Page 40 of Simon Says

“I’m sure lots of men look at you.” Going all serious on her, Mallet said, “You’re hot.”

“Uh…thanks. I think.” Dakota gave a quick glance at the doors, but saw only the regular ebb and flow of traffic. “It was probably my imagination.”

“Well, just in case…” He eased closer. “Why don’t you let me know when you’re ready to leave today, and I’ll walk you out.”

Such a nice offer—a much-appreciated one, too. She could face the threats on her own, but maybe showing off Mallet would be a good deterrent. “Thanks. I just might take you up on that.”

“Good.”

Suddenly Dakota felt another stare, this one not the least threatening. She looked beyond Mallet and found Simon standing there, full of intimidation and strength and sex appeal. He wore no expression at all, and still he managed to look irked.

Mallet must have felt his presence, too, because he stiffened. “Okay, then.” Pretending not to know that Simon stood right behind him, he said, “I’ll see you around.”

He turned, hesitated only a split second in front of Simon, and strode around him as if he had someplace important to be.

Simon let him pass without a word so that he could address Dakota. “You’ll take him up on what?”

“Nothing important.” Simon’s nearness and the impact of his presence set Dakota’s heart to pounding. To cover that reaction, she went on the verbal attack. “I thought you were going to call me after you spoke with Barnaby. I waited up half the night for you.”

The corners of Simon’s mouth lifted. “Most women wouldn’t admit to waiting for a man’s call.”

Most women didn’t have Barnaby Jailer breathing down their necks. “Yeah, well, I’m unique.”

“I noticed.” Gesturing at the door, Simon said, “Why don’t we step outside to talk in private?”

She balked—and he wondered at it.

“Dakota?” He scrutinized her, and given his new mood, he must have come to some conclusions. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Not really.” She wasn’t about to share her deepest darkest secrets. “Let’s talk in here instead.”

“All right.” Simon took her arm and urged her toward the wall. There were others around them, but no one close enough to overhear. “We’ll talk—as soon as you tell me what Mallet offered to do for you, and why you don’t want to go outside.”

“You are so pushy.”

He laughed. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it?”

Dakota had to admit that he had a point. “Look, I already told you, it’s nothing.” She tipped her face up to him and smiled. “Let’s talk instead about your conversation with Barnaby.”

“Sure. After you answer my question.”

Given everything she’d been through, and everything she had to lose, his stubbornness annoyed her. “What do you care, anyway?”

Simon crossed his arms over his chest in a pose she now recognized. Instead of “Sublime,” he should have been nicknamed “Ass” for sheer stubbornness.

“This is ridiculous, Simon. It was nothing.”

“Probably,” he agreed. “So why not tell me?”

“Unbelievable.” Dakota crossed her arms, too. “All right, fine. I thought someone was watching me.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know who,” she lied. “When I looked, all I saw was a car with darkened windows, and no, it wasn’t a car I recognized.”

“But you suspected someone, someone you don’t like or someone you fear, otherwise it wouldn’t have worried you.”

A likely conclusion, she supposed. “You could be right. But some things are none of your business, and this is one of those things.”

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