Page 23 of Sheltering Lily

When I let myself into the house, I heard Colin’s deep voice and Sofia’s giggles coming from the living room. Despite my worry, I smiled. I loved the way Colin cared for his little girl. He was such an awesome father, even if he’d come to the role unexpectedly.

“Teaching her pretty young, aren’t you?” I teased as I entered the room. Colin sat on the couch with Sofia on his lap. On the coffee table, he dealt out cards. “I don’t think she’s ready to master poker.”

“But this isn’t poker, it’s bridge. I’m guessing you don’t know either game.” He shot me a grin.

“Bridge, no, but poker… I’ll let you believe what you want to there.” I gave him my best sultry look. “It’ll be easier for me to win that way.”

“Sweetheart, if we play the kind of poker I’m thinking of, you’ll definitely win.” He shuffled the cards in his hands. A blush rose on my cheeks when I got his meaning. “Guess that makes you a naughty teacher,” he added.

“Colin,” I protested with a meaningful glance toward Sofia. “Not in front of little ears.” Both the flirty conversation we were having and my need to tell him about my day would have to wait.

“She doesn’t understand,” he said, distracting Sofia with a showy shuffle.

“That doesn’t matter. She has ears and can speak well enough to repeat things, whether she understands them or not.” Which, with kids, usually happened at inopportune moments. I could imagine Sofia telling someone about the naughty teacher in her house. That would raise some eyebrows.

“I see your point,” Colin conceded.

“I do need to tell you something I heard today,” I said, becoming more serious. “It can wait until later, though.”

His blue eyes went to my face, scrutinizing it. “Something not good, I take it.”

I nodded. He wasn’t going to like it. He’d get all protective, as he had in the park—which, secretly, I liked. It made me feel…I didn’t know exactly, but it was good.

“How worried should I be?” By his tone, he was ready to take instant action.

“Not at all tonight,” I assured him. “Is everyone coming former military?”

“A lot of them,” he confirmed. “Some are cops.”

“I’m sure we’ll all be very safe.”

“It’ll be late when they leave,” he said, and I understood his meaning. He wasn’t going to sleep tonight without us talking.

“You’ll know where to find me.” Asleep in your bed, I added in my head, because there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

Colin

I caught Steve as he entered the house that night. The poker game was in the dining room, but I motioned for my friend to follow me into the kitchen for a minute.

“Anything else on that car?” I asked as I put the six-pack of beer Steve had brought in the fridge.

“Nope. I could widen the perimeter if you want me to. Pushing it out to a fifty-mile radius, though, might give you more hits than you can manage.”

“I haven’t run down the thirty-four addresses you’ve given me yet, but one’s got me concerned.” I’d studied the list, eliminating some owners due to age and other factors, but one stuck out.

“Yeah?” Steve helped himself to a slice of pizza.

“My nanny used to live in an apartment complex not far from here,” I explained. “One of the addresses on the list went back to her building.”

Steve let out a low whistle. “So you think this might be about her, not you?”

“Maybe.” Truth was, I was almost sure of it, except the name of the car owner didn’t match the name Lily had given me for the creep who’d stalked her. Could be lots of reasons for that, but none of them that I could think of were good. I knew two things: the guy was bad news. And I was going to have to neutralize that threat to Lily. The question was, how did that look in the civilian world? I couldn’t use the combat methods I’d been trained in. I had to take a different route.

“Hey.” Alex, my younger brother, poked his head into the kitchen. He was currently home on leave, staying at the McCallister house. “Are we playing or talking?”

“Be right there,” I said. Steve followed Alex out, but I stayed behind to grab a tray of food I’d put together earlier, wanting a minute to think. It was time to rely on resources beyond Steve. Alex, still an active SEAL, was due to ship out on a mission soon, so I couldn’t be sure if he’d still be around to call on if the situation turned physical, but I could still get his advice. And I was definitely going to pull Zach and Chance into the discussion. They’d have useful perspectives to offer, too, and they would be around to help me, no matter what.

Resolving to talk with the other three as soon as the night was over, I joined the men in the dining room so play could start. The evening passed with enough distractions that I could almost forget what was on my mind, but not quite. Twice I left the game to check the house, securing the perimeter. Once, I used the excuse of kissing Sofia good night, but the second time, I felt Chance, Zach, and Alex’s scrutiny on me when I returned from a trip around the exterior of the property.

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