Page 25 of Archer

Archer looked mildly apologetic. “I’m afraid it will mean the end of your solitude. You shouldn’t be alone until whoever is doing this is found. If you’re here, your detail should be here. If you go into town, they’ll drive you. I recommend a twenty-four-seven approach until this is resolved.”

His teammates nodded.

Heat crept up my neck. “You’ll stay here? At the cottage?”

Knox stepped forward. “If that makes you uncomfortable, we can opt for a more surveillance-style approach.”

I looked back to Archer for an explanation.

“One of us would stay outside in our vehicle. We’d take shifts so someone’s awake and keeping watch at all times.”

Colton held out his phone, showing me his screen. “These are cameras outside the shop. We can watch them through an app. We’d keep an eye on your place from outside the home. It’s just as effective. We’ll coordinate schedules so we can each get sleep in between.”

I chewed my lip, hearing what wasn’t being said. If I chose the indoor option, Archer could sleep in the guest room. He’d be right here if anything went wrong. But outside, my protective detail had to stay awake at all times.

And it wouldn’t always be Archer.

“I have a guest room.” My cheeks heated, and I didn’t need a mirror to know how red my painfully pale skin got in times like these. Thankfully, none of the men commented.

“Are you comfortable with Archer taking point on this?” Knox asked.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“You good with that?” Knox asked Archer.

He grunted and his teammates exchanged a look I couldn’t read.

I refocused on the sullen giant. “This is a big-time commitment. What about your life?”

“This is my job.”

We engaged in a stare off that slowly kicked my heart rate into a sprint.

“Harper.” He said my name, and my breath caught. “Are you certain that you’re comfortable having someone in your home like this? What you’re going through is already scary. Adding a stranger into your personal space twenty-four-seven is another huge sacrifice.”

Was I comfortable with Archer Stone living in my grandmother’s cottage while someone hunted me?

Absolutely not.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d shaved my legs, and frankly, Archer was the first man in a long time to make me want to shave my legs.

But did I trust him to keep me safe?

Completely.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll feel much safer if you’re inside versus outside.”

Knox clapped his hands together and made a move toward the door. “All right. Then let’s get to work. Colton will start the digital forensics. I’ll measure for the security system. Archer, can give you our contact protocols.”

“Contact protocols?” I asked.

Archer pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to me. “Keep this on you at all times and save the numbers to your cell phone. If you’re ever without your phone, you’ll still have our numbers. Let me know before you leave the cottage for any reason, even to walk on the beach out back. Don’t answer the door unless I clear it first. If you see or hear anything suspicious, tell me immediately. You can’t afford to second guess yourself or worry about sounding silly. I’d rather check a thousand times and never find a problem than skip once and you come to harm.”

My hand shook as I took the card. “This is really happening.”

Somehow, this step added another layer of reality I hadn’t expected. I’d lived with the fear for so long that it’d become a new shade of normal. But getting private security involved made it all impossibly more real.

When Nashville PD told me there wasn’t anything they could do, a part of me chose to believe it wasn’t that serious. Because surely, if it was, the police would’ve jumped into motion like this. Right?