-in, the kind of casual that takes money to achieve. There was a guitar leaning against the couch and takeout containers on the kitchen counter.
I catalogued the layout as I crossed the threshold. It was a simple two-bedroom. The floor plan was old-fashioned, with a door between the kitchen and the living space.
A woman appeared from the kitchen, bright-eyed and carrying a dish towel. She gave me a look that was significantly more cheerful than Lucy’s cautious one.
“Valerie,” Lucy said. “This is the security guy Cal sent.”
“Bronson,” I grunted in greeting.
Valerie smiled like I’d said something charming. “Well, you’re certainly built for the job.”
I shifted my attention to her fully then, taking her in the same way I’d taken in the house.
She had an open posture and an easy smile. She was comfortable here.
“How long have you been staying on site?” I asked.
Valerie blinked, a little thrown by my serious demeanor. “Oh… I go everywhere with Lucy. I’m her personal assistant. I run errands, gather food, anything she needs.”
“And you stay here?” I growled.
“Y-yes.”
“That stops tonight.”
Lucy turned toward me immediately. “Excuseme? You’ve been here for less than ten minutes, and you’re trying to kick out my best friend? Remember, Ihiredyou.”
I didn’t look at her. I kept my eyes on Valerie.
“If someone’s targeting Lucy, nobody gets close to her unless I say so. You’re predictable. You have a routine. That makes you an entry point. You’ve already been breached once.”
The smoothie incident weighed on my mind.
Valerie’s smile faded, replaced by a flicker of fear.
“I’m not—” she started.
“You’re a liability,” I cut in, calm and even. “And I don’t work around exposed variables.”
Lucy stepped closer, her voice sharpening. “She’snotgoing anywhere. Valerie’s been with me for more than twenty years!”
“And someone tried to kill you three times. We don’t know who yet.”
That landed.
Lucy exhaled as the fight went out of her. She reached up and hugged herself.
She didn’t know how to protect herself. And from the look of things, Valerie might be the only person in the world that she trusted.
But trust could be a mistake.
“She leaves tonight,” I grunted. “Or I walk.”
Silence stretched tightly in the air as Valerie glanced between us. Her expression softened into reluctant understanding.
“Lucy,” she said gently, “it’s okay. If he thinks you’re safer here without me, I can stay with my sister in Charleston for a few days.”
