Page 23 of Rescuing Baylee

“My partner Morgan will be bringing some groceries in a couple of hours.”

“I thought Cass was your partner,” she said, moving into the doorway.

“No, Cass was my partner years ago, before she went to gangs. She trained me to be a detective.”

Baylee’s brows quirked. They’d seemed very chummy. She wondered what else she’d trained him on.

She shook her head at herself. Why was she even thinking about that? It was none of her business if he was in a relationship with his former partner.

She glanced at him. Even he was looking around the space, his lip slightly curled with disgust. “Hopefully, we won’t have to be here long.”

Sighing, she wandered through the rest of the house.

There were two bedrooms and a bath upstairs. And only one actual bed. Somebody was going to be sleeping on the couch.

Even more restless than she was before, she headed back downstairs. “Do they have TV at least?”

Landon grabbed the remote from the coffee table and hit the power button. The screen came on, but it cycled through to a blue screen and stayed there.

Oh, this was going to be a lot of fun.

Landon hadn’t beenin this safe house before. It was new. The county had bought it at a foreclosure sale. The code had worked on the front door, but it was obvious nothing else in here was working. He cringed as he looked at Baylee. She was trying to be okay with everything, but he could tell she was on edge. He had taken her out of her comfort zone and dropped her into a damn prison.

“Hopefully we won’t have to be here long,” he said again, aware he was stuck in a loop.

Baylee shrugged at him and dropped to the corner of the couch. “At least I have my phone. I am going to need some stuff from my apartment, though.”

Yeah, he was too. “I’ll run over in the morning and get you a few things, if you don’t mind giving me your keys.”

She looked at him, blinking, then looked down at her lap. Her mouth had tightened, highlighting the scar on her lip. She did not like the idea of him invading her space.

Landon seemed to sense her reluctance. “I’m sorry, Baylee, but we’re going to have to get used to each other pretty quickly. Obviously, they were following you at the farmer’s market. You’re in danger, and I wouldn’t be putting you, us, through this if I didn’t believe it needed to happen.”

Sighing, she nodded. “I know. I just wonder what the end point will be, though? I can’t stay here indefinitely.”

“The end point will be when they’re in custody,” he said shortly. “The gang task force is looking for them now.”

Baylee nodded, but he could tell she wasn’t happy about the situation. Personally, he was a little excited to be here with her. After seeing her in the apartment and wondering about her, it was nice to have some face time to get to know her.

She pushed her hair behind her shoulder. “And if you don’t get them? How long am I supposed to stay here?”

He shook his head. “I can’t answer that.”

And he wished he could. If only to ease that look in her eyes.

Baylee wandered off to look out the back slider doors, her arms crossed over her middle. “I need to call my boss, at the very least.”

“That’s not a problem. Considering you were acting in the best interests of the hospital, I think they’ll be willing to give you as much time off as you need.”

“Maybe,” she sighed. “I might go lay down for a while. Do you mind if I take the bed for now?”

He shook his head. “The bed is yours. I’ll sleep down here.”

She eyed the medium-sized couch. “We’ll argue about it later,” she said, and tromped up the stairs.

Landon found himself grinning despite the situation they were in. Baylee Mitchell had spunk and heart, and though she’d been knocked for a loop, he had a feeling she would rally and be ready to kick ass in no time.

Maybe she would let him share the bed with her.