Shifter Nanny Agency

by Celeste Raye

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Fran was up just as long as Chris was. She did not understand how it could have happened. He had taken off and left her in the lurch. While he was away, all Fran could think about was something happening to him. It had played on her mind too much. The relief of seeing him had made her do something rash that couldn’t be taken back. Fran didn’t even know if she wanted to.

  But there was the fact that she had thrown away something that she had been holding onto for so long. It had always been imagined that when she finally did give her body away, it would be on the night of her wedding. It certainly wouldn't be to a man that wasn't even a man at all.

  Then she nearly made herself sick thinking about the consequences of what they had done. She wasn't just thinking about the fact that it was going to make everything awkward between them. She was thinking about what would happen if she were pregnant.

  She didn’t even know what that would look like. Could they reproduce with humans? How would that even work? What would the baby look like?

  It was maddening, and Fran suspected that she was worried about things that would never come to pass. All she was doing, was working herself up for nothing, but it seemed impossible not to. There were so many things that could happen.

  When the sun finally did come up, she went to the kitchen just because she was sick of lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. By the end of it all, Fran was pretty certain that she knew exactly how many tiles there were and how many dark spots were in the paintings on the walls. She made some coffee and went out to the porch to drink it. Fran figured all she needed was some fresh air and a little caffeine to make her see things differently.

  “Are you going to avoid me forever?”

  “Forever? It’s only like six in the morning.”

  “Oh, it feels like forever. I haven’t been able to sleep. I wanted to know how you were. I wanted to check on you, but I don’t know if I am supposed to or not. I have never been in this sort of situation before.”

  “What sort of situation is that?”

  “You know, this. You. Us. Hell, I don’t even know what’s going on between us. Usually, I wouldn’t give a damn, but you have gotten under my skin in the worst sort of way. I can’t get you out of my mind. I need you.”

  “Right now?”

  “I didn’t mean right this instant, but damn, if you’re offering, I would sure take you up on that offer.”

  Fran blushed, and she couldn’t stop herself. Of course, she wasn’t offering. Her body felt battered, and she didn’t heal as quickly as his did.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “What?”

  “You know, with your cuts.”

  “Do you want to inspect me?”

  “No, that’s why I asked.”

  “Is that your clever way of changing the subject?”

  “It needed to be changed. I am here. I am fine. There is coffee in the kitchen. I was just going to watch the sun rise before the kids wake up.”

  He sat down next to her, but still didn’t say anything more.

  “It’s really nice out here. If I lived here, I would be out here every morning.”

  “You do live here.”

  “Yeah, but that’s only temporary.”

  “Why does it have to be?”

  “What?”

  Fran must have heard him wrong because he was suggesting a lot more than she was ready to talk about. From the expression on his face when she looked over at him, maybe he wasn’t as clear about it either. He looked shocked, like he didn’t know that he was going to say that.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Words were just coming out of Chris’ mouth. He didn’t know what he was talking about. He was embarrassed enough that he was tempted to just walk away. And what did that even mean? Chris wasn’t sure. He knew that he wanted her with him always. He’d certainly come to that conclusion rather quickly, but he wasn’t ready to blurt it out.

  They sat quietly and watched the sun come up. He could hear rustling inside and knew that their moment of peace was done. He leaned over and kissed her gently. “I really wanted to wake up to you this morning, Fran, and not just because I wanted to bury myself inside of you. I just wanted to be next to you.”

  He walked off and spent time with the kids while Maria made breakfast. There were a million things going through Chris’ mind, but he had to push them all out of the way. Not long after they had breakfast together, he had to go into work. His father was adamant that he start coming in earlier and Chris was doing his best.

  Once he got to work, all he wanted to do was leave. If his father wouldn’t have been waiting for him in the office, then he likely would have found a way to go back home. But Dalton obviously had something on his mind.

  “Father, it is good to see you.”

  “No need for all of the pleasantries, son. We need to have a serious discussion.”

  Chris knew that most likely it was not going to be a good discussion. Especially if he was starting it out the way he was.

  “Well, there is not much that you can do to me today. I am in too good of a mood, so just out with it, old man.”

  Chris didn’t usually talk to his father like that, but all of the stress and worry that he had felt for so long was swept away. His father’s concerns weren’t even registering with Chris.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  He tried to take the sting out of his comment, but his father was in no mood. He never was.

  “We need to talk about your babysitter. Fran, was it?”

  Alarms started going off in his head again, and he wanted to know what Dalton wanted with her.

  “What does Fran have to do with anything?”

  “I think she has a lot to do with many things. Do you know who she is?”

  He wanted to laugh, but then he paused. There was a lot that he did not know about Fran. Chris knew that eventually, he was going to have to ask her about her secrets, but things were moving in the right direction, and he didn't want to push it. Why did it matter if his father had anything to say about it? He was just trying to ruin anything that was good in his life. Like always.

  “I know enough. What is your point?”

  “Well, I don't seem to believe you know her well enough. If you knew what I know about her, then you would not have her taking care of your kids and living in your house. I think that you are making some bad decisions. I don't blame you. She's a cute girl, but men of our stature have to pay more attention to who we get involved with. We face far bigger consequences than regular folk.”

  “Are you going to tell me what you mean by that or are you going to keep talking in riddles?”

  “Why are you getting upset?”

  “Because you do this every time.”

  “Do what?”

  The words were on the tip of Chris’ tongue, but he stopped them. If he seemed to care too much, it would only rile his father. The best thing that he could do was ignore it all, but that was easier said than done.

  “Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. If you are not going to share the information that you have on her, then leave it be.”

  “I didn't say that I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Then out with it, because all you’re doing at this point is pissing me off.”

  “So, you have already slept with her?”

  That came out of the blue and Chris didn't know how to respond.

  “I don't know how this has anything to do with you.”

  “You will see how in a moment.”

  Chris was trying to rein in his temper. but it was becoming harder and harder for him to do it. His father was drawing it out as much as possible. It was like he was enjoying him dangling on a hook. Why was it that every situation that he had with his father, he was always the bait?

  “Say what you have to say and then leave me to my work. You're the one that told me I needed to come here and focus on it. So, what do you have to say? All of these houses that
you keep buying up are not going to get sold by themselves.”

  “Her name is Fran Ramirez.”

  Chris shrugged because he had no idea what that was supposed to mean. After a moment, he prompted his father to tell him what that had to do with anything.

  “Doesn't that name sound familiar to you?”

  “Should it?”

  “It should. Considering that her family, her father, in particular, has run much of the drug trade on the border for years.”

  “The drug trade?”

  “Yes, heroin from what I've been told.”

  “And who told you this?”

  “Well, as soon as I found out you had someone snooping around your house, I was worried about you. Of course, I had to check out who she was, and so I took a picture of her on my phone and sent it to the private investigator. It would seem that your innocent babysitter is not so innocent after all.”

  Chris was gob smacked. The last thing he thought that he would hear, was that. Though it all started to make a lot more sense to him. Fran knew things that she shouldn't, even though he had been quite certain she’d come from money. She said that her father had recently died…

  He started to put it all together. It was not a good feeling that was going through him at the moment. The danger that he had thought she was in was compounded by a million now.

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “Do you really have to ask that question? She is the one that is taking care of your children. What if something were to happen to them? Would you ever be able to forgive yourself?”

  It was another question that Chris didn’t have an answer for.

  “Well, Father, I am sure that whatever comes at us, we will be able to handle it.”

  “We?”

  “Yes. You heard me correctly.”

  If Chris didn’t know any better, he would have thought that his father was worried. Though he couldn’t imagine Dalton ever being worried about a thing. The very idea of it was unsettling to him.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dalton left his son’s office and he was cursing under his breath. His son had fallen in love, and that was going to make everything more complicated. It was something that his son was very good at—maybe too good. Nothing would go to plan if his lovesick puppy of a son got involved with it.

  He made a call to the private investigator.

  “Do you think that this was a bad idea? He is now telling me that they have something going on together.”

  “It's a bad idea if he's going to go home early today.”

  “It’s going to happen that quickly?”

  “Yes, when you ask me to do something, I make sure that it gets done.”

  Dalton was a little surprised at the rapidity, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. If he did give her away, then someone else was going to find out that she was staying with his son. Then something would happen to Chris and Dalton couldn't allow that. He knew that his son thought he was too rough on him, maybe he was at times, but it was only to make him stronger.

  Dalton knew if Chris was going to last in his world, he was going to have to toughen up. Falling in love with a woman, any woman, could be a man's downfall. He had always done his best to keep him on the straight and narrow.

  But he also knew that something was different now. His son was in love, or something akin to it. Maybe he was just in lust so strongly that he didn't know the difference. Either way, it was a problem. It was a bigger problem when he found out who her parents were. There was no way that his family could be tied to hers in any way. The best way to take care of it was to take care of her and there was already someone ready and willing to do so.

  “I know that you are always good for that, Chuck.”

  “You're not having a second thoughts, are you? You know I could probably get it stopped if you want me to.”

  Dalton had his chance. It was the moment that he could go the other way. For a second, he imagined that he had gone too far, and maybe he should stop it.

  He didn't work that way though. Dalton refused to make decisions out of fear, and he was not going to make this one because he was afraid of how his son was going to react. One way or another, he would see that Dalton was looking out for him like he always did.

  Dalton imagined that one day, Chris would thank him for this. One day when he was a little older and wiser, and he had lived a little longer on the earth. Then he would be able to see the error of his ways and what his father had done for him.

  Fran was just waving off the kids. They had a visit with their aunt, and she was given a little time to herself. They were out of the driveway when she felt a prickle at the back of her neck. Something was in the air and she wasn’t sure what.

  She got inside quickly. She didn’t know what could be wrong, but she had learned a long time ago that it was better to go with her gut.

  Closing the door, Fran went to find Maria. She’d locked the door, but it was only going to work if the maid didn’t continue to open it nonstop. There were several people in the house, and Fran knew that the safest scenario for all was for them to stay inside.

  Fran called Chris. She wanted to warn him, though she still didn’t know what it was about. She knew that he would believe her, even if he didn’t know everything about her. He trusted her, and she was learning to trust him.

  She left a message for Chris to call her back. Fran made sure that he knew that it wasn’t an emergency with the kids. They were off to their aunt’s house, and they were going to be fine. Fran just didn’t know if she was going to be.

  There was a knock at the door, and she saw Maria coming out of one of the rooms. She was now upstairs and wasn’t able to stop her from getting to the front door. Fran yelled for her not to answer it, but she was too late. Two men were on the other side of the door, and as soon as the lock was disengaged and the door was opened, they shot.

  Fran tried not to cry out. It wasn’t the first time that she had seen someone shot and killed, but she really liked Maria. It was all her fault, but she couldn’t let herself be another victim. The rival cartel was there to get her, and she wasn’t going to let it happen. She just couldn’t.

  She ran back up the stairs. She hoped that she wasn’t caught, but they had seen her. Bullets flew towards Fran, and she was lost in the moment. She needed to get away from them, but they were following her up the stairs. They were moving fast.

  “We’re not supposed to kill you yet, Fran. Give us the information that we want. Tell us where your mother is, and we will let you go. It’s our order.”

  Fran didn’t believe a word that the gunman said. If they were just there to find her and get information, why would they have shot first? They didn’t know that it was going to be Maria, did they? Fran’s mind went to if the kids had been home. The idea of it was enough to get her going.

  “Come on out, Fran. You have to be sick of running, though I can see you have done all right for yourself. Maybe Jimmy will have some use for you.”

  Fran remembered how to get back downstairs; there was a back stairwell that many people wouldn’t know about. The house was an old one, and it was most likely the entrance for servants. They may have said that they weren’t going to kill her, but she knew better. They were going to torture out her mother’s location, which she didn’t have for that reason, and then they were going to kill her. Fran wasn’t stupid.

  She needed to get out of there and as soon as she was able to reach the basement stairs, that was exactly what she did. There was a locked room down there that Fran knew she wouldn’t be able to get out of, but also, they wouldn’t be able to get inside. Even if they did find the little built-in dungeon.

  Fran locked herself in there and only then was she able to breathe again. The room had been the cause of fear and uncertainty, but now it was something else altogether different. Now it was going to be the thing that saved her. Fran really needed some of that at the moment. Her life was a scary mess and part of her wanted
to get out of it. But she knew that she couldn’t. Her father made the decision, before she was born and now Fran had to live with it, even after he was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chris got the message from Fran not long after he got out of the morning meeting. Dalton had made him turn off his phone, and he left promptly when he heard her words.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Something is happening at the house. I need to make sure that everything is okay.”

  “The kids are at my sister’s, so what could have gone wrong?”

  Chris was suspicious for a moment because he couldn’t believe that his father knew that. It wasn’t something that he should have been privy to, and now Chris was worried.

  “How did you know that?”

  “She called me a little while ago and said that she was going to have them for the next couple of days. You know, if I wanted to see the kids or anything.”

  Chris didn’t believe him, but that didn’t matter. He had things to take care of. He would have to deal with his dad later. Chris had to make sure that Fran was alright first. He had promised that he was going to take care of her, and he meant it.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I just told you. Something happened at the house, and I need to make sure everything is okay. I will be back in a little bit. Most likely, I will be able to get to the meeting.”

  “You can't just run off every time you get a call, son. I am sure that everything is fine. You need to stay, and we need to work on the sales proposal before they get here for the meeting. How are you ever going to take over the business if you can't even stay for one day?”

  “I have stayed many days here and I just can't today. If you can’t understand why I need to run home, then there is nothing else I can say. But I am going to go home, and I'm going to make sure that my family is safe. I know that it’s a hard thing for someone like you to understand, but that’s why you are here all the time.”