Page 28 of Knight's Fall

“Well, now that I know the secret, I just have one more question. What’s your real name?” The question barely crossed her lips before another yawn took over, opening her mouth wide enough to crack her jaw.

“I think that’s my cue to say goodnight. I never meant to keep you so long. I only meant to return the earring.”

He braced his hand on top of his cane and moved to stand. Her hands shot out to grasp his arm. Electricity shot through her fingers and raced up her arms to shock her heart into pounding. The impact startled her enough for her to drop her hands, but one rested against her chest as she wondered if he could hear her thundering heartbeat. It echoed in her ears, and she had an absurd notion that she could be having a heart attack at the absolute worst time possible. Not that there was ever a good time, but having one while she was connecting with Sexy Neighbor was the worst. Would she be the first case in the history of the world to have a heart attack from touching the man she was crushing on?

“Courtlyn?”

She realized she just sat there staring at him like an idiot. She blinked several times and cleared her throat to buy herself time. Whatever she’d meant to say had fled from her mind the minute she felt the spark from touching Wings. Then she blurted the first words that popped into mind.

“As tired as I am, I won’t be able to sleep if you don’t tell me. You wouldn’t be a good Southern gentleman if you left me in suspense.”

“Sweetheart,” he drawled, “I never said I was a gentleman, but if you must know…”

He bent at his waist, his injured leg propped on the step beside her. When his face hovered over hers, he spoke low and deep. “My name is Griffin. Griffin Tyler.”

Then his lips lightly brushed against her forehead, and he pulled back to stand. Her skin tingled from his touch, and she was no longer feeling tired. She felt renewed, like his kiss, as brief as it was, breathed vitality into her.

“Go on inside, Courtlyn. Lock the door behind you. I’ll wait here until I know you’re safe inside.”

“Y-you don’t have to…um, do that, wait for me, I mean.” Her voice sounded strange to her ears, low and husky.

“I don’t have to, but I will. Goodnight, Courtlyn.”

“Goodnight, Griffin. I mean, Wings.”

She forced herself to rise, and she prayed she wouldn’t stumble as she crossed the porch to her front door. She didn’t look back until she was inside. When she did, he was standing in her yard just as he said.

Raising her hand in a little wave, she closed the door and locked it. Then she turned to brace her back against the door. Her legs started to shake, and she slid down to the floor. Her fingers lightly touched her forehead, and she smiled.

Then she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and tapped the name at the top of her recent call list.

“Liv. You will never guess what just happened to me. My good luck was shining bright tonight.”

Chapter Fourteen

The pounding on the front door jerked Wings awake, and he reached for the gun he kept in his nightstand. The military had trained him to be a light sleeper, but since his surgery, he’d enjoyed a deeper slumber, especially since he had no reason to rise early. The drawback from sleeping so soundly was being disoriented when he first woke. It only took him a couple of seconds to realize he was under no threat, but he did debate taking his gun to scare off whoever decided to pound on his door at…

His blurry eyes focused on the time shining on his cell phone. 6:20 a.m.Shit!Whoever was at the door better be near death to get him out of bed so early.

Tossing the covers to the side, he planted his feet on the floor and reached for a pair of shorts he’d tossed on the floor when he went to bed last night. He stood and winced at the ache in his leg. He had advanced in his therapy enough not to need his cane if he was moving about the house. Stiffness crept in overnight, requiring him to take a few minutes to adjust before he was moving right again. Using the walls and door frames to brace himself, he hobbled to the door and threw it open with a growl.

“Good morning to you too. Love the hair by the way.” Isobel breezed through the door, not at all intimidated by the imposing figure he presented when he was in a bad mood. Quick on her heels was the full-grown German Shepherd who shadowed her at every opportunity.

Wings spent a lot of time trying to win Mo over. He’d shown up on Isobel’s doorstep one day, a stray and just a puppy in need of care. She’d trained the German Shepherd to be a solid investigative tool, so his loyalty to her as his handler was unshakable. But Mo also had trust issues when it came to men. At least that had been true in Wings’ case. Not so much with Isobel’s boyfriend Egan, whom Mo had taken to right away.

Isobel had always found a perverse amount of amusement that Mo hated Wings for a long time, but the two managed to find a mutual respect for each other over the years. As grumpy as he was feeling, Wings couldn’t stop himself from scratching behind Mo’s ears. The dog leaned into Wings’ palm, his wagging tail showing his pleasure at the attention.

“He doesn’t have any vet visits or anything coming up, so all you should have to do is feed and walk him, which will be good therapy for you too.” Isobel patted the bag hanging from her shoulder before she moved into the kitchen. “Try to limit the people food you give him. Too much messes with his digestion, and then you’ll end up having to take him to the vet. I have enough food to last you the next few days, but just let me know if you have to get more, and I’ll pay you back. I also brought some of his favorite toys to keep him occupied when you have to rest.”

Mo walked beside Wings as he followed Isobel. He settled on a chair at his table, his hands rubbing his eyes to help shake off the last remnants of sleep. He felt a warm, heavy lump on his feet and opened his eyes to see Mo lying across them as if they were his favorite place to lay.

“I don’t remember you asking me to watch Mo for you.”

Isobel unpacked the bag and placed everything on the counter before turning to him with a smile. “I didn’t. But you’re not doing anything, so I figured why not? I’ll be gone with the team on the mission for a few days, and I didn’t have time to drive Mo to Charlottesville for Egan to watch him. I could have asked Jordan and Stella to watch him, but I think this is more fun, don’t you?”

Any other time, she would have asked KSI’s security guard Jordan Raines and his wife Stella to watch Mo, and the German Shepherd would have been excited to do so. The Raineses spoiled him whenever he stayed with them, so Wings would be a poor substitute.

“I know what you’re doing. I didn’t realize you felt so sorry for me that you felt you had to use dog therapy to keep me from going off the deep end.”

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