Clarice waved her arm, pushing her door fully open. “Come on. Let’s go. Both of you.”
He sighed, knowing better than to argue with her. “Why don’t we head up to my place upstairs? I can order us food.”
“Absolutely not, young man. You get in here right now.”
He turned back to Pilar, mouthing asorryto her before heading to his aunt’s open door. The warm scent of sugar filled the air the moment he stepped inside, taking him back to his childhood with a painful hit of nostalgia.
The door rattled closed behind them.
“Come on now, sit, sit. I’m making food.”
Maverick turned to look at her. “You don’t need to do that.”
She waved a hand at him, shuffling around both Pilar and him. “Come talk to me about the pretty girl you were trying to sneak upstairs while I throw something in the oven.”
He groaned and slapped a hand over his forehead. “She’s my bodyguard.”
“Yourwhat?”
Lowering his hand from his face, Maverick stepped to the side and gestured back to Pilar, inwardly wincing at the blank expression and crossed arms. “Aunty Clarice, this is Pilar. She’s my bodyguard.Shifterbodyguard.”
His aunt blinked owlishly at him. “Ashifter? Why in the world would you needthatkind of protection?”
Moving to her, he put his hands on her shoulders and steered her toward the kitchen. If he was really going to be spilling the beans to his unsuspecting family member, he at least wanted her to busy herself with doing something with her hands.
It always seemed to focus her better.
Behind him, he could feel Pilar following, giving them enough space so as not to crowd them when they entered the kitchen but still close enough that if she needed to grab him and pull him out of harm’s way, she could.
Maverick turned back to her, watching her eyes dart around his aunt’s condo with a hard stare.
She must be taking stock of everything in here. Just in case something happens.
“So,” Clarice shook his hands off her shoulders and shuffled to the stove, turning the dials. “What’s going on, Maverick? Talk to your aunty.”
Maverick sighed again and settled into one of the dining room chairs facing the stove. Her kitchen was much smaller than his but felt much homier. It wrapped around in a U-shape with the dining room table sitting just outside of it.
He always loved to watch her cook. The relaxing energy she created in the kitchen was something that he missed now that he lived on his own and survived on takeout most days.
She’d kill him if she knew that, though, which was why he always made it a point to come down here every few weeks and check on her.
“Remember how I was telling you I was working on that really important research program?”
“For the cancer trial?”
“Yes. That one.”
“I remember, yes. What does that have to do with having a pretty shifter tailing you?”
He tried not to let it show in his voice that his attraction to Pilar was obvious enough for his aunt to have figured it out only after a few short minutes of seeing them together.
“Some people are after the information. So, I’ve been given a bodyguard until the situation calms down.”
Clarice turned away from the stove, giving him a wide-eyed look. “What do you mean that people are after you? Maverick, are you in danger?”
“Yes. I’ve already had two attempts at kidnapping.”
His aunt’s eyes flitted to Pilar for a moment before settling back on his.