with a smile. “Though maybe next time it’s not the best idea to eavesdrop, hm?”
“Oh! I didn’t. I wasn’t. I just wanted a picture to prove it was you. But…you purposely arranged an empty restaurant for privacy and…I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think.” She sighed. “I’m so going to get fired for this.”
“I’d be happy to have a word with the manager, dear.”
“You’d talk to Mr. Karga?”
“Certainly. If you hand over your phone.”
Lisbeth looked at the device she was clutching, and with a sigh, gave it to Rylee. “I only took two photos.”
“Thank you, dear.” Rylee made the phone disappear, and handed over a card. “Contact me at this number with your address, and we’ll get you a replacement, okay?”
“Thank you, Mrs. Rashad. And again, I’m so sorry, I didn’t—I shouldn’t have—”
Paul flicked his fingers and Ben took that as his hint to guide Lisbeth away from the table, toward the kitchen. As they passed through the swinging doors, Ben whispered, “Don’t call that number.”
“What?” she said, startled.
“Trust me, please. Don’t call it.”
Maybe she saw something in his eyes, or maybe she was putting two and two together on her own and realizing just how close she’d come to disaster, but she slowly nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”
Ben didn’t let his soft breath of relief escape, nor did he thank Lisbeth for showing up when she did. Because now he knew who Rylee was, beyond a first name…and that was something tangible he could pass along to FUC.
It didn’t take long for Oliver to discover that there wasn’t much for a bored significant other to do at the ranch. He did a yoga routine after Ben left, which prepared him for the day—and stretched out some muscles that were in sore need of stretching after their morning activities. Then he headed down to the kitchen to get breakfast, where he discovered Paul employed a cook who did not like strangers in his space. So much for cooking to pass the time.
After he ate his yogurt with granola and fruit, he decided it was time for some recon. First, he toured the interior of the house, mapping out all of the ingress and egress points while oohing and ahhing again over the movie room, the games room, and the indoor pool. But as soon as he tried to step outside, through one of the French doors leading off the pool, a guard was there, on the other side of the door, preventing his exit.
That didn’t stop him from trying again, this time from the sunroom next to the kitchen. Another guard appeared to block his way. Either there was a silent alarm going off in their ears, or they were keeping a very close eye on Oliver’s movements. Hell, maybe both.
Whatever the case was, it was clear he wasn’t going to be able to explore the ranch’s exterior…and that made Oliver all the more determined to do so.
As he was passing back through the kitchen, the cook shoved a plate with a sandwich into his hands. Oliver was about to protest that he’d just eaten not two hours before, but bit back the words.
“Thank you,” he said instead. “I think I’ll take this up to my room, if that’s okay?”
“Don’t make a mess for the housekeeper,” the cook grumbled.
“I won’t,” Oliver promised him. “I’ll probably have a nap afterwards.”
The cook grunted, obviously uninterested in Oliver’s plans. That was okay—he’d made that announcement for the guards’ benefit.
He hurried upstairs and took a couple of minutes to nibble at the food. Then he moved over to the window Jeremy had slipped through that morning and eyed the size of the opening. Though the window itself was quite large, the pane that levered upward to let in air while preventing rain from coming in was only two feet by two feet. Plenty of room for a squirrel…not so much for a whooping crane. He could fit through it, but it was going to be awkward to get his long legs through and his wings open and flapping before he hit the ground.
Whatever. He’d make it work.
Quickly, he stripped and shifted. It had been too long since he’d enjoyed his feathered form. He stretched out his wings and neck, barely resisting the urge to sing out his enjoyment. That would bring the guards, and that would be bad.
As he anticipated, getting out through the window was awkward and uncomfortable, and almost resulted in him tumbling straight to the ground. Luckily instincts took over and he