Page 110 of The Savior

Chelsea reached for the box in Liam’s arms and didn’t know how to translate the hard set of his jaw or the dark edge in his eyes. They normally shone like deep, rich emeralds. But now, the color eclipsed words. “Is everything all right?”

His curt headshake gave her a sudden silent answer. His look wasdesire. A snap of awareness rolled over her like the first vivid flash of the sun at first light.

“We have to work,” he said, reading her mind.

“I know.” But she hadn’t for a second. Chelsea took a sobering breath, and they crossed the street and walked the remaining half block to the Nymans’. She set the box at their feet as Liam glanced over his shoulder, and Chelsea slipped her house key from her purse. If she’d unlocked that door once, she’d unlocked it a hundred times. The key slid in effortlessly and turned with a soft, sturdy click.

They’d confirmed the Nymans would be at work all day when Liam had called Linda that morning to apologize. As often as Chelsea had used her key to stop by their house over the years, this time made her jittery.

They walked into the living room, ready to install a monitoring system. She took cautious steps that reminded her of the teenage nights when she and Julia would sneak out to sit in the backyard and gossip under the pine trees.

Liam clambered their gear in and set the duffel bag on the couch with a thud.

Chelsea wanted to shush him as though they might get caught then laughed at herself. “Do you think many kids have the kind of relationship Julia did with Linda and Frank?” she asked. “Or even Linda and Frank with Julia’s close friends. Like us.”

Liam crossed his arms as though he had never realized their lack of blood ties made them different from other families and loved ones. “If they’re lucky.”

Her heart smiled. The urge to hug him tingled in her chest.“Gosh, you’re sweet.”

He scowled.

She smiled and shrugged. “Give me my marching orders.”

For the next two hours, they worked with nimble fingers and mind-testing patience. They had no room for mistakes. The consequences would be catastrophic.

Finally, she came down the stairs as Liam walked into the living room, balling up plastic wrap from the monitors he’d installed on the perimeter.

“Is that everything?” Chelsea stood on the bottom stair.

Liam shot the ball of plastic wrap into a box on the couch as if it were a basketball. “Think so.” He remained planted on the far side of the living room and laid an arm across the top of a high-back chair. “Time to check it all?”

She nodded. “Then a quick recheck.”

His lips curled. “Then let’s go.”

Installing the equipment had been easy. They each had tasks to complete and connect to a main monitoring system. No one could tamper with appliances or the electrical grid in the house without triggering a silent alarm. No one could set foot on the property without their team knowing about it.

Liam led her toward the back of the first floor. Room after room, window after window, they checked their own and each other’s work. They inspected and tested the main monitoring system and did the same for the backup. Their dynamic eased into a fluid partnership as soon as they came to the first section to check, and they worked as though they’d been side by side for years.

Well, they had, in an odd way—not on surveillance or on anything that had so much importance, but passing in closely orbiting circles of friends and people they considered family.

Their quiet teamwork meshed well, and Chelsea thought about their work expertise. She didn’t know his details but could guess it amounted to blowing things up. Hers was the opposite—hiding in sight, discovering the impossible. Their connection had a yin-yang balance rooted in savagery and sleuthing.

When they finished the final section, covering the Nymans’ backyard, she knew their work was solid. They had eyes everywhere.

They finished in the back corner in front of a black wrought-iron bench that had an expansive view of the property. Liam lowered himself onto the bench as a chilly breeze swept up her hair. Chelsea wrapped her chill-bumped arms around herself, rubbing her jacket’s sleeves for warmth, and joined him. The cold metal bled through her pants, and she snuggled under his arm.

Liam tossed his arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm. “Chilly?”

“A little.”

But neither made any effort to stand up.

She didn’t know where his thoughts were. Despite the brisk fall breeze, the backyard offered calm peacefulness. Never in a million years could Chelsea imagine how they could sit like that in the Nyman’s backyard. But never in a million years could she forget how he made her feel.

“Good work,” Liam broke the silence.

Their thighs touched, and she tilted her chin to watch his face. “Good company.” Then she asked, “Are you okay?”

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