I hoped the threat was over, I hoped Mo was off somewhere, having a quiet conversation or tying up loose ends.
But I should be prepared.
And with him gone, I had to admit, I was a little freaked.
He’d never leave me, unless it was safe to do that.
Still, he’d been around every day. I was used to him. Ilikedbeing used to him. And the situation was fraught.
So yeah.
I was a little freaked.
I moved silently back to the bedroom and assessed my options for a weapon, just in case.
I could use a shoe, though if I did actually have to use it, that would include getting in close proximity of someone I thought was a bad guy.
I didn’t want to do that.
So no shoe.
I had a can of Mace, but that was in my purse which was on the seat of the hall tree downstairs.
I decided to buy some Mace for my nightstand.
And I went with hairspray. A shot in the face might incapacitate somebody long enough I could run away.
I had three different kinds (light hold, medium hold, and super hold).
I decided on super hold.
I uncapped it, put the cap on the counter, stole out of the bathroom and skulked down the hall, then the stairs, thanking God I’d had a thick, buttery-cream carpet runner installed in both.
It was when I hit the wood floors at the bottom I was glad my feet were bare.
I turned, moved through the arch into the living room and stopped dead.
This was because the lights were on in the kitchen and there was a very tall, very muscled dude (not taller or more muscled than Mo, but then again, not many were) standing at my Nespresso machine. He was wearing olive drab cargos and a white T-shirt.
His head was turned to me.
Thick head of silvery-gray hair, even though I could tell by his face he hadn’t lived the years to earn that color.
Too far away to note the color of his eyes.
Totally not too far away to see he was gorgeous.
Undoubtedly one of Hawk’s dudes for no man who looked like this could be a crackpot, or at least I hoped the laws of the universe weren’t that twisted.
“What’s with the hairspray?” he asked.
“To incapacitate you so I can run away,” I told him. “I had a selection and went with super hold.”
“Good choice,” he replied.
“Who are you?”
“Name’s Axl. One of Hawk’s men. Buddy of Mo’s.”