Page 51 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“Tate, you’re acting crazy. What’s this all about?”

“It’s like I said earlier, Harley. I don’t trust her, and I don’t have a good feeling about this stuff.” He waved a hand at the jewelry.

I didn’t like that he seemed to be accusing my friend of something. What exactly he was accusing her of was a mystery, though.

“Why don’t you trust her, Tate?Doyou know her?”

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Look, I’ve got some guys looking into her, is all. Until we figure out what her angle is, I’d prefer you not get too close to her.”

“You have guys watching Emily? My friend? Why are you investigating my friend?” I snapped in irritation.

Tate was visibly frustrated and winced, almost like he was in pain, before he finally opened his mouth to reply. “Harley, don’t you think it’s a little weird that she showed up in town almost the same time you did? And then, within a couple of weeks, Ortiz found you? That Luis somehow located you halfway across the country?”

“What? Do you think she’s like… a private investigator or something? That she’s working with Luis?”

He held his hands up in defense. “I’m just saying that I want to play out all possibilities and turn over every stone before we let our guard down. Doesn’t that sound reasonable? I care too much about you and the girls to leave it all up to chance. If I can stop something bad from happening, then I want to. I want you and everyone around you to be safe.” He placed the necklace on the counter and pulled me close, placing a sweet and gentle kiss on my lips. Then he looked into my eyes. “I promise, I’m not trying to steamroll you and control your life, or who you can be friends with. All I’m doing is trusting my gut, and my gut is telling me something is off about Emily. If I end up being wrong, I’ll eat all the crow you want me to. Until then, please trust me.”

The idea that I’d been played horrified me. Even thinking that Emily might be working with or for Luis made my skin crawl. After listening to Tate, all the weird things she did came to mind. Strange ways she’d acted, offhand comments that seemed a bit off, the way she’d acted earlier with Tate. It allwasa little strange. Maybe he was right. Besides, she was leaving soon anyway. I slid all the glittering bracelets, rings, and necklacesback into the velvet bag and handed it to Tate. For the first time since Emily walked in the door, I saw him relax as he took the bag from me.

He kissed me again. “I promise I’ll get to the truth about Emily.” A smile slowly reappeared on his lips, and he said, “Okay. How about you go get dressed? I’ve got somewhere I want to take you.”

“Um, sure. I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes later, we were driving to the outskirts of town. He pulled his truck into the parking lot of a random strip mall. There was a nail salon at the far end and a tax place at the other. The center portion was unmarked. The windows and door were black with the darkest tint I’d ever seen in my life. I doubted you could see inside even if you peered in through cupped hands.

“Where are we?” I asked.

He gave me a wry smile. “This is how I make my living. I thought you might like to check out the security firm.”

Surprised, I smiled and nodded. “That sounds kind of neat.”

“Let’s go.”

Tate climbed out of the truck, and I followed close behind. When he got to the door, he punched in what seemed to be a ridiculously long code on a keypad. When the door opened, my jaw hit the floor. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. Maybe some bland white or beige walls, a few mismatched desks, and cubicles, with some early two-thousands-era computers. I was not prepared for what I saw––sleek stainless steel, glossy glass, light gray paint, it was like walking onto the deck of a futuristic starship. If he’d been trying to impress me, he succeeded.

Inside was a desk, and a pretty young lady typing at a frantic pace. When we stepped forward, she looked up and smiled at Tate.

“Good morning, Tate. How are you today?” Her voice had a flirtatious lilt to it, and I watched her lean forward, obviouslyletting her cleavage show a bit more than was necessary—or appropriate.

“Doing great. Kennedy, this is Harley. She’s my guest today. Just giving her the grand tour.”

“Morning,” Kennedy said to me in a clipped tone.

She didn’t look happy that I was here with Tate. It was all I could do to hide my smile. She was young and hot, but Tate had made it very obvious what and who he wanted. I stood a little closer to him after that, even though I wasn’t intimidated by her at all.

Tate moved deeper into the building. I followed him as he led us past a small cluster of cubicles. Each one looked like they were filled with top-of-the-line computer equipment. I couldn’t even guess as to what some of the stuff was used for. Down a hallway, we came to a small conference room. Four men sat inside and were looking at a map. Once I had a second to orient myself, I could tell that it was a map of my neighborhood.

Tate swept an arm around the room. “These are the guys who have been watching out for you guys.” He pointed them out, and he named them off. “Mitch, Carl, Terry, Shawn. You may have noticed the black SUV that’s been hovering around your house for the last couple of weeks? It’s been one of these guys.”

The men in the room smiled at me and waved. I waved back awkwardly. “Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“They’ll be there all the time now after what happened the other night. We hadn’t thought twenty-four-seven surveillance was necessary, but we learned our lesson.” He waved at the guys and turned to leave. “Thanks, guys.”

Putting a hand on Tate’s arm, I said, “I feel bad. I’m like a drain on your resources. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. We do really well. It’s not a drain. Like I said before, there are perks to being an owner.”

Further down the hall, we came to another office, and I saw Steff and Blayne. Their eyes widened when they saw me with Tate.

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