Page 37 of Trap ’N’ Trace

“Can I get out?”

He expected to find an expression of sarcasm on her face. What he saw was genuine question. He trusted that his friends or the guards would have notified him of any threats. “Yeah. I’ll meet you inside. I want to talk to the guys about the new system.” And give his cell number to the security guards. Communication was everything.

She stopped briefly to exchange greetings with Kade, Jaime, and Markus, who all grinned like idiots. Seeing Markus grin was a sight to behold. These days, the man rarely smiled. At anything.

“You gonna let her out?” Kade’s lips quirked as he and the others walked over.

Dayne narrowed his eyes. “Let who out?”

“Remy.” Jaime indicated the SUV, inside of which his dog whined. “The other female in your life.”

“Very funny.” He glared at his friends a moment before opening Remy’s door. She leaped out, wagging her tail.

“She’s quite a woman.” Kade canted his head to the castle as he leaned down to scratch Remy’s ears.

In response to his ministrations, Remy leaned her head against the side of Kade’s leg, demanding he not stop.

“Beautiful, too,” Jaime added.

“Yeah, so?” Dayne had a feeling he wouldn’t like where this was going. His friends didn’t disappoint.

“Is she married?” Kade asked. “Boyfriend? With a bank account like hers, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were dozens of men prowling around after her.”

Dayne’s scowl deepened. It was none of his business how many men drooled after Katrina Vandenburg. “There’s more to her than just her bankroll.”

“I stand corrected.” Kade gave a little bow.

“Cut the crap,” Dayne said, although this time there was intended humor in his voice. “Tell me about the upgrades.”

“Thought you’d never ask.” Kade grinned so broadly it brought out both his dimples, features Dayne had seen dozens of women swoon over. “We installed plenty of new cameras at the Haven and outside the castle. They can all be accessed via cell phone and computer. In addition to the new keypad at the gate, we installed a keypad outside the main entrance to the Haven and here, inside.” He jerked his thumb to the castle. “She’ll have to set a new code because this one uses five digits, not the four she’s used to. If someone drives up to the gate, you can buzz them in if you want to. We also installed glass-break sensors on all the first-story windows, along with window and door sensors. No one’s getting in without you knowing it.”

“What about the rest of the property?” He indicated with his arm. “There must be over twenty acres.”

“And a pool, a vintage carriage house, and a concrete storage bunker in the middle of the woods,” Markus added. “Did you know about that?”

Dayne shook his head. “What’s in it?”

“Not much.” Markus shook his head. “A desk and some old filing cabinets. Looked like there’d been a fire in there a while back.”

“Wiring up the whole place is impossible,” Kade continued. “The property’s like a small-scale nature preserve. There’s so much wildlife in all these woods there’s no way to install motion sensors without some animal setting it off every minute.”

“We installed cameras at every door,” Markus said. “We set a monitor up in your, uh”—Markus coughed—“bedroom. There’s a remote control that allows you to shift from one camera’s view to the others.”

The front door to the castle opened. Kat held Angus in her arms. When the puppy caught sight of Remy, he wriggled furiously and let loose with a series of high-pitched yips.

Unable to hold the struggling puppy, she set him on the stoop. Before Angus got halfway down the stairs, Remy bolted to the puppy’s side, nipping him playfully on his flanks then dancing away with the easy grace of an athletic shepherd.

Kat shrugged, calling out, “He was making such a fuss I had to let him out.”

“She’s a lot more down to earth than I expected.” Kade smiled.

“That’s the truth,” Dayne muttered.

“What did you expect?” Markus asked.

“Dunno.” Liar. He’d assumed she’d be stuck up and condescending. Especially to cops.

“I like her,” Jaime added. “If I were you, I’d be all over that like a dog on a two-inch thick ribeye.”