Page 10 of Secret Shifters Next Door

The other three looked at each other and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“The thought that you have to wave at this lady every morning when you get your newspaper is pretty funny,” Steff said.

Blayne raised his hand, pretending to wave. “Hey, Miss. It was really nice rubbing my genitals on yours that one time. Welp, see you tomorrow.”

I hissed a breath out my nose. “Would you guys quit?”

“Okay, okay, all done,” Miles said, though he was smiling with the rest of them. “I’ll have to dig more into it. Though, I sent you pretty much everything there is to know.”

I rubbed my head. “Miles, man, this can’t be a coincidence, there’s just no way. I—” I stopped to think about how I reacted to her and winced inwardly. “I was kind of a dick to her. Not kind of, I guess I was a total asshole to her. I was freaked out by her showing up there, and the whole story about the shifters going missing. I guess it wasn’t a great introduction.”

Steffen looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You mean you weren’t your usual double-oh seven? Usually, you have ladies eating out of your hand.”

I shrugged. “Like I said, I was suspicious and on edge. If she’s on the up-and-up, I’ll go over and apologize or something.”

Miles glanced down at my hands. “Are you sure you’re good?”

Confused, I glanced down. I’d been twisting my fingers, popping my knuckles, and rubbing my fingers together. I was fidgeting like crazy, and I hadn’t even realized it.

“All right, listen, I know you aren’t used to being in one spot for very long. This whole neighbor lady thing is making you antsy as all hell. We need you here, but I don’t want you going stir crazy.” He pulled a manila envelope from his desk and handed it to me. “Here’s a new job that came in this morning. Some tech billionaire needs a bodyguard for some R&D trip in Europe. His usual team will be with his wife and kids on a trip to Jamaica. It should get you away for a couple of weeks. Let you get some distance and some perspective. Sound good?”

I let out a deep sigh. I really hadn’t understood how stressed I was, or how caged in I felt until he gave me the out. I was grateful. I couldn’t wait to get home and pack. I took the envelope and left, barely saying bye to the guys as I went.

Not wasting any time, I started packing as soon as I was home. I was zipping up my garment bag of suits when the doorbell rang. Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes narrowed as I looked down the hallway to the front door. I had a sneaking suspicion who was at the door.

A few strides later, I yanked open the door. My suspicions were confirmed by the new neighbor standing on my porch.Her name is Harley,I reminded myself. She looked nervous as hell.

Before I could say anything, she started speaking. “Listen, I know this is weird, but I wanted to clear the air. This is not what I’d imagined when we moved out here. We sort of… left some things unsaid earlier. I want you to know that I am, in no way, a stalker or whatever you think. This wasn’t a plan, or a plot, or whatever, Mr…”

I blinked, realizing I now knew her name, but she didn’t know mine. “Sorry, yeah. I’m Tate, Tate Mills.”

Harley nodded and flashed me a tight smile. “Mr. Mills. My late husband’s partner offered the house to me out of the blue because…” She paused, and I could see her mind racing. She must have been running from the Ortiz guy, but she didn’t have a clue that I knew that.

She gathered her thoughts and finished. “Because we needed a change of pace. An adventure, maybe.”

I grinned and nodded. My suspicions were fading. This lady did not seem like she was hiding anything, or being shady. Could it really be some mind-boggling improbable accident? As hard as it was to believe, it was looking more and more like it was a possibility.

“So, I want you to know that my daughters and I won’t cause you any problems, we’ll stay out of your way.”

The tension that had been building in me since the moment I’d looked up and saw her standing on her lawn had almost totally faded. “It’s fine, really. Sorry I was such a dick earlier. We’re all good.”

She visibly relaxed and smiled. “Great. Nice to meet you, uh, again.”

“Right. Listen, I’ve got a business trip to pack for and a flight to catch.”

She held up her hands and turned toward the steps. “Got it. Well, we’ll see you when you get back. Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks,” I said and watched her go down my steps.

My heart suddenly sped up. In an instant, it felt like I had just gotten done sprinting a mile. Dizzy, I stepped back inside and closed the door. I leaned against it and gasped for breath. I pressed a hand against my chest as sweat ran down my forehead. What the hell? I slid down to the ground and took several deep breaths. It took a few minutes, but the feeling slowly faded.

I stood and went back to packing my bag. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. It made me even moredetermined to get the hell out of this town for a few weeks. After zipping up my big suitcase, I packed the backpack I usually took along, then threw it all in the back of the car. I pulled away and forced myself not to look at Harley’s house as I left for my assignment.

FOUR

HARLEY

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