Page 22 of Knight's Desire

Hope smiled. “Thank you. It seems inadequate for all you did for me, but it’s all I’ve got.”

“Thank you is not necessary. We’re essentially neighbors, and we’re glad we could help. Take care of yourself.”

“Thank you. Have a great day.”

Hope ended the call and immediately saved the number in her contacts. She wished she knew Gen’s full name, but it didn’t matter. Having someone take her fears seriously and offer to help her feel safe meant more than she could say. The gesture was what she needed to bolster her courage. She unplugged her single-serve coffee pot, rinsed off her mug in the sink and grabbed her keys and purse.

She scanned the neighborhood as she secured the door behind her. All was quiet with a hint of activity as her neighbors went about their days. She detected no sign of trouble or danger. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled out of her driveway and drove toward work.

∞∞∞

“Maybe we should drive by her place anyway. Just to make sure.”

Gennessey grinned. “She said she’s fine. Stop being all protective and chauvinistic. She was honest enough to tell me how she felt, so if she wanted our help, I think she would have said so.”

Brick glared at his colleague. “So you think last night was just a carjacking attempt and nothing more?”

“I think we don’t have evidence to suggest anything else. You’re worrying for nothing. If you’d just called her instead of having me do it, you would have heard for yourself that she sounds alright.”

“I asked you to call her because you already established a rapport with her. I might have just freaked her out more if I had called.”

Gennessey stood from her seat across from Brick’s desk in his office at KSI. “You’ve reviewed the security footage. You read the police report from the break-in. Nothing tied the two together. There’s no evidence to suggest something dangerous is happening here. Instead of trying to find a connection that doesn’t exist, just ask Hope out already.”

She turned to leave, but Brick stopped her before she crossed through the open doorway. “Wait. What did you just say?”

She whirled back around, hands on her hips, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “You heard me. I don’t think you believe for a second there’s anything sinister about all of this. You’re looking for excuses to insert yourself in her life because she got under your skin. I’m saying stop hiding behind pretense and ask her out like you want to.”

“That’s not what this is.”

She rolled her eyes. “Keep telling yourself that, but you’ll never convince me that’s true.”

“You’re off base. Even if I wanted to ask her out, she has a boyfriend, remember?”

“She has a douche for a boyfriend. You are ten times better than that guy, so what makes you think she wouldn’t be open to dating someone who treats her right? If she’s not, then she deserves her asshole boyfriend.”

Gennessey made her dramatic exit, and Brick ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He didn’t know why he was hellbent to convince her he wasn’t interested in Hope Robertson. He was. He’d thought about her long after he had gotten home last night. He dreamed about her. She was even on his mind when he woke. It irked him to admit it to himself, but Gennessey was right. Hope got under his skin. More than any woman had in a long time or maybe ever.

He had a plan to move on from whatever spell she had him under. He would come into work, find a lead as to who harassed her, shut the person down, earn her undying gratitude and then walk away, satisfied he’d rescued the damsel in distress. Only the video footage hadn’t offered a lead. The license plate on the truck that Zane ran down showed the truck had been stolen, and the deputies found it abandoned in an empty lot on the other side of town. The police report of the break-in held nothing of substance, and he could see why the deputies had their doubts that anything was amiss. If he hadn’t seen the truck with his own eyes or hadn’t seen Hope upset and afraid, he may have dismissed everything without further thought.

Gennessey thought his instincts were warped by his attraction to Hope, but he had more faith in his gut than that. Something was off. He wasn’t certain she was in danger, but he believed someone was purposely messing with her. He didn’t know why, and he wouldn’t be able to let it rest until he discovered a reason.

His phone chirped, and he tapped the alert on his screen. The video feed from the camera he had pointed at the Bridal Shoppe showed Hope arriving to work. Since he was alone in his office, away from prying eyes, he studied her in the all-black outfit that showcase her curves in a classy way that had his heart pounding. Her skirt hugged her luscious ass, and her heels spurred X-rated fantasies featuring Hope in his bedroom wearing nothing but those heels. He could imagine her shapely legs wrapped around his waist as he pounded into her, and the image had his cock jerk impatiently behind the zipper of his jeans.

Without another thought, he stood and took the back stairs from his office to the side exit from KSI. He moved to the back entrance Hope had used to step inside her store and knocked lightly, hoping the intrusion didn’t frighten her. He could hear her heels clicking on the floor moments before she opened the door. Brick was engulfed in her scent — light and floral and all Hope. She eyed him curiously, her lips curved in a half smile that had him fisting his hands tightly to keep from pulling her into a heated kiss.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “Brick, isn’t it? Do you want to come in?”

“You shouldn’t open the door when you don’t know who’s out here.” If he could, he would have kicked his own ass. Of all the things he could have said when standing face-to-face with the prettiest woman he’d ever seen, scolding her should have been last on the list.

Her grin widened. “I saw you through the window when you crossed the alley. Come in. I have a fresh pot of coffee brewing.”

He stepped through the door and felt his skin start to itch. Rows and rows of white, gauzy material surrounded him. Hope motioned for him to follow, and he kept his eyes on his boots so he wouldn’t step on any of the delicate dresses and ruin them. Moving through to the main salon didn’t sooth his unease. Mannequins dressed in different styles of white were placed strategically around the salon, and a couple of pedestals and sofas occupied the open spaces. Everything was clean and feminine, and Brick felt as out of place as a lumberjack at a ballet recital.

“My office is through here.”

He hadn’t meant to stay for any period of time, but she didn’t give him a chance to tell her that. She disappeared into another room, and Brick had no choice but to follow.

“How do you take your coffee?”

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