Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
She used the old-fashioned doorbell. The sound was melodious, pealing through the house to get all the way to the back of it. At once a man opened the door for her. He was young, not more than thirty. He smiled at her. “Miss Lopez? I’m Evan. Mr. Tregre asked me to show you around. He’s running a little late. I hope you don’t mind.”
She shook her head and moved into the huge spacious room that was the existing great room. The floors were nothing short of magnificent. All gleaming wood, spreading through the room like sunshine. Windows were abundant, almost from floor to ceiling, and the ceilings were high, just as they were in her home. The fireplace was stone, very, very unusual for that type of architecture. She thought her home had been unique in that feature.
“This is beautiful. I can see why he wants to keep it the way it was meant.”
Evan nodded. “I’ll take you to the kitchen first. There was a shootout there. A bomb went off just under the eaves outside in the back. It did a lot of damage. We thought we could repair it ourselves, but we had no idea the house was so old and required a gentler hand. I think we did more damage than repairs. We also discovered a problem with the plumbing. The electrical was brought up to date by the previous owner, but the plumbing is a problem.”
She nodded. “That’s not unexpected. A lot of these older homes are updated in some areas and not others.”
Evan was pleasant, and he didn’t flirt at all. She glanced at his left hand. No wedding ring. His gaze had moved over her from head to toe when he’d first opened the door, after that – nothing. None of the other men they came across flirted either. She’d never had that happen. Not ever. Two women were mopping the upstairs floors, and they smiled down at her. That was more notice than any of the men gave her. The rarity of that bothered her so much she was becoming uneasy. Evan didn’t give off threat vibes. No one did. Still, the unusual was setting off alarms.
The house was larger than hers, and she followed Evan from room to room. He showed her every one other than the master bedroom, bath and office. Nothing else was off-limits. She noted all the damage she could see in each room. There were bullet holes in doors, and the master bedroom door had been replaced, but it wasn’t authentic or even suitable to the period of the building.
The destruction outside where the blast had hit was considerable. In terms of repairing a beautiful historic antique such as the Tregre plantation home, the fact that a bomb had gone off and only the verandah on the top story and bottom, along with the side of the house and windows, had been damaged was a miracle.
She whistled softly and touched the wood in awe. “This is amazing. Whoever planted that bomb knew what they were doing and directed the blast away from the house.”
Evan’s eyebrows went up. “You can tell that?”
She nodded. “I’ve worked with dynamite. The placement of this charge was very precise. Whoever planted it didn’t want to injure the house.”
“I agree.” The voice came from behind her.
Sonia stiffened. She stared straight ahead. It wasn’t just any voice. It was low, velvet smooth, carrying a hint of a command, and she would recognize it anywhere. It wouldn’t matter how much time went by, she would always know that voice. His. Joshua’s. She raised her gaze to meet Evan’s eyes. That was the reason none of the men flirted with her. Joshua had told them not to. He was the ultimate alpha. Leopard. Shifter. Of course he owned this house.
They were standing on the terrace on the back side of the house, examining the damage. Evan faced her on the first stair just below her. She shook her head and deliberately stepped onto the step with him. “Thanks for showing me around,” she said, taking the next step and then the last one. Her heart began to pound. She felt like the rabbit in the middle of a pack of predators. She didn’t know about Evan, but Joshua was one. She didn’t dare run, although every instinct told her to; she knew it would set off his prey drive.
“Stop right there, Sonia.” It was a command, pure and simple.
She glanced over her shoulder and kept walking. In the daylight, he was something to see. The man was drop-dead gorgeous. It didn’t matter that he was hotter than hell, that sex with him was off the charts or that she wore his mark all over her body and felt him inside her with every step she took. She was leaving. Leaving. If Jerry wanted the job, he could get someone else to do it. Not her.