Armed With Steele

by Kyra Jacobs

  Protector and entrepreneur both? Not too shabby. “And how’s that been working out for you?”

  Nate shrugged. “At first, most of our sales came by word of mouth. But when those early customers discovered how much we had to offer, our referral business began to multiply. And when business really started to boom, Charlie left the force to run it full time.” Pride shone in his eyes.

  “So, why Charlie and not you?”

  “Charlie’s a better bean counter than I am. Plus, he was always butting heads with his superiors. Charlie tells it like he sees it. It was probably best for everyone that he left to run the shop.”

  I could relate with Charlie—working from home meant no head-butting with your superiors.

  “Alright, enough about all that.” He withdrew a slender, silver chain adorned with a half moon-shaped pendant from the fist box and dangled it before me. “So, any guess as to what this is?”

  “A necklace?”

  “To the unsuspecting eye, yes. But it’s also a tracking device. With my laptop,” he said, and retrieved that from inside his bag as well, “I can trace where the person wearing this is, where they’ve been, and how fast they’re moving, all within an accuracy of about three feet.”

  “Sweet!” I scooted to the edge of my chair and leaned in for a better look. “Man, too bad they don’t make dog collars like that. People would never lose their dogs!”

  Nate chuckled. “Oh, they do. Where do you think this idea came from?”

  I hitched a thumb in dog’s direction. “So he’s already got something like this on him?”

  Nate nodded. “So don’t go taking off with my dog, because I’ll find you like that.” He snapped his fingers.

  Brutus’s eyes opened for a second, then rolled shut.

  “But this model has an added feature, one that’s not found on the dog collar models.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch. Curiosity carried me across the room. “See that little button on the side?”

  “Um…” I squinted and saw one spot on the inner rim of the pendant that appeared thicker than the rest. “Yeah, now I do. It’s so tiny. What is it?”

  “It needs to be small so it’s not easily bumped,” he said, the humor now gone from his voice. “That’s a panic button.”

  I looked up and met his gaze. “Will I need something like that?”

  “I would hope not. But after what happened to Grace, I’m not taking any chances. Here, why don’t you try it on?”

  I leaned away from him and shook my head. “I shouldn’t.”

  “This isn’t a jewelry party, Jessica,” he said with an eye roll. “I’m loaning it to you. Charlie’s all excited to test it out—you’re going to be our guinea pig.”

  Reluctantly, I turned in my seat and swept my hair up off my neck, leaving me feeling very…vulnerable. He swung the pendant out under my chin, and his fingers brushed the back of my neck as he fastened the clasp. Shivers darted up and down my spine.

  “So.” I cleared my throat and hoped he couldn’t see the patch of goose bumps I was sure had sprung up. “Do you guys have a website?”

  “Not yet. But I did recently cross paths with an up-and-coming local web designer. I was kinda hoping she might be willing to do some bartering for it.”

  “Oh?” I smiled.

  “Sure. I help her get the answers she wants, and in return she helps put together our website. It’s a win-win scenario.” He gently turned me back toward him, then reached out to readjust the pendant so it sat at the base of my neck.

  Patch nothing—that action caused an entire forest of goose bumps to erupt.

  “Does your partner know you’re making deals on the side like that?”

  Nate stretched to retrieve another small box from the table. “Are you kidding? Charlie’s been after me for months to get moving on a web site. And when he sees who’s designing it—” He stopped.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said, eyes averted. “He’ll be thrilled. Now…” He opened the box and produced a small, silver hair clip. “What do you think this is?”

  “Why do I have the feeling you’re going to tell me ‘a barrette’ is the wrong answer?”

  “Nope, that’s exactly what it is. Here.”

  I lifted the beautiful clip from the palm of his outstretched hand. “And you’re giving this to me…why?”

  “Because it’s no ordinary barrette.” By the way he spoke, the way he leaned in, eager to explain its features, Nate was clearly passionate about his business. I had a feeling he sold a hell of a lot of surveillance equipment. Especially when he flashed those brilliant blues and suave smile at their unsuspecting female customers.

  Oh, those poor, poor women.

  “Okay, I’ll bite. What else does it do?”

  His fingertips grazed my palm, and my heart rate rose a few notches. I worked to keep my eyes on the barrette, which he now flipped open and turned over. “See that little spot in the middle?”

  “All I see is a little glob of glue holding the clip and its decorative pieces together.”

  “Ah, but it’s not glue. It’s a toggle switch. For the audio recording device.”

  “Nu-uh,” I said, and carefully swiped it back from him.

  “Yep. Go ahead, turn it on.”

  I looked from the barrette to Nate, who nodded his approval, and back down at the accessory in my hand. I gave the fake glue a tentatively poke. Sure enough, I felt it give just a little. “Is it recording?” I whispered.

  “Let’s see,” he said, and clicked a few more buttons on his laptop. A second software program appeared on the screen. “Say something. Uh, recite the Pledge of Allegiance.”

  “Okay…I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America.” My voice began broadcasting in stereo from his laptop speakers. I clicked the toggle switch back off. “No freaking way!”

  Nate laughed. “Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Are you kidding me? This thing is awesome!”

  “Yeah, once these babies catch on, I have a feeling they’ll sell pretty well. And it offers us some flexibility, since you may not be sitting at your desk all the time.”

  My desk. Ugh. I cringed at the thought of sitting in some tiny box of a room out at Maxwell. “I’m guessing you need to be fairly close to pick up the signal on your laptop?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, that’s the only down-side. I’ll need to be within half a mile to pick up your frequency. Much more, and things tend to get pretty static-y.”

  “Can other people listen in?”

  “If they knew the exact frequency? Maybe. I’m not too worried about it.” He handed the barrette back to me. “Here, you hang on to this. Hopefully you’ll be needing it soon.”

  I sat back and sighed.

  “It’s going to work, Jessica. Trust me.”

  I scowled at the boxes on my coffee table. “But how are you going to be able to watch my back while you’re at work?”

  “I won’t, but Charlie will. We’ll both have access to the programs. When I’m working, Charlie will be on GPS monitoring duty. And when I’m not working, I will be. We won’t start listening in until things start heating up.”

  “Heating up?” I swallowed loudly. “And how long will that take?”

  Nate lifted one shoulder. “Depends how sloppy your future coworkers are when it comes to keeping secrets.”

  “And Charlie? Is he trustworthy?”

  “He’s kept me safe for years.”

  I snorted. “Well, yeah, he knows you. Hell, you two were close enough to go into business together. But who am I to him?”

  “Oh, he checked out your website. And trust me, he’ll do his best to keep you safe, too.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Three reasons: one, because I asked him to, two, because you’re gonna design our website for us, and three…because I asked him to.”

  My eyes narrowed. “You gave the same reason twice.”

  “Did I?” His gaze shifted to
the laptop as he powered it down.

  “Come on, you were going to say something else. Out with it.”

  Nate grinned as he snapped his laptop shut. “Well, I was going to say because you’re blonde, but I didn’t think that would sound quite as professional.” He slid the laptop into his bag and shrugged. “So maybe he has a thing for blondes. It’s no big deal. He’s all talk, anyway. Usually. Sometimes.”

  I put my hands over my face and groaned.

  “I can just tell him that your boyfriend—”

  “Just…tell him I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

  An evil grin appeared on Nate’s lips. “No, that would just add fuel to the fire…he’s never looking for a relationship, either.”

  I grimaced. “Well, tell him something, okay? I shouldn’t have to worry about protecting myself from the good guys.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Those brilliant blues found mine, and I forced myself to look away. We were sitting entirely too close on the couch. Nate’s sleeping beast came into view. “So, answer something for me.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “How, pray tell, am I supposed to get your dog into Maxwell Office Solutions?”

  His brow furrowed. “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Well, you said you brought him for my security.”

  Nate laughed. “Oh, no, he’s not going to Maxwell.” He reached into his canvas bag and pulled out two heavy plastic bowls and one small bag of Pedigree. “He’s gonna stay here, with you.”

  My back went ramrod straight. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Of course I am. I can’t give you a better security system than Brutus. Just look at him.” We both looked down at the dog, snoring softly at Nate’s feet, a puddle of drool under his chin. “Why, no deviant mind within one hundred miles would dare step foot in this house if they caught sight of him.”

  I looked at Nate and sized him up for a moment. “Oh, I get it. This is a joke, right? Ha ha. Good one. Now, put the bowls away and latch pooch back up so you two can both trot on home.”

  Nate stood and began walking toward the kitchen, bowls and dog food in hand. “Good idea, where should I put these?”

  “No!” I jumped up from the couch. “I said put the bowls away. As in, back in your bag.”

  “Now Jessica, after your recent near-burglary, you don’t really think I’m going to leave you here alone, do you? I’ve got to take good care of my new partner.”

  I caught myself wishing he’d offered to leave me a different bodyguard, perhaps the other male in the room—the one that walked on two legs instead of four. Then I pushed the ludicrous thought from my mind and hurried on into the kitchen. “But—”

  “No buts, missy.” He set the bowls down near the back door, then walked over to me with the bag of kibble. “Here. He gets half a cup in the morning and half a cup around dinnertime. Keep his water bowl full, and make sure he goes both number one and number two after breakfast.”

  I stood there for a moment staring at the bowls by the backdoor, and felt my life suddenly spiraling out of control. A creak from the loose floorboard in our living room snapped me out of it. I scurried into the other room and caught up with Nate just in time to see him reaching for the front door.

  “W-where are you going? We have work to do!”

  He opened the front door. “I figured I’d let you and Brutus get settled in for the night. As for me, I have a date.”

  “A…w-what?”

  “A dinner date. Don’t worry, you’ll be seeing plenty of me in the upcoming week.” He threw me a charming smile. “Now you go and make nice with your new guard dog, and I’ll swing back by tomorrow afternoon. That should give you enough time to get started on your resume. Knock it out as best you can—we’ve got a busy week ahead of us.”

  He let himself out and trotted down the steps from our porch.

  “Resume?” I echoed as the front door closed behind him. But the only answer I received came in the form of a soft snort from across the room. My gaze slowly shifted to Nate’s napping beast, whose growing puddle of drool had glazed the carpet under his muzzle.

  “What the hell did I just get myself into?”

  Chapter 10

  I had the weirdest dream that night. Something about a penguin repeatedly putting his cold, wet beak into my hand. I kept trying to move, to get out of his reach, but never seemed to get away for very long.

  Then the penguin licked me.

  I bolted upright in bed. “Brutus!”

  He stood before me, front paws outstretched up onto the side of my bed and mouth curved up into what looked like an amused smile.

  “What was that for?”

  He whimpered, hopped down, and paced the floor.

  “Oh,” I said, my still-waking brain slow to realize he probably needed to go out.

  He started to sniff around the end of my bed. Then he stopped, looked up at me, and lifted a hind leg.

  “Oh! Wait! Not here! Dammit, not here! I’ll take you out!”

  I jumped out of bed, snagged him by his collar and drug him from the room. Brutus was heavier than I’d imagined, but I didn’t let his weight deter my mission of getting him the hell off our carpet. “Leash,” I muttered, looking wildly about for it. “Where’s the damn leash?”

  Seeing it nowhere, I continued on into the kitchen. The sound of his nails tearing at our carpet ceased when he hit the linoleum. All four of his legs flailed out on the slippery floor as he struggled to stay upright.

  Leash or not, I was bent on getting him outside before his bladder gave out. With a quick glance back to Brutus, I reached for the back door. My hand brushed against something flimsy, and I whipped around to see what it was. There, dangling from its knob, hung a blue nylon dog leash.

  Nate must have hung it there when he’d set the bowls down. Probably envisioned this very scene as he did, the big jerk.

  I latched it to Brutus’s collar, tore the door open, and we bolted from the house. Brutus took two steps and stopped, then proceeded to piss all over the driveway.

  “Nice,” I said as I watched the growing puddle with disgust.

  He finished his deed, then made for the backyard, his nose following a world of smells in the cool, fall air. I followed along, happy to trade the hard, frigid cement for our softer grassy backyard. A breeze kicked up then, and chilled me in unexpected places. That’s when I realized I had on no socks, no shoes…and no pants.

  “Shit!” I crouched down and pulled my oversized t-shirt down as low as possible. Another fall breeze kicked up, chilling me to the bone. “C-c-can’t y-you h-h-hurry up-p-p alr-r-ready?”

  Somewhere down the alley, I heard a car door slam and a motor start—a potential witness to my outdoor pajama party. “C-c-c-c-ome on-n-n!”

  Pooch finally found a spot that pleased him, circled once, then squatted. I averted my eyes, both to offer him a little privacy and to keep from getting grossed out. After a moment I felt a tug on the leash. I glanced over at the mighty gift he’d left for me in the grass and nearly gagged. Brutus, in the meantime, had pranced past me to the back door. He stood there, looking back as if to say, “So, are you coming, or what?”

  I growled and scurried toward the door. Almost there…almost there…

  A whistle rang out from the alley. I gave its owner the ole one finger salute, then hurried both me and dog inside. The pile out back could wait—I had more important things to do, like defrost my feet while I plotted Nate’s murder.

  Damn him and his bright ideas.

  I refilled Brutus’s water and food bowls, and threw him a stern look. “Don’t destroy anything, okay? I’ll be out in a few.”

  I turned the shower on, and heard my cell phone ring. Didn’t bother to check the caller ID—I was 99.9% sure of who I’d find on the other end of the line. “Hello?

  “Mornin’ sunshine. How’d Brutus do last night?”

  “Why, Officer Steele, how nice of you to call.” The frost in
my tone matched that of my feet.

  “That good, huh? Let me guess, you tried to keep him out of your room.”

  “Yeah.” I cast a nervous glance toward the lower right-hand corner of my bedroom door and made a mental note to look later and see just how bad it looked on the other side. The scratching had commenced as soon as I’d turned off all the lights, and no amount of yelling, threatening or ignoring would get him to stop. After half an hour, I’d caved. Let him into my room, but not onto my bed. No way was I going to allow that slobbery beast on my beautiful down comforter.

  If I’d wanted a waterbed, I would have bought one.

  “You know, some nighttime instructions would have been nice.”

  “Mmneh, I knew you’d figure it out eventually.”

  Steam rolled out from the bathroom, calling to my shivering body with power equivalent to Ulysses’ sirens. “Look, it was very…kind…of you to offer me some extra security and all, but I really don’t think this is going to work out.”

  “Sure it will. You just need to give it a little more time. Get used to having him around. Why, you’ll be best buds in no time.” The voice of his dispatcher piped up in the background. “Oh, I gotta go.”

  “But wait! What about Brutus?” Desperate to be rid of the dog, I tried to change tactics. “Don’t you miss him? I mean, he moped around here all evening!”

  “Well, sure I do, but it’s just temporary. And don’t worry, he wasn’t moping. That’s just his normal look. Anyway, I’ll stop by later to see how that resume’s coming.”

  I gritted my clattering teeth. “You’re assuming I’ll be here.”

  He chuckled. “Well, if you do step out, just make sure you put some pants on this time.”

  * * * *

  We were in the backyard when Nate arrived, me on the bottom step of the deck and Brutus scratching his back on the crispy autumn grass. Only, I didn’t know he was there until his dog froze, perked its ears up, and then took off full speed around the side of the house. How he didn’t rip my arm completely out of its socket is still a mystery.