I positioned myself in the hallway outside the bathroom door with my back against the wall when I heard the light rustling of fabric, followed by the slosh of water as she slipped into the tub.
Lucy Lee was naked on the other side of that door.
I adjusted my stance, boots quiet against the hardwood, and fixed my attention on the opposite wall, fighting against the image of a naked Lucy Lee that had popped into my mind.
I focused on the tactical position instead.
The best option was exactly what I’d said. Drag her ass to a safe house.
This place wasn’t defensible. Not the way it stood.
Especially not against a man like Jimmy Watson.
Chances were her ex was behind the attacks. He was rich as fuck with a soul tainted gray. Rumors said he had mafia connections. If Jimmy wanted to take her down, he could throw some big guns at the job.
Lucy Lee needed a ten-man security detail protecting her butt.
But she’d told my boss Cal that she was only willing to have one guard.
As I was standing there, her voice carried through the bathroom door as she started singing quietly.
I recognized the song. It was one of hers.
The words drifted out,“Buy me a pie, I won’t lie. I want to be your woman tonight. Buy me a pie, I won’t lie. I want to be your woman for life. Don’t give me gold. Don’t give me diamonds. Just buy me a pie and I’ll be yours tonight.”
My jaw tightened as I wondered what she looked like in there. My imagination filled in the details whether I wanted it to or not. Steam rising. Her hair pinned up off her neck. Bare shoulders. Soft skin under my hands if I—
I shut it down.
Hard.
She was a client.
Nothing more.
I drew a slow breath, annoyed with myself, and tried to shut out her voice. I was being unprofessional as fuck thinking about her like this.
It was unacceptable, but knowing that didn’t stop my body from reacting.
I shifted again, adjusting my pants to make some extra room in them.
The water went still for a moment, and then I heard her move. Closer this time, like she’d shifted toward the edge of the tub, and instinct moved through me before I could stop it.
But Lucy Lee wasn’t mine to fuck.
She was only mine to guard.
I texted Channel 16, the Tide and Steel Security company group chat, with a list of what I needed to keep her safe.
Cal texted back a minute later, letting me know he’d schedule the security company to come out and set up a state-of-the-art alarm system later this week.
He’d also have someone drop off the building supplies I’d requested. A steel security door. Plus thick metal fencing to block in the stilt space under the house. And blackout curtains for every window in the place so no one could perch outside in the dunes and track her movements through the home.
Eventually Lucy stopped singing and came out, wrapped in a thick towel, still glistening with dampness from her bath. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but at least she’d stopped crying.
I followed her to her bedroom and set up camp outside her door.
Yup. This assignment was a mistake. I knew it now.
