She flinches at that. “What?”
“I just… Ransom? He seems so… scary,” she admits quietly.
I smirk at her. “Which is precisely why he’s the best person to have on your side, don’t you think?”
She smiles at me, looking less frightened and more settled into the idea. “I guess you’re right. I definitely wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of him.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “No, he’s definitely someone you want to have in your corner.”
Charity lets out a shuddering sigh and pushes her shoulders back. “Okay. So I just live my life like normal.”
“Yep.”
“I can do that. And you’re going to take care of the Dima situation?”
Anger builds inside me again at the thought of Sokolov being in the picture. I obviously haven’t confirmed it yet, but I have little doubt that Charity has both a random stalker and Dima showing interest at the same time. It’s too much of a coincidence. They are one and the same. I just have to prove it, then deal with it.
“Yes. You don’t need to worry about him. He’s as good as out of the picture.”
She gives me a bright smile, and the stone around my heart breaks a little. I’ve never had a problem keeping things professional in the past, but I have a feeling that’s about to change.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Charity
Jasper excuseshimself to make a call and a short time later there is a knock on my door and he lets Ransom inside. He carries a heavy-looking black duffle bag. Ransom pulls out some equipment and they disappear into the back rooms of my house. I can hear them talking in low voices as they slowly sweep through each of the rooms. It feels unsettling to have two almost strangers in my home going through my things, but for some reason, I trust Jasper, and since he trusts Ransom, I feel like I can too.
After they search inside, finding both cameras and listening devices inside my kitchen and living room, they move to the outside.
I pace the living room as I try to come to terms with how real this situation is. Someone is stalking me. Not just following me, but they have infiltrated my home and have been watching me in my most private moments. This goes beyond the typical stalker into something altogether more frightening.
“Everything looks secure outside,” Jasper says, making me jump at the sudden sound in the otherwise quiet house.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says sincerely.
“I guess this whole situation has me a little bit jumpy.”
Honestly, that’s a freaking understatement. I’m more than a little jumpy. I’m just plain freaked the fuck out.
“You’re allowed to be frightened. You’ve just learned that someone has been spying on you. That’s not an everyday thing and certainly worthy of concern.” Jasper says, giving me permission to be scared.
I nod, acknowledging his words because he’s right. Nothing about this situation is normal. I appreciate his words more than I can even say. I’m not one to back down from a fight, but in this case, I don’t know who I’m fighting. I don’t know who the enemy is, and that’s going to drive me insane.
“So what happens now?” I ask, chewing my bottom lip.
Jasper’s attention goes to my mouth, and I remember the feel of his warm hand cupping my cheek and the gentle way his thumb pulled my lip from between my teeth. I want him to touch me again even though I shouldn’t.
“Now we install a new security system, get you an untraceable phone, and help you live your life as normally as possible,” he says.
“But you’ll be watching?” I ask, my heart dropping at the thought of being all alone with some creep out there obsessing over me.
“Yes. Either myself or Ransom will never be far.”
“Is that how it normally works? You watch from a distance?” I don’t know what makes me ask that. I know for a fact that he does private security in the form of a bodyguard that is with the client twenty-four seven. Maybe he doesn’t think I can afford such a service. I almost laugh at that because I could hire a whole team of protectors if I thought it was necessary.
Something flashes in his eyes, and I have a feeling he’s holding back. “Not always…” he says haltingly. “Sometimes I work as a bodyguard too.”
“Oh,” I say on a little gasp because when he says ‘bodyguard,’ his eyes travel up and down my body in a heated way that makes my toes curl. “How is that different?”