Nora Roberts Land(18)

Did the man ever listen? “Look, I’m here. I’ll start working and get back to you.”

“I want an update every three days.”

“Don’t micromanage me, Sommerville.”

“All right. Every week.”

Tanner popped the trunk. Rustling in the nearby trees made him swivel his head. He stared into the eyes of a frozen deer before it bounded away. Great. They were everywhere.

Maybe he’d buy a gun.

“Give me two weeks before I make my first report. I’ll have a lot to do with my new faculty position.”

School started next week. He was going to teach. He couldn’t fucking believe it. His old professors would laugh themselves blue. He’d been the student who couldn’t wait to leave the classroom and do something.

“Fine, but you’re not there for school. It’s only a cover. You’re there to make Meredith fall in love with you and stop her story. Making a move on her quickly is key. I had her in bed in a month. If you give her—or any woman—too much time to think, they drag their feet.”

So you drag them off to bed? Tanner pulled out his suitcases and started for the house. This man had no respect for women. Since his dad had shared Sommerville’s philosophy before he’d taken off, Tanner had a real aversion to the female-equals-fuck mentality.

“The realtor left the key under the mat,” Sommerville told him.

He turned his head at the sound of a barking dog. The animal was just ten feet away from him. It looked like a Labrador and sheltie mix, its coat streaked with gold and brown, its head on the small side. He didn’t see a collar, so he shooed it away. He was not picking up a stray dog. He’d never been tied down by an animal before, and this detour was not going to rob him of his freedom. Dammit.

“Quit fooling around. Did you hear me?”

“Yes.” Did the man have a camera planted somewhere too? He’d have to check.

“Okay, get going then. The sooner you make her fall for you, break her heart, and stop the article—the trifecta—the sooner you resume your life. Are you sure you won’t reconsider returning to our former agreement after you’re done up there?”

Tanner stabbed the key into the lock and opened the door. “No offense, but that’s not going to work.”

“Too bad. We could have done great things together.”

He hauled the suitcases inside. “I need to unpack. As you said, the sooner this is done, the better.”

“Good luck. I’ll be in touch. Feel free to call me if you need to brainstorm. Meredith can be complex, but again, if you move quickly, she won’t have the time to think things through. Nail her, nail her heart.”

Tanner clicked the phone off, resisting the urge to hurl it across the polished hardwood floors. The house’s open layout made him feel small. He surveyed his new pad with a scowl. Large wooden beams covered the ceiling. A massive stone chimney merged into a staircase, creating what some architect junkie would have called a nice line or flow or some bullshit. What was wrong with four walls and a roof anyway?

He thought about what Sommerville had said about rushing Meredith. Since their relationship had ended in failure, there was no way he was going to go for the same approach. Plus, he needed time to figure out how to extract himself from this mess.

And he didn’t rush women.

He’d find a way to befriend her so he could update Sommerville and keep him off his back.

But first, he needed to check the house for cameras and bugs. He could disable the GPS later.

An hour later, he stomped a row of brand-new listening devices and kicked three small cameras against the stone wall.

“Goal!” He thrust his hands in the air and smiled for the first time in days. His phone chimed moments later. “You rang?” he answered smugly.

“I’m impressed,” Sommerville responded.

Tanner picked up the destroyed equipment and dumped it into a trash can.

“We need to set some ground rules,” Tanner began. “I don’t want you spying on me. No cameras or listening devices. I also don’t want you paying anyone here to keep tabs on me. You have me where you want me. You need to trust I’ll do the job or you’re going to compromise my cover. Meredith graduated from Columbia, so she’s smart. It’s a small town, and she’s a journalist. You don’t want her to look into why someone’s keeping tabs on me, do you? If this ever gets out, it could ruin both of us.”

Silence reigned for a full twenty seconds.

“Fine, but you’d better not pull a fast one. I’ll print those pictures of your brother without thinking twice.”

“I believe you. That’s why I’m here.”