Ramsey Security (Ramsey Security #1-3)(78)

I smile at his happy tone. "It's good to have standards."

"What about you?" he asks while I study a weak spot on the fence. "Who was your first love?"

"His name was Vito, and he drove a limo for wealthy foreigners," I lie. "He wanted me to give up my career. I obviously didn't, so he married someone else."

"Do you miss him?"

"No."

"Do you miss anyone?" he asks, startling me.

I study him, but he refuses to look at all concerned about offending me.

"Yes."

"Want to share?"

"No."

"By no, do you mean never or not right now."

"Yes."

Smiling, Brad follows me as I finish checking the perimeter.

"Do you eat breakfast?" he asks.

"Yes."

"Nell makes pancakes on Tuesdays."

"Okay."

"Are you always this chatty?"

"Yes."

Grinning wider, Brad sighs dramatically. "You know what I think?" he asks, stepping in front of me before we walk inside. "I think you put on a show for people, but deep inside, you're a teddy bear. In fact, I bet you're really shy and sweet."

I frown at him, but he only smiles. Even wanting to be annoyed, I finally give in and smile at him.

"What if you're wrong?"

"I guess a shallow grave's in my future then."

"You shouldn't joke."

"How would you carry my body out to the grave when you're so little?" he teases, following me inside.

"Easy. I'd take you in chunks."

Brad laughs loudly behind me, loving the idea of me murdering and dismembering him. The guy is weird, addictively so. I'll be relieved when I get some space from him and regain my common sense.





7


Brad

No Second Choices

The security woman who arrives at the property just after breakfast is what I imagined when I thought of a woman badass. Tall and lean, Minka possesses the dark gaze of someone capable of stabbing me in the face if I wrong her. While she's beautiful, I only have eyes for a tightly wound redhead.

I follow Saskia as she heads to the door. During breakfast, she became quiet and focused. No more smiles. I know she saw something on the other side of the fence, and a part of me wants to find out what. Saskia chose to hide it from me for a reason, so I don't push the subject. I'm that far gone with my obsession. I don't even care about my safety. I only want to watch Saskia, who ignores me. Though she hides behind her professional facade, I feel her thinking about me.

"When will you be back?" I ask.

"Minka will be here."

"For how long?"

Saskia frowns at me. I frown back at her. She hates when I do that.

"Minka is trigger happy. You'll be safe."

"So you're not coming back? That's what I'm getting from your evasive answers."

"I'll be back later."

Crossing my arms, I frown darkly down at her. Saskia refuses to back down. She fights me because deep inside she doesn't want to fight. I chase her because deep inside I know she's worth catching. Saskia possesses a million secrets hidden behind her cold eyes.

"I wasn't hired to coddle you, Brad."

"Don't be pissy, just because you'll miss me."

Saskia rolls her eyes and opens the door. "I'll be back."

"When exactly?"

Slamming the door behind her, Saskia reveals a rather sexy temper hiding behind her cold exterior.

I stare at her shadow through the front door's textured glass. She pauses for nearly a minute before opening the door and sticking her head inside.

"I'll be back at four," she mutters.

"Thank you."

Shutting the door, Saskia hurries away while I grin triumphantly. I don't want to chase someone who refuses to be caught. The fiery redhead most definitely wants me to succeed, even if she won't make the task easy for me.

I walk into the kitchen where Minka and Mom frown at each other.

"Are you American or is that a fake accent?" Mom asks.

"If you consider Taxachusetts part of America, then I bleed red, white, and blue."

Nodding, Ruth grins and glances at me. "I like this one."

Even sharing her smile, I'm thinking about how much I like the other one.

"Saskia is a sweetheart," Minka says, taking a chip from the bowl Nell hands her. "You should ask about her knitting."

Feeling the need to defend Saskia from the teasing, I announce, "She handled the guy last night well."

"I bet it killed her not to shoot the bastard in the back."

"I would have taken the shot," Mom says.

Minka grins. "You could get away with it better than a pro. Hard for us to say our finger slipped."

"I don't know that I could have said that without laughing."

Minka snorts. "I can't imagine what you and Saskia are like around the dinner table."

"She barely speaks."

"Get her drunk," Minka says, looking at her phone. "I bet she likes vodka. No, wait, that's a Russian thing."