Page 13 of Silver Secrets

“Absolutely not, Red.” He stepped out around her, sliding her in safely behind his back. Gage squared his shoulders and held out his hand to stop the man’s approach.

“Let me get this straight. You put your hands on the good doc here today and then you waited around for her to leave the office, standing by her car to corner her, for what purpose?”

“I-I just… shit, I know how this looks. I just really respect Sloane and needed to apologize. I never meant to hurt her.”

“But you did. She’s made it clear you’re not welcome at this practice.”

His head dipped down. “She did.”

“Okay. Then this is where you leave. And if I ever see you near here, or trying to interact with Dr. Donovan again, I will call the police and press charges for harassment, after I put you on your ass.”

The man stood staring at him. “This is the part where you leave,David.” The asshole had the nerve to look apologetic and stunned at the same time.

“Right. I am really sorry.”

Gage slid his hand around Sloane’s back, keeping her tucked into his side that was farther away from the creep, and walked her to her car. He didn’t miss the way her body jolted at his touch. Gage couldn’t just let her be so vulnerable to someone else. It was safer to keep her tucked into him, and he’d apologize later.

“You didn’t have to be so forceful with him,” she said as they stopped at her car.

“Guys like that won’t take a subtle hint, Sloane. You already tried that when you told him to leave your office the first time. And I was serious when I said I’ll press charges against him. What I didn’t say is that I’ll gladly choke him out if he even comes within fifty yards of you again.”

“Gage!”

“Won’t apologize for protecting you, Red.” His hand slid down to the handle and pulled, opening the driver side door for her. “How about I follow you home to make sure you get there safe and sound?”

“No. I’m fine.” She sighed. “Thank you for…” her hand waved in front of her. “All of that.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll make sure the other guys know to keep an eye out for him.”

“I appreciate it.” Sloane slid into the driver’s seat, her arms falling limp at her side.

“Sloane? You okay?”

He watched her take a deep breath, nodding as she started her car. She reached out to shut her door, but she must have realized he was still standing in the way of it closing. Gage took two steps back, his hand resting on the door.

“Have a good night,” he said as he closed her in.

* * *

“What’s got you in such a bad mood tonight?” Stone asked as he handed Gage a beer. They’d been watching the first period of a hockey game, but Gage couldn’t focus. He’d given up five minutes in, pulling out his phone to start doing some digging on Sloane’s patient. He’d felt Stone’s eyes on him from time to time, but his buddy must have finally gotten fed up with him.

“Sorry, man. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. Some guy put his hands on Sloane today. Then stayed around in the parking lot waiting for her to walk to her car.”

Stone pulled the bottle away from his mouth. “What the fuck? Is she okay?”

“Seems like it. She was more pissed that I made her tell me the guy's name so I could look into him and make sure his information was in our system. Figure we can flag him and just make sure he doesn’t come back around the building.”

“Christ. Sloane is so goddamn skittish, I’m surprised she wasn’t panicking.”

“I think she was putting on a brave face for me.”

“Probably.”

“Look, I appreciate you inviting me over, but I’m not going to be able to focus until I look more into this guy. And I should probably check on Cookie, too. She was acting a little off when I got home.”

“Yeah, of course. Let me know if you need any help with the Sloane stuff.”

Gage smiled at Stone. “What about with Cookie?” He knew his friend had an irrational fear of dogs, and couldn’t help but laugh when he shook his head.

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