Page 44 of Under His Watch

He shrugged, feigning indifference but appearing amused. “It would be a kicker, though. Ifyourushed into a relationship even faster than I did with Nina.”

I rolled my eyes. “Funny.”

“What’s not funny is what she told us while you were in surgery.”

“Stefan sent two men to the cabin.”Wait. The sniper.“Three.”

He nodded, graver now with no sign of a smile on his lips or laughter in his eyes. “Franco had men sweep the area. They found the sniper who hit you. He tripped and busted his ankle, so they didn’t have a hard time locating him.”

“And the two I killed near the cabin?”

“Disposed of.” He didn’t need to ask me to justify the injuries or explain a thing. He got it.

“I kept one alive for information.”

He crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”

“Stefan is furious that you wouldn’t align with him or back him up with the gun routes.” This wouldn’t be a surprise. We all knew this. “He sent the Devil’s Brothers men to the other house I was at with the plan of taking me out to attack you.”

He shook his head. A murderous scowl remained on his face.

“He had his men come out to the cabin to try again.”

“That motherfucker,” he groused.

“He also said that Stefan was frustrated with the inability to attack you directly. Since Nina’s there and is expecting, you’ve ramped up the security forces to the point he has no way to get in.”

Smiling smugly, he nodded once. “That’s correct. And I don’t let her leave the house without ample security.”

“Which is what I need to arrange for Tessa,” I said as I sat up more, pleased that the motion didn’t put me in excruciating pain. “I can’t rely on being remote and using that as a level of safety. The fucking storm disabled the wires for the surveillance cameras at the road.”

“It’s all outdated,” he said, annoyed. “You should just bring Tessa to the house. Nina would love having her close.”

And then she wouldn’t even needmefor friendship.I felt selfish to want to keep Tessa to myself, but until we could address this tension between us and figure out how to be together, I didn’t want any obstacles to stand in the way. Nina wasn’t an obstacle, but she’d be a distraction.

“No. But I intend to move her somewhere closer in the city.”

“Whatever you decide,” he said, letting me call the shots where Tessa was concerned.

We didn’t speak any further.

The door opened, and my heart rate kicked up with the excitement that it could be Tessa walking in, but it wasn’t. Instead, a doctor came in with a nurse. My father remained standing and out of the way as the doctor spoke with me. The nurse checked my vitals—all satisfactory—and I was glad for how fortunate I was with this incident.

“It looks like you’re on track to be discharged tomorrow?—”

“Why not today?” my father asked, cutting off the doctor.

“I would recommend at least one night of monitoring, given his blood loss.”

I shook my head, glancing between the nurse and the doctor. “My vitals are looking good, right? I don’t want to stay any longer than necessary.”

“We have medical staff members available at home,” my father added.

Danicia would certainly be a help—if I needed her. This wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d been shot and stitched up before. I counted on a recovery period, and I would do the exercises and stretches required to be whole again.

“I don’t recommend…” The doctor pursed his lips at my father’s stern look. “I can arrange for the paperwork to be started shortly.”

“Now,” my father advised.

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