Scarred (Unlikely Heroes Book 5) (3 page)

She went right to the kennels and removed several food bowls, carrying them into the food storage area to fill them.

She came out of the room with several bowls filled with food and paused as he was about to enter. Her gaze darted up to his. “I admit that was a…um, pretty impressive display you put on out front with those thugs this morning. You think you could teach me how to do that?”

Something in his chest squeezed at the trusting look she sent him.

Don’t trust me, Emily. I’m bad news.

“I can. Have you found a place close by to live? Your resume listed an address in Sandpoint.”

She lowered her gaze and moved past. She went to the first kennel and placed the fresh food in for the cat, Felix, who was recovering from a nasty fight with another cat. Sebastian would be releasing the animal to go home tomorrow.

“Not yet,” she answered with her back to him. She closed the kennel and went to the next one. “I did drive down from my dad’s in Sandpoint this morning.”

Sebastian came out of the room with animal dishes filled with food and placed them in each animal’s cage.

“But.” She turned to face him. “I saw a ‘For Rent’ sign on the street out back. I think I’ll call the number. It would be really convenient to walk to work rather than drive.”

Yes.
She’d taken the bait. 

“It is.”

An elegant dark brow shot up. “You walk too? Oh that’s right, I saw you come around the corner this morning. Where do you live?”

“On the street out back.” He hesitated, watching her eyes. Interest flickered in her gaze. No suspicion at all. “The one with the ‘For Rent’ sign.”

Her cheeks bloomed with color. She dropped her gaze. “Oh. Maybe I, uh, shouldn’t call that number then.”

Sebastian couldn’t help it. He grinned. Probably the first real grin he’d had in ages. She was sweet. She was
real
. Unlike any woman he’d met before. “I usually only rent to males.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s discrimination, isn’t it?”

He coughed, trying to hide a smile behind his hand. “I suppose you’re right. I think I’d be willing to make an exception for you, since you’re my employee.”

Her blush deepened. “No, I couldn’t do that. It…wouldn’t be proper.”

“It’s totally proper. I have a fully furnished basement for rent. I live upstairs. I keep the connecting door to the basement locked, so there’s no way we can walk in on each other unless I decide to unlock the door, which I have never done yet. You’d have your privacy and I’d have mine.”

She bit her lip, mulling that over. She lifted that dark gaze to his. “How big is it?”

His lips twitched. “Not big. Only about 1000 square feet.”

She nodded, trying hard not to look interested. “How much is the rent?”

“$750 a month.”

She chewed her lip again. “Can I…um, look at it?”

“As soon as we finish feeding the animals, we can walk over.”

Her cheeks turned red again. “Okay. Thank you.”

They finished feeding the animals in silence. They went out the back door. He called Scar and the dog raced out with them. Sebastian locked the door behind them and headed across the street to his house, Scar at his heels. Emily followed, glancing around, her eyes wide with interest.

They reached his house, a two-story older home he’d remodeled last year. He went down the steps to the basement apartment. “You have your own private entrance.” He unlocked the door to the basement and went in. Emily followed. She glanced around as she went, her big dark eyes taking everything in. Scar sniffed around the apartment while Emily walked through it, looking at everything.

“It’s cute,” she said after she’d walked through the apartment. “I like it. It’s perfect. One bedroom, that’s all I need, obviously.” She blushed again and jerked her gaze away. “I like the little kitchen area. And the bathroom’s cute too.” She noticed the stairs going up to the main house.

“Is that the connecting door you mentioned?”

“Yes. But like I said, it’s locked. You can’t go up there and I can’t come down here. The only way in or out of the apartment is through the front door or the emergency egress window in the bedroom. You’ll have your own key.”

That seemed to comfort her. “Don’t you, as the landlord, have an extra key?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes. But I’ve never needed to use it yet.”

She held his gaze for a moment, as if she was searching his soul to see if she’d find a creeper in there. She wouldn’t, but she might find other things that scared her. Things he kept hidden from the world. Things he’d never shared with anyone.

“Do you, um, have an application I can fill out?”

“Upstairs. Wait here and I’ll go get one.”

Damn. Emily was way too trusting. She really shouldn’t trust him.

She turned away as he headed back outside and went to his front door to let himself in. Scar followed after him, going directly to his food dish in the kitchen pantry. Sebastian fed Scar, grabbed one of the applications out of his office, then headed back outside.

He returned with the application a few minutes later.

“Thanks.” She went back outside with Sebastian at her heels. “I’ll fill it out and bring it back tomorrow.”

She paused on the sidewalk out front. “I um, would like to take you up on that offer to teach me self-defense sometime. I mean, only if you have time.” She lowered her gaze.

He nodded. If he did this, he would be letting her into his private domain, a place no one had been before. But that was part of his plan. If he did this, he would be allowing her to see a side of himself he kept hidden away. It would be risky. It might be dangerous. It could end up destroying them both.

“We can train in the evenings after work. I have a gym upstairs.”

She smiled. “Okay, thank you. Um, is it okay if I call you Sebastian or do you prefer Dr. Wolfe?” Her face blossomed bright pink again.

Sebastian’s heart crumbled. God, she was sweet. And he was an ass for what he was about to do.

“Sebastian is fine. Drive safe, Emily. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodbye, Sebastian. And thanks again.” She took a few steps, then paused, turning back to him. “You’re right. You’re nothing like they say in the tabloids.”

Guilt stabbed through him as he watched her walk back across the street. What he was doing was wrong. The old Sebastian would never even consider such a thing.

But he wasn’t that Sebastian anymore. Not even close.

Using her like this was cruel.

But he had no other choice.

He wouldn’t feel guilty about this. He couldn’t.

This might be the only thing that saved him.

If this didn’t work, nothing would. 

CHAPTER FOUR

“He hired two new employees. One male, one female. Interns.”

“Well I’ll be dipped in dog shit.”

Travis Wade glanced out his open truck window as a woman hurried across the crosswalk, pushing a baby stroller. A warm, humid breeze blew in the window, rustling his hair. He watched the woman for a moment, letting his gaze roam up and down, checking out her legs, her body, her hair. She was dressed in black spandex that emphasized her fat ass, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, her milk-engorged tits pressing against the tight sports bra. She still carried a good twenty pounds of pregnancy fat. Gross. He turned up his nose and looked away. Not his type. He preferred the skinny, slutty ones.

Need to do some more walking, bitch.

Dismissing the woman, Travis refocused on the cell phone at his ear and the caller on the other end.

So Sebastian had added new employees to his “saving animals” business. Interesting. Why was he not surprised? Stupid boy had always had a weakness for lesser creatures. He was as pathetic and as worthless as his mother had been.

Travis had been having Marty watch Sebastian ever since the boy had tried to weasel out of their deal last month. He still couldn’t believe the little shit had told him to “fuck off.” Luckily for Travis, he had good leverage that should keep Sebastian in line. Getting rid of the woman had been a warning to Sebastian. If the little bastard thought he could get away with dissing him like that, he had another think coming. Didn’t Sebastian care that Travis had him by the balls? All Travis had to do was squeeze and the boy would squeal like a pig. If Sebastian didn’t behave, he knew what would happen next. Or did he think Travis wouldn’t follow up on his threat?

Travis had come to the conclusion that maybe he needed something more to make Sebastian behave. Maybe his threats weren’t big enough. Sebastian had to have another weakness somewhere, something bigger than the secret Travis had uncovered. He would find Sebastian’s weakness and reel the boy back in. Make him suffer. Sometimes a man had to go to desperate measures to get what he wanted.

Sebastian would not win this war.

You ain’t the boss, Sebastian. I am. You’re going pay for what you did, you little shit.

The addition of new employees at Sebastian’s animal clinic was the first alteration in the boy’s life since Travis had set up surveillance on him. So far Sebastian had done nothing but work, go home, and walk his ugly dog. The kid was practically a hermit, rarely venturing out in public, staying home on weekends, not taking advantage of his celebrity status and partying and getting high the way Travis would.

Change was good. Change meant Sebastian was weakening, letting down his guard. It meant Sebastian might soon see things Travis’s way.

“I want background information on both the interns.” 

“Already got it, boss.” Marty cleared his throat. “The girl is Emily Montgomery, age 26, a recent veterinary graduate from UC Davis. She’s a native Idahoan, only child. Father’s a veterinarian in Sandpoint. Mother is deceased. Stepmother named Jennie. The boy is Peter Cromwell, age 26, recent graduate from Texas A&M. Three sisters. Parents live in Coeur d’Alene.”

Hmm. Two interns. Was Sebastian planning on going somewhere and needed new veterinarians to help run the place? Did that little shit think he could hide from Travis?

“Keep watching him. I think he might be up to something. If he leaves town, I want to know. Follow him. And let me know where he goes.”

“Roger that. I’ll report back same time tomorrow.”

Travis disconnected the call and tossed his cell phone into his jacked-up Ford’s center console cup holder. Did Sebastian think he could just sneak away? Did he think Travis would just let him go?

“You’re going to do what I say, boy. You’re mine.” Travis slammed the truck into drive and drove back out onto the street.

A couple of early morning joggers leapt to the side, yelling and waving angrily at him.

“Yeah, fuck off!” Screeching around the corner, he powered up his window, blocking out the Alabama humidity. He clicked the air conditioning on. It was fixing to be a hot day in the south.

But things were about to get hotter for his boy up north.

He would make sure of it.  

* * *

Emily arrived at work at 7:45 again the next morning. Sebastian was already there, feeding the animals. Scar rushed to greet her as she walked in the door and she bent to pet the dog’s head before heading back to the kennels. Sebastian turned as she entered the room.

“Good morning.” The bruising beneath his eye was less noticeable this morning. And the swelling on his lip had gone down some.

“Good morning.” She lowered her gaze. He was still beautiful, even with the injuries.

“Did you have a nice drive from Sandpoint?”

The masculine sound of his voice, the smooth, rich flow of his words made her breath catch and her pulse quicken. Though he was polite, she noted a guardedness about him, an aloofness, as if he feared getting too close to people. Her, in particular. Was he afraid she would turn into an obsessed, star-struck idiot? How many times in the past had he had to deal with obsessive fans?

“Yes, thank you.” She shoved the completed rental application at him. “I…here’s the rental application.” She vowed she would never embarrass him. She could be aloof too, right? She’d had plenty of practice at keeping people at a distance.

Though she’d had a crush on Sebastian Wolfe for years—what woman
wouldn’t
find him attractive?—a crush from afar was nothing compared to the way she felt in his presence now. The man was gorgeous. Everything about him was beautiful. The way he talked, the way he moved, those striking light blue eyes, his perfect, symmetrical features, even his scruffy dark beard stubble. Yesterday he’d been clean-shaven, but this morning she noticed the shadow along his jaw. Instead of detracting from his looks, it only made him look sexier. He even smelled wonderful…a mixture of pine and woods and leather and earth and other subtle scents that tantalized her, urging her to slip closer and discretely breathe him in.

Her cheeks heated. She jerked her gaze away, took a step back.
Crap.
She was already making a fool out of herself.

“Thank you.” He folded the application several times and stuffed it in the front pocket of his Polo shirt. “You ready to get to work?”

“Yes, of course.” She went to the first kennel and removed the empty food bowl. They worked silently together refilling the food and water dishes for the animals in the kennels. Every time she passed him in the doorway to the food storage area, her heartbeat accelerated and she dropped her gaze.

Sebastian stood around six foot or so, with a wiry build. He looked bigger on screen than in person. But Emily had seen him fighting off those thugs yesterday. He didn’t need big, bulging muscles to defend himself. She’d seen what he could do. She’d never been so aware of a man’s presence before. If she dwelled on who he was too much, she became light headed.

He’s just a man. Just a person like you. Get a grip, Emily. 

Emily longed to get to know the man behind the image, but he hadn’t talked about himself. Sebastian wasn’t shy, but he wasn’t loud or boisterous either. He spoke when he wanted to and remained silent when he didn’t. He appeared solemn most of the time, even sad. What would it be like to see him smile? To hear him laugh?

Whenever he looked at her with those stunning light blue eyes, she felt like he was giving her his undivided attention. He made her feel special, as if it was a great privilege to receive his attention. Did other people feel that way?

Sebastian was courteous and professional. He cared about the animals. He was intelligent and obviously knew what he was doing. He was an excellent vet. He reminded her of her dad, who was the best vet she’d ever known. Sebastian was much younger than her dad. He couldn’t be any older than thirty or thirty-one, which made him about six or seven years older than her.

Who
was
Sebastian Wolfe? Would he ever let her see the real him?

“You remind me of my dad,” she blurted as she straightened from a kennel after refilling a dog’s food bowl. “He’s a vet too. He’s smart, like you. I think you would like each other.”

Sebastian turned to face her, quirking a dark brow. Heat crept into her cheeks. She’d noticed that after he entered the clinic, he turned the baseball cap backwards on his head so the bill faced behind him, making his handsome face clearly visible. Did he get tired of trying to hide his identity whenever he ventured out in public? He was so easy to look at. It was hard not to stare.

“So why work for me and not for your father?”

When Sebastian talked, his words, his sexy drawl flowed over her velvety smooth. His voice was soothing, seductive, and made her want to move closer to listen to him speak…and stare at his beautiful mouth…and watch his lips move.

God Emily, get a grip.

She cleared her throat. “My dad doesn’t need me. He has my stepmom Jennie. Besides, I wanted to get out and explore the world on my own. He’s kept me sheltered for too long.”

Something flickered in his eyes before disappearing. Envy? “Your father’s smart to keep you sheltered. The world is a cruel place.” There was bitterness in his words.

She searched his gaze, wondering what he’d experienced that made him so bitter. But his expression shuttered, his eyes went blank. He’d gone into “acting” mode. Damn him. She didn’t want him to hide from her. How could she get to know him if he always hid his true self from her?

“I thought you said you only acted on set.”

Color crept up his neck and into his face. He cleared his throat. “Most of the time that’s true. Sometimes, when people get too personal, I automatically shut them out. I don’t…mean to. It’s just an instinctive reaction.”

“A defense mechanism,” she whispered. He’d been badly hurt by someone. She could relate. She herself had gone through hell and back and somehow survived. What had happened to him?

Judging from the raw, vulnerable expression on his face now, he was no longer acting. He was being real with her. He was remembering something painful.

“Yeah.” He spoke softly, his voice no louder than a whisper.

Her chest tightened.

“I’m sorry.” She stared up into his handsome face. “I didn’t mean to get too personal.”

His eyes filled with a sadness that called out to her, begging for her to understand. Begging for…help.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t.” He turned away from her and strode back into the food storage area before she could decide if she’d only imagined that look in his eyes or if it had been real.

Emily stared after him. Would he ever tell her about himself or would he forever remain a mystery? Had he been acting just now? Or had that really been him?

Another thought struck her. How did he have time to run this animal clinic and be an actor at the same time? Was he finished with acting now? Had he hired her and Peter to run the place when he was gone on set? She and Peter wouldn’t be allowed to work unsupervised until they’d obtained the necessary hours of internship and received their state license.

Sebastian came back out of the food storage room. His arms were empty. Had he gone in there just to get away from her?

“I, um, hope this doesn’t sound too nosy.”

He paused at her words, glancing down at her.

Heat crept into her cheeks. “I was wondering why you need another vet here. Are you finished with acting or do you have more patients now than you can handle?”

He hesitated, staring at something behind her. “We need another vet to help with the influx of new patients, as it’s becoming more than one vet can handle.” He paused, his gaze darting to hers. “I finished filming my last movie six months ago.”

Oh.
She hadn’t known that. “So you’re officially retired from acting?”

“Not officially. I haven’t made the announcement yet.”

Sebastian shoved open the door and went out into the main office area. Emily hesitated, then followed.

Julia was behind the front desk, typing something on the computer.

Sebastian glanced at the clock on the wall. He scowled at Julia. “Peter’s late again?”

Julia shrugged. “He’s a
distant
relative. I can’t control the boy.”

Sebastian turned that striking gaze to Emily. “By the way, it looks like you’re going to have to be our vet tech until we can find a new one. That okay with you? That means you will be in charge of cleaning the kennels, walking the dogs…”

“I’ll do whatever you need until my internship ends. Then I expect you to treat me like a real vet.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes, followed by admiration. His lips twitched. “Duly noted. I’ve been impressed with your performance so far. I have no doubt you will do well at whatever you decide to take on in life.”

Emily’s cheeks heated at the compliment.

He turned back to Julia, who was trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. “If Peter decides to show up, give him a warning. Tell him if he’s late one more time, he’s done.”

That seemed a little harsh, though Emily conceded she was more forgiving than most people. And she’d never owned a business before, so she had no idea how she would react in Sebastian’s situation. He obviously needed reliable employees. She vowed she would never be late.