Page 9 of Guarding her Gangster Girl

Just in case.

I stretch in the bed, my mind wandering. I went out last night, didn’t I?

Nik.

Staring at me across the bar. Buying me a drink. Following me out. Wrapping me up in her arms to keep me safe from?—

A bullet. Fuck.

That’sthe important thing here: the fact that someone took a shot at me last night. A Novak Consortium member’s body pressing up against mine isnotthe detail I need to be focusing on. I press my face into the pillow, willing away the memory of her strong arms going around me.

It was probably a setup, anyway. A play from Eva Novak to make me feel grateful toward the Consortium, soften me up for that ridiculous lowball offer she tried to throw. Or a warning: sign the contract, or else.

It was pure instinct that made me have Nik drive to Solara. This is my safe place, but it got less safe the moment she knew about it. I bet she’s already told Eva Novak all about last night. All about this place, and the Secret Garden, too.

With a sigh, I get up and fish out my burner phone from the underwear drawer, the one with VPN that hides my direct location, and turn it on. Predictably, a flood of texts from Holden show up, dated late into last night.

Where are you?

Bitch where are you???

Seriously Brie

Text me back or I swear to God I’ll set Frank on you

You’re getting laid aren’t you

Seriously I’m getting worried

Where are you

I’ll come to you

I don’t want to tell him that he has a reason to be worried, so I text back a brief lie.

I’m fine.With someone rn. Catch up later.

And then I call Frank, because I definitely have to tellhimabout last night.

I won’t tell him about Nik, obviously.

Just the shooter.

Frank reacts as I expected him to, demanding to know where I am. I tell him I’m staying with a friend for the night, sounding frosty enough to forestall further questions. And then he tells me to sit tight wherever I am and let him handle things.

I’m fucking delighted to let him, especially rescheduling that meeting with the Consortium. The last thing I need today is to face off with Nik Kusek again after last night. I need a little distance between us. So I spend the day down at Clubhouse Solara, where a famous chef is giving a demonstration, and the poolside is inviting enough that I feel happy to lie out there for a while and improve my vitamin D levels.

There’s only one point where I contemplate returning to my house. And that’s when an “Oh, Mrs. Diamond!” exclamation reaches my ears. I pull back the sunhat I’ve had resting over my face to look into the eager smile of the cleaning manager of the community.

“Hi, Katy,” I say, and try not to sigh.

Katy is something of an institution around Solara. She can’t be more than my age, but sheseemsolder somehow, one of those women who bustles rather than walks. She has cropped dark hair, inquisitive pale blue eyes, and I’ve never seen her in anything other than her uniform, a white zip-front dress, white socks, and white sneakers.

She only has one obsession: the cleaning schedule.

“I didn’t realize you were onsite today,” she says. She’s holding fresh towels to restock the pool house. “It’s just that the schedule said you wouldn’t be in, so I’d organized for cleaners to?—”

“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, before she can fully launch. “I’m here unexpectedly and I forgot to update central office.”

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