Page 45 of A Shot at Love
If looks could kill, he’d be six feet under just from the deadly heat in her squinting gaze. In the next instant, her eyes went wide and the lips scowling at him turned pale.
He’d forced her to remember the details of their day. A small amount of guilt at bringing the fear back to her shot through him, but with it, resolve, because he was right to call her on her reckless behavior.
“Look.” He pulled down deep for calm. “I know you thought this place was fine because it’s your friend’s house. I get that. But you need to let me do my job, which is keeping you safe. You had no idea if this place was empty, you just presumed it was because you were told it would be. I can’t think that way. I have to assume and prepare for every potential threat, and running into an empty house without first making sure it is, in fact unoccupied, is one of those potential threats.”
She swallowed, the movement of her long throat making the motion almost erotic.
“Do you understand?”
“Y-yes. I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I…I’m just…sorry.”
He gentled his voice even more, hating the fear now glazing over her face. “I understand this is all confusing and unfamiliar to you, and if there were any way I could turn back time to before you ever saw Calafano walking down that street, believe me, I would. But I can’t. You’re in danger and I need to ensure that nothing happens to you. I can’t do that if you don’t listen to me and let me lead you through all this. Okay?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t wait. I never even thought to.”
It was Ky’s turn to nod. “And I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
He knew what the apology cost her, so he felt giving his own would even things between them. He was happy to see some of her color returning. “Let me take a quick look around and then we can bring in our gear. Okay?”
It was Gemma’s turn to nod.
“Just stay here.” The front door opened into a wide, wall-to-wall living area. Ky’s eyes swept the room. A stone fireplace took up space to the left, an L-shaped sofa and chairs in front of it. A remodeled kitchen and breakfast bar was at the opposite side of the room, three closed doors along a hallway beside it, and an open staircase leading to a second floor. While Gemma stood in the center of the room, Ky took a quick tour of the upstairs.
“From the outside this place looks like just one story,” he said when he came back to her.
When he was satisfied the house was truly empty except for the two of them, they brought in everything from the car without a word. He hoped Gemma’s silence meant she was considering what he’d told her and accepting how serious the situation was for them.
They were in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere with no Agency backup, no one except her brother-in-law and his partner knew where they were, and he had no weapons except for his Glock to protect them.
He’d never felt so powerless and unprepared in his life.
Gemma placed the bags of food on the kitchen counter and then opened the closed doors off the hallway.
“Small bathroom, pantry,” he said, following behind as she peeked inside each, “and bedroom.”
She opened the door fully and stepped inside. “Lucy and Ricky beds.”
“What?”
He came into the room with her.
Two dressers, two twin-size beds, and a small closet were the only furnishings. The beds were made; colorful Americana quilts atop them.
She turned around to him, a look of confusion sliding across her face. “Lucy and Ricky?” she said. When he didn’t answer, she added, “The Ricardos? The television show? No?”
Ky dropped his hands in his pockets. “Sorry. We didn’t watch a lot of TV in my house.”
“But you have to know about I Love Lucy.” Her eyes actually widened. “The whole planet knows who she is.”
Ky shook his head and again said, “Sorry.”
Her mouth closed into a thin line of what he assumed was disgust.
“Who doesn’t know Lucy Ricardo?” she muttered, as she shook her head, went past him, and out of the room.
He knew he’d gone down another notch in her esteem. Ky pressed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, squeezed once, and then followed her from the room.
