Page 25 of Unseen Danger

Nevaeh.

His breath caught. Man, she was beautiful.

Even though her eyes were unusually widened again. It seemed they did that a lot when she looked at him. Though probably for a good reason this time. Judging from the position of the chair and where she and her dog stood, he might’ve nearly hit her.

He gave her a smile that probably wobbled as much as his suddenly nervous insides. “Sorry if I…” Almost hit you? That didn’t sound good. He scrambled for a better alternative. “Sorry if I startled you. I was just looking at the security footage.”

Her tongue slid over her full lip. “Oh.” Her gaze flitted to the screens to his left. “Anything?” Her voice sounded smaller than before. Not as rich and confident.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Can’t ID the guy just like James said. The attacker knew enough to stay off-camera. He apparently didn’t come through the gate at all. The wide-view camera would’ve caught him.”

“No, he didn’t.”

Branson quirked an eyebrow.

She shifted her hold on her dog’s leash. “We don’t have coms yet, so I came to tell you I found a hole cut through the fence on the west side.”

“You’re kidding.” He reached a hand up to smooth over his hair.

She jerked back slightly, the movement so small he almost missed it. Like an instinctive reaction.

He reviewed what he’d just said. His voice had sharpened. Maybe he’d sounded angry. Which he was, but not at her.

She was a security specialist who likely faced dangerous situations, or at least the possibility of them, for her job. Surely, she wouldn’t be afraid of a little irritation in his tone. He must’ve imagined her response.

“The fence line is a challenge. There’s a lot of it.” He tried a smile. “We can’t exactly run voltage through it given we’re in a residential neighborhood.”

Her features seemed to relax as he continued in a friendlier tone.

“But the house was secure the whole time. The security system stayed on and didn’t trigger any alarms. All the house cameras show no activity at the entrances. D-Chop was safe.” Was he trying to convince her of that or himself?

Her, obviously, in case she’d talk to D-Chop about what had happened. They were apparently buddies. A fact that for some reason churned his stomach.

Though if it meant D-Chop kept looking at her with the brotherly affection he’d switched to when he’d learned who she was, then Branson was grateful for their shared past. If D-Chop suddenly realized Nevaeh was all grown up and tried to capitalize on the friendship, that’d be a different scenario.

“Why would someone attack D-Chop’s gate guard?” Nevaeh’s lovely voice, growing stronger again, interrupted Branson’s effort to figure out the best way to tell his boss a woman was off-limits. “Was he trying to get to D-Chop?”

“I’m not sure.” He turned away to grab the folded piece of paper next to the control board for the cameras. He swiveled to Nevaeh and took a step toward her, extending the paper.

She moved back.

He tried to keep his eyes from narrowing. He hadn’t imagined it. Was she afraid of him? He cleared his throat. “I found this in the guardhouse after you and Ms. Lamont went to search the grounds. Well, this is actually a copy I printed out from the photo I took of it with my phone. I sent the real note with the police for analysis.”

She stared at the paper in his hand as if afraid it might bite her if she touched it.

Now what? Should he break the awkward silence and read the note? It would help if he knew why, or if, she was afraid of him.

He withdrew the paper and opened it. “It’s a typed note. It says, ‘I can get to you anytime anywhere. Don't forget, you owe me.’”

Nevaeh met his gaze, something that looked like grim determination sliding into her eyes as her timidity disappeared. “The attack was personal.”

She was right. The threat to D-Chop had just become a more dangerous reality.

But he needed this job more than ever. And he wasn’t about to let a client get harmed on his watch.

Whoever had tried to breach the estate today made his first mistake—he’d made this personal for Branson, too.

Eight

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