Page 11 of Chased

“I know you can. But look at it from my perspective. I don’t want to bring trouble to your door. Cyrus Ahmadi was right. Whoever messed with your brakes yesterday was going after me. You could have been hurt, or worse—because of me. Until I find out who’s behind all this, you need to stay away from me.”

She pushed back the chair that Maggie O’Donnell had vacated and flung herself into it. “Make me.”

“Pardon?” he said.

“I said make me,” she enunciated.

“Leilah.”

“Ryan.”

He swept up the papers in frustration and stuffed them back into his bag. “There’s a good Mediterranean place around the corner. Let’s grab lunch, and you can tell me how the devil you knew I’d be here.”

She stuck out her lower lip while she considered the offer. “Okay,” she said, finally. “But you’re not off the hook. I’m still irritated with you.”

“Understood. Let me say goodbye to Mrs. O’Donnell and I’ll meet you out front.”

“You don’t want to introduce me to your friend?”

“Do you want to eat sometime in the next four hours? If she sees you, she’s going to ask you a million questions and show you pictures of her grandchildren. Besides, I’m assuming you have some exotic sports car parked out front?”

“Alia. She’s a Guards red Porsche 911. She’s no Marie, but she’s a good girl,” she confirmed.

“You can park her behind the building. I’ll let Mrs. O’Donnell know.”

“Fine.” She swept out of the room.

6

Leilah attackedher falafel pita with gusto. Ryan was equally interested in his gyro. So they ate in silence for a few moments, focusing on their food.

Then he said, “I hated to leave town without saying goodbye.”

“Yet, you did.” She sipped her hot mint tea and eyed him over the table.

He pushed his plate aside, propped his forearms on the table, and reached for her hands. She hesitated, but only for a few seconds, before she relented and placed her hands in his.

“The only reason I’m alive right now is because I didn’t want to sit on a cold seat. I started the car with the key fob to warm it up. It’s April. I almost never use the remote start function except in the middle of winter. By rights, I should be dead.”

“But you did use it, and you’re alive.” She squeezed his hands.

“Sure. And what if I had driven you home last night instead of Omar?”

“But, Ryan, you didn’t.”

“I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened. It’s how my mind works. I look at every situation and consider the worst-case scenario. That’s my legal training.”

She took her time responding. “Well, I look at every situation, consider the worst-case scenario, and then devise a way around it. That’s my driving training. If there’s an oil spill on track, I don’t just drive through it and hope for the best. I change my line. I avoid it. Recognizing a danger doesn’t make it inevitable. And shutting me out solves nothing.”

“I’m not shutting you out.” He leaned across the table. “I want you to be safe. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She pulled her hands back. “I didn’t say you hurt me. I said I’m mad at you.”

“Sparky, your anger flares when you’re hurt, because it’s easier for you to show your temper than your heart.”

She fumed, formulating a cutting remark, and then realized that he was right. She sighed heavily and softened her tone. “Ryan, please let me help you.”

“I don’t think I need a professional driver for this.”

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