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Alana’s shoulders relaxed, and her features softened. She had truly believed I wasn’t going to help her. “I guess that depends on you. I’m accustomed to working on my own, but since this situation is unique and I want to have you along, I guess it’d be nice to have your input. Maybe it would make sense for us to get together at the first opportunity your schedule permits, so we can go over everything I’ve collected. I’m not asking you to do more than just what I intend to hire you to do, but I think it’s wise for you to know where I plan to go and who I expect to communicate with. I would imagine that would help you do your job better, wouldn’t it?”

I ignored the fact that she’d mentioned hiring me. We could get into that later. “The more information I have about what I’m walking into, the better. I just finished up a project, so my schedule is wide open now. If you’d like, we can get together tomorrow morning, review everything, and decide on a plan of action.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Unless that doesn’t work for you.”

“That’s perfect. That’s excellent. I don’t start back at the news station until after the doctor removes my stitches next week and clears me. Once that happens, my time is going to be limited, so anything we can do over the next couple of days to get a head start will be great.”

In that moment, it seemed Alana wasn’t the only one who was feeling a sense of relief. I had the feeling this task was going to be an ongoing one. Right now, with what I’d just experienced in my personal life, I was grateful for the work my professionallife provided. I’d do anything to not have the time to sit around and think about how I’d trusted someone who didn’t deserve it.

“Alright, so where would you like to meet? I can come to you, if that’s easier. Or, if you want, you’re more than welcome to bring whatever you’ve got here.”

Focused on her goal, Alana didn’t hesitate. “If meeting here is okay, I think that’d probably be best.”

Fair enough.

I had some concerns about the extent to which Alana wanted to utilize bodyguard services—did she think she was in danger only when she was reporting—but until I had the full scope of the threat tomorrow morning, I wasn’t going to push for too much.

“Here works for me. Does first thing in the morning work for you?”

“I’m moving a little slower with this boot on, but I think I could be here by nine,” she said.

I grinned at her. “Nine it is. And if you’re a few minutes late, don’t worry about it.”

Something that felt a lot like mutual respect and understanding passed between us. Following a beat of silence, Alana spoke. “Thank you, Ty. I really appreciate your willingness to help.”

Shaking my head dismissively, I insisted, “Don’t mention it. Honestly, I’m really glad you stopped in for help. I’m looking forward to it.”

She dipped her chin. “Alright, well, I should probably get out of your hair now. I need to get home and get off this foot for a while.”

“Okay. Do you have your phone on you?”

“I do.”

“I know I gave you my card, but in case something comes up, why don’t you take down my personal number?”

Her eyes widened, an indication she hadn’t expected my offer. “Oh, that’s a good idea.”

After Alana programmed my number into her phone, we both stood and moved toward the door. We’d barely walked out of the conference room when Avalon’s hopeful stare was on us.

And once we were within a few feet of her desk, Alana asked, “Is there some paperwork you need me to fill out? I don’t quite know how this all works.”

Avalon glanced up at me, and I instinctively offered a slight shake of my head. She didn’t miss a beat, returned her attention to Alana, and said, “Nope. Today would be considered just a free consultation. Once I talk to Ty about the scope of services you’ll need, we can get all of that taken care of.”

“Oh, that’s great. I’ll be back in tomorrow morning, so we can take care of everything then, if that’s okay.”

“That’ll work for us.”

Alana gave her a nod, slid her eyes in my direction, and said, “Thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ty.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

With that, she turned and moved toward the door. I took long strides to make it there before her and held the door open. She smiled shyly at me and walked through.

And I found myself watching her as she made her way across the lot and to her car.

Being so caught up in watching her, I forgot to pay attention to where I was and what was happening around me. But the moment I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder, I blinked and returned to reality.

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