Love and Let Die (Masters and Mercenaries #5)(62)

He pulled the car into the driveway. Alex and Eve’s house was nice. Big. It looked like the perfect place to spit out a couple of rug rats and grow old. It was also covered with trees and shit and they were too close to the house. What was he thinking?

“Stay here.” He turned off the ignition and reached for his SIG.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, reaching for his own and checking the clip. “Eve, get your head down. All of you.”

“He’s worried about the trees,” Charlie said in a monotone. “He thinks assassins will be hiding in the trees and they’ll drop down on us, and he’s wondering why you picked a place where so many people could lay in wait to kill you. I think it’s pretty. I like the trees.”

“The trees help cut down on electricity bills,” Alex said, shaking his head. “We weren’t thinking that someone would hide an army in the live oaks.”

“Which just proves that you’re losing it, my friend. I bet you don’t even have perimeter sensors set up.” He carefully opened the door, checking the trees in front of him for any movement.

“I haven’t even moved in yet.” Alex proved he could still move quietly. Ian heard the quiet snick of the passenger door closing and then Alex was beside him, his eyes watching their six.

They moved together like the team they’d been for the last five years. Back to back, they checked the yard.

“I can’t exactly set up motion detectors and freaking laser rays. I would fry every poodle and stray cat in the neighborhood, not to mention the out-past-curfew teens.”

“It would teach ‘em to not be out past curfew.” He didn’t get what the problem was. A little laser never hurt anyone. Much.

“You’re demented. And what the f*ck happened to Charlotte? I thought things were looking up when you carried her off to the privacy rooms.”

Ian turned, checking the ground for any signs of disturbance. Alex moved cleanly, never giving up his back.

“Charlotte is just realizing that I won’t be as easy to manipulate as last time.” He relaxed a little. There was nothing out in the yard. He didn’t like the neighborhood they’d driven through. There were too many people, too many cars parked along the street that might or might not belong to residents. How was he supposed to properly assess risk in an area like this? He had to hope Alex had at least remembered to triple bolt the doors and install a decent security system. “I think we’re clear.”

Alex stepped back, shaking his head. “Well, you’ll be fun at the housewarming party. Eve, come on. We’re not going to be murdered in the front yard. Let’s go see how much the contractors f*cked up.”

Eve hopped out of the SUV, straightening her skirt.

“Come on, Charlie, Chelsea. Let’s go find out what the f*ck soapstone looks like.” He wasn’t about to stand out here in the middle of the night with nothing but a SIG between him and however many Russians were trying to kill Charlie. God, he hoped Liam caught at least one of the f*ckers. Maybe these assassins were like Alex and held teas to talk about each other’s love lives. Then all Ian had to do was squeeze the f*cker’s balls until he gave up how many of them there were.

Charlie eased out of the seat, followed by her sister. She didn’t look around, simply followed him as Alex unlocked the door and led them inside.

“Seriously? You have one lock?”

“You know what, buddy, when I actually move in here, I’ll let you paranoid out the whole house.” Alex opened the door and let Eve in.

Ian watched as Charlie walked by him. Her head was up, but there was a vacantness to her eyes that he didn’t like. She was somewhere else and there was a wall between them. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel that it was there. It was stupid because a wall between them was exactly what he needed, and yet it rankled. It was getting under his skin. His instincts were to tear that f*cking wall down the same way he’d wanted to rip off the robe she’d worn around her like a bit of body armor. After they’d had sex, she’d stood in the doorway of the privacy room looking torn apart and fragile and he’d wanted to take away her only bit of protection from him.

It wasn’t fair or reasonable, and logic seemed to have utterly fled his abilities, but then he’d never been able to think around her.

So why the hell was he carting her back to his place and where the hell did he think she was going to sleep? Was he going to shove her ass on the couch?

“I like the archways,” Chelsea said as she walked through the foyer.

Eve smiled. “They used to be square, but I think the arches really open the place up.”

“They left their tools out again, Eve. I swear, I’m going to fire these guys. Why is there a nail gun sitting in the middle of my kitchen? That’s a concrete nail gun. Do you know what that can do to a person?” Alex asked, his irritation plain even from a room away. “It’s lucky we stayed in town since the contractor looks like an idiot. We’re going to have a long talk tomorrow.”

Charlie glanced up, but nothing on her face changed. She just moved into the living room where Alex had turned on the lights. Eve disappeared from view, too. Chelsea didn’t. She waited until everyone had moved on and then turned on Ian.

“What did you do?”

It seemed to be the question everyone was asking today. “I believe that’s none of your business. If your sister wants to talk to you about her sex life, then that’s up to her, but I’m not feeling chatty right now.”