Page 49 of Koa's Little Girl
“Will you lock that and leave the keys at the office for us to pick up?” Koa asked.
“Yes, sir. You can pick up the keys there,” one workman confirmed.
“Thanks.” Koa ushered her out of the building and back to his truck. He opened the door for her to climb into the cab for the return trip.
She stopped and turned to face him. “I’m going to have to move. I can’t live here ever again,” Giana stated with more fire than he’d seen since they got here.
“Done. Are you off this weekend?”
“Yes.”
“Then we move all your stuff out.”
“It can’t be that easy, Koa. Where am I going to move everything?” Her hands flailed through the air.
“Our basement,” he answered without delay. To reassure her, he reached out to brush his hands over her shoulders and upper arms.
“Your basement?” she echoed, automatically correcting his statement.
“Our basement. This fits into my diabolical plan to have you with me.”
“Koa, what if this doesn’t work out?”
“That won’t happen,” he said. “I wanted to work on your nursery, anyway. When the guys help move you in, I can get them to help me set up a gym downstairs too. You’re really helping me.”
“You’re not going to let me out of your sight after this, are you?”
Koa drew her close and hugged Giana tightly against him. “You’re 100% right. Now, home?”
“Yes. Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER 16
From the safety of Koa’s deck, Giana dealt with the problems weighing her down. Of course, everything had to be a huge hassle. Shaking her head in exasperation, Giana disconnected her call with the apartment complex management. They were doing all they could to help her, but she’d had to work through so many steps to resolve this issue: her contract, the deposit and unit damages, and the clean-up.
Koa’s team had helped so much in clearing out the apartment. There had been little to salvage. Most of her furniture had been slashed. They’d simply set the couch and chairs down by the dumpster with a sign that they were free if someone wanted to reupholster them. Koa had hauled her mattress and box springs to the dumpster when they discovered the intruder had peed all over them.
Giana shuddered. That jerk had marked them like an animal. There was no way she’d ever sleep on those again.
The apartment had cameras scattered around the complex. They’d picked out footage of a non-resident entering her building, but his hat and bulky clothing had prevented the police from getting a clear picture to help in identifying the jerk. Gianahad recognized his vehicle as the one belonging to the man who’d gotten so pissed at her for spacing out in the parking lot and for kissing Koa by his truck.
“You okay, Flame?” Koa asked, flipping burgers on the grill. “I still have those wings if you’d rather have those. I could throw them on, too.”
“Sure, go ahead,” she said offhand, not picking up on Koa’s joke.
“Now I know something is wrong.” He set down his spatula and walked toward her. “I figured hell would freeze over before the fire captain in you would okay me to cook poultry.”
“I wish I’d gotten that guy’s license plate number,” she muttered.
“It was a stolen plate. I’m sure he’s changed it by now.”
“You ran it?”
“Not me. But a buddy.”
“I asked in the apartment complex’s Facebook group if anyone recognized that car. Several people thought they’d seen it, but no one knows who owns it,” Giana told him.
“So, he doesn’t live there but keeps showing up. Only one possible reason comes to my mind. He’s watching someone in the complex. Combine that with his temper, I would bet it’s a failed relationship.”
