Page 33 of Caught Looking

“Soccer fans?”

“We love all sports, especially local teams,” Pete said. “We’re happy to have you here.”

“And even more happy to see Mr. Butler smiling these days,” Denise added.

I blushed. “I'm going to assume you know him pretty well.”

“Comes with the job,” Pete said as he walked us to the elevator. “But Mr. Butler is one of our favorites. He’s that combination of adorably lost and incredibly sweet. All he’s needed is a reason to get his act together.” His eyes twinkled as he stuck his hand over the sensor in the door, holding it open. “Have a nice evening, Ms. Ryan.”

“You too, Pete.”

Rowdy and Janet stepped in beside me. A minute later the doors opened on an empty, modern hallway with four doors.

“There shouldn’t be anything amiss, but wait here with Janet while I clear the apartment,” Rowdy instructed. He waved the badge and unlocked the door to Seth’s condo.

Janet guided me inside and began her own search. Roscoe sat obediently at our feet. While Rowdy proceeded into the bedrooms, Janet moved through the kitchen, living room, and balcony. “Looks good. I’ll be stationed outside the door until Mr. Butler returns. Rowdy will be downstairs with Pete and Denise.”

Seth didn’t mess around. Either he was genuinely worried or this was just how it went with celebrities. I hated that I didn’t know the difference. “Is this normal?”

She gave me a kind smile. “Have you ever had a security detail before?”

“Nope. Not unless you count the security that comes with the team out of town.” Roscoe kept looking up at me, but waited with a huff for the okay to explore. He had to be dying to sniff out all the new surfaces. He’d probably wind up confused by the half-dozen different men who rotated through Seth’s spare room.

“This is a little different,” Janet explained. “Due to the high level of interest in the two of you we’ll be working as a team until the dust settles. There will always be one of us—we’re a team of four—here with you. And two of us will accompany you when you leave. If you go anywhere with a crowd all four of us will escort you.”

“You know about everything that’s going on?”

“Aside from the paparazzi hounding you? We are aware of problems with Owen Montgomery.”

Damn, it felt good to have some help dealing with his crap. That look he gave me still made my blood run cold. “He gave me a bad vibe today. Pissed my coach off. She left practice and never returned.”

Janet’s face turned to stone. “Noted. I’ll let my boss know.”

“Thank you.”

“May I ask you if he’s ever physically hurt you?”

I could answer this in so many ways. My first instinct was to brush Janet off with a non-answer because telling the truth sucked balls. But she needed to know who Owen was. “He’s never hit me. He prefers threats and insults. But when we were dating he took liberties. It’s one of the reasons I broke it off.”

She took in a slow breath and let it out just as slowly. “In my experience, Miss Ryan, people with behavior patterns like this are among the most dangerous. Please don’t dismiss anything. If something seems off, let us know immediately.”

Her words should have frightened me. But instead, her candor, her awareness, made me feel safer. “Thank you, Janet.”

“My pleasure.”

Rowdy returned. “I want to keep an eye on the apartment two up and four over.” He pointed out the windows to the next building. “I don’t think it’s anything, but I prefer to double check.”

“Should I stay away from the windows?” I was really looking forward to sitting on Seth’s balcony while I waited for him.

“We’ll check it out and let you know.” He nodded once. “We should have an answer within the hour.”

“I’ll knock like this.” Janet rapped a unique pattern out on the counter. “I’ll update you when we know more.”

“Thank you both.” As soon as the door was closed and we were finally alone I let Roscoe off his leash. “Check it out, buddy.”

It was nothing like I expected. There were no boxes of pizza or dirty dishes in the sink. Every surface sparkled, freshly cleaned. Everything was modern with lots of white and straight lines. The kitchen had handleless cabinets and drawers, a subzero fridge, and a gas range. The island separated it from the living room where a long couch made for tall men sat against the wall. An enormous armchair sat beside the end table. A ridiculous television hung on the wall with massive speakers all around the room. There were two bedroom doors. One was the guest room.

The other led to Seth’s.

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