by Katie Reus
“You realize that’s absolutely no help at all.”
“Sorry.” She lifted her palms up. “I really don’t know what to tell you. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should open your heart up to him right away.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t planning on it.” Not ever again.
“Good. Now go get some sleep,” Jemma said, leaning over to give her a tight hug. “It’s late and I want to be home before midnight. Apparently I’m getting all old because I’m exhausted and dreaming of my pajamas.”
Laughing lightly, Isla hugged her and got out. As she made her way through the glass doors of the brightly lit high-rise, she nearly did a double take to see Evan entering via side glass doors, looking down at his phone. In jeans, a T-shirt and light jacket, he looked…relaxed and casual. Nothing like the tense man she’d seen the last few days. This looked like the man she’d called her own—the one who’d warmed her bed every night, made her breakfast most mornings. The one who’d let down his guard around her.
For a second, she had the urge to duck right back out the front doors and hide from him because there was nowhere else to go in the giant lobby except toward the elevators. But he must’ve heard her footsteps because he glanced over and looked just as surprised as she felt when their gazes collided.
“Hey,” she said, heading for the elevators. She waved at the nighttime security guy as Evan fell in step with her.
“You look great,” he said, doing a quick once-over sweep of her, his eyes all smoldering heat.
Feeling her body flare to life at the unexpected, raw hunger in his gaze, she looked away. She was wearing a dress Jemma had actually given her as a gift. Not Isla’s style, but it was a fun, flowy bohemian thing with spaghetti straps and bright pops of color all over it. While wearing it she felt not exactly like herself, but free and fun, something she’d been lacking the last couple months. Jemma always brought out the fun in her anyway. Lately all of Isla’s responsibilities had been pressing in on her and tonight had eased something inside her.
Made her feel human again.
She cleared her throat, realizing she hadn’t responded. “Thanks. I went to a food festival tonight. Where were you out so late?” she asked before she could think to rein in the question. She inwardly winced. It wasn’t her business anymore and she couldn’t believe she’d even asked him. “I mean—”
“I was at Evie and Dylan’s. They invited me over for dinner and I ended up staying longer than I planned when my parents showed up.”
She hated that she actually felt a sense of relief surge through her at his words. Why? Because she was irrationally pleased that he hadn’t been out on some date. She shouldn’t care at all, but that was the problem. She still cared far too much.
Ugh, why couldn’t she just get over him?
“How was the festival?” he asked, looking back at the elevator doors.
“Pretty awesome. The food was incredible…” She frowned when she heard her cell phone ringing. She’d turned the volume down during the festival but it was so quiet as they waited for the elevator that it was impossible to miss. “Hold on,” she murmured, glancing at the caller ID. When she saw that it was Logan, head of security at her office, she answered immediately. “This is Isla.”
“This is Logan. There’s been an issue down at the building. Someone set off the alarm to your office.”
“A break-in?”
“I don’t see anything taken and we haven’t been able to get anything from the cameras. But we’ve shut down the building exits completely and I’ve called the police. The alarm was triggered in your particular office, so I wanted to call you personally. I’m sorry it’s so late—”
“No, you did the right thing by calling me. I’m headed down there right now.” She turned for the doors.
“I would tell you that’s not necessary, but I know you’re going to come anyway.” His tone was dry.
He was right. “I’ll see you soon.”
“What’s wrong?” Evan asked as the elevator doors swished open behind her.
“It seems there was potentially a break-in at my office. They’ve shut the building down.” Not that it would matter too much. Only a handful of people would be working tonight and only because they’d had international video conference calls.
“I’m going with you.”
“Evan—”
“Please don’t argue with me. I don’t like that you were mugged, and now this.”
“Well the two things certainly aren’t connected. We live in a big city. Stuff happens.”
Shrugging, he pulled out his keys as they headed toward the door for the parking garage. Since she didn’t have her car keys, she didn’t argue with him about driving.
“So how’s your sister enjoying married life?” she asked to make conversation once they were in his SUV—and needing to fill the silence.
“It definitely agrees with her,” he said as they drove out of the parking garage.
She settled back against the soft leather seats as he pulled out onto the side street. Some weird part of her was glad that Evan was with her tonight even if things between them weren’t normal. “Any news about Ellis?” she asked softly. His brother was missing and wanted for murder. Isla didn’t think he’d done it, but the Feds sure did. She couldn’t believe Ellis had actually just disappeared, but he had worked for the DEA, so if anyone could manage it, she guessed it was him.
“No, unfortunately.” His jaw tightened and he didn’t say more so she let the subject drop.
Turning away from him, she glanced out the window, watching the city fly by in a blur as he maneuvered his way through downtown. Being in this enclosed space with him was messing with her senses, especially since he was stepping up to help out. Just as he would have back when they’d been a couple. Him being here with her was too familiar. Too much.
She just hoped that whatever had happened at the office tonight was a misunderstanding, that someone had simply triggered the alarm by accident. With the two contracts she was trying to wrap up, she didn’t want to deal with anything else on top of it.
Chapter 8
Evan glanced across the lobby of Isla’s building where she was talking to Logan Masters, the head of security. Then he looked back at Detective Duarte who he’d been talking to. “I don’t like any of this.”
He could tell the detective was thin on patience, but Evan didn’t care. “We simply don’t have the manpower to do a sweep of every single office in this building. It would be a complete waste of our already stretched resources. Especially when security isn’t even convinced there was a break-in. Nothing is missing and no one is injured, and they are diligently monitoring the many security feeds,” he said, his tone far too patient. Maybe even patronizing, but that was probably Evan just being angry. “It looks like a glitch. Ms. McDonald says nothing was missing from her office, and over the last month there have been random triggers of the security system.”
Yeah, he knew all of that. He still didn’t like it. “Is there any news on her mugging?”
The detective shook his head again. “No. And I don’t expect there to be.”
Evan knew all that too and it only frustrated him further but he simply nodded. “Thank you for your help.” There was no reason to be a dick to the detective when he was just doing his job—and everything he said was completely true.
Since Isla was still busy, he strode across the lobby and pulled out his cell phone, but kept an eye on her. With how keyed up he was, he didn’t like the thought of her being out of his sight. As soon as he hit call, he realized the time and winced. It would probably go to voicemail anyway.
To his surprise, Special Agent Georgina Lewis answered on the second ring, sounding fully awake. “Lewis here.”
“Agent Lewis, this is Evan Bishop. I just realized how late it was.”
“It’s okay. I’ve had my office calls forwarded to my cell. I’m working weird hours right now. What’s up?”
He’d spoken at lengt
h to the agent about the bombing at his building since she’d been the agent in charge of the investigation. Her credentials were solid and she had a long record of closing cases—and she hadn’t brushed him off after the bombing when he’d reached out with questions. “There was a break-in down at Isla McDonald’s office tonight.”
“Is anyone hurt?”
He gritted his teeth. “Nothing was taken and only one alarm was set off.”
She was silent for a moment. “I know she’s got great security down there. Is there anything on any of the recordings?”
“Not that security can tell. They just called her as a courtesy to let her know what had happened and to come check out things. But she was mugged a few nights ago and…I guess I just don’t like the feel of it.” Even as he said the words aloud, he realized it was a stretch to connect the two incidents, especially when they were both seemingly random. He inwardly cursed himself. He shouldn’t be calling an FBI agent over this.
“Have either you or she or anyone related to your two companies received any threats lately?” she asked.
“No. I mean nothing serious, anyway.” Evan had his hands in a lot of businesses and his companies got random threats all the time, usually from pissed-off people who’d lost their job because of their own incompetence. But him personally? He couldn’t think of anything.
“I’ll look into this but it doesn’t sound like anything you should be worried about.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “Thank you for taking my call.”
“No problem. Look, you went through a big ordeal. A huge one, and you survived it. It makes sense that you’re going to be worried about Isla right now. But I can guarantee you that the man who bombed your office is behind bars and he has had absolutely no communication with anyone. We’ve got John Nix locked down tight and I’m personally keeping tabs on him. He confessed to the crime and we have all the evidence to back it up. So you can sleep easier at night.”
Well, he didn’t sleep easier at night because he was alone and usually woke up sweating, remembering the blast that had changed his life and destroyed others’. Nix had been pissed at the world, very anti-establishment and anti-capitalist, and Evan and Douglas had gotten caught in the man’s crosshairs. Nix had been angry about the transportation deal even though it would have created thousands of jobs nationwide and utilized electric vehicles. According to his “manifesto,” Evan and all the others were part of the capitalist monster machine.
He thanked her again and then they disconnected. But he still felt unsettled, as if something was looming on the horizon that he couldn’t see but could feel in his bones.
More likely than not it was simply guilt. Guilt that someone had gotten a bomb through his own security that had killed Isla’s dad and many others.
He shut his eyes at the thought, willing himself not to think about it. He still couldn’t believe Douglas was gone.
“Evan?” Isla’s soft voice nearly made him jump.
Damn, he hadn’t even heard her approach and that wasn’t like him. Schooling his expression, he turned to find Isla standing there in a multicolored dress he’d never seen until tonight, a sheer wrap pulled tightly around her shoulders. That was when he realized how cold she must be. He slid off his jacket, and without asking wrapped it around her shoulders.
She seemed startled, but gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
He simply nodded, hating that she was actually surprised by the gesture. Though given his recent behavior, it wasn’t exactly surprising. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that he could be her friend, he wondered if he’d always view her as his to protect. “Anything new?”
She shook her head. “No, and it doesn’t look like anything was taken. My computer definitely wasn’t breached. I’m going to have IT run another scan in the morning, but…I have a feeling this is just another glitch. Something’s been going on with our security system.”
He didn’t like the sound of that at all. “I want to review your security feeds tomorrow—”
“Evan, my people have this under control. Logan is going to have Ollie review every single feed from tonight to see if the team missed something. And they’re doing full scans of people who leave the building starting today through the end of the week. You know how good Ollie is. It’s okay.”
Yeah, he knew how good Oliver Mulaney was with anything tech related. Evan still didn’t have to like the situation. But he nodded because this wasn’t his business and she was doing everything the right way. He knew this had never been her dream, to take over for her dad, but she’d slipped right into Douglas’s shoes and was excelling. None of that surprised him. “You ready to go, then?”
She nodded, looking exhausted.
Evan would give up his left arm to call her his again, but he shoved that thought down tight. He had no room for fantasy in his life right now. Instead of wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him, he simply headed out of the building with her. At least he could ensure she was safe tonight.
Being in his vehicle with her, surrounded by her sweet, familiar scent, was a mix of pleasure and pain. He didn’t want to be away from her, even as he knew he couldn’t be with her. Thankfully she didn’t attempt to make small talk.
But as they reached her building, she suddenly blurted, “Have you been dating anyone?”
He nearly jerked the steering wheel. “What?”
“I know I don’t have a right to ask. But I want to know.”
“No. Isla… After you, no one could ever compare.” And that was the truth. She’d completed him in a way he’d never imagined possible. Never even thought he would want. He’d always been a “take it or leave it” kind of guy when it came to sex and dating. In the Marines, there’d been no time for sex. Or not much anyway, considering he’d been deployed in the Middle East for most of it. He’d been too busy trying to stay alive in different war zones. Then when he’d joined his father’s business, he’d been so busy trying to take over the world, as Isla liked to say. Neither of his siblings had gone into the family business, so he’d jumped straight into everything with his dad.
She was silent, looking out the window as he pulled into the parking garage.
And he didn’t like that silence—it grated on his nerves, raking over his skin in sharp jabs. He felt like a toddler, wanting to demand all her attention.
There had never been true silence between them. Not the uncomfortable kind, anyway. Everything between them had been easy, as if they’d just been waiting for each other. They had arguments, sure, but they’d all been over benign shit.
The silence now was different, uncomfortable. This divide between them was too great, and though he knew it was his fault, he also knew he couldn’t conquer the distance. And he didn’t deserve to.
As he parked, he thought about asking her if she’d been on a date earlier but he held back. He didn’t want to know the answer. He just wanted her safe—and in his arms, in his bed, in his life.
As they neared their condo doors, Isla finally turned to him. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. I appreciate it.” Her words were stiff, overly polite.
He hated it. “Of course. Hopefully it’s nothing,” he said, though he couldn’t get rid of the tingling at the base of his spine. At least he was right across the hall from her now. If anything happened, he’d be there.
“So how long are you planning on staying across the hall from me? It’s kind of weird.” She watched him expectantly, her green eyes clear.
“I don’t like that you were mugged,” he said bluntly, though that wasn’t an answer at all.
“So you think moving in across from me will somehow keep me safe from…the world?”
He shrugged.
And she gave him an exasperated look. “I was able to care for myself for the last two months and all the years before you. So whatever misguided reason you have for moving in here, you can move right out.” She set her jaw tight, the familiar stubborn Isla at
the forefront.
“I like being close to you.”
“Is that right? You like being close to me?” She let out an angry-sounding laugh. “Oh, that’s rich. Because—”
“That’s right!” He leaned down, not sure what the hell he was going to do to cut her off. Kiss her? God, what was he thinking? He started to pull back, then she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him down to her.
Her green eyes flashed in anger—and hunger—as her lips collided with his. What was she doing? What was he doing? He should pull away, but he couldn’t. Instead, he threaded his fingers through her thick auburn hair, cupping the back of her head as she plastered herself to him.
He loved the sweet taste of her, had missed her for far too long. Every morning he woke up, expecting to roll over and see her, but his bed was always empty. And cold. He’d ached for her in that hospital room, even as he was the one who’d kept her out. And he’d continued to ache for her once he’d been discharged. He simply couldn’t stop wanting her.
Needing her.
Without breaking the kiss, he reached behind himself and held his hand to the scanner. A second later, the door opened with a soft snick and then they were inside his place.
Though it wasn’t really his place, but a sparsely furnished rental with the basics and a killer view.
He wasn’t sure what they were doing, not really. He wanted to be friends with her, wanted her in his life, but he didn’t want to saddle her with him. And he really didn’t want her to have any regrets. “We should stop,” he rasped out, surprised he was able to talk at all as he pulled back, his breaths coming in hard and shallow.
She slid off his jacket and tossed it to the ground. “Should we?” Her tone was tart as she stared up at him almost defiantly.
