Page 46 of Justified Fear
Before her father left, he had Dillon do a rush job of updates to her security.She still wasn’t sure if it would actually help anything, but it made her father feel better.
Keely grabbed her phone and saw a familiar truck park beside Cat’s car.
“It’s Ryan.”
Cat nodded.“I knew he was coming, but the scene was over in Makaha.Took him a bit to get here.”
Crimescene.She’d left that first word out, probably trying her best to settle Keely’s nerves.The doorbell rang.Keely walked over to open the door.Ryan stood on the stoop, his expression grim.Maya looked up at her.
“Hey, you two.”
For a second, she stared at them, her whole world seeming to settle.It was odd that she had just met Ryan, and he seemed to bring her so much happiness.In all the years she was with Chad, she didn’t know if she’d felt this way about him.Maybe at first?And maybe, his cheating and general douchiness had made her forget.
Then she realized that she was standing there gazing at Ryan like an idiot.
“Come on in.”
She stepped back and let them come in.
“Hey,” Cat said.“How was the scene?”
“A mess that has now been handed off to us.”
“I would rather deal with that than drills.They’re the worst.”
“It’s the last year for y’all to handle it at least.”
She was looking between the two of them.Cat apparently realized they were talking around Keely.
“We have a big security conference coming up with a ton of different countries.Our next team to activate will handle it once they are fully ready.”
“Ah.”
“Thanks for keeping an eye on Keely,” Ryan said.
Great.He was talking about her like she was just part of the job.Which she was.She had to remember that, so she didn’t get distracted by her attraction to Ryan.
“Are you kidding me?I got cookies and a pic with her father.Win-win.”
“Thanks for coming over, Cat,” she said, smiling at the woman.She had done her best to calm Keely's nerves.
“I’m going to walk Cat out.”
Which meant there were things that he wanted to say or ask that he couldn’t do in front of Keely.Even though she was a little irritated by it, she nodded.Maya didn’t follow him out.
“Did you like your biscuits?”she asked the dog.Maya tilted her head like she understood what Keely had just asked.“I have more in the cabinet.Do you think Ryan would be upset if I gave you some?”
The dog was staring at Keely like she was the best thing in the world.She had to admit, it made her feel like shewasthe best thing in the world.
“Okay, this can be our secret.”She went to the pantry and pulled out a bag of dog biscuits.“Which do you like better?”
She pulled out one of each and held them out.Maya, who had followed her, sat down and looked between the two treats.Then, she gently took the peanut butter one.
“Yeah, those are the ones other dogs liked more, too.”
Then she reached out and scratched Maya’s ears.She’d hoped that Ryan was coming with good information, but from his grim expression, he evidently didn’t have any.Keely just wondered if there was any chance of her life going back to normal.
“Keely’s wound tight,”Cat said as they walked to her Mustang.“Before her parents left, she hid it better, but once they were gone, she’s been a little on edge.”
