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“On top of your head?” She found the charge cord in her purse and scanned the baseboards for a socket. Mitch scowled at her. “I need to power up my phone in case my brother calls.”
“You better tell me when he does.”
Or else? She wound the cord around her hand. “You didn’t say that was part of the deal.”
“You’re a guest. You need to cooperate with the house rules.” Mitch’s mouth compressed.
House rules? She crossed her arms. “Cooperation works both ways.”
Downstairs a door closed. The murmur of male voices floated up the stairs followed by heavy footsteps. A guy as tall as Mitch climbed toward them, a white drugstore bag in one hand. He shared the same honed cheekbones and stubborn square chin as Mitch, but gray mixed with the razor-cut brown-to-black hair. Mitch snapped to attention, or was that her imagination?
The older Guidry nodded to her. “You must be Cath Hurley.”
“Yes.” This must be the brother with the hearing loss, but Cath couldn’t see any aids from where she stood. She extended her hand, half expecting him to ignore the gesture the way Jack had, but he gave her a decent shake.
“We ran into trouble.” Mitch spread his feet as if he’d been told to stand at ease. “She needs a place to stay for a few days.”
Kurt flicked a glance at the charging cord she tightened around her fist. The hallway couldn’t have been six feet across, but he stepped closer. “You planning to charge a cell phone?”
“I don’t want the battery to die.” She started to clutch her elbows, but Kurt probably didn’t mean to put her on the defensive. He needed to move closer to understand. Les did the same thing all the time.
A pained expression crossed his face. “You understand our company deals with criminals?”
Her back went ramrod straight. She would not think of Les as a criminal.
“We turn them back over to the authorities, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t eventually let loose again. Some of them want revenge once they’re freed, and we’ve gone to a lot of trouble to make this house secure. We’re under the radar so to speak.”
She glanced at Mitch. This must be why he got agitated about her phone.
“You’re safe now, but we can’t guarantee you’ll stay safe if you expose us. Be sure to disable your location finder.”
“No problem,” she enunciated and lifted her eyebrows to see if Kurt understood. His expression didn’t change but she swiped to her settings, not missing the way Mitch took in their interaction with his trademark intense gaze. Had he expected her to throw a tantrum? “I’ll disengage the GPS right now.”
Kurt patted Mitch on the shoulder and disappeared into the room across the hall. The door met with jamb with a decisive click.
Cath stepped back into Mitch’s bedroom. She hadn’t expected to be welcomed with open arms—okay, she’d hoped. “Your brothers don’t want me here.”
“Kurt was nice. He just asked you not to jeopardize our setup.” Mitch indicated the charging cord. “That’s reasonable.”
She nodded. “Jack definitely doesn’t want me around.”
“I’m surprised someone like you would let him bother you.” Mitch propped a hand against the open door, his warm body near enough to touch. Or lay hands on. “Jack’s got a lot invested so he’s edgy. He and Kurt started the business.”
Bounty hunting was a business?
Mitch stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Didn’t Aunt Edi treat you right?”
“You know she did. She’s a sweet old lady.”
He smiled and she couldn’t help herself. She touched his arm. Like a certified crazy or a traumatized lab rat. “I really appreciate this. Putting me up.” Making a bed with clean sheets. “I feel much more welcome than I would have in a hotel. Even if they put cookies on the pillow.”
His gaze caught hers and held. The TV sounds from downstairs faded. Time nearly stopped before she caught herself and rubbed the burning side of her neck. Why did she keep blushing? “Go ahead and get out of here.”
He traced the curve of her cheek with a finger, his gesture so sweet. So seductive. Her eyelids drifted lower. He wanted to get to her, and he didn’t mind flustering her. Remember, Mitch is using you.
“Say the magic word.” His low voice rumbled through her.
She frowned. “There’s a magic word to make you disappear?”