Page 31 of The Negotiator

Chapter Nine

The alarm on Garrett’s watch sounded at two in the morning. He’d re-routed the new silent alarm at Lauren’s house straight to his watch. Actually, Matthias had, but the result was the same. It got Garrett’s attention.

He’d been on his side in bed, curled around Lauren’s naked body, finally drifting off to sleep after hours of touching her. Now he was up and dressed. Freezing his balls off on the sidewalk in front of her house with Lauren at his side.

He really wanted to leave her back at the hotel, locked in and safe. She made it clear when she got dressed and threatened to kick him that she did not agree. “This could be dangerous.”

She didn’t look at him. Her focus stayed on her front porch. “More dangerous than those two guys walking around with guns while they try to fade into my shrubbery?”

The men, dressed in black and carrying, stalked the house. They moved around the grounds, without a sound and out of sight. They only popped into view when Garrett pulled up a few houses down. But they’d been on site since Carl’s body was found, blending in and slipping into the darkness when needed.

“They work for Matthias.”

She nodded as she tucked her hands in her jacket pockets. “That’s oddly comforting.”

Garrett agreed. Matthias only hired the most qualified. His teams were trained, serious and lethal. They obeyed orders and did not mess around. They also breached the house as soon as Garrett called to say the motion sensor went off but had no luck catching anyone.

One of the guards slipped around the house and in just a few steps stood in front of them. “We checked. No one is in there.” He spoke to them but his gaze continuously scanned the area. “No obvious signs of anything being taken.”

“How did anyone get around you?” Lauren’s sounded fascinated, not accusatory.

“Not possible.” The guard met Garrett’s gaze and held it for a few seconds. “It’s a false alarm.”

Garrett did not want to get in the middle of a pissing match. He knew better than to go up against a guy carrying at least three weapons. And those were the ones he could see. Garrett was pretty sure there were more, but he didn’t want to test the theory.

“Save that for your boss.” He nodded at the guard then looked at Lauren. “Stay here.”

“Not happening.”

Garrett was pretty sure he saw the guard smile at her refusal but Garrett kept his full attention on her. “Lauren.”

“You can say my name as many times as you want. The answer will be the same. No.” She unzipped her jacket and headed for the front door.

“Don’t smile. It only encourages her.” Garrett mumbled the comment under his breath to the guard before reaching out and snagging Lauren’s arm. “You stay behind me and don’t touch anything.”

“In my own house?”

He used the key he’d made to open the front door. “These comebacks. You really are on your game at two in the morning. I need to remember that for next time.”

“I’m hoping this doesn’t keep happening.”

Garrett didn’t respond because he didn’t disagree. He slipped inside, careful not to disturb anything. He’d turned off the sensors to keep his watch and Wren’s console back at his office from going haywire.

He glanced around the room. Didn’t spy anything out of the ordinary. He remembered the layout of the floor and had studied the photographs enough times to know where and how Lauren kept everything, down to the box sitting next to the couch filled with Christmas ornaments.

He didn’t need that reminder. Time ticked down to the holiday, Garrett’s least favorite of the year. His only comfort came in slipping away in quiet each year. He’d been dodging decorations and holiday displays for months. Lauren hadn’t put up a tree yet, but the box was clearly marked.

Walking around, he realized he couldn’t hear anything. The room was silent. She’d stopped talking and her boots didn’t sound on the floor. He whipped around to find her standing over the spot where Carl’s body once rested. “Lauren?”

Her face was drawn and devoid of color when she glanced up at him. “The floor is clean.”

He wasn’t sure what to do here. Did he usher her out or put an arm around her? He honestly had no idea what the proper protocol was for this sort of thing. For his work cases, Wren had a team of people who came in and took care of the hand-holding.

After a few seconds of indecision, he went with talking. Nothing else. “I had a service handle it once Detective Cryer gave me the okay.”

Her mouth twisted in a frown. “Someone had to see that?”

“It’s a specialty company. They clean crime scenes.” He could see her sharp intake of breath and took a step toward her.

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