Page 1 of Nanny for the SEAL

ONE

Xaden

I duck out of the way just as the vase crashes into the wall to the side of my head. The shattering sound rings in my ears, going straight down my spine and forcing me to clench my hands into fists.

It’s too loud, too similar to the sound of breaking window glass. I have to suck in a breath, closing my eyes so that I can keep the panic at bay.

Come on, Xade. You’re okay. It’s a vase. Not a mortar. You’re here. Not there.

I repeat the mantra a few times while Laura huffs in furious breaths, complaining that this is “totally unfair.”

After a moment, I rake my eyes upward, glaring at the young woman standing across the kitchen from me. I knew this would be an uncomfortable meeting, but I’ll admit that the vase throwing took me by surprise.

Not as much as her trying to seduce me, of course.

“Laura, you need to leave. I can’t just let you steal from me and my home. I trusted you with the care of my daughter, and you’ve completely betrayed that. And to come on to me in some vain attempt to weasel your way out of it? That was incredibly unprofessional.”

There’s nothing else in arms reach for Laura to throw, so she stamps her foot, a high-pitched shriek bubbling up from behind her overly glossy lips.

Aside from the stealing and the fact that she never seemed all that interested in Daisy, which should be a given if you’re the kid’s nanny, Laura could never be my type.

“This is total bullshit! You can’t prove anything.” She glares at me for half a second before it melts into another one of her disgusting smirks. “Besides, it really would be just so much better to solve this another way.”

I stifle a grimace, but only barely. All I can do is frown as Laura tucks her blonde hair behind her ear, the waves overly crunchy from whatever product she has waded up in there.

Laura is too flashy for my tastes, but she came recommended by New York Au Pairs, and she was willing to relocate to Red Lodge.

Too bad she has sticky fingers along with sticky lips. Ugh, it’s like fucking shellac.

Months. Laura had been stealing from me for months, and I only just now noticed. Nausea burns in my guts as I consider how long she’s been around Daisy doing all this.

And to hit on me to get out of it? Gross was a vast understatement.

“You need to leave, Ms. Conrad. I won’t ask again. Just be glad I’m agreeing to not press charges.” I level her with a glare, folding my arms over my chest to make sure she understands the severity of the situation. “For now.”

“Ugh!” She screeches again, but this time, Laura snags her purse that’s hanging off the back of the chair at my island and storms off toward the door.

I’m not about to trust her to leave without a final “fuck you,” by stealing something else. So, I follow her toward the front door, glaring each time she looks over her shoulder at me.

Just as we get to the front door, Laura pauses, turning around with a forlorn expression pinned to her overly made-up face.

“You really don’t think we could reconsider this? I’m really sorry. I swear!” Her eyes go wide, pleading, and she even takes a step forward with her hands clutched at her chest. “I promise I’ll never do it again.”

I study her, using my skill for reading people that I got pretty damn good at when I was performing specialized reconnaissance missions.

And Laura was lying out her ass.

“No. I’m not interested in testing your willpower.” I uncross my arms to reach for the door, pulling it open. “And I’ll consider your last week’s paycheck as recompense for everything that you stole. Even though it doesn’t cover it in the slightest.”

“Ugh!”

That fucking squeal is going to kill someone’s hearing one day. Still, Laura is clearly done fighting the inevitable and storms out of the house.

I step onto the porch after her, watching her hoof it to her car in those ridiculous clog-like heels of hers. She stumbles a bit on the walk, whining and muttering to herself about how I was just an asshole who needed to get laid.

Which she isn’t entirely wrong about. But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s a thief.

It doesn’t take Laura long to fire up her car and speed off down the somewhat remote highway that leads back into Red Lodge proper. It’s times like this that I’m glad my number of neighbors is limited to three.

---