Page 52 of The Thief
The reason all of this made sense.
They were... everything.
Chapter Twenty
TYLER
The following morning, I made my way over to Jess’s. The first thing I’d done when I woke up was send a good morning text to them both, followed by a debrief call to the security that were set up outside the house. It’d been quiet. But I wasn’t taking any chances, not where they were concerned.
The others were heading to Faraday Park to do some recon on the house where the Brown’s mother lived. They said they could do it without me, but they’d call if anything happened. I felt bad leaving them to it, but I needed to be at Jess’s. I wanted to be there. I’d arranged for the security firm to start work on her house today, and I wanted to know exactly what was going on. That, and I felt better having her with me.
I pulled up outside their house at the same time as the security company rolled up in their van.
Perfect timing.
I got out, shook the guy’s hand, and then made my way to the front door. Jess must’ve seen us from the window because the door swung open before I’d had the chance to knock.
“What’s all this?” she asked breathlessly, peering around me at the guys unloading their equipment from the van.
“Nice to see you, too.” I stepped into the hallway, kissed her forehead, and then smiled when I saw how it made her blush.
So, forehead kisses were a hit.
Noted.
“This is the security company I told you about yesterday. They’re here to start work on the house.”
“I didn’t think they’d be here so early.”
She left the door ajar for them to access the house and followed me down to the kitchen, where Ava was sitting at the breakfast table eating her cereal.
“I told you,” I said over my shoulder. “They owed me a favour.”
“Must’ve been a big favour,” she muttered, but I didn’t reply. Telling her I hacked into police files and did other illegal stuff for them probably wouldn’t go down too well. Some things were better left unsaid.
Instead, I walked over to where Ava was sitting, beaming up at me with a mouthful of Coco Pops.
“Tyler!” she squealed after swallowing, but then her face dropped, and a look of sheer panic replaced her happiness as she peered past me.
I turned to see two of the security guys walking into the kitchen, and I knew right away why she was panicking.
I crouched down and put my arms around her, telling her, “It’s okay, princess. These men are my friends. You don’t have to be scared. They’ve come to put some special cameras into your house.”
“Okay,” she whispered to me, and then frowning, she asked, “Are they gonna take our picture?” I gave a low chuckle, but her eyes stayed on her mum, checking she was okay.
“They’re not those kind of cameras,” I replied, stroking her cheek to try and calm her. “They’re safety cameras, like the ones you probably have at nursery.”
She perked up when I said that, because she understood a little more. “So you can see who’s mummy or daddy is waiting at the door?” she exclaimed.
“Exactly.”
She seemed happy with that explanation and started to eat her Coco Pops again, grinning at me as the milk trickled down her chin. I wiped it away, then stood up, looking over at Jess.
“If this isn’t cool,” I told her. “I’ll tell them to leave. I don’t want to upset you.” But I really hoped she’d say no. I really wanted the CCTV installed so I could look after them both. I needed to have control over their safety. I didn’t like the way it made me feel, not knowing what was happening.
“No, it’s fine. You just caught us off-guard,” she replied, taking another bowl out of her cupboard and placing it on the table opposite Ava. “It’s a nice thing you’re doing, Tyler. We both really appreciate it. Thank you. Now, sit down and let me feed you.”
We ate breakfast together, then spent the next few hours with the security team, going over the house with a fine-tooth comb, highlighting weak spots and the places where new locks and security measures could be fitted. The CCTV was being setup at the front and rear of the house, and when Jess was out of earshot, I made sure he knew to install something that could access the living room as well.
