Page 12 of Sheltered By Love

Garrett doesn’t answer his phone, but I leave a voice message for him to call me immediately.

He may think it’s flimsy at best but if word is getting around that a woman living in the area has something worth stealing at her place, it’s worth checking out.

Thankfully, Felicity’s smart enough to use a PO Box on her business card, and after a quick look-see, she’s not listed her address on her website either.

I think as I climb the ladder and get to work.

I already know she’s gullible. And thieves are getting smarter. Either she or Nicki may have given them an area to target.

I carry on working, connecting the wires, making sure I use the holes she used so I don’t damage the plaster any more than it already is.

By the time I’m ready to place the first detectors on the windows and front door, Garrett calls me back.

I put my phone on the ladder and stick the adhesive for the sensor beside the door. “I think I might have something,” I say.

“That was fast. Even for you.”

I peel off the sensor. “Are all the houses getting robbed owned by women?”

He’s silent for a while. “For the most part.”

I scratch my nose and look at Felicity’s card. “The tenant makes gold jewelry and Nicki sells it online. I’m betting one of them got chatting with either a customer or someone who was pretending to be keen.”

He sounds more than a little interested. “I’ll have to talk to Nicki to see if she’s telling people Felicity works from home.”

The corner of my lip lifts. “They’ll know she’s in the area. And if they’ve done their homework, they’ll even know she lives alone.”

I can hear the hope in his voice. “You find out how much stock she has at home?”

“I’m about to go find out,” I say.

“This could be right up your alley, you know.”

I frown as I wave my hand over the sensor and am pleased when I see it light up on the panel. “Can’t you handle surveillance? I pretty much handed this to you,” I say.

He growls. “I know. But if you’re wrong, I’ll be wasting dollars we don’t have. You said you wanted to do something, sticking close to Felicity is your something.”

I lean against the wall and look at the feminine prints Felicity has hung along the wall. “How.”

He just chuckles. “You always thought you were the smartest out of us. Now’s your chance to prove it.”

I’d argue I never thought that, but I’d be talking to dead air.

Felicity

With sensors now on every window, every door, and every nook and cranny, I should feel relieved Zane has taken my security so seriously.

But instead, I’m starting to feel like a prisoner, and he’s the prison guard.

After returning from the garden, he asked me a lot of questions about my jewelry, some of which were bordering on obtuse.

Either he’s incredibly nosy, or he’s thinking of placing a large order. Given how intrusive he’s already been, the former is the more likely.

After he left, and explained, like I was a moron how to operate his silly alarm, I spend what was left of my Saturday hunched over my work bench, finishing an intricate filigree pair of gold earrings.

When the light started to fade, and I needed a break, I did what I always do, watch the neighbor's routines.

It’s comforting knowing that while Zane Reid has upended my life, everyone else on the street is carrying on nice and predictably.

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