Free Scorpio Sons 1: Colton by Nhys Glover

line.
    As he opened the back door of the limo for her, Colt scowled over at Connor.
    "You made your point. I'm duly chastised and in my place. But for fuck sake, just get on with it, boyo. It don't matter what Chase says. You want her, she's yours."
    "Chase? Who's Chase?" Her lovely voice floated out to them. Though they had spoken quietly, she'd still heard them. Did that mean her hearing was better than it should be for a human?
    He climbed into the limousine and let Connor go around to the other side so they sat on either side of her. How much could they tell her? And how private was the vehicle they travelled in? He wouldn't put it past Akabar to bug the car and her hotel room.
    "A friend who heard me talking about you after I saw you on TV," Colt told her as soon as the vehicle was moving.
    "He wanted you to stay away from me?"
    "No, he just said you were famous and I was nobody. That's all. Now you need to stop talking and let us do our job." He spoke more firmly than he wanted to, but the more he thought about the possibility of eyes and ears on Alyssa, the more certain he was that they were there. How much did Akabar know of their conversation in the hotel room earlier? He'd have heard that they'd met four years ago and it was a coincidence that they met again. Was that enough to get the man suspicious? He didn't want to increase his suspicions by saying anything in the limo that could give them away. This was too important to mismanage because of hormones.
    Once they were back at the hotel, Colt made the most of the noise in the foyer to share his suspicions with Connor.
    "We need equipment to check for eyes and ears," he said softly as they headed for the elevator.
    "My thoughts exactly. I'll get right on it. Packed just what we need in my gym bag."
    Colt lifted his eyebrows.
    "Don't look so surprised. I came prepared.  Once we've run the check, I'll catch some shut-eye for a while. Just wake me for second shift, okay me boyo?"
    "Sure," Colt replied as they entered the car and pressed the button for the sixteenth floor.
    Once they were back in Alyssa's room, the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them since he pretty much told her to shut the hell up became all the more oppressive.
    "What is Connor getting?" she asked, obviously trying to build a bridge back between them.
    "Tell you in a minute. I'll explain everything in a minute." His words and tone were terse, and he watched her pull back into her shell again, like a frightened tortoise.
    When the light knock came at the door, Colt opened it for Connor. While Alyssa watched curiously, Connor ran the detector over every inch of the room, and finished off by doing the bathroom too.
    "We were just being paranoid, boyo. Nothing here. I'll check the limo in the morning, though, just to be on the safe side."
     
     

 
    CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    "Check for what?" Alyssa sounded bewildered and annoyed.
    Connor shrugged and handed the answer off to Colt as he headed for the door.
    When the door closed behind his partner Colt removed his jacket and tie. Once he was more comfortable and less intimidating, he sat Alyssa down on the bed and dropped down onto his knee in front of her. Meshing his gaze with hers, he gently took her hands in his.
    He knew he must seem like a psycho the way he changed moods so often and so suddenly. If he could explain a little of it to her, maybe it would ease things between them.
    "When we got in the limo I was suddenly concerned we were being monitored. Not by the driver, although that's possible too, but by surveillance equipment. I didn't want to say anything more while there was a possible unwanted listener eavesdropping on us. So I shut you down. I'm sorry for that, but I had to look as if I was doing my job. If Akabar's going to approve me, I have to be seen as professional. Do you understand?" He looked up into her face and realised for the first time that her eyes were every bit as Granny-Smith-apple-green as they'd appeared in