Page 13 of The Billionaire's Housekeeper

“Or you’ll what?”

A lightning-fast pair of hands grabbed Eduardo’s shoulder and flung him backwards with such a force, Eduardo went crashing over onto the coffee table and slammed to the floor. “What the…?” Eduardo hissed, visibly shaken. He struggled to get himself up and looked at Chad.

Chad’s gaze was dangerously dark and fierce and penetrated Eduardo, he looked as if he was ready to pounce on him again.

“The woman said to leave her alone,” Chad said in a dangerously low tone, through clenched teeth. Tremors ricocheted through Abbi’s body. Her mind was in a daze. What was happening? This all seemed so unreal. First, Eduardo showed up and harassed her, then Chad, once again, came to her rescue and this time his dark expression frightened her, even though she was not the recipient of his dangerous glare.

“Who the hell are you?” Eduardo demanded as he got up and looked at Chad’s nametag. “Maintenance, huh? I’ll see to it that you never work here or at any hotel again. I’ll have you arrested for attacking me.”

“Go ahead. Call the cops!” Chad challenged him.

Eduardo’s eyes widened. He seemed caught by surprise at Chad’s challenge. “F-fine. I w-will.”

“Don’t you ever harass or lay a finger on any staff member here. Got it? Or I’ll make sure you never get to be a guest at this hotel or any other one in this country.” Chad’s tone had an air of defiance and authority in it. Abbi thought he sure didn’t sound like the average maintenance guy. He sounded more like a man in charge of the entire premise. A man who had some sort of power. But still, she was relieved he was there when she needed him.

Chad ushered Abbi out of the guest cottage and outside into the fresh morning air.

“You okay?” he questioned, a genuine look of concern on his face. Abbi noted his strong arms and muscular biceps and figured he must definitely work out a lot at the gym. But then he had to be fit and in shape to do the job he did around the hotel. Chad looked as if he could have picked up Eduardo and flung him clear across the room with little effort. The thought caused her insides to flutter. Her mind whirled in a daze. She didn’t know if she was coming or going. Her heart beat hard in her chest causing a slight ache. Eduardo here? He followed her? She could not believe he was a guest at the new resort where she was working. How dare he!

“I…I’m sorry about all this,” Abbi said, breathless, as they walked back towards the main lodge.

“Not your fault, Abbi. I’ll call security when we get to the lodge,” Chad said.

“No!” Abbi cried out then drew in a deep breath. “Sorry to get so alarmed. It’s okay. Eduardo won’t bother me again. Besides, I don’t want to go back to the main lodge. I have a few more cottages to clean.”

Chad’s gorgeous blue eyes widened in shock at Abbi’s response. “Eduardo? You know him?” he echoed the name, his lips curled in disgust. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get security involved?”

Abbi looked down, hugging her arms around her chest. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“What happened back there? Do you know him personally?”

“Yes. I…I do. He’s my ex.”

“Your ex?” A look of revulsion and concern shadowed Chad’s handsome face.

Abbi looked down, feeling a crushing hurt centering in her chest. She bit down on her lower lip. She should have known better than to have crossed Eduardo’s path. How on earth did she ever get involved with that man? But she had no choice back then. She thought she was in love with him but she knew differently now. He was a class “A” creep. And he still was to this day. Now the question was, how much trouble was Eduardo planning to cook up for her at her new job?

Chapter 7

“What’s this guy got over you?” Chase asked Abbi directly, an hour after she finished her cleaning rounds in the log cabins. Chase had made it a point to stay close to her while he surveyed the other cottages and made sure fixtures were all functional. That way he could make sure that her creepy ex wasn’t going to try and pull a fast one on her again. He’d already sent a text to Brandon to check out this Eduardo character.

“What are you t-talking about?” she stammered.

“You know what I’m talking about. He’s blackmailing you, isn’t he?”

“What makes you think that, Chad?”

“Because I know…” Chase broke off for a moment. What was he going to tell her? That he’d been the intended target of many blackmail schemes as a rich heir? He sighed and drew in a deep breath. “Never mind. I can just tell when someone’s got a hold on another person. Quite frankly, I don’t like it. Just say the word and he’ll be out of your life for good.”

He noticed Abbi flinched. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, concern and horror written over her face.

He realized he probably sounded a bit more dangerous than he intended. “Oh, no. Nothing like that. I meant I’d take care of him so he can’t step within a foot of you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Abbi turned and took in the view of the mountains against the horizon. The cool breeze whisked her luxurious mane into her face. She finger combed her tendrils back in place. The whiff of breeze sent her pretty floral scent to Chase’s nostrils. God, she smelled so good. He had to remember to keep his emotions in check around the housekeeping staff. The last thing he wanted to do was breach the employee guidelines—not to mention blow his cover. It would have been different, of course, if she’d been a local. But she was a fellow staff member and Shirley and Corey had made it clear, they don’t stand for that sort of thing—sexual relations between staff on the job in order to avoid any sexual harassment claims as what had apparently happened in the past under the former owners of the ranch resort.

“You’re right,” she said softly. He could pick up a hint of weariness in her voice. Her beautiful brown eyes looked melancholy for a moment.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, soothingly. It tore him up inside that the creep of a man he’d just seen was making life difficult for this pretty young thing before him. Abbi didn’t deserve that. No woman did. He only wished he could make it all right for her.

“Not really. Not now. There’s nothing either you or I can do about it anyway, so what’s the point?” she sighed heavily, hugging her arms across her chest.

“I will do something about it.” Chase was planning on getting his brother’s detective agency involved to find out more about that creep who dared lay a hand on a woman. Right now, Chase wanted to rip the guy apart.

“Please don’t. I can take care of myself. Promise me you won’t do anything.”

Great. Now what was Chase going to do? His instincts told him better. This Eduardo guy was real trouble. Now he was going to have to keep an even closer eye on lovely Abbi.

* * *

“So he attacked her at one of the cottages?” Brandon clarified, his voice hard and his gaze cold as he sat with Chase near the main lodge.

“Yeah, well, he accosted her, but the perceived threat was there. Abbi didn’t want me to do a darn thing about it.” Chase’s voice sounded as equally rough as his brother’s. The one indiscretion the Belmont men couldn’t stand was a man who would lay a finger on a woman. It killed him inside to think of that guy hustling sweet Abbi like that. If it weren’t for his undercover gig, and he almost did anyway, he’d have torn off that guy’s limbs.

“Why not?” Brandon asked. “You think he could have something over her?”

“I know so,” Chase said, bitterness spilled over in his voice. He brought his bottle of cold drink to his lips.

He knew his half-brother felt the same way about men like Eduardo. Brandon’s own biological mother was a victim of abuse from her boyfriend. It had scarred him for life. Chase wouldn’t have known what to do with himself if something like that had happened to his own mother. The boys’ lives were all different. They were products of different relationships and marriages from their father’s relationships. Yet, they’d gotten close over the short time they’d known each other. Family came first, no matter what the circumstance, and that had always been the Belmont family’s motto.

The heat of frustration burned through Chase. Right now he had a few things swirling through his mind. One of which was finding out if there was a weasel at the resort trying to bring his family business down—he still had to track the source of the rumors surrounding the facility. And the other thing that was troubling him was finding out more about this Eduardo chump who was messing with the girl who seemed to capture his heart so fast in a surprising way.

From the moment he’d laid eyes on Abbi that first time, Chase couldn’t get her off his mind. It wasn’t just the way she spoke, or her alluring appearance, but there was some magical chemistry between them that was undeniable. There was some connection, a strong bond he’d formed with her and it scared the heck out of him. That was so unlike him. But there it was plain as the stars in the night sky. There was something between them, two people who’d just met yet had some sort of magical link. He was sure he saw it in her eyes, too. Or was that his imagination—or wishful thinking?

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