“He doesn’t need me. He’s watching you twenty-four/seven.”
“The black SUV? I figured it was one of his guards.”
“I don’t know about that, but he has a camera on you.”
“A camera? Where?”
“On the building facing you.”
Kendall went to the window and looked through her wooden blinds. Todd’s curtains were open. She saw a movement at his window, as if someone had stepped out of sight. Had he been watching her apartment? She looked at the box on the corner. “I thought that was some kind of cable box.”
“Nope. Camera,” Jake said, inspecting her cabinets.
She wasn’t really surprised. Nathan kept a tight net on his employees. “So you came to tell me that Nathan’s watching me and to find food?”
“I came to tell you we’re going back to Italy.”
“We just got home two days ago.”
“Nathan called me right after we left his bedroom. He has a team at the castle to keep intruders out, but he wants us there to make sure no one gets nosey and finds the treasure. Guess he’s afraid someone might decide to take a souvenir.”
Considering the objects they’d found hidden underneath the chapel, it would be tempting. “When are we leaving?”
“He said soon. You can follow me. My house is on the way. I need to pick up a couple of things before we leave.”
“You have a house?”
“Did you think I lived in a cave?”
“I wouldn’t have been surprised.” She hadn’t realized he lived in Charlottesville. “I can just meet you at the mansion.”
“I’d rather keep you in sight.”
“Why?”
Jake looked out the window toward Todd’s apartment. “Nathan never should have let you come here alone. I don’t know where his head is.” He started to leave the room.
“Nathan doesn’t control me. Where are you going now?” Surely he wasn’t planning to help her pack. Having Fergus’s help was bad enough. She didn’t want more males pawing her underthings.
“I need to use the little boys’ room before we leave.”
Kendall gave him a quick glance from worn jeans hugging muscular hips and thighs to his soft button-up Levi’s shirt with rolled-up sleeves revealing muscular forearms. He’d long since outgrown little boy. “You shouldn’t have drunk all my soda.”
“It’s here or in your yard. I promise I won’t take a dump.”
Kendall rolled her eyes. “Hurry.” While he was in the bathroom, she threw some clothes in a bag. After a few months working with Nathan, Kendall was proficient at packing. She looked at the box holding the camera as they walked outside to her car. Was Nathan concerned for her or just protecting his interests? From the corner of her eye she saw something move in Todd’s window again. If he was watching, maybe he would think Jake was a brother. Not likely. No one would look at Jake and think brother. He was too hot.
“I’m there,” Jake said, pointing to his Jeep parked on a side street. She hadn’t noticed it when she pulled in.
Kendall followed him across town to an older section with restored homes. He pulled up in front of a brick colonial with black shutters. It even had the white picket fence. Of course the fence was eight feet tall, so all she could really see was the second floor, but the house was obviously beautiful. She pulled up behind him and waited as he got out of his Jeep. He walked back to her car and opened the door. “You coming in?”
“Uh, sure.” She had to admit she was curious to see what the inside looked like. “I didn’t see you living in a house like this. It looks like one of those historical homes that would be on a walking tour.”
He shrugged as he led Kendall up the sidewalk. “It was my grandmother’s.”
She hadn’t pictured him with a grandmother either. When she was growing up, she’d always wished she had a grandmother. And a mother. She had adored her father, but she’d always wondered about the woman who’d given life to her. Who was she? What was she like? There was only one picture, a small one, not very clear. Her father said the others had been lost in a fire. Kendall hadn’t asked many questions since it seemed to trouble her father to talk about it. Her aunt said something once that made Kendall suspect her parents hadn’t been married.
“How long have you lived here?”
“A few months. She left it to me last year when she died.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t have a grandmother to lose, but she couldn’t imagine losing Aunt Edna.
“I’d planned to rent it out, but after I started working for Nathan, it made sense to have a place nearby.”
“The yard is lovely.” There were boxwoods and shrubs, very well cared for.
“Can’t take credit for that. I’m hardly here.”
She knew that feeling. The house was lovely, but she could see signs of Jake. The lock on the gate, the tall fence, the security system.
He opened the door and let her inside. “I just need to grab a few things. Won’t be a minute. Make yourself at home.”
No invitation to come upstairs? Maybe ignoring him was working. “Take your time.” She wondered if his bedroom matched the badass mercenary or the grandson. After he disappeared, she gave herself a tour of the downstairs. It had been carefully restored. Hardwood floors and trim looked old but well maintained. The kitchen was clean, large, and had an island in the middle of the room with copper pots and pans hanging overhead. Did he cook too? The dining room was uncluttered and had a wooden table large enough to fit a big family. On one wall, an antique china cabinet—probably early nineteenth century—held Wedgwood china and Waterford crystal glasses.
The living room looked more like Jake. Oversized leather furniture with a blanket tossed over the back of the couch. Solid wood coffee and side tables. A Coke can sat on one next to a pizza box. Her fingers itched to touch things, to see what she could pick up on him, but it wouldn’t be fair. She looked at the bookshelves and noticed that there were no pictures. Not of him or anyone else. She couldn’t imagine his grandmother not having pictures. Kendall’s aunt had pictures everywhere. Had he put them away? She explored more and found a laundry room, a study, and what appeared to be a guest bedroom. Back in the foyer, she glanced at the stairs. Where was he?
A loud crash sounded upstairs. Kendall raced up the stairs. A door was open in the hall. Kendall looked in and saw Jake’s duffel bag open on the bed. The room was neat, but more masculine than the rest of the house. She got there in time to see Jake go out the window and drop down from the rooftop, landing on his feet in the backyard. He ran toward the fence.
Kendall started to go after him, when she felt someone enter the room. She turned and saw a woman standing in the doorway, dressed in a long robe. She was beautiful, blond haired. There was dirt on her face and hands, as if she had been gardening. The woman stared at Kendall, not speaking. Kendall was equally shocked. She knew Jake’s flirting was mostly a front to distract her, but she was surprised—and disappointed—that he had tried to get her in bed when he obviously had a… what? Wife? Girlfriend? She must be wondering what Kendall was doing in Jake’s bedroom.
Before either of them regained their voice, Kendall heard a yell outside. A sense of danger hit her hard. She ran to the window and saw Jake go over the top of the fence. “We have to help him.” She raced from the room and down the stairs to the back door she’d seen on her tour. She ran across the yard. “Jake?”
A moment later, Jake’s head appeared on the opposite side of the tall white fence. He climbed to the top and dropped over. “Bastard got away.”
“Who was it?” Kendall asked, finding her voice. She was still in shock that Jake had a gorgeous woman in his house and hadn’t bothered to mention her.