Page 10 of Sheltered By Love

I start to unscrew the box from above the kitchen door and answer as I gently remove it from the wall. “Unless you plan on opening the windows or going out the front or back door without deactivating the alarm, you won’t.”

I climb back down and set the alarm on the countertop as her eyes drift to the pantry. “Where are you putting them?”

I fold the ladder back and frown at her. “Usual places. Windows, front and back door work best for PIR systems.”

Her mouth twists into a frown. “What’s that?”

“Passive infrared. Heat detecting.”

She just about jumps out of her chair. “What? You can’t do that.”

I eye her as I fold my arms over my chest. “Why not.”

Her cheeks heat. “What if I, I, need to use the bathroom?”

I shake my head. “It won’t be in your bedroom or the bathrooms. Just in the common areas. And like I said. You’ll have time to turn it off if you need to go out. Just reset it when you leave.”

She looks so nervous I try to sound reassuring. “If you do set it off, it’s not a big deal. I’ve hooked it up to my phone. It’ll just be me that gets the alert and I’ll come check on the house. Anything looks wrong, I’ll call Garrett.”

But that doesn’t seem to reassure her one bit.

If anything, she seems to look even more concerned.

“Um, so, okay. I’m not the best with technology. I liked the alarm I chose because it was easy to use.”

The corner of my mouth twitches. “Of course, it was. It didn’t do anything,” I say.

She blinks rapidly. “I mean I don’t like all these apps and AI controlling things. If that’s what this is going to be, then I’m not sure I’ll be able to work it. You’ll just get annoyed with me.”

I work my jaw as she starts to fiddle with a teapot on the table. What is it with this girl? She works from home; she must have some technical capabilities?

“It’s easy. You just use your phone to control it.”

Her shoulders square. “I don’t have a mobile phone.”

I scratch my head, wondering if I’ve somehow managed to stumble onto another seemingly ordinary woman, with a raging psychosis.

But her not having a phone is going to put a serious dent in my plan to protect this place.

“That’s an issue then.”

She eyes the useless box sitting on the counter. “Can’t you just install a simple alarm? One that just makes a noise if someone tries to get in?”

I frown so hard that my forehead aches. “No. I can’t. I want to be notified if anyone tries to break in.”

“You’d hear an alarm if it went off. You’d be notified then.”

I smother my growing frustration. “I don’t want them to know they’ve tripped the alarm. I want to catch them in the act.”

Her lips press tightly together. “But surely—”

I cut her off curtly. “This isn’t up for discussion. I’m installing it. Use the pad by the front and back doors.”

She stops short of pouting, but I’m pretty sure when I turn around she’s glaring at me.

Felicity

I can’t believe he’s invading my life this way.

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