She grabbed her dog and held him close, crooning, "Don't you mind him."
"It's possible you've had squatters here, Belle," Kellan pronounced. "This place has been abandoned for months, right?"
"Yeah. I thought of that." She winced. Tate would remember that she'd inherited the house. They'd done their research-fast.
"We'll search every room before we go to bed, open every door and every closet. Tomorrow morning, we'll improve the security. We'll make a comprehensive list of everything that needs attention and break it out."
Kellan was in charge. It should have annoyed her that he thought he could just walk into her house and take over, but his authoritative voice calmed more than irritated her. Still, she couldn't let them stay here.
"Are you okay, Belle?" Tate asked, inching close again.
Was she? She'd been so terrified before they'd arrived. The door banged again and she jumped. Yes, that had been the sound. God, what was she doing? She pulled away from Tate. She'd had a bad dream and convinced herself she was hearing things that weren't there. The house was old and in need of repair. Exhaustion still weighed on her. She needed to turn on some white noise and go back to sleep.
After she figured out why they were standing in the middle of her kitchen at midnight. "What are you guys doing here? You were supposed to have flown back to Chicago already."
Eric shook his head as he walked back to the front door. "You were supposed to be on that flight, too, Belle."
"I canceled my reservation, but not yours."
They eyed her as she spoke. She wished again that she'd packed a robe. Though the nightshirt covered the essentials, she wasn't wearing a bra. She worried that her nipples would give away how glad she was to see them.
"We'll also have to replace the screen and the door," Eric said, walking back in.
"What?" She better not have heard that right. "That door looked like an original part of the house."
"Now it's kindling." Eric shrugged.
Tate frowned sheepishly. "Sorry. Once I heard you cry out, I didn't think about anything but getting to you. I'm really sorry about the door, but I was completely justified in breaking it down. Not only was that madam who lived two blocks away murdered just yesterday, but look at the overall murder rate in New Orleans. I probably should have done a quick assessment of the physics of busting that old slab of wood down. My shoulder really hurts. And then you clocked me with the granny cane."
"He hit that freaking door like a linebacker," Kellan agreed. "We should be glad there wasn't a glass screen in front or we'd be stitching him up. You know, a well-placed kick might have worked just as well, man. I'm also pretty good at picking a lock."
If she let them, they would devolve into an argument about how they should have broken into her house. "I quit, guys. Didn't Sequoia tell you?"
All three men zipped their gazes her way now, wearing scowls ranging from unhappy to forbidding.
"You quit to the intern. Does that seem like an adult way to handle this situation?" Kellan had dropped the lawyer tone and now spoke in pure, grade-A Dom voice.
She so had a way to address that concern. "The last time I saw you, you and Tate were fighting like a couple of school kids, so don't you dare accuse me of being unprofessional."
Eric shrugged out of his jacket. "That was sex, Belle. There's nothing professional about sex."
"Damn straight. And I want to know where the guy is," Kell said, his voice turning deeper, darker. "Why isn't your 'friend' here defending you."
"Who are you talking about?" She set Sir back down and he did a quick sniff of all three men.
"Kinley said you left with someone you called Sir," Tate said. "But you were just being polite, right? You're a very well-mannered woman. You wouldn't have just met some random man and run off with him. I mean, if you waited twenty-six years to have sex, you're probably not going to copulate with a stranger."
"Tate, you're not helping the situation," Kellan said.
Oh, her BFF was such an awesome bitch. Kinley had told them she'd run off with Sir without mentioning that Belle had slapped that name on her new dog. She had to hold in a little giggle.
Sir scampered around their ankles as Belle did her best to look innocent. "Of course I'm polite."
Tate winced as he moved his sore arm. "I simply pointed out that she's picky. Aren't you, Belle? That's not a bad thing."
"I'll get you some ice to put on that." She did feel bad about hurting Tate. She hadn't exactly held back. "If I have any."