Page 5 of Echo

Violet’s brow furrowed, and she cocked her head to the side. “Pardon? Take down Jeff?”

“Yeah. He’s dangerous, and he’s fucked over the wrong people. We’re gonna nail his ass to the wall, and it will go a fuck of a lot faster if I’m as close to him as possible.”

She raised her eyebrows and pointed at the floor. “Here?”

Grinning, I took a step closer, forcing her back against the counter, then caged her in by resting a hand on both sides. “Can’tget any closer than next door, and you’ve given me the perfect opportunity. I’m thinking it’s a fair trade,” I said with a wink.

“A trade for what?”

“I get to use your proximity to your neighbor, and you get him to stay away from you by thinking you have a live-in boyfriend.”

“I see your point,” she conceded.

My smile faded, replaced by a frown as I explained the situation. “Jeff is a conman. He’s been praying on women with money, getting close and then stealing everything they’ve got.”

Violet rubbed her lips together as she digested what I’d told her. “No wonder I always got such a creepy vibe from him when he hit on me,” she murmured.

My hands clenched into fists at her comment. It wasn’t like I hadn’t known he was pursuing her, but it still made me furious to hear it out loud.

Her expression turned puzzled, and she asked, “But why is he bothering with me? I’m not rich.”

I hesitated to tell her my conclusion, knowing it would probably freak her out. Still, it honestly seemed the best route, especially if it kept her guard up around Jeff.

“I don’t think it’s about money, baby,” I told her softly.

“What else could it be?” Her genuine confusion made me frown. Didn’t she know how gorgeous she was?

I gestured up and down her body. “Your sexy-as-fuck body, for starters.”

Violet’s cheeks turned adorably red as she dropped her eyes to my chest. “It’s not that I’m unhappy with how I look. But I don’t think guys…”

She trailed off when I put a finger beneath her chin and raised her head so she was staring at my face. “Trust me, Violet.”

Her blush deepened, and her dimples appeared, her eyes sparkling with pleasure when she nodded. “Okay.” After a fewseconds, her nose wrinkled as her expression soured. “You think he wants to date me? Ew.”

I chuckled and barely resisted the urge to brush a kiss across her plump lips. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him get near you.”

Violet’s eyes swept down my body before meeting mine again, and she snickered, her smile making her sexy dimples deepen. “I doubt he’ll try anything if he thinks you’re my man.” Damn, I loved the sound of that. “I mean…a huge, badass, sexy biker guy seems like the sort he would run away from.”

“You think I’m sexy?” I asked with a smirk.

She scoffed, “Like you don’t know that. I’m sure you have women falling all over themselves to be with you.”

“Only interested in what you think, baby. Don’t give a fuck about anyone else.” I grinned when she blushed again and teased, “I’ll trust you not to try to take advantage of me while I’m crashing here.”

“So you can get evidence to get Jeff arrested?”

“Actually, we’ve already got enough on him to put him in jail, but we recently realized he’s not the one calling the shots. We set up surveillance so we can get access to the big fish.”

Violet nodded. “That makes sense. Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Needing my apartment to get close to Jeff…that makes sense.” She looked bewildered when she continued, “It doesn’t make sense that I’m actually going to let a stranger move into my apartment.” Her shoulders bounced in a shrug. “Or why I feel so safe with you after meeting you less than ten minutes ago.”

I wanted to tell her it was because she was mine, but I’d wait until I’d moved my shit in so it would be harder for her to run from me.

“Good instincts.”

---