Page 5 of Saved By a Knight

“We?” I raise a brow, growing more intrigued with this man by the second.

“The Knight Riders. My club.” His eyes harden. “There’s too much injustice in this world. Folks who can’t help themselves. Weak, scared. We step in when no one else will.”

“And you aren’t worried something might happen to you?” I cross my arms over my chest.

“Nah, not really. I’m a big boy. I signed up for it. But making the world a better place, one small step at a time, is a life worth living if you ask me.” He cranes his neck to look at me.

This time, his eyes don’t wander. They remain fixed somewhere between my eyes and the bridge of my nose, as if searching my face for an answer my mouth might not give.

“I agree.” It’s the truth. What Knight and his crew are doing is admirable. But I get the feeling that scaring off professors isn’t the bulk of their job description. And it’s those hidden points I don’t know about that would be the worrisome side.

“It’s all just taking out the trash to me.” He smiles, and it looks so natural on his face. But it quickly melts away to the same hardened intensity I first saw on him. “Your teacher … does he give you a lot of trouble?”

It was bound to come up eventually. Straying away from light, airy teasing to the reason Knight’s at my side in the first place. Did it really have to be this damn soon?

“No,” I sigh, fixing my eyes on the ground. “Not yet? I don’t know. I’m new in town, and he hasn’t had much of an opportunity, I guess. But I don’t think he’ll be much of an issue after you set him straight.”

The last part is purely to still the anger brewing inside Knight’s eyes.

“You’d think so.” I feel his hand on my shoulder, and my eyes shoot up to his face. “But you can never be too careful with men like him. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Overly protective, and a reassuring touch. That’s all this is. I really shouldn’t look any deeper into it.

“I understand. I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure nothing else happens.”

“And if it does, you call me.” His face softens around the lips as they lift for a smile. “Night or day, I’ll be there.”

Heat rises to my cheeks at the thought of his card inside my bag.

“Is this an offer you make to every damsel in distress, or are you just this dang smooth?” I tilt my head to the side, feeling the first tick of a naughty smile growing over my face.

“Can’t it be a little bit of both?” He brushes an arm up and down my shoulder before pulling it away. “But let me not keep you. I don’t think she’s very happy with me being this close to the building as is.” His eyes playfully dance toward the guard in front, glaring at the two of us.

“You stay safe out there, okay?” I take my first step away from Knight’s side since he saved me. I almost feel lost without his massive frame towering over me.

He waits for me to get inside before he makes his way back to his motorcycle.

But his departure doesn’t fill me with dread that I’ll never see him again. This is the start of something fun, I knew it from the second we were alone.

And I can’t wait to see where this road leads us.

3

KNIGHT

Three days, I’ve been her tail. Following from the shadows when permitted, and on my bike when they didn’t. And the longer I keep my eyes on her, the happier I am to do it. Personal reasons aside, if she hasn’t noticed me following her around, I can’t risk that she wouldn’t notice someone smaller. Callahan springs to mind, a rat who scurries around with bad intentions. But what scares me most is that he’s too smart to approach her out in the open. Especially now, with me on his case.

He won’t make a move until he knows he can corner her.

And I’m not going to let that happen.

So, I follow her. From dorm to school and back again. Most nights are late. Lora likes to spend time after classes at the library to study longer. I’ve gotta give the girl credit where it’s due. She’s committed to her cause, and it’s incredibly admirable.

Tonight’s different, though. Instead of spending a late night surrounded by books and study notes, Lora took a cab out of our small town and into the big city a half hour’s drive away. Ifollowed on my motorcycle, loving the open road and hard wind beating against my skin. Doing nightly drives in Boulder has the benefit of keeping folks safe, but cruising the highway becomes a luxury I can rarely afford.

But the Knight Riders make it a habit of wearing our colors and taking longer trips at least once a month. Gotta keep our faces in the public eye, lest the world think we’ve gone soft.

Her cab stops outside a restaurant, and she quickly disembarks. The place is too fancy for a get-together with the girls on a wild night out, and with the distance involved, something tells me she’s trying to keep them out of these plans.

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