Page 21 of Tabitha

When Pierce drops the box near the door, I snap to attention as a hollow gong echoes inside the container. Pierce looks up at me with icy blue eyes, his chest heaving. “You were saying?”

It takes me a second to remember what brought me down this dark path of iniquity. “Stop being so…”

“Helpful?” A smile tugs at his lips. “Such a gentleman?”

“Stop doing things for me.” I glare at him and cross my arms, not sure why I feel so defensive.

A twinkle enters his eyes. “Sorry, no can do. My mother would roll over in her grave. It’s too ingrained in my psyche. You’re just going to have to put up with it.”

For some reason, his reply only leaves me more disgruntled.

I should be happy that he treats everyone the same way. So it makes no sense why I’m upset that he doesn’t see me as someone special.

That’s what I want, right?

“Whatever.” I wave him off and focus on the stuff that matters. “So we’re under surveillance?”

Pierce’s amusement falls away, and he places his hands on his hips. “There appear to be two different sets of cameras and microphones.”

I wait a beat, going through the options, then shake my head. “I’ll contact Darcy and see if she can hack the feeds. She should be able to tell us if it’s the old man that had the cameras installed, the ex-military, the soldiers up on the hill, or law enforcement.”

I pull out my phone, already sending a message to the Belladonna group.

I’ve barely hit thesendbutton when Darcy replies.On it. Give me ten minutes.

“We’ll need to get the computers set up right away.” I tuck my phone away and head toward the pallet. A wooden crate is buried near the bottom, under all the packing supplies. Before I can haul it into the house, Pierce shoulders me aside and grabs it first.

I scowl at his retreating back and trail after him, biting my tongue to keep from arguing with him again. The asshole will just do what he wants, anyway.

As if sensing my ire, Pierce smirks at me over his shoulder. “There are only a few rooms without surveillance. Until you decide what you want to do, we’ll have to work around them.”

Instead of entering the house, he nudges open the door to the garage. A vintage Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud sits in the middle, the automobile in pristine condition, and both of us stop to admire the beautiful machine.

Pierce gives an appreciative whistle and shakes his head, then heads toward the workbench and sets down the crate. “You are one lucky woman.”

I tear my eyes away and blink at him in confusion. “What?”

His expression softens, then he turns and searches the tool bench. He snatches up a hammer and begins working on cracking open the crate before speaking. “The car is yours. Hell, the whole house is yours to do with what you want.”

Against my will, my eyes flash back toward the car, and I curl my hands into fists to keep from running them along the smooth, unblemished fender, almost able to feel the cool metal under my palm. If not for this assignment, I would’ve just had everything sold, sight unseen.

While I don’t want anything from my family, a pang goes through my chest at the very thought of giving up possession of the car.

Mine!

I suspect my grandfather probably purchased the car off the line when it was produced in the fifties. Not many of them remain in factory condition.

It is priceless.

I wonder if, maybe, I got my tinkering abilities from him, and I’m suddenly curious to learn what other quirks I might have inherited.

The creak of nails being pulled from wood catches my attention, and I yank my hand away from the car, not sure when I began stroking the sharp silver and deep black colors that sparkle so prettily under the light.

I head toward Pierce and peer inside the box. Two computers, two more tablets, a handful of phones, a dozen earpieces, two drones, as well as a couple of Glock 9mm and Springfield XD-M. Pierce handles the guns with ease, clearing the chambers and expertly slamming home the magazines.

They are loaded in under a minute.

He is very proficient, and I can’t help but admire his familiarity with the weapons.

---