Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
The fervency of his words had me relenting. I saw his fear, and I felt it, too. If the catfish wanted to harm us, then I needed to do everything I could to protect myself and my daughter, and having Jace around was better than sleeping in the house alone.
“You won’t be very comfortable on the couch.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll make do. But first things first, you really do need security cameras. Dixon knows all the best systems. He and I will take care of that for you today.”
“Okay, thank you.” I was grateful because I had a lot of work to get through, and installing cameras wasn’t something I was capable of. I tended to get vertigo if I had to go up a ladder.
I hated that I barely left the house all day. That this person had managed to frighten me enough to stay indoors. From the brief glimpse we’d caught, none of us had been able to discern if they were male or female. Could it have been Dean? It made sense in a way, but in another way, it didn’t. He was cocky and arrogant with a massive ego, but could he be so obsessed with Jace and me that he’d do something like this? No, I didn’t think so. Something felt off. I was still missing a big part of the picture.
Jace and Dixon went through all the rubbish that had been dumped outside, hoping to find a clue, but it was all generic food wrappers and plastic containers. They went out to shop for the security system, and when they returned, I went up to my bedroom, hoping to keep out of their way while they installed it. Jace wouldn’t tell me how much it cost, but when I went on the internet and looked it up, I discovered the price tag of over two grand. Bloody hell. I knew he wasn’t short on cash, but I still needed to figure out a way to pay him back.
There was lots of drilling noise and ladders being carried about, and then an hour or two later when the drilling and banging stopped, I heard a lot of low, gruff squabbling. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on my bedroom door.
“Just a second,” I said, closing out the code I’d been working on as I went to see what Jace needed. He stood there, scratching at the stubble that lined his jaw and looking sheepish. “So, we have the cameras installed, but we’re, uh, having a little trouble with the hard drive.”
Ah, so that was what they’d been arguing about. Smiling, I stepped by him and went downstairs to find Dixon glaring unhappily at the black rectangular box they’d attempted to hook up to my TV. Chuckling, I took the instructions, perused them quickly and began setting everything up. It only took a couple minutes, and when I was done, they both stared at me in awe.
“I can’t believe how fast you did that. Me and Jace spent the last hour trying to figure it out,” Dixon said.
“My Shannon is a whizz with technology.” Jace gave my shoulder a little squeeze. The compliment made my heart flutter, alongside the way he’d said “my,” like I belonged to him. It should’ve irritated me, but it only created butterflies that filled my stomach.
I handed the remote to Dixon, letting him check through all the camera feeds until he was satisfied with the view from each. “We also put in some motion censored lights that will come on as soon as anyone approaches the house.”
“Sounds good. Thank you both for this.”
“I need to go get Zara from school,” Jace said before looking to Dixon. “Will you stick around here until I get back?”
“No problem. Isla’s out front waiting for you.”
“I’m sure I don’t need someone with me twenty-four seven,” I argued, but Jace was adamant.
“After what happened this morning, I need you safe, Shannon. Please, for my peace of mind.”
“It’s overkill, but fine, if it keeps you from worrying.”
Instead of responding, Jace stepped forward, bent, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I wasn’t expecting it, and my breath caught. My eyes followed him all the way out the door, and when I glanced at Dixon, I found him looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
“What?” I asked, folding my arms.
He rolled his lips to hide a laugh, then held his hands up in surrender. Okay, fine, so Jace kissing my forehead had my pulse spiking and my cheeks heating, but it didn’t mean anything. Or at least, I refused to acknowledge if it did.
While Jace was gone, I made Dixon a sandwich, and we chatted a little about the small town he came from in Texas and how he got into the private security business. I knew he had some kind of military background, but I didn’t ask for details because Jace had mentioned something about him not liking to talk about it.