Fiance by Friday (5 page)

“Or what we assume about him,” Gwen added.

“Do you know where he lives?”

“Moved to Beverly Hills about a year ago. Before that he had a home in Hollywood Hills.” All of that was on public record.

“Secluded?”

“You know how most of those homes are in Beverly Hills…completely unseen from the street. Unless the owner wants to flash and flaunt.”

“My guess is Michael wouldn’t want his
home life
flashed.” Karen shrugged. “I can live with that.”

Gwen regarded her friend. “I’d think you’d enjoy some privacy. Between the cameras and noisy neighbors, we don’t have much here.”

“I like being around people.”

Karen volunteered at a local Boys and Girls Club and probably spent half her income on disadvantaged kids. Although Samantha had done a complete background check on Karen long before Gwen started working at Alliance, Gwen didn’t feel it was her place to dig into Karen’s past. If Michael had specific questions about Karen, Gwen would have Samantha call him with the details. As Gwen’s co-worker and roommate, she thought that eventually the other woman would open up to her. If she didn’t, then that was her business.

“What will you do with the money…if in fact you and Michael marry?” Their female clients who were willing to marry rich men did so for a very steep price. A minimum two million dollars with a twenty percent commission to Alliance was in the contract. The groom agreed to take care of every expense his new bride needed, including everything from a new wardrobe to a new car. Living arrangements were determined early in the negotiating phase. Some husbands lived with the wives, though never in the same bedroom. If the couple became attracted to each other, it was understood that Alliance would have nothing to do with any resulting paternity suits. If the couple stayed married after the agreed upon time, Alliance was paid as per the agreement and it was up to the couple to dissolve the prenuptial contracts.

There were a few clients, very few, who were actually looking for love. In those cases, couples were matched based on their profiles and desires for a romantic interest. Both parties agreed to pay Alliance for their background checks and all expenses associated with the match…and a finder’s fee.

Samantha had started Alliance over five years ago. Several couples had met, married, and divorced their spouse, leaving as friends. So far, eighty percent of the couples they matched for love were still married. Only about twenty percent of the couples who
married for money had endured past their contracts and had children, or were otherwise wed for life. The rest divorced as planned.

Samantha and Blake being among the twenty percent.

“I’ll invest half of it. Make sure I’m set later in life.”

“And the other half?”

“I’ve been thinking of opening a house for runaways. A place where every child can escape to and feel safe. A place for kids to go when they have nowhere else.”

If there was ever a time Gwen wanted to probe it was now. “That sounds like a lot of work.”

“Anything worthwhile usually is. There are a lot of homeless teens out there getting into all kinds of trouble just to keep food in their mouths.” Karen turned away, which signaled to Gwen that “sharing time” was over. “Besides, an ex-wife of a celebrity might be able to convince others to make donations to help with the kids. It’s worth a shot.”

Karen had a huge heart. “Let’s hope Michael’s background checks out then.”

Gwen’s phone rang, saving Karen from more questions.

“Hello?”

“What’s going on in the backyard?” Leave it to Neil to skip any “how do you do’s” and get right at the meat of things.

“I’m sorry?”

“Your backyard? The motion detectors are off the charts but nothing is coming up on the video feed.” Neil’s short tone and quick questions made it difficult to respond in a warm or friendly manner.

“We have new neighbors. They’ve craned in a Jacuzzi.”

“The people directly behind you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

The line was silent for a few seconds. “Neil? You still there?”

“I need you to step outside.”

“Why?” she asked as she left her chair and started walking toward the back door.

“I need to run a test.”

Gwen opened the back door and walked into the yard. “Has anyone ever told you you’re paranoid?”

“Most people avoid saying things to me that piss me off.”

She smiled. “I like annoying you.”

Neil laughed…well, more snort than laugh.

“Was that a laugh, Neil?”

The man rarely smiled, but when he did, her body went numb and she lost herself in his gaze. Too bad he wasn’t standing with her so she could see him instead of imagine him.

“There you are,” he said, not answering her question.

Gwen waved, knowing the camera had found her.

“Walk to the back fence.”

Gwen tiptoed and avoided sinking her heels into the soft grass.

“Are you there?”

“I am. Can’t you see me?”

“I need to readjust the equipment. Get a better angle.”

“I’m going back inside now.” The men in the yard behind them were starting to peer over her way. She waved, smiled, and returned to the house. “If you’re done…I need to get back to work.”

“I’m…I’m…How’s your leg?”

Gwen paused inside the kitchen and glanced at her foot. “It’s fine. Thank you for asking.”

“Good. Uhm, I’ll be there in an hour to check the cameras.”

She’d look forward to it. “Paranoid,” she told him again.

He snorted a second time and hung up the phone.

Chapter Four

I shouldn’t be here.

But damn he couldn’t stay away. He knew the static on the motion detector was most likely due to normal neighbor behavior, a passing cat, or even the wind.

Gwen was right. He was paranoid.

He couldn’t stop his paranoia any more than he could stop thinking about her, about the terror in her eyes as he pulled his gun and pointed it at her.

Getting close to an assignment, which is how he needed to look at Gwen…at all the Harrisons, made him weak. Distance…he needed to find it and keep it.

So what the hell was he doing driving to Tarzana to check on a woman who didn’t want or need his help?

Ignoring his own internal warning bells, Neil pulled into Gwen’s driveway alongside her car and frowned. Why did she insist on parking outside the garage?

Purposeful strides took him to the front door. He knocked twice and stepped back so Gwen or Karen could see him clearly on the monitor by the door.

Neither woman answered. He knocked again, this time louder and longer.

“Coming…”

Gwen opened the door a little too quickly and without enough effort to assure him it had been locked. “Oh, hi.”

She stood back, letting him in.

“Did you even look to see who was here?”

“You told me you were coming.”

“But did you look?” He moved past her, ignoring the floral scent of her skin that reminded him of spring.

She disregarded his question, confirming that she hadn’t checked. When she closed the door, she didn’t lock it.

I’m going to need a dentist if I keep grinding my teeth together.

As Gwen moved to leave the foyer, Neil stepped into her path and grasped her hand. Like a child, he moved her hand to the lock on the door and held it there. “Forgetting something?”

She smiled up at him and moved even closer. “I doubt anyone would attempt anything with you here, big guy.” Her pale blue eyes sparkled as she taunted him.

“Your brother asked me to keep an eye on you, Gwendolyn.”

She lowered her voice and twisted the lock under his hand. “I like when you use my full name, Neil. Makes me think you care.”

Any other woman and he’d flatten her against the wall, press his body to hers, and slide into her sultry voice and flirting eyes.

He released her hand and forced his eyes away from hers.

Damn woman!

“Where’s Karen?”

“Running errands.”

Gwen was alone…with the door unlocked and her car parked outside the garage. Why not just wear a fucking sign that said
“I’m here. Come and get me”
?

I hate this neighborhood. Too damn hard to manage. The neighbors are only feet away…cars driving by. No locked gates.

He worked his way to the back of the house and out the door. The camera positioned in the backyard had been strategically
placed along an eave line. Without asking, he moved to the side of the house and tried the side door.

Unlocked!

He found a ladder and returned to the yard. He set his laptop up on the patio table and moved the camera back where he wanted it. He cleaned the dome of the motion detectors and checked the lines.

The new neighbors had placed a hot tub in the center of their small yard. Wood was stacked around it, letting him know that there were probably going to be more people around, maybe even a small construction team.

Neil made a mental note to swing around the block and check out a few cars…and their license plates.

“Finished up there?” Gwen asked from below. Neil hardly noticed that she watched him from the doorway.

Once both his feet were on the ground, he asked. “Have you met the new neighbors?”

“Not yet. Up until today, I haven’t seen anyone there since it sold.”

“It was a foreclosure, wasn’t it?”

Gwen nodded. “That’s what Eliza told me. I never met the old neighbors.”

More eyes, so long as they were friendly eyes, were better than less. A nosy neighbor was more likely to call the police if they saw anything suspicious.

“So what’s all this really about, Neil?”

“Doing my job.”

“You sure that’s all?”

He was about to answer when Gwen crossed her arms over her chest in a sign of defiance. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the possibility of Karen leaving, does it?”

He set the ladder back down. “Karen’s leaving?”

“Maybe. You hadn’t heard?”

“Heard what?” He really needed to eavesdrop on the Tarzana conversations a little more often.

Gwen lowered her voice. “I might have found a match for her. If it all works out Karen could be moving in a couple of months…maybe sooner.”

“You’re serious.”

“It’s what we do.”

A muscle in his jaw started to twitch. He tried to relax and failed.

“You’re staring at me, Neil.”

He rubbed his chin, set the ladder back up, and checked to see if another feed had been placed in the wiring so he could install another camera. To make damn sure he could see every inch of the small backyard.

He spent the next thirty minutes checking and rechecking the security equipment. There was static in one of the external audio feeds, and he made a note tell the electricians to replace them.

The entire time he moved about the house he kept thinking of her living there alone.

Lady Gwendolyn Harrison, a pampered daughter of a duke, and the most stunning woman God ever graced the earth with, had no business living alone in this cheap neighborhood only blocks away from murderers, rapists, and thieves. Neil had listened to the police scanners enough to understand the neighborhood demographics.

No wonder writers crafted tales of keeping captive princesses safe in ivory towers.

“You’ve tested that lock three times.” Gwen graced him with her pristine white teeth and brilliant smile.

“It sticks.”

“Ah, huh.”

“When will you know about Karen?” He twisted the lock a fourth time.

“We’ll finish the background check, and then have them meet. We should know if it’s going to work in a couple of weeks. Maybe sooner.”

Enough time to add a couple of cameras…update a couple of things.
He didn’t like the amount of motion the outside detectors were picking up. He stood in the yard, completely still, and the damn things were going ape-shit crazy. Glitches like that made people ignore the signals.

He tapped the control panel used to set and unset the alarms. “What’s your distress code?”

“Zod.”

“What numbers?”

“Nine six three.”

“When do you use that code?” He was drilling her, but he didn’t know what else he could do.

“If someone was here threatening me and telling me to turn off the alarm. I know the drill. Nothing is going to happen. I’m a big girl.”

“You’re a tiny girl the neighborhood paperboy could snap like a twig if he wanted to.”

“Tommy would do no such thing. He’s a good boy.”

The edge of his lips lifted ever so slightly.

“Is that a smile I see on Neil’s lips?”

He forced his lips to a thin line.

“Oh, my mistake.” Gwen hid her own grin.

“I’ll call tomorrow with details about who will come to fix a few things.” He returned his equipment to his bag. “Lock the door behind me.”

“Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute.

“I’m serious, Gwen. Your security habits suck. Your brother isn’t going to let you live here alone if you don’t start taking things seriously.”

Her playful grin fell and Neil knew he’d used the wrong words to get her to move over to his way of thinking.