Page 21 of Possessive Bodyguard Summer

Clay crouched in front of his dog and sighed. “Okay. Stay. Guard 'em.”

Maverick barked once.

When Clay stood, he looked at me again. “He goes everywhere with you today. Got it?”

I mock saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

I swear I heard what sounded like a growl rumble from Clay’s throat.

“If you needanything…”

“I’ll call. Now, get. Before Sloane comes here looking for you.”

He gave one short nod. Then, after another look that lingered just a second too long, he walked out the door.

The garage door opened, his truck rumbled to life, I heard him back out and the garage door closed.

I busied myself with making sure Kaleigh finished her breakfast and quickly cleaned up the mess before loading herandMaverick in the car to head to preschool.

After I dropped Kaleigh off, I headed to the grocery store to grab a few ingredients for dinner and my refill of prenatal vitamins.

Maverick padded quietly beside me halfway through the parking lot before he froze and planted directly against my leg. His ears pinned back and the fur on the back of his neck stood up. Every muscle in his body went rigid and I could feel the vibration of his low grumble.

“What is it, Maverick?” I followed his gaze across the parking lot.

A black motorcycle idled near the edge of the lot. The rider wore a dark helmet, visor down, making it impossible to see his face.

For a split second, my pulse sped up.

There was no way…was it?

The rider glanced toward the storefront before easing out of the parking space and disappearing onto the road.

I blew out a shaky breath and whispered, "False alarm."

Maverick didn't seem convinced. He stayed between me and the direction the motorcycle had disappeared until we reached the automatic doors. Then he relaxed.

"You're taking this whole bodyguard thing pretty seriously, huh?"

His tail gave one slow wag in response.

Up and down every aisle, he stayed by my side as I gathered everything I needed. Apparently, the baby and I had a craving for meatloaf, carrots and potatoes. I wasn’t sure if Kaleigh would be into it though, so I made sure to pick up the organic dino nuggets she loved so much just in case.

One last pit top down the pet supply aisle for a special treat for Maverick and we were on our way to check out with enough time to take the back to the house and maybe even work on some laundry before it was time to pick up Kaleigh from daycare.

CHAPTER

NINE

CLAY

When I pulled into the garage twelve hours later, the first thing I noticed was Monroe’s car was gone.

The house still smelled like whatever she’d cooked for dinner and the note I found on the counter saying that she’d left me a plate in the oven to keep warm and reminding me that tonight was dance practice.

Instead of being excited to have a few minutes to myself, I felt disappointed that I was home alone. Disappointed and slightly on edge, like something was wrong somewhere but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed Monroe’s number.