Page 8 of Not the Bodyguard's Widow
“Maybe not, but you need a place to be safe. Art House has a state-of-the-art security system.”
“Which I broke into.”
Alex chuckled. “Which you broke into, thanks to a thunderstorm. The system was also on its lowest level as the house has been unoccupied. Had you changed the thermostat—”
“Not just the doors and windows?”
“Nope.”
“Cameras?”
“None inside, and the outside ones are visible. One neighbor stops to wave at them.”
“Mrs. Capps? She always used to spy on us. I think I nearly gave her a heart attack the weekend I had dates with seven different guys. She even brought over some of her friendship bread just to ask me about it.” Kimberly’s smile lightened her face.
“Quite an accomplishment. You also got in here without Mrs. Capps calling us to report a break-in. She is almost as good as one of Alan’s alarm systems.” Alex opened his Hastings Security app and made a new pass code for Kimberly. “I am giving you your own pass code for the alarm system. It is unique, so, yes, we can track when you enable or disable it. I’ll get you one of the Ogilvie smartphones, and you won’t even have to do that. Use your fingerprint. I’ll also get you a key. I don’t think it’s in baby’s best interests to continue to use the skylight for anything other than its intended purpose.” Alex smiled to reassure her.
Kimberly rubbed her stomach. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use it again.”
“There is a car in the garage. I’ll get you keys. So you know, our system monitors the car and, like the house, the car has a panic button linked to our dispatch team.”
“The house has panic buttons?”
“Yes. They turn on an audio-surveillance system and patch into our dispatcher.”
“Are you listening in all the time?”
“Only if a panic button is pushed or an alarm is set off. You can also set it to record if you think you are in an iffy situation, and someone in dispatch will monitor things.”
“So the walls listen too?”
“Only with your permission.”
Kimberly nodded. “I can live with surveillance. I still don’t want a bodyguard.”
Want and need are two very different things. “I can work with that. As long as the threat is low, I’ll stay off-site and out of your way.”
Kimberly tilted her head and scrunched her eyebrows. “But if the threat is high?”
“My employer is paying me to keep you safe.” She’d trusted Candace enough to come here. Would she trust her enough to stay?
“How much say do I get?”
“You can have all you want, and I’ll agree unless I think it puts you in danger.”
“The phone you mentioned—does it track me too?”
“As in GPS, yes. As in knowing who you called and who you texted, not any more than any other phone.” Alex grimaced at his own answer.
“So in an emergency, you can check the last call or text, but my calls aren’t monitored?”
“Exactly. How did you know?”
“Too much TV, remember?” The corner of her mouth turned up. “If you aren’t with me all the time, how do you know I’m safe?”
“We’ll have daily video check-ins. I expect you to tell me your schedule and discuss your outings with me. If I tell you not to go jog in the park, I expect you to listen. If you need to run to the store for milk, I want to know about it before the car shows me it’s in the parking lot.”
Kimberly leaned back and rubbed her belly. “We accept your terms. Mostly because I trust Candace. You know she would wrap all of her friends in bubble wrap to keep them safe.”
