Page 9 (1/2)

"And if he can behave in a professional ave hi him to head of security here at Romatech"

Phineas halted in thewith shock "No shit? I us’s e here Connor will still be around, but hisRoman and his faus turned to Caitlyn "Ye’ll have to undergo soned as yer trainer until he leaves on his trip"

Caitlyn took a deep breath Where was Carlos going? Was it the trip he had argued about last night before getting slapped and punched? He’da mate, but she didn’t want to dwell on that The i to train her That et the forus followed her

Caitlyn stepped inside and was instantly intrigued by the wall of surveillance monitors She spotted the nized the cafeteria She saw the front parking lot and the basketball court The gazebo and gardens

She gulped with a sudden thought If anyone had been in this office last night, they would have seen her and Carlos kissing She struggled to remember When she’d returned to the cafeteria, Howard had been there, eating cake Maybe the kiss was still secret The hottest, lorious kiss of her life

She turned away froed off What a huge arsenal of guns, rifles, and swords! Her skin prickled with alarm

The most violent act she’d ever perpetrated in her twenty-six years was the s of cockroaches with her rain boots And that had been a trauantuan size of roaches in Southeast Asia She , vicious vas

Think of this as an adventure, she reminded herself She’d always hated violence, but she loved adventure And she wasn’t one to give up easily She’d been brave enough to live in strange, exotic places Strong enough to survive even though she’d always felt alone

She wasn’t alone now She would have Shanna and these new friends As shesensation on the back of her neck, as if she was being watched She turned slowly Phineas was lounging in a chair in front of the desk He gave her a friendly s hot anddangerous, like she was being targeted as prey Angus and E in front of the desk, their backs to her as they ruh papers

She stiffened Seated behind the desk, barely visible in a narrow gap between Angus and E at her with those intense eyes that glowed like amber Every nerve fiber inside her sizzled

She lifted her eyebrows Was he just going to sit there and refuse to talk to her? "How do you do?"

His jaw ticked

Angus turned toward her "Miss Whelan, I believe ye ht"

She opened heraus’s eyes Did he know about the kiss?

"Webasketball," Caitlyn murmured

"Oh yeah, man" Phineas leaned back in his chair "Carlos was the star player on the Claws teaave Carlos a pointed look "I believe ye scored big last night" He glanced at Caitlyn, then back at Carlos "’Twill no’ interfere with yer duties, will it?"

Carlos’s tanned face took on a reddish hue "No, sir"

Caitlyn felt her own cheeks ith a blush Angus knows

"We’ve added us continued "Phineas and Carlos, I’d like for ye to uards here if all the Va at the townhouse Since Miss Whelan is living there, ’twill make itthe day while ye’re guarding the Vas" He skirted the desk and strode froathered up a stack of papers "Come with me, Caitlyn You can fill these out in the conference room"

Caitlyn followed her into the hallway As Emma entered a room across the hall, Caitlyn paused to watch Carlos He had almost reached the foyer He was dressed like Phineas, with a navy polo shirt and khaki pants, but the ordinary clothes couldn’t hide the extraordinary way he raceful She could ile

He turned into the foyer, glanced back, and stopped For a sizzling aze s, before heading back to her face Her knees greeak How much beast lurked beneath his handsome human exterior? Would he purr if she tickled him behind the ears?

"Caitlyn?" Emma called to her

"Yes" Reluctantly, she turned away froaze She entered the conference rooreat effort, she attehts of Carlos away so she could concentrate on business

"We have some forms for you to fill out" Emma placed the papers on the table in front of her "And you can choose which kind of insurance plan you want"

"Thank you" Caitlyn retrieved a pen fro with her resume and referrals

"I’ll issue a sidearht back" Emma strode from the room

A sidearuns, and he’d taught her and her brother about gun safety Over the years, he’d taken Dylan often to a shooting range He’d only taken her once No doubt the huroaned inwardly Should she aduns scared her? Or how she couldn’t hit the side of a barn?

She shook the doubts away Her disastrous trip to the shooting range had been ten years ago She would do better now She had to Her life ht depend on it

Her dad’s stash of weapons made more sense now that she knew he’d always been erown up believing he worked for the State Depart He’d lied about that Now she was left wondering what other lies he’d told Why hadn’t Shanna received any of her letters?

She pushed aside her suspicions and started filling out the forms After a few minutes, Emma entered the room and set a s ammunition" She opened the box so Caitlyn could see the contents "I’ve issued you a nine , so I asked Phineas to take you to our indoor firing range down in the basement"

"Okay" Caitlyn cast a wary look at the ah the bullets were plastic, they still looked pointed and deadly

Emo on his trip, so if you don’ttomorrow"

Caitlyn’s heart pounded in anticipation "Okay"

Emma watched her closely "Remember how I said vampires have enhanced senses? I can actually hear your heartbeat It just sped up"

Caitlyn’s face grearus told ht"

Caitlyn winced "It was nothing Really" Just the hottest kiss she’d ever experienced

"Well, perhaps Angus exaggerated" Emma smiled "He can be such a hopeless romantic He said you and Carlos shared a kiss that was so hot, he feared you would set the garden on fire"

It was that obvious? Caitlyn’s cheeks blazed with heat "Iit just happened I don’t usually kiss strangers"

"I’ you" Emma touched her arm "I’h, and her shoulders drooped "Shanna told aze was full of sy soon on an expedition to hunt for more of his own kind"