Page 30 of Before and After

I watched them another beat, and that’s when I saw the guys passing something between each other. I frowned. What was that? They were being pretty furtive about it. I narrowed my gaze but whatever it was it was too small. I couldn’t quite make out what. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

What were they up to?

Then the group all disappeared into the Bluff Bar.

I totally felt Marcy’s vibe now. She’d warned me she thought they were trouble.

Hmm, maybe I needed to keep a closer eye on these guys.

Glancing back across the lobby, I noted that Caden was gone. I blew out a breath. I could share with him that I suspected these guys were bad news.

But Caden struck me as the evidence kind of guy. All the evidence I had was a vibe.

Well, maybe after my shift, I would go and have that drink. And see if I could find out what Blake and his friends were up to at the Windward.

Chapter 8

Caden

Itightened the remaining screw and stepped down off the ladder. The new camera was installed. The scent of fresh paint tickled my nostrils. This area of the Langston Windward was newly renovated and now completely finished. I’d started installing the new security system here. The entire project would be done in phases.

Setting the screwdriver back in my small toolkit, I checked my watch. Early evening. The day had passed by fast. Grabbing the toolkit, I took the stairs.

From my calculations, Allie would be finishing her later shift. Not that I’d memorized her schedule or anything.

A muscle ticked in my jaw. I’d only seen her once today. Flirting with that young asshole in the lobby.

My hand tightened on the toolkit, the plastic digging into my palm. Did she like him? Was that the sort of guy she liked? Young, easy-going.

Jealousy hit my gut like a spiked bomb.

I blew out a breath. I had no right to be jealous. She wasn’t mine.

I turned into the staff area, stopping in my tracks.

Ro had Tessa pinned to the wall. He was kissing his woman, hard. They were lost in their own world, neither of them aware of anything around them.

I shook my head. I never turned off. I was always aware of my surroundings, no matter what. When I’d first come home after leaving the military, it had been far worse. I’d been jumpy as hell, and always on edge, always ready to fight.

It had terrified my mother. My sisters had stared at me like I was a stranger.

My grip on the toolkit tightened, but then I forced my fingers to relax.

These days, I managed some sort of normalcy.

Except you don’t sleep.

Ignoring the voice in my head, I cleared my throat.

Tessa jerked away. She had fair skin, and her blush of embarrassment was obvious. “Oh, Caden… Hi.”

Ro just turned, grinning smugly.

“Don’t you have a private penthouse? And an office?” I said. “And Tessa’s house?”

She smoothed a hand down her skirt. “We have a little more work to do. Ro has a call.” She rolled her eyes. “He always has a call.”

He ran a hand down her braid. “I have a call with Tristan. He’s got some spreadsheet I have to look at. Tessa is keeping me company.”