Page 42 of Storm Warning

“Perhaps. We have to consider security protocols in whatever we choose. I’ll look around online during my watch shift and come up with a few options that will work.” The one thing he would never do was risk Riley’s safety. If he disappointed her, Andre would make it up to Riley later and do what he could to ease the feeling of being closed in.

“Good plan.”

Thirty minutes later, he parked in front of a three-story cabin. “What do you think?”

“What’s not to like? This place is enormous, just like I remember.”

So even with four of them inside the cabin, she shouldn’t feel hemmed in. Relief flooded Andre. Thank goodness. His woman was as tough as nails, but Riley needed freedom to thrive. He’d give her as much freedom as he could. Something told him there would come a time when her freedom would have to be curtailed for her own safety.

Andre exited the vehicle and circled the hood to open Riley’s door. She stood on the asphalt driveway and studied the cabin. “I’m glad Fortress sent us here. This place is enormous enough to house both of our teams if necessary.”

“Let’s hope we won’t need the full might of Echo and Artemis.” If they did, he and Riley were in deep trouble.

Together, they unloaded their gear from the cargo area and slipped the duffel bags over their shoulders. At the front door, Andre input the code to unlock the door and deactivated the alarm system.

Riley sighed. “This is as gorgeous as I remember. Durango’s friend has great taste in homes.”

“From what I understand, he inherited the place from his grandfather.” Andre headed toward the stairs. “Come on. Oneadvantage of arriving first is that you have the pick of the rooms.” When they reached the second floor, he said, “Choose the most protected room, Riley. If someone breaches our security here, I want them to have a great deal of trouble getting to you.”

“You could also be a target.”

He thought about that for a minute, then shook his head. “Not yet. Someone is looking for me, but that doesn’t mean he’s found me yet. My primary concern is you and your safety.”

She stared. “We’ll choose the two best-protected rooms.”

His heart turned over in his chest at her decree because that’s what her statement was. Riley wasn’t giving him room to argue with her. “As long as I’m close to you, any room is fine.” If nothing was available, Andre would happily sleep on the floor in the hall in front of her room.

He also planned to lay some welcome-to-the-neighborhood surprises that would give them ample warning of a perimeter breach. No one would get to Riley unless they went through him first, and he was hard to kill.

His mouth curved as he followed Riley. She decided on the corner room at the end of the hall, the perfect place to defend her.

Andre walked in behind her and looked around. Nice. Very nice. He could get used to living like this. Too bad it was only temporary. He looked into the spacious bathroom and had his first case of shower envy. The large shower sported rain shower heads and multiple other heads from three walls, one long bench, and built-in shelves for soap and shampoo.

“Wow.” Riley walked to the center of the bathroom and spun in a slow circle, taking everything in. “When I was here before, I didn’t see the primary suite. This is unbelievable, Andre. You could bathe a family of Golden Retrievers in here all at the same time.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, you could.”

“This is my new goal for my house. A bathroom like this one.”

“You’d either have to lose most of your bedroom or do some demolition to knock out the back wall to build a bathroom like this one.”

“Either way, totally worth it.” She rubbed her hands together. “I can’t wait to try out that shower without the dogs. So, which bedroom are you choosing for yourself, Andre?”

“The one next to yours.”

“It’s small.”

Andre shrugged. “Don’t care. I’ll only be in there to sleep. I need little space.”

His phone signaled a text message. He glanced at the screen. “Iona and Elias are here.” After setting down his Go bag and equipment bag in his room, Andre descended the stairs.

Their teammates waited for them in the living room. “So Zane and Brent put us in Rod Kelter’s cabin, huh?” Elias slid his Go bag from his shoulder. “Wonder what we did to deserve that special treat.”

Iona headed for the kitchen. “Did either of you check the food supply?”

“We’ve only been here five minutes.” Riley followed her team leader to the back of the cabin. “Have you seen the en-suite bathroom?”

“Nice, isn’t it?”