Fiance by Friday Read Online Free PDF Page B

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 strategicallyplaced 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