“Good. Anything else?”

“Mmmm . . . well, I was just wondering . . . it doesn’t have anything to do with what we did today, but how did they discover your Harley identity? Back in the bar, when I was there with Felix. You said it was my fault.”

“The guy who took a shot at us was part of their group. If he shot at me, it means he knew something was up. I have to assume it had something to do with you walking in with your dog in that bag, because before that happened, everything seemed fine. Maybe I’m wrong about that, but I was looking at you and when he noticed, he got suspicious. When I went to help you, it just confirmed for him that I wasn’t who I was supposed to be. You aren’t exactly Harley’s type.”

“What he means is, he was acting like a good guy and not a bad guy,” Toni says, probably noticing the confusion on my face.

“Yeah.” Ozzie nods. “Right. I stepped out of character. Bad idea in a crowd like that. They tend to be very paranoid.”

I’m trying to picture the scene. I can’t remember the guy Harley was standing with. Was it the man who shot at us? “You’re talking about that bald guy with the mustache and the giant mole on his cheek?”

“You saw all that?” Ozzie’s gone all intense on me again. Man, his moods shift like the wind.

“Sure. He was looking right at me right after he fired that gun. You were trying to pull me off the table, but I thought my sister was there, so I was hanging on pretty tight. I was facing him the whole time.”

Thibault lets out a long stream of air.

“What?” I look around at everyone exchanging glances. They’re obviously worried.

“You said she was followed home,” Thibault says to Ozzie. “That’s not good.”

“I have my security system now, though, and no one’s bothered me at all.” I’m not sure what I’m arguing against, but clearly they’re making some kind of plan among them. Everyone gets it but me.

“She should stay here,” Thibault says. Then he jumps in surprise and turns to glare at his sister.

I look at her, trying to figure out why she’d kick him under the table for that. Does she not want me to be here? Is she worried about Ozzie and me? Does she like him? Oh, God, that would be terrible. And Toni and I were becoming friends, I’m sure of it!

Love triangle. Dammit.

I decide to watch them closer. The last thing I want to do is horn in on some other woman’s territory, even if it is Ozzie on the line.

“You’re right.” Ozzie looks at me, a very determined expression taking over. “I’ll bring you home so you can pack a bag.”

“You want backup?” Toni asks, her chin a little higher than normal.

“No, we got it.”

I raise a finger.

Ozzie lifts a brow. “Yes? You have a question?”

I smile politely, lowering my arm. “More like a comment. I don’t want to sleep here.”

“She doesn’t like the cot,” Thibault says. “You should give her your bed.”

“It’s not the cot.” The words rush out of me in an effort to stop that conversation as quickly as possible. Just the idea of being in Ozzie’s bed makes me break out in a cold sweat. “It’s just that I have Felix and I can’t leave him behind, and it’s my home, so it has all my things in it.” The excuse sounds lame even to my own ears.

“It’s the same as going on vacation,” Toni says, not sounding very impressed. “Your house can survive without you for a few days until we assess the threat. What are you worried about over there? Plants?”

“I do have plants, as a matter of fact.” Not that they’ll miss me. They only need to be watered once a week, since they’re all in the shade. I’m just worried about the stupid things I’ll say and be tempted to do living in Ozzie’s space with him for several days. My willpower can only manage so much.

“We’ll take care of the plants, if necessary.” Ozzie motions for Thibault to hand him something. Thibault gives him a folder.

“But . . .”

Ozzie looks up from the file he was opening. “You’re an employee of this company. I can’t send you back home if it’s a dangerous place to be. I’m sorry. Hopefully, we’ll neutralize any issues in a matter of days, and your plants won’t have time to dry out.”

My jaw drops open. I’m being railroaded into this, and while the idea of living with Ozzie is not entirely unpleasant, I don’t like the feeling that I don’t have a choice in the matter.

“I appreciate what you’ve said, and I thank you for your concern, but I’m afraid I’m going to decline your offer.” I nod so they can see how serious I am. I’ll sleep with my door locked and a big kitchen knife under my pillow. I’ll be fine. Maybe Dev will loan me that singlestick. I seem to have a knack for it.

Thibault and Toni look at Ozzie. He nods at them. They get up and leave the table, going into the sword room to the outer stairs. I hear the main door close behind them. I guess that nod from Ozzie was code for Leave, so I can talk some sense into her.

“I’m not staying here, Ozzie, and that’s final.”

His eyes are storming but his expression remains impassive. “I’ll stay somewhere else if being around me makes you that uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that.” I chew my lip after the lie leaves my mouth. I cannot think of an excuse that will make any sense. I like my own shower? Your dog has gas? I’ll miss my hibiscus bush?

“Whatever it is, I’m sure I can manage it.”

“Okay, fine!” I say way too loudly. “It’s you! There—are you happy now?”

“No.”

I’m not sure, but from the look on his face, it kind of seems like I hurt his feelings. I try begging instead of being frustrated. “Ozzie, come on, you must be able to understand how this is for me.”

“No, not really. Explain it.”

“I just met you not even a week ago, and you were wearing the most hideous beard that ever was on a man’s face.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“Yes, it was that bad, trust me. There were probably small birds living inside it. But then you saved me, and you shaved it off, and you cooked amazing food, and you kissed me! And I’m not immune to those charms, okay? I’m just not. And as I embarrassingly admitted to you earlier, it’s been awhile for me, so I’m kind of on a hair trigger where you’re concerned, and that’s not a good place for me to be when you’re sleeping down the hall from me.”

He sits there just staring at me for the longest time. It’s making me crazy, but I refuse to say another word until he does. No one can do stubborn like I can do stubborn when I set my mind to it. Besides, I’ve already humiliated myself enough for one day.

“So, if I understand you correctly, what you’re saying is . . . I’m irresistible.” His expression doesn’t change.

“Your words, not mine.”

“If I promise to give you your own space, where you can lock the door against me and do your own thing, you’ll be okay with it?”

“No, I never said that. I said I want to sleep in my own bed, in my own house.”

“And risk having someone come there to make sure you can’t describe him to the police?”

When he puts it that way, I have a harder time answering. But I do it anyway. “Yes. I can handle it.”

He shrugs. “Fine. You have two bedrooms. I’ll come stay with you in the second one.”

“No!”

“Okay, I’ll have Thibault come stay with you.”

“No, not Thibault!” It’s getting worse, not better. Since when did I become such a horrible negotiator?

“Lucky? He could bring his goldfish to your house without too much trouble.”

“No, absolutely not.” I cannot inconvenience my colleagues like that. How embarrassing! My nickname will never change if I need a babysitter my first week. Besides, I really don’t think I’m in trouble at all. If that guy were going to come for me, he already would have.

“Dev can’t do it,” Ozzie explains, “and I’m pretty sure Toni would be a pain in the ass about it, so that leaves you with me.”

I lift my chin. “I’ll take Toni.” I could manage it if it were a woman and not one of the guys. I don’t know why. It makes no sense; babysitting is babysitting. But at least with a woman I’d feel like it was more a temporary roommate thing than a bodyguard thing.