Page 69 of Under His Protection
“That was nice of him,” Haley says as she opens her door and hops out.
Charlie beats us to the back door. She opens it by entering a code into the electronic keypad. “Three eight four two,” she tells Haley.
“There’s no key?” Haley asks.
Charlie shakes her head. “No. This is more secure. The whole house has a back-up power source, so even if we lose power, the electronics still work.”
Charlie opens the door, and Haley walks inside. I follow them in.
“Wow,” Haley says as she takes in the spacious kitchen and all the stainless steel appliances. “Fancy.”
“This morning,” Charlie says, “Mateo and I inspected the property and verified all the electronics are working. All systems are go.”
“Thank you,” Haley says. “This looks like a professional kitchen.”
“Shane’s wife used to live here,” I remind her, “and her roommate was a professional sous-chef. Hence the upgraded kitchen.”
“Can you cook?” Charlie asks Haley.
Still a bit wide-eyed, Haley shakes her head. “Hardly.”
“No problem.” Charlie gives her a gentle nudge with her elbow. “I do. So does Mateo. I’ll teach you, if you like.”
Mateo brings up the rear and shuts the door. “The more important question is do you know how to protect yourself? Have you had any self-defense training?”
“Not really,” Haley admits. “Jasmine taught me a few things not long ago.”
“She doesn’t need to know,” I say, putting my arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. She lays her head against my bicep. “She hasme.”
“She hasus,” Charlie says. “But that’s no excuse for her not knowing how to protect herself.” She directs her gaze at Haley. “When we get some free time, I’ll teach you some basics you should know in case you find yourself in a bind. In the meantime, there’s something we need to do.”
Charlie nods to the kitchen table. “Would you set your backpack and purse on the table?”
“Sure,” Haley says, looking confused as she complies with Charlie’s request. “Why?”
“We need to make sure you’re not being tracked.” Charlie pulls a bug detector out of her pocket. “Guys,” she says to me and Mateo, “if you don’t mind, can you get lost for a few minutes?”
“They can stay,” Haley says.
“I just thought you might want some privacy,” Charlie says. “I’ll need to dump everything out of both bags.”
“It’s fine,” Haley says. “I have nothing to hide.”
“If you’re sure,” Charlie says. When Haley nods, Charlie proceeds to empty both Haley’s backpack and purse on the table. She runs the detector over all of Haley’s belongings and the empty bags as well.
“Clear,” Charlie says, rather unnecessarily as we’re all here to see that for ourselves. “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to do this each day after you return from school, just to be sure. It would be too easy for someone to slip something into one of your bags.”
Haley nods. “I’d gladly check a hundred times a day if it would prevent that creep from tracking me.”
“All right, guys, why don’t you bring in Haley’s things and take the boxes up to her room?”
Mateo and I head out the back door to get Haley’s belongings.
After I lower the truck’s tailgate, Mateo grabs a couple of boxes. “How are you doin’,mon?” he asks as he secures the load in his arms.
“I’m fine.” Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it. “I’m more focused on Haley. She seems a bit spooked.”
“Can you blame her? This stalker has done some pretty nastytings.”
