Page 8 of Knight's Desire

“I know I sound crazy, but I promise it’s just fatigue and stress. Nothing more.”

Parker reached over to grasp her hand. He squeezed it gently before releasing it to keep both hands on the wheel. “You’re not crazy. Like you said, the cologne was probably from something your cleaning crew used. The flowers were likely from a client who forgot to sign the card, but because you don’t know who they’re from, it made you a little suspicious. Once we get you fed, you can turn in early. A good night’s sleep, and you’ll feel like a new woman.”

She ran her hand up and down his arm. “Why don’t you stay over tonight? We can turn in early together. I think we could both use a good night’s sleep.”

Parker would likely want to do more than sleep if he stayed over, and she had no complaints with that. But what appealed to her most was falling asleep in his arms, their bodies nestled together. Their sex life was active and enjoyable, but they only slept at each other’s place on occasion. They kept different work schedules, so they agreed spending the entire night separately made sense. Tonight, she was willing to make an exception, so she wouldn’t have to be alone.

“It sounds great, baby, but since you’re turning in early, I think I’ll finish up some more work at home. You don’t mind, do you?”

Parker was a popular commercial realtor, and she knew what a big deal this week was for him. He’d confided in her over the weekend that he was on the verge of closing a major real estate deal with a company looking to relocate its corporate headquarters. Negotiations and paperwork were enough to keep him snowed under for the week, so she was pleased to spend any amount of time with him that he could spare.

Hope shook her head. “Of course not. I understand. Let’s just relax and enjoy Mama Bella’s. I see a big plate of chicken marsala in my future.”

He chuckled. “Your wish is my command.”

The conversation faded, and she tilted her head to gaze out the window. Disappointment tried to creep in, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t allow herself to resent Parker’s work when his commitment to his job was one of the things she liked most about him. His work ethic was something they shared and bonded over. He never made her feel like owning a bridal shoppe was less than his work as a realtor. She’d once dated a man who told her she spent too much time with her “adolescent drawings” and refused to listen to her talk about her dream of designing bridal gowns. That relationship hadn’t lasted long at all.

Her relationship with Parker was far from perfect, but what relationship was? They were both young professionals who wanted to focus on their careers and wanted a significant other who understood why that was important. Parker was a good man. Hope imagined introducing him to her family at some point in the future, and she had no doubts they would adore him as she did.

Her brow furrowed as a sudden thought gave her pause. Her life was as close to perfect as she could hope. She was in a healthy relationship with a sweet man. Her business was taking off. She just had her first designs created to sell. All was good in her world, something she hadn’t been able to claim in a long time. Could that be why her paranoia was messing with her? Was she searching for something to go wrong in her life because it usually did?

Get a grip! Stop looking for trouble where there’s not any, she chastised herself. If she wasn’t careful, she would ruin all the positive things going on in her life, and she refused to be that person.

With a new resolve, she smiled to see the restaurant’s sign appear in the distance. She was determined to enjoy the dinner with Parker and an evening alone of pampering herself with a long hot bath and a good book.

Chapter Four

Brick guided the bar back to its perch over his head, his muscles easing from the release of the weights. Sweat beaded and fell in rivulets down the sides of his head. He pushed himself off the weight bench and accepted the towel Sam offered him. Swiping the moisture from his face and the back of his neck, he reached for the bottle of water he’d placed on the floor before he did his set.

He downed half the bottle before he noticed Sam watching him. “What?”

“You ready to tell me why you asked me to work out with you this morning?”

Brick took another swig and replaced the cap. “If you didn’t want to be here, you could have just said so.”

Sam scowled. “You think I don’t know what’s going on? I know Jay talked to you. If he didn’t, I’m guessing Rock did. And you’re wondering why I didn’t tell you. Just admit it already.”

Brick stood and used his towel to wipe down the weight bench. He tossed his towel at Sam, who caught it against his chest. “Work out or don’t work out. Talk to me or don’t. I’m your friend, not your mother.”

Brick turned to pick up a barbell and started arm curls. He didn’t have to wait long for Sam’s response. Sam stepped into his line of sight, his trim frame dwarfed by Brick’s tall, broad one. His hair was slicked back from his forehead with sweat, and his mouth turned down in a frown.

“Really? You want to play mind games or reverse psychology with me? I expected better from you.”

Brick chose to ignore the challenge in Sam’s tone. He chuckled as he continued his reps. “There must be something to it if you’re so worked up.”

Sam exhaled, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “Dammit, if you want to know, I only asked Jay and Rock to keep me in mind if there were any possibilities of adding to the teams. I’ve missed being a part of a team since I stepped down, and now that Aidan is a little older, I want back in. That’s all.”

Brick was a little surprised to hear his friend talk about missing the special ops team. When his cover was blown on his last case, he’d been beaten to near death before the Alpha Team found him. Monica had been pregnant with Aidan at the time, and his close call freaked her out enough to demand he make a change. Sam never seemed to look back after that. Monica and Aidan made him happy, and what little action he saw when backed up the Alpha or Delta teams was enough to squelch any cravings for excitement.

Brick replaced the bar bell. “And how does Monica feel about that?”

Fury burned in Sam’s eyes. “Monica lost her right to feel anything about what I do.”

Brick slapped his friend on his back. “I think the workout’s over. Come on. I’ll buy you a smoothie.”

Hoping to give Sam a chance to calm down before they talked, he led his friend out of their corner of Knight and Day Fitness Center over to the juice bar. They raised a hand in greeting as they passed by the gym’s owner, Travis Knight. As Tristin’s twin brother, Travis offered up his fitness center to all the employees of KSI, especially the team members and investigators who had to stay in shape for their cases. The fitness center was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, so they were able to take advantage of the state-of-the-art equipment at any time. They counted Travis as one of the KSI family because of not only his relation to their boss but also the times he filled in at the Command Center during missions or when they were short on analysts.

Sam and Brick settled at the juice bar as far from other patrons as possible to keep their conversation private. They sipped their protein smoothies in silence until Sam had time to reset his anger.

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