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But now that the exact scenario she’d prepared for was upon her, she wasn’t sure she could. Her quivering fingers could barely grip the handle, the cold metal too uncomfortable up against her skin. Too unnatural.

Thud, thud, thud.

The door shook with each pound, the lock rattling ominously. She shoved the gun back in the drawer and grabbed the baseball bat leaning up against the coat stand.

Thud, thud, thu-

Katie ripped the door open mid-thud and her stomach fell three floors to the ground below. She shouldn’t have been so shocked to see Landon. Of course it was Landon. He was the only person other than Ellis and the HR department that knew her address.

"Really, Katie? You don’t have a chain, it’s getting close to midnight, and you just open the door? Don’t even ask who it is?"

"Oh please," she said, feigning a bravado she didn’t feel. "I knew it was you, of course. Who else would it be?"

She stepped aside to let him in, but he was too distracted inspecting her door handle. She took the opportunity to slip the bat behind the coat stand unnoticed.

"These locks are complete shit. This top one isn’t even a deadbolt. You should talk to your landlord about that."

A flustered breath spluttered out of her. Not only was he adding to her already extensive list of personal safety concerns, but she’d made zero preparations for his arrival. She finger combed her damp hair as she looked down at her oldest pair of flannel pants and a white Maverick tank top that was already stretched a size too big.

Landon closed and locked the door, then spent a long time jiggling the handle and testing the door against its frame. Just before he closed it for good, he peeked his head out for one last look around.

"What? Are you worried your truck will get broken into in my scary neighborhood?" she asked.

He re-locked the door and faced her with a shrug. "It’s a valid concern."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you’re such a snob. Just because I don’t live in some gated conclave of McMansions doesn’t mean it’s not a perfectly decent neighborhood. Plenty of nice, hard-working people build perfectly decent lives here."

It was Landon’s turn to roll his eyes, and Katie couldn’t really blame him. She was laying it on pretty thick.

"It’s not like you fucking built the neighborhood, Katie. You never even heard of thisperfectly decentarea until four months ago, meanwhile I’ve been hearing about it in the crime blotter for years. I’m telling you, this neighborhood sucks and you need better locks."

"What are you even doing here?" she asked.

"I went out with some friends for a little celebration, but decided to call it an early night. Your place was on my way home, so I thought I’d swing by and see if your light was on."

She looked him up and down. Devastatingly hot, of course, but his hair was mussed, cheeks and eyes slightly red, and the scent of booze wafted off him.

"Landon, you shouldn’t be driving like this. This would be media fodder if you got pulled over. Or god forbid hurt yourself or someone else. Oh my goodness, Lori would have a field day."

"Relax, Mom. Hernandez and his girl weren’t drinking. I had them drop me and my truck off. Don’t worry, I told them I was banging one of the cheerleaders so they had to keep it quiet."

Katie’s eyes widened and she an offended "ha!" escaped. She had no right to feel jealous, but just him saying that made her see green.

Landon’s eyes twinkled, giving away his delight at her reaction. "What did you want me to say? The truth?"

She stared at him for a long moment, but couldn’t come up with more than a shrug. The cheer squad, one of the few in MLB, were also subject to the no fraternizing with the players rule. Not a bad cover.

Landon’s eyes honed in on her."What’s up? You okay?"

Katie could only imagine what she looked like—pale and sweaty, every nerve on high alert. She smoothed her hair and straightened the tank top.

"Yeah, I’m fine, you just startled me. I wasn’t expecting anyone this late."

"Oh, so youdidn’tknow it was me and youdorealize that opening the door to random knocks in the middle of the night is not the safest idea?"

"Ok, thanks,Dad."

She tried to brush past him, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

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