“Uh, wait a second.” Conner blinked and raised both eyebrows. “A vampire? Like for real?”
“I know…” Jillian frowned. “I thought Eden was a weird name for a guy, too.”
“That is so not what I was thinking.” Conner gestured stiffly.
“I need to get into my father’s office before he gets up.” Jillian rushed over to her closet and started throwing on an outfit. “I need to get all the dirt I can on him, destroy his computer along with all the hard copies of the signed documents for the drilling permit, and then get the fuck out without getting caught by my dad’s evil minions.”
“I told you.” Conner beamed. “All good ideas are preceded by a good distraction.”
“The only problem is going to be getting past minion number one who’s lurking out in the hall.”
“Are you serious?” Conner simpered. “That’s a piece of cake.”
“How do you figure?” Jillian’s eyes darted to the door then back to Conner.
“Why don’t we just climb around the outside to his office window?” He rubbed his chin. “You must have a vague idea as to where it is.”
That made Jillian stop and think.
“How’d you know which room was mine?” She tilted her head.
“I guess it’s a feeling that pulls me toward you.” He walked up to her and ran his fingers from her shoulder to her elbow. And when I get close enough, I recognize your smell.”
“You can’t smell me.” She gave him a playful shoulder shove.
“Yeah, I can.” He grinned. “Even under all that…” He inhaled through his nose. “Tea tree, rose oil, and… bergamot?”
“What do I smell like?” Her smile relaxed as she softly bit the inside of her bottom lip.
“I guess.” His brow wrinkled as he contemplated. “It’s kind of sweet, like how a new baby smells. I mean, when they’re all clean and haven’t…”
“Stop talking.” She giggled, cupping her hand over his mouth.
“Sorry.” He shrugged. “It was the closest thing I could think of.”
“How does one avoid falling in love with someone?” She swayed gently, looking up into his starry blue eyes.
“I think I’m probably the least qualified person to ask.” He swallowed. “I already feel like I’ve known you forever.”
Quieting the butterflies in her stomach, she grabbed her backpack and stuffed a few outfits inside. She carefully packed the soft clothing items around her computer and the thumb drive. The last thing she wanted was for either of those things to get damaged. Conner held out his hand and took the pack to put it on.
“You’re wobbly enough without something to throw you off balance.” He winked as she followed him outside onto the balcony. Hopping onto the railing, he reached for the roof and pulled himself without much effort. Jillian took a deep breath, climbing onto the railing, she teetered, putting her arms out to the sides as she slowly stood up and reached for his outstretched hand.
She made the mistake of looking down as she reached for him and almost toppled backward off the ledge. He caught her by the arm and hauled her up, pulling her to his chest. Heart still racing, she nodded to him, acknowledging that she was okay before they continued up to the highest point of the roof.
Peeking over the ridge, she noted the security guard that was patrolling the courtyard.
“How many of them are there?” Conner mouthed.
Jillian held up seven fingers, and he nodded. One at her door and one in the courtyard meant there would be five more wandering around the grounds. Panic welled in her throat as two guards walked toward each other down below them.
“Shh.” He put his hand on her chest, lying flat against the roof, nodding for her to do the same.
She obeyed, lying perfectly still until they passed one another. They must have been patrolling the perimeter of the house.
That’s four minions accounted for. She thought to herself. That means two more were running around somewhere.
Conner looked one direction and then the other before getting up and waving for Jillian to follow him. They moved along, crouching and stepping as lightly as they could. As they moved around the base of one of the eastern towers, Jillian’s feet slipped out from under her. Her chin smacked into the hard surface as she rolled twice, then slid face-first over the edge.
“Shit!” she blurted out.
Conner dove, catching her by the ankle, nearly going over himself. Dangling upside down, Jillian craned her neck back to look at the ground, fifty feet below.
“Jesus, woman.” He groaned, pulling her up. “We should assume that someone heard that. They’re going to be checking on you any minute.”
“Then, we need to move fast.” She panted. “His office window is at the northwest corner.”
All right, well, we need to get off this roof.” He nodded to the windows in the tower. “If I heard something on the roof, that’s where I’d go to check it out.”
“Okay.” She looked up at the tower, and the light inside flickered on. “Shit. The power must have just come back on. We’re out of time.”
They climbed down the stone molding and held on for dear life as they moved along decorative trim just above the second story. The casting was only about six inches wide, so they had to face the wall and slide along sideways on their toes. When they finally found themselves over the corner window, they looked at each other.
“How do we get down?” She frowned, clinging to the wall. “My legs are shaking.”
“Don’t be scared, okay?” He nodded earnestly before suddenly dropping off the ledge, causing Jillian to have another mini-heart attack. As soon as the initial shock wore off,
