Pass Interference (13 page)

“But you agreed she needs a bodyguard.”

Rafe nodded. “Just not me.”

Kurt shrugged. “There are ways to work it out.”

“Like what?” Rafe and Tyler demanded, again as with one voice.

“I refuse to have anyone from the team involved with me.” Tyler spoke each word distinctly and clearly. “I want you to understand that.”

“You can do some rearranging in your staff setup,” Kurt told Rafe as if Tyler hadn’t even spoken. “Figure out how often you really have to be on site. What you need your stadium office for and what can be done from a remote location. Right?”

“Not right.” Tyler slammed her hands on the table. “That will just not work. Did you even hear what I said? No one from the Hawks. Especially not one of your precious football players.”

Rafe gave her a half smile. “I retired three years ago.”

“I don’t care.” She stuck out her jaw. “It’s not happening. It’s my life.”

But again her father went right on as if neither of them had said a word. “Rafe, you can set up a temporary office here in the town house, right?”

Tyler felt the indignation bubbling up inside her. An office here? In her home? How dare they?

“Move in here?” Tyler wanted to scream in frustration. Wasn’t anyone listening to her? “No. No one from the team and no one moving in with me.”

“I asked because if you’re going to move in here,” Kurt continued, still ignoring her words, “you need to have an office to work from.”

“I keep saying it’s not happening,” she snapped. “Forget it. I mean it, both of you. I’ll take care of things myself. I don’t need anyone moving into this place with me. No. The answer is no. And may I just say a big fat no.”

“And exactly how will you do that?” Rafe asked, his voice the calm in the storm of anger surging in the air. “Take care of yourself, that is.”

“I-I’ll—” She waved a hand in the air. Yes, what would she do? But she wasn’t going to admit to them she had no idea.

“Exactly.”

At that precise moment, as if to remind her that the problem was very real, her phone blasted the now too familiar drumbeat.
Tyler took it out of her pocket to answer, but Rafe grabbed it from her hand.

“Not so fast. I need to check it first.” He looked at the readout. “Who’s Betsy?”

“Oh, for the love of God. She’s my best friend. And harmless. Give me the phone.” She pressed Answer. “Hi, Bets. I’m a little tied up right now. Let me call you back, okay?” She slammed the phone down on the table and glared at the two men.

“Tyler.” Kurt leaned across the table toward her. “Curse me all you want. I probably deserve it. But no matter how terrible a parent I’ve been, I can’t stand the thought of something bad happening to you. Maybe it—” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s a chance for me to try and make up to you for all the other years.”

She looked at him with curiosity. What the hell? “Really? Can I just ask you why now, all of a sudden?”

He drained his coffee mug, taking his time as if gathering his thoughts. “Maybe when all this is over for you and we can sit down and talk, I can tell you. Right now, I don’t want to take the time confessing my sins. It’s important to me to make sure my daughter is protected from some maniac.”

It was pathetic how badly she wanted to believe him, to accept that fact that maybe he was changing. That he wasn’t resenting her as a daughter rather than a son any more. That maybe, after all this time, they could have a relationship.

Don’t be a fool. He just doesn’t want the bad publicity if something happens and he could have stopped it.

“I hear you, but you have to listen to me. I don’t need or want a babysitter twenty-four/seven. Period.”

“Tyler.” Rafe put his hand on her arm again.

Oh, Lord. Having this man staying in her house,
if
she agreed to it, was going to be a temptation she might not be able to resist. Or it just might be the opportunity to convince him they should get naked together. A chance for her to see if this thing that simmered between them was more than pure lust. Hmm. Maybe she should rethink this whole thing.

She looked from one man to the other. “Okay. I have a question.”

“What?” Kurt asked.

“What is it?” Rafe asked at the same time.

“What happens on the days Rafe has to be at the stadium, like on game days?” She shifted her gaze to Kurt. “I can’t see you letting someone else oversee that.”

“No problem. You’ll just come with him.”

Tyler jerked upright in her chair. “To the stadium? To a football game?”

Rafe actually laughed. “In case you hadn’t heard, that’s where the games are played. You might actually enjoy it.”

“Not for one second.” She blinked. “Wait. Are you saying you’re actually going for this? You’re moving into my house for…for…who knows how long?”

“I didn’t say that. Yet.” He looked at Kurt. “I still think this is a really bad idea. A full-time bodyguard from Lone Star would be a better bet.”

“I want someone I know personally,” Kurt told him, “not just some muscle-bound idiot. You want me to pull rank? Okay, if you don’t do this, I’ll pull the whole contract with Lone Star.”

Tyler’s jaw dropped. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s idiotic. And I won’t let you put Rafe in that position.” She scowled. “You can throw your weight around with your players but not with me. And I won’t let you do it with Rafe.”

“Okay, stop.” Rafe held up a hand. “Is this an ideal situation? No. Is it critical? Tyler, you have to agree that it is. So, Kurt, if you’re willing to cut me some slack in some areas, I think we can work this out.”

Kurt smiled and leaned back in his chair. “I love it when a plan comes together.” Then he looked from Rafe to Tyler and back again. “Tyler, you do everything he tells you, exactly as he tells you. Your safety comes first.”

“But—”

“She will,” Rafe broke in. “She knows this guy can be dangerous.” He slid a glance at her. “Right, Tyler?”

She slumped in her chair, all the fight suddenly drained from her, replaced by the fear that had niggled at her since this started. He was right, that she had to admit. “Right.” She spat the word out grudgingly.

“Good.” Kurt rubbed his hands together. “Excellent.” He gave Tyler a smile. “Maybe I can make up a little for the past.”

She wanted to tell him he’d have a boatload of making up to do, but she was already tired of this conversation. She didn’t even have any idea what had brought all this on, and she wasn’t even sure she trusted it. If there was one bright spot, it was the fact that Rafe would be here, with her, in her home. And maybe she could finally fulfill her secret fantasies.

Before she could get over the shock of his words, her cell phone chimed, signaling another text incoming. She reached to pick it up, but Rafe put a hand on her wrist and shook his head.

“Let me.”

He brought the message up on the screen, scowling as he read it.

“What does it say?” Tyler craned her neck trying to see. Her stomach knotted when she got a look at it.

“u don’t need them. u need me.”

“Oh my God.” Fear was a bitter taste in her mouth. “Is he watching me?” She swiveled her head as if he were right there in the room. “Where is he?” She jumped up, knocking her chair over. “Maybe he’s out front.”

Rafe stood up and closed his fingers over her upper arms, holding her in place. As it always did, his touch sent heat coursing through her. How on earth could one man do this to her? And why was she even thinking about that when all this was going on?

“Do not go look outside. If he is there, he’ll see you peering out at him.”

Her pulse thumped at the hollow of her throat. This was more than just heavy-breathing phone calls. Whoever this person was, he was
right here.
Just as he’d been right here when he’d slashed her tires.

“I can’t believe he could be just sitting there in broad daylight.” She looked up at Rafe. “Could he?”

“I don’t think he’d be parked there.” He gave her arms a light squeeze and stepped away. “That would be too suspicious. You live in a very upscale neighborhood, and I’m guessing anyone home during the day would call the cops on a strange car just hanging around. But he could be cruising the block, pretending to look for an address.”

“I’m stunned no one saw him the other night.”

“It was dark,” he reminded her. “You told me you had your outside lights off. If he’s smart, he could have done this without detection.”

“Okay, we need to move forward.” Kurt Gillette rose from the table. “Rafe, how soon can you get yourself moved in here?”

Rafe blew out a breath. “Let’s see what’s needed. Tyler, do you have a room I can use as an office?”

“I do. There’s a den downstairs here that I hardly ever use for anything.”

“I’ll need to look at it.” He turned to Kurt. “Then a visit to the stadium to take what I need from there, a meeting with the security team to let them know I’ll be working a lot from a remote location. And a visit to my place to pick up some clothes.”

Kurt rubbed his hands together. “Okay, then. Let’s get started.” He shifted his focus to Tyler. “You need to go with him. You can’t stay here by yourself.”

“What?” She was sure her eyebrows reached her hairline. “I’ll lock all the doors, set the alarm, and not answer the phone. Okay?”

“Not okay.”

“Your father’s right.” Rafe put his two cents in. “Show me the den and then we can leave. I’ll drive your father back to the stadium and take care of business there at the same time.”

Tyler looked down at herself. “I am not going out in public like this. Sloppy clothes and no makeup? Are you kidding?”

Her father opened his mouth to say something, but Rafe held up a hand. “All you need to throw on is a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. You have those, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Stick on big sunglasses and a ball cap and no one will know you.” He smiled. “Besides, I like you without makeup.”

Oookay. No makeup.
If he kept using that same hot tone of voice, she’d go without clothes, too.

Her father stood there, watching her intently and nodding his head.

“Fine.” She didn’t have the energy to fight both of them. “Jeans and tee. Ball cap. Got it. Let’s hit the den first.”

She left the two men looking at the room while she raced upstairs to change clothes. Making a quick decision, she pulled on the plainest pair of jeans she owned and a navy tee. From the back of her closet, she unearthed a Port Aransas ball cap from a wild weekend she’d gone on. Looking at herself in the mirror, she gave the image a nod of satisfaction. Better. Much better. She should have done this a long time ago.

I might really like you, Tyler Gillette.

Her father and Rafe were waiting in the foyer when she came down the stairs. Her father seemed to pay her no attention at all. Rafe’s glance took her in from head to toe and though he said nothing she could swear there was a tiny look of surprise in his eyes.

“Rafe says the den will work out just fine for him,” Kurt said. “One more thing. The scholarship benefit Saturday night.”

“I don’t have to go,” she told him quickly. “I don’t mind.”

“Yes, you do,” Kurt insisted. “We upped our donation this year, and we need to have a presence. One change, though. Chad can go on his own. Rafe will take you.”

“What?” She and Rafe uttered the word at the same time.

“No arguments.” Kurt already had his hand on the doorknob. “Rafe, you go every year anyway, right? It’s your friend Joe’s pet project. The Athletes Scholarship Fund.”

Rafe nodded. “Joe Reilly. Quarterback for the Coyotes when we won the state championships. He was a star in the NFL, too, for a long time until he injured his knee. He’s reached out to all of us who were on the team with him.”

“Then this should work out fine.”

“Sure. No problem.”

Tyler heard the resigned acceptance in Rafe’s voice. She took a small measure of delight in knowing that if she had to suffer, he did, too. Her cheeks heated as she recalled her outrageous behavior every year, a big fuck-you to both her father and Chad. This year people would see a new Tyler Gillette. She could never embarrass Rafe the way she’d dissed Chad. Maybe they’d be shocked, maybe they wouldn’t even like her, but at least she’d feel better about herself.

“I’ll get a message to Chad.” Kurt looked from one to the other. “So we’re good to go?”

She thought of giving him a snarky answer, her automatic response. Instead she clamped her lips shut and nodded her head. Nothing good comes easily, she reminded herself.

“Then let’s move it.” Rafe put his hand beneath her elbow, setting off those electrical impulses again. “I need to get going.”

She stopped, deciding to give him one last chance to beg out of this. “Rafe. If this is going to throw your schedule off too much—”

“It’s fine, Tyler. Let’s get going here or it won’t be.”

When they walked out to the car, she saw a car slowing down as it passed her place. Her muscles tightened until she saw it was Betsy. The woman sped up again but not before she gave the “Call me” signal. Yeah, right. That would be an interesting conversation.

“Friend of yours?” Rafe asked.

“Betsy Timmerman. My friend, the one who called earlier. She probably was going to stop in until she saw us leaving.”

“Does she know what’s happening?”

“Yes.” Tyler smoothed her damp hands down her jeans. “But she’s the only one. I didn’t, um, want to tell any of my other friends about this.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because what if they somehow got sucked into it? Besides…” She looked away.

“Besides what?” Rafe prompted.

She looked down at her hands. “I was…embarrassed about it.”

“Embarrassed?” The word cut through the air. “Because some weirdo wants to hurt you? I don’t get it.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just let it go. Please?”

“But—”

“Please.” How could she tell him the embarrassment came from the realization that her outrageous lifestyle was probably the cause of the whole thing? She was having enough trouble coming to terms with this sudden knowledge herself.

“You were right not to involve her, whatever the reason. You should distance yourself from her until we catch this guy.” He gave her a hard look. “I mean it, Tyler.”