Lynette Eason - Protective Custody

“Will do. Thanks.”

Carly and Mason said their goodbyes to Grady and Maria and followed Nicholas farther into the house. She shut the door and glanced around.

Nice.

Not extravagant, but definitely upper middle class. She’d done her homework on the man but remembered her brother Ian telling her that Nicholas had designed a video game that made him a lot of money before he’d even graduated college.

He probably could have gone into the gaming business and become a multimillionaire, but his passion was the law. And he’d succeeded there, too.

For the most part.

When he wasn’t letting violent criminals out to kill good cops. Hank and Lily, two people who’d become good friends. Hank who had taught her everything she knew. And now he was dead, and Lily a grieving widow. Her gut tightened at the thought, and she pulled in a deep breath. Don’t go there, Carly, or you’ll go crazy. Keep your objectivity. Remember, you don’t know the whole story.

But she knew enough. Enough to know she’d better keep her guard up and her emotions under control when it came to Nicholas Floyd.

“Debbie? You in here?” Nick called as he walked into the den area.

“I’m right here, Nick.”

Carly turned at the intrusion of the feminine voice. A pretty young woman in her late twenties stood at the entrance to the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She had her reddish-brown hair pulled up in an attractive loose ponytail. She stopped when she saw Carly and Mason. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize we were having more company.”

“These are two more U.S. Marshals, Deb.” His dark gaze swept back to Carly. “This is Debbie Thomas, the children’s nanny.”

“For now.” Debbie flashed a smile and held out a hand that Carly and Mason took turns shaking. “I’m filling in until Nick finds a permanent one.” She flushed and said, “I have to confess I was just popping some popcorn for the kids. I know it’s close to dinnertime, but…”

Carly just noticed the mouthwatering smell of freshly popped popcorn. It reminded her she hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

Nicholas gave a small smile, a mere twitch of his lips, then said, “That’s fine, Debbie. A little popcorn before dinner won’t hurt them.” The he blew out a rough sigh. “Since Mom left to take care of her sister in California, I haven’t had the time or energy to look for someone to…” He shot the young woman an apologetic look.

Debbie patted the man’s arm. “It’s all right, Nick.”

Watching the interchange, Carly couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more between the two than a business arrangement. The little twinge of jealousy took her by surprise.

Oh, no, there was no way she was jealous. She wasn’t remotely interested in starting any kind of relationship, especially not with an assignment. Period.

Kicking those feelings as far to the curb as she could get them, she pulled out her notebook. “All right, let’s go over some ground rules, shall we?”

“Are they the same rules as last time?” he asked.

She couldn’t help the small smile that curved the right side of her lips. “Yes, pretty much.”

“Then I think I’m covered.”

Mason stepped forward. “Where are the kids?”

Debbie answered, “In the playroom upstairs. They’re watching a movie.”

“Hence the popcorn.” Nicholas scrubbed a hand over his face and waved them all into the den area. “Have a seat. Deb, you take the popcorn up to the kids, and I’ll fill you in on anything you need to know in a little bit. We’ll have dinner in about an hour, all right?”

Consternation flashed briefly in her pretty eyes. Then she shrugged. “Fine. Mrs. Jefferson left a roast with vegetables cooking in the Crock-pot. There’s plenty to feed everyone.” She sent a smile in Mason and Carly’s direction. “Nice meeting you.” Then she was gone, whirling away in a scented cloud of popcorn and some fruity perfume that made Carly’s nose itch.

Mason looked at Carly. “I know Maria and Grady checked out the house, the windows and everything, but I’d feel better giving it a once-over myself. I’ll be right back.”

She nodded, and Mason headed up the stairs.

The duo left behind sat on the couch, and Carly looked at Nicholas. “Is there any way you would consider recusing yourself from this trial?”

“Absolutely not. I refuse to give in to scare tactics, threats, whatever. I don’t operate that way.”

Carly wasn’t surprised by his answer. “Then we’re going to have to figure out the best way to keep everyone safe until this trial is over.”

While Mason secured the house, Carly watched the interactions of Nicholas and his niece and nephew. Lindsey, twelve, stood almost as tall as Carly. The quiet girl was reed thin, with blue eyes that saw everything.

She hadn’t been nearly as welcoming as her seven-year-old brother, Christopher, who’d given her a high five and invited her to his room to see his fish. “I gotta have fish,” he explained. “I’m ’lergic to cats, and I can’t play with the dogs. I have asthma, too. The fish don’t bother my lungs.”

Asthma. She made a mental note of the fact.

“I thought you guys were watching a movie and stuffing yourselves on popcorn so you could sit down at dinner and say you’re not hungry,” Nick teased.

Christopher gave a belly laugh. Lindsey had the art of eye rolling down perfect, and she seemed to feel the need to display it at every opportunity.

Five minutes after meeting Lindsey, Carly discovered her outlook on life consisted of a combination of waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop and roll-your-eyes-at-anything-an-adult-says attitude.

To make things easier on Carly and Mason, the Jeffersons had moved into the main house with their two dogs. They’d declined the hotel room. The second-floor guest room was a compromise.

Debbie moved into the room at the end of the hall. She seemed to take everything in stride. “I’ve been in this situation before with Dad.” A hand batted at the air. “It’s usually no big deal. He’s gotten threats before, and nothing happened. So I’m not leaving when the children need me. That would just be one more inconsistency in their lives. And we have protection, right?”

Carly stared at her. “Are you sure? This could be a tense few days before the trial starts.” Even the fact that a man had been murdered as a message to her boss only caused a minor hesitation in the young woman.

She bit her lip, eyes darting between Carly and Mason, then back to Nicholas. Her jaw firmed. “No, I’m staying.”

“Great, more people in this house.” Lindsey rolled her eyes.

Nick shot her a look. “Watch it, Linds.”

The girl clenched her jaw and stomped toward the stairs.

Debbie frowned and went after her.

Christopher slipped a small hand into Carly’s and looked up at her with a gap-toothed grin. “I’m glad you’re here.”

She patted his head and knelt down on his level to grin back at him. “I’m glad I’m here, too.” She stood then looked at Nicholas. “It’s my turn to check the grounds.”

“Come on, kiddo.” He motioned for his nephew to transfer his hand from Carly’s to his. “Let’s go see if dinner’s going to be ready soon. I’m starving.”

After a quiet and tense meal, Debbie retired to her room at the end of the hall. Nick saw the children off to bed, and Carly walked the perimeter of the house one more time, her nerves stretched taut. Right now, she could relate to Lindsey’s waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop mentality.

It was too quiet. Yet the silence seemed loud. Filled with expectation, anticipation—waiting.

But for what?

Nothing good, that was for sure.