Page 17 of Mountain Protector

“Because of old municipality boundaries, Lark’s address actually falls under the Bliss PD’s jurisdiction,” Officer Quillian answers. “So we’ll be taking on her case.”

“Lark doesn’t need to stay in a hotel,” Knox announces. Still holding my hand, he stands, his height and bulk making him an impressive presence in the room. Turning to me, he says, “You can stay on the Green Mountain Guardians’ property. It’s extremely secure, with twenty-four-hour camera surveillance andunscalable perimeter fences. It even has a drone detection system. So you would be totally safe there.”

“What?” I gape at him for a few seconds before asking, “But… where would I actually stay? I know Enzo lives there, but?—”

“We have cabins,” he replies with a smile. “Safe houses, really.” Pride tinges his voice as he adds, “I built them. There are two so far, and neither are occupied. So you could stay there.”

“How secure?” my dad asks.

“One of our men owns a security system company. Alec Emerson. You may have heard of it. Stowe Security Systems? He installed everything for us.”

“I have.” With an approving nod, my dad glances back at me. “But what doyouthink?”

Honestly, I’m not sure. If Knox says the property is safe, I believe him. But the idea of staying in a strange place by myself… I wouldn’t have hesitated before. But now…

Knox takes a step closer to my bed and takes my hand in both of his. His eyes burn into mine, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “I’ll be there as much as I can, Lark. When I don’t have to work on a construction job, I’ll stick around the property. Sometimes I stay overnight there, anyway, when we’re working on a really demanding case.”

As he holds my gaze, I say, “I don’t want to put you out?—”

“You won’t.”

“What about everyone else? Will they be okay with me staying there?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” There’s no hesitation. “We dosecurity jobs for companies, but that’s only half our business. The other part is protecting people who need it. Like you. I am positive everyone will be okay with it.”

He hurries to add, “It’s really nice. Enzo’s girlfriend, Winter, lives there. She’s great, and I know she’d love to meet you after hearing me—” He stops and the tips of his ears go pink. “Anyway. I’ll be there a lot, and the rest of the team, and sometimes we have big dinners or game nights, so you’d be invited, of course…”

Is there a hopeful note to his voice? Or is my fatigued mind just inventing things?

Either way, it seems pretty clear what my answer should be.

“Yes.” My fingers tighten around his. “Thank you, Knox. I would really like to stay there.”

CHAPTER 4

KNOX

It’s hard to keep my eyes off her.

I could tell myself it’s just because I’m worried, but that would be a lie.

Yes, I am concerned about Lark. How could I not be? Someone broke into her house and shot her less than twelve hours ago.

A manshother. The doctors can say it’s a relatively minor wound and she’ll only end up with a small scar, but it doesn’t feel minor to me. Any injury would be terrible, but this?

It’s unacceptable.

As I bandaged Lark’s arm back at my house, biting my tongue to keep from cursing at the sight of her pale skin covered with blood, she told me how she ducked just before the gun went off, instinct telling her a moving target was better than a stationary one.

She was right.

But shit.

If she hadn’t moved…

Shit.

So the bullet wound—that still sounds so damn wrong—would be enough to make me worry. But on top of that, Lark was traumatized. I can’t even imagine the terror she must have felt, hearing the noise and going to investigate, coming face-to-face with someone intent on hurting her. Someone who shot her. Ran after her, at least as far as the edge of the woods, the police said.

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