Page 26 of Bishop's Queen

“Hey,” he said to the doorman as they stepped into her building. Her mumbling alternated with a dose of looking at her phone and shoving it back into her purse. Bishop eased closer to her side as they moved from the open entryway to a wall. “I thought you loved that thing.”

“Sometimes, it goes a little nuts.” Her cell buzzed nonstop, and Bishop watched the screen pop up with phone calls that she swiped to ignore, slowing down as she pulled up her text messages and typed something that, from what he could eyeball, included a ton of exclamation points.

A response pinged, and Ella stopped and stared before angry-typing back.

“Or you can tell me what’s going on.” He put his hand on her back, urging forward momentum. At the elevators, he pressed the call button. “Floor?”

“Three.” But she didn’t take her eyes off her phone, fighting or whatever, with someone.

Ella’s building was modern to a fault, almost lifeless. Everything was metal and harsh. The natural light had bled into the entryway through a glass wall, but there was a harshness. The entire building had a contemporary feel.

He hated cold, unfeeling buildings. Though, bonus, he appreciated the high-tech security and doorman. That made his job easier. Titan would know who came in and out, and Parker, the genius behind all things tech related at Titan, had already outfitted her condo with upgrades.

“This way.” She led them out when the elevator door opened, never once looking at her surroundings. Not the best moves for someone with a stalker. Then again, that was why he was there. He looked both ways, doing what she should have. At her door, she slipped the phone into her purse, pulling a key out.

With one twist, she let him in. “Home sweet home.”

She didn’t bother disarming the security system. It was set to DISARMED. Irritation ground at his nerves. There was only so much that could be done if she chose not to use the damn thing. He set the lavender and mint down as carefully as he could.

Ella fretted over her plants. “Easy with those, please.”

Hell.“Really?” If she wouldn’t be careful with her life, damned if he was worried about banging up some plants.

“What?” she asked.

“Not smart, babe.” He gave Ella a look, and she gave one right back. They’d been back in each other’s lives for a few hours and had figured out how to communicate with eyeball bulges and eyebrow lifts. Not bad. Except what hers said was something along the lines ofbite me.

“It’s a pain in the ass, Muscles. I’m sick of it going off for no reason. Speaking of which…” A little dog and kitten ran into the room. “Meet no reason. This is Furry Baby and Little Kitty. My other security system.”

Her dog, mostly made of cotton balls, didn’t bark. Not what Bishop would deem a help to the cause when he was an unknown in Ella’s condo. Brick, his mutt of a dog, would have smelled, growled, and barked loud enough that the neighbors a mile away would have been aware of the meet-and-greet process. “I think this system isn’t engaged either.”

Her dog rolled over on its belly, asking for tummy rubs, and Bishop couldn’t have had a better example of what a guard dog shouldn’t do.

“Oh, be nice, Bishop.” Ella dropped down and snuggled the rolling dog. “Furry Baby knows. If you were bad, he’d just love you to death.”

The dog jumped up and smacked her with a kiss as if to agree. Bishop wasn’t going to call any animal Furry Baby or Little Kitty out loud. They clobbered her face, making her squeal, and Bishop laughed. “Another battle for another day.”

“Enough! Enough.” Gasping in laughter, Ella rolled as both animals crawled over her. “Wait—Is that a gun tucked under your shirt?”

His eyes dropped to his side. “That would be a gun. Yeah.” The same one that had been there all day.

“Why do you have a gun on still?” She batted the dog and kitten away, staring at the concealed carry that hadn’t been overly intrusive, but he sure as hell wouldn’t have left it in his truck or at work.

He offered her a hand to help her off the floor. “Why do you worry about fledgling bee populations?”

“Ha, ha.” She gripped his hand, letting him tug her up. “I mean, I get it. Bodyguard work or whatever. But we were just coming here. So… you always have a gun on you?”

“Yes.”

Ella scooped up the kitten and gave it a kiss before setting it down. “Always?”

“Yes.”

“Movie theater?”

“Yes.”

“Grocery store?”

---