Free Sealed With a Kiss by Leeanna Morgan

money?”
    John’s gaze moved from the front counter to
Rachel’s face. He kept his expression neutral, hiding what was
going through his head. “You don’t believe in small talk, do
you?”
    “I thought it was small talk,” Rachel said
quickly and without a smile. “If I was being blunt, I would have
asked you what Bella’s tutor has to do for that much money.”
    John’s lips twitched. “I take it you’re not
impressed?”
    “Do you know the hourly rate I’m paid at the
school?”
    John shrugged his shoulders. Rachel guessed
that a man who had more money than anyone she knew wouldn’t be too
interested in what she earned. “It must be enough to get by, or you
wouldn’t do it.”
    Rachel snorted. Working part-time barely gave
her enough money to pay her bills. She was using her savings, and
that wasn’t something she wanted to keep doing.
    “So apart from being allergic to my money,
what is it about the job that you don’t like?”
    Rachel narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t say I was
allergic to your money. It’s the person that’s prepared to spend
that much money that worries me.”
    John didn’t say anything.
    The waitress brought their drinks across to
the table. “One grande latte and one half-strength hot chocolate.
Can I get you anything else?”
    Rachel shook her head. “Not for me,
thanks.”
    John said the same thing, then went back to
staring silently at her.
    Rachel sipped her hot chocolate, savoring the
heat of the mug between her hands. “You said there were other
things potential teachers would need to be aware of. Do you want to
tell me what they are?”
    John looked down at his coffee. She could
almost see the cogs of his brain churning through a ton of
information, sifting what he needed to tell her against what he
could. “Having a lot of money isn’t always a good thing. People can
take advantage of you, deceive you in ways that you never thought
they would. Or they can do worse. My company looks after extremely
wealthy clients and their property. We know things about people
that would be dangerous in the wrong hands.”
    John looked at the empty tables around them.
“I get emails from people who make me extremely cautious about
Bella’s safety.”
    “They send you threats?” Rachel put her hot
chocolate on the table. “Why would they do that?”
    “They want something to bargain with. I’ve
kept a low profile in the media. No one knows much about me except
that I have a daughter. And no one, not even the most persuasive
person, gets close to Bella.”
    “Is that why Tank goes with her to the
mall?”
    “If I’m not with Bella, Tank or Tanner go
with her. Mrs. Daniels wouldn’t be able to keep her safe if someone
tried to kidnap her.”
    Rachel’s eyes widened. “You can’t be
serious?”
    “I wish I wasn’t.”
    “But she’s only a child. Why would someone
kidnap her because of what you know?”
    John watched a woman push a stroller into the
café. “I gave up trying to figure out people’s motivation a long
time ago. Up until now it’s been relatively easy to look after
Bella. She came with me whenever I needed to travel. Her tutor and
a bodyguard came with us. Since we moved to Bozeman, things have
been different. Bella needs a routine. She needs friends. I
couldn’t give her that when we were moving around the country.”
    “Is that why you moved to Bozeman?”
    John picked up his drink. “Partly.”
    Rachel waited for him to tell her more. When
he didn’t say anything, she leaned forward, keeping her voice low.
“So the tutor you want to employ would need to know how to look
after Bella?”
    John shook his head. “I’ve got staff who can
do that. Bella’s tutor would need to know how to take orders.”
    “You think I couldn’t?”
    “You care about Bella. If she was in danger,
you’d need to act quickly and follow what Tank, Tanner, or I
said.”
    “That’s only if I applied for the job.”
    John sat back in his chair. “I already know
that