Page 25 of Knot Innocent

He reaches around me to grab a sticky note and pen from my desk. “If you see this car following you again, call me immediately.”

Bastien scribbles a number down and hands the note to me. While his words were pure caveman, his tone and his eyes are full of genuine concern. It’s like he’s pleading with me for my own safety. Under the power of his stare, I can only take the note and offer a simple promise. “I will.”

Bastien

Birdie closes the small slip of paper in her fist. I breathe her in while we’re this close, knowing I’ll berate myself for it later. “We’re partners in this now. Neither one of us makes a move without the other. I’ll need to get some things straightened out in the morning, so I won’t see you until later in the day.”

Then, before I give in to the urge to taste her sweet lips, I turn and walk out of Birdie’s house. Taking deep breaths to clear her scent from my head, I wait on the porch until I hear the door lock click and finally march to my truck.

The powerful engine rumbles to life, but I don’t go far. After rounding a nearby block a couple of times, I return to Birdie’s street with my lights off and park at an empty lot a few houses down. Someone was following Birdie forty-eight hours ago. Birdie thought it was me, so she hasn’t been looking for a stalker. I am, and I’m staying in case he shows up.

Since my weekend has just been booked, I pop in my earbuds, dial a memorized number, and put the phone on the seat, screen side down, to douse the light.

“Bash. Twice in one week? How did I get so lucky?”

“Shut up, Bennett.”

“Ooh. Last names? This must be serious.”

Ignoring Jackson’s sarcasm, I get right to the point. “I know I said I would try, but I won’t make it this weekend. The woman I told you about? I think somebody’s after her. I’ll be trying to catch the bastard.”

“Whoa. Wait. Back up. Let’s take a minute to discuss this complete one-eighty you just pulled. You’re hot for a mystery woman you thought was trouble but apparently do not any longer. Before we unpack the rest of this shit, I want to know who she is and what exactly has been happening.”

I’m reluctant to give her up, but this is Jackson, Clothespin, my best friend and Navy SEAL. If I can’t trust him, I can’t trust anybody. I take a deep breath and answer on the exhale, “Birdie Crenshaw.”

Jackson makes a choking sound but is otherwise quiet for several seconds. “You’ve gotta be shitting me. Knot’s right hand? I don’t know Crenshaw personally, but I heard about her work to help pull Fish’s squad out of hell in Estonia. Not to mention her hands-on role in saving the pregnant wife of one of his squad guys. And you suspected her… of anything? Damn. You’d have to be paranoid or stupid to speak against that woman.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m an idiot, but I wasn’t completely wrong. Birdie is leading a secret life nobody knows about, but I don’t understand why. What she’s doing is nothing she should have to hide.”

When I fail to continue, Jackson complains, “The suspense is killing me, Laurent.”

“I need you to keep this between us because she doesn’t want Knot to find out. The woman is a legal vigilante, hunting pedophiles on her off time. I only found out because I happened to show up right before a meetup and stepped in when an asshole got physical.”

Again, Jackson spends a silent moment forming his words. “Forgive me, but I don’t see how anyone could read a damsel in distress situation as the damsel being guilty of something. You did initially suspect her of something?”

“Yes, dammit, but shut up. I didn’t give you all the details of what I saw, but they don’t matter now anyway. I was wrong. Birdie hunts monsters, and based on what I’ve just learned, it could be that one of the monsters found out and wants her stopped.”

“And you’re not gonna let that happen.”

“No, I’m fucking not.”

Jackson huffs a sort of amused sound. “You really have fallen for this woman, haven’t you?”

I don’t answer because no matter what comes out of my mouth, I know what would come out of his. “I plead the fifth because I don’t feel like arguing with you. This was just supposed to be a courtesy call because I won’t be there this weekend.”

“Like you would have shown up anyway,” he grumbles before hanging up.

With the call over, I remove the earbuds and settle in to watch for a while. The night rolls on, and traffic on the street thins to nonexistent. At ten, the only movement is the flickering light in the gas lanterns lining the street.

By midnight, Birdie’s house has gone dark, and there’s been no sign of a blue sedan. It was a long shot, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stake the place out for a while.

I crank my truck and set off toward home, planning to go on the offensive tomorrow.

Spatch looks up from his desk when I enter, his brows lifting in surprise at someone seeking him out before necessary. “Can I do something for you, Laurent?”

Piper lifts her head off her dog bed but doesn’t move to greet me. Though the Sable Malinois seems calm, she’d kill me in seconds if I made a threatening move toward Spatch.

“I’m giving Birdie self-defense lessons, and she needs a little more power behind her punches. I’d appreciate it if you would write her a strength training regimen.”

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