Chapter 3

When he arrived at the estate, he was greeted by Douglas, who helped him carry his belongings in and took him straight to his room.

It was indeed a lovely room, and it overlooked the back part of the house.

“Mr. Greene had to go out of town for a few days, but he said if there’s anything you require, just ask me, and I’ll see you get it.”

Dexter turned to Douglas. “I will. Thank you.”

“Is the room satisfactory? If not, I can arrange for another one.”

“No, Douglas. This will do. Do you know where Miss Greene is at?”

“Yes, she is down by the pool. Lunch is served at twelve noon. Dinner is at seven o’clock. If there’s nothing else, I will leave you to get settled in.”

“Thanks, Douglas. That will be all.”

Picking up his binoculars, he walked out onto the balcony to take a look around. Looking to the left, he could see the pool. He zoomed in closer and could see Roxie swimming.

He watched as she swam from one end of the pool to the other end. She was good, he thought to himself. He would like to have gone swimming, but it was still too cool out for him.

After putting his things away, he decided to go check on Roxie and let her know he was here. He went down and outside, walking slowly toward the pool.

Standing at the edge, he looked down at her when she got close. “Isn’t it a little cold to go swimming?” He knew it had to be when he saw how hard her nipples were under her bikini top.

She hadn’t noticed him there until he spoke. He looked different today, more casual.

Instead of the dark suit, he had on jeans and a white T-shirt that was stretched across his muscular chest, though he still wore his dark glasses.

“It’s much more refreshing this way,” she said, looking up at him. “Why don’t you come in and try it?”

“I’ll pass,” he said, shaking his head ever so slightly.

“You really don’t know what you’re missing,” she said. Getting closer to the edge, she held out her hand. “Help me out.”

It was a good thing he was wearing the glasses. That way she couldn’t see him rolling his eyes at her. “The steps are right next to you, so I doubt you really need my help.”

But he still grabbed her hand and pulled her out. As she stood in front of him, he couldn’t help looking down at her breasts, which were barely covered by the bikini top.

“Are you checking out my breasts?”

His eyes went to her face. “Now what makes you think that?” he asked, reaching down, picking up a towel, and handing it to her.

“With those dark sunglasses that you’re wearing, I can’t see your eyes, so I’ll assume you are checking me out. Are they special? Can you see through women’s clothes with them on?

“You could remove them. It’s not that sunny out.”

A small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “I guess you’ll never know. And I like wearing them, even inside.”

The real truth was that these were special glasses. You could see behind you. It helped to see if someone was trying to sneak up on you.

“I do wish you wouldn’t wear them around me. When a man looks at me, I’d like to be able to see where he’s looking. That way I know if he deserves a slap or not.

“I’m going to change for lunch. See you shortly.”

He had to smile when she walked away with the towel wrapped around her waist. He would surely have gotten that slap, since he was checking her out.

He watched as the droplets of water slid down her neck and went between her breasts. Before heading inside, he walked around, looking for the security cameras.

He was not pleased when he didn’t find any.

He went inside in search of the butler. “Douglas, can you tell me why there are no security cameras out back?”

“There are, sir.”

“I didn’t see any by the pool area.”

“No, they didn’t want any there because they wanted their privacy when they went swimming.”

Dexter shook his head. “That won’t do. I want you to call the company that Mr. Greene deals with and have them put in a couple back there right away.”

Douglas was told by his boss that whatever Dexter wanted he was to get. “I’ll do it right now,” he said and walked away.

“Thank you. And when they get here, let me know.” He wanted to be there when they installed the cameras.

He thought it was very reckless of them not to have cameras by the pool area. No wonder people were able to get in and take pictures of Roxie there.

Anything could have happened to her, and they would never know who was responsible.

He wanted to go down to the basement and check out the secret door that led to the outside, but seeing that it was almost lunchtime, he figured he would wait until after.

“I’d like to go into town to the gym this afternoon,” she said as they ate their lunch.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave the property. It’s safer here.”

“Mr. Sinclair, I will not be kept prisoner in my own home. I go every Saturday to the gym, and I don’t intend on stopping now.”

He looked at her. He wanted to check downstairs and was not happy with her attitude. “I’m surprised that your father hasn’t put one in here for you.”

“He wanted to, but I told him no. I enjoy going there and associating with different people, since the only ones I talk to are from work or here.”

She looked at him with a scowl on her face. “My father assured me that you being here wouldn’t interfere with my daily routine.”

“All right, I’ll take you.”

She smiled brightly at him. “If you have some workout clothes, you could join in,” she said. But looking at his hard and toned body, she knew he didn’t need to work out.

“My job is to protect you. So thanks, but no. I’ll just watch.”

Later, she wore sweatpants and a T-shirt, carrying a small bag with clean clothes inside. He wore what he was wearing earlier, along with a jacket to hide the gun in his holster.

When they got to the gym, he stood against the wall, not far from where she was working out next to a blonde woman.

He kept his eyes on her as he scanned the room for any potential danger to her. Everyone appeared to be of no threat.

Roxie was on the treadmill next to Sandy, a woman she had struck up a friendship with.

“Who’s that hunk by the door?” Sandy asked as she checked him out.

“My bodyguard. The one my father hired.”

“Damn, girl. He can guard my body anytime and do whatever he wants to it.” She laughed when she looked at Roxie. “Is he doing more than protecting you?”

She picked up the towel and wiped the sweat from her face. “Sandy, you are one horny bitch. To answer your question, no. He’s not, and he never will.

“He’s only here to protect me from the sicko who’s been threatening me.” She kept running as she turned to look at her. “Do you remember me telling you about the teddy bear I got?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“It turned out there was a hidden camera in it.”

“Oh my God. You’re kidding.”

“I wish I were. I still feel sick to my stomach when I think of how he had been watching me in my bedroom.”

Saying it out loud had her more aware than ever of how she had exposed herself to a person who wanted her dead.

She turned off the machine and went over to the cable biceps bar and started her workout. After several minutes, she stopped what she was doing and looked around the room.

She noticed there were more men than usual, many she had never seen before. Turning her head from side to side, she felt dizzy, her heart was pounding, and it felt like she was having a panic attack.

Dexter was watching her and saw the way she was behaving and knew something was wrong. He went over and knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

She looked at him and grabbed hold of his jacket. “Get me out of here.”

He could see the fear in her eyes for the first time. Taking her hand, he led her outside. She didn’t want to shower and change, so he got her in the car.

He got in behind the wheel and turned to look at her. “Will you tell me what that was back there?” He was surprised when she looked back at him with anger.

“You. You did this to me.”

“What did I do to you?”

“You’ve made me paranoid, thinking every man in that gym was watching me. It was like the room was spinning, and as I looked at each of the men, I thought they were staring at me, watching me.

“I kept thinking that at any moment one of them would come over and either stab or shoot me,” she said, sniffling.

He felt sorry for her, and placing his hand over the top of hers, he tried to reassure her everything would be all right.

“You have nothing to worry about as long as I’m with you.”

When he realized his hand was over hers, he pulled it away. He had just broken one of his rules: no physical contact with the client.

He cleared his throat. “I better get you home.”

“Yes. I need a shower. And I’m sorry for freaking out back there.”

“You have every right to. And we’ll find the guy sooner or later. These freaks usually fuck up and reveal themselves. I know this is hard on you, but you have to do as I say if I’m to keep you safe.”

He turned to look at her. “Will you listen to me?”

She managed to smile at him. “I promise.”

When they got home, she went to shower. He went outside when Douglas told him the men were there setting up the cameras.

He went out and asked for their IDs, wanting to make sure they were who they claimed to be. Then he instructed them on where to place the cameras.

Once he was satisfied, he let the men leave and headed to the room in the house where the monitors were set up. He sat down, turned them on, and checked every room that had a camera in it.

He liked that they covered every area outside, but he thought it might be a good idea to have more security guards outside day and night.

He would talk to Thomas about it when he returned home from his business trip.

He hadn’t seen Roxie since they got home, not until it was dinner time. The two of them sat alone in the dining room, eating roast beef and mashed potatoes.

“Do your father and stepmother go away a lot and leave you alone?”

“My father is a busy man and has to go away on business. As for Claudia, she’s never home. Her life consists of traveling and spending my father’s money.”

“I take it you don’t like her much.”

“That’s an understatement if I ever heard one. I hate her. She’s selfish and nothing but a gold digger.

“I know she only married my father for his money and couldn’t wait to dig her fingers into him when my mother died.”

“I understand she died in a boating accident.”

“Yes, she was out on my uncle’s boat, along with my aunt, when it caught on fire and blew up. It apparently was caused by a faulty wire in the engine.

“I was supposed to be with them, but then I was invited to a friend’s birthday party.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

She looked at him. Her eyes felt wet, but she held back the tears.

“Thank you. So, what are you planning on doing for the rest of the night?”

“I was looking over the plans to this place and found there was a door hidden in the basement leading to the outside. I want to check it out and make sure no one can get in that way.

“What are your plans?”

She was intrigued by what he was telling her. She had lived here her whole life and had never heard of a secret door.

“I was going to work on some designs but I’d rather go with you.

“I’ve never been down there, and you’ve got me curious. You are here to protect me, and what better way to do that than to have me with you?”

Lifting his glass of wine to his lips, he looked at her over the rim. “Are you sure you want to go down there? It will be dirty, and who knows what kind of critters are there.”

She smiled back at him. “I’m not afraid. Besides, I have you to protect me.”

“All right, but I suggest you change from that dress into jeans and sneakers. I’m sure you have some among all the shoes in your closet.”

“I do,” she said, smirking.