“I looked around and didn’t find any signs of tampering with the locks. I was just about to check the surrounding building for security feeds,” Mason commented.
“I’ll come with you,” Grant said.
She placed an order for an assortment of two dozen cookies and they headed back to her shop.
“Remember the bugs when you’re in your office,” Grant warned as they neared her store. “No sensitive information. We’ll get them out of there as soon as possible.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She really wanted him to lean in and kiss her again. “We’ll be back soon.”
She tried not to feel disappointed when he and Mason continued on to the shop next to hers. She sighed and pushed through the door. Raine and Deanna were huddled together talking. They both looked up when she entered. She pasted on a fake smile.
“Is something wrong?” Raine asked.
“Besides someone stealing all of my product?” She shook her head. “The guys have a sweet tooth, so I bought some cookies.”
That seemed to pacify both women. They each dug into the box and selected a treat. She placed the container on the table in the small kitchenette. The cookies looked delicious, but there was a huge knot in her stomach. She didn’t feel like eating.
After Raine finished, she followed Melody to the lab, where they got busy mixing more of the product. Together, they were able to replenish most of the missing stash. She did all the measuring and mixing, while Raine filled the bottles. Hours passed without her noticing. Deanna had brought sandwiches for lunch, but that had been a while ago. Raine had carried dozens of bags out to fill the shelves. When another knock sounded on the door, she checked her watch, shocked to realize it was so late.
They’d used up almost her entire supply of bottles, so she needed to put in a rush order for more. They would need them for the grand opening. Her supplies were getting low, too. She’d thought to lock the key ingredients in a heavy duty safe that came with the building. It had been built into the wall of the storage room and she kept the entry concealed. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t told anyone about the safe, not even Grant. Too bad there hadn’t been enough room to store the bottles of Harmony in there, too.
She opened the door and found Deanna on the other side, a wide smile splitting her face. “We had a great first day. We sold more than I thought we would.”
“We’ve got most of the stock replenished, so that’s good. I’m going to clean up here.” She glanced over at Raine. “You two go home.”
“You sure?” Raine asked, fighting a yawn, as she pulled off her chunky clear goggles. “I can stay and help.”
“I’ve got it. Thank you both.”
She followed them out and locked the front door behind them before she headed to her office. She wondered what happened to Grant and Mason. Grant had stuck his head inside the lab to let her know that he’d be back later, but she hadn’t heard from him. She took out her cell and found a text from him, telling her he would be back soon.
As if conjured, her cell pinged another text.
I’m outside.
She turned to see him standing at the door with a smile on his face and her stomach somersaulted. Not good. Her legs were shaky as she walked forward to unlock the door.
“How’d it go today?”
“Pretty good. We were able to replenish the stock and even sold quite a few bottles.”
“That’s great. We’re going to get the place wired for security.”
“Now?”
“Yep. It won’t take too long. I spoke with the owner of the building.”
“You did?” Why hadn’t he called her back?
“Yeah. He wanted me to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. He was out of town yesterday. Most of the equipment we’ll be installing isn’t permanent, but I do want to add an alarm system and I couldn’t do that without his permission in case he needed to get inside.”
“What did he say?”
“It was fine with him. I gave him the code, so he will be the only other one besides you and your two employees, and of course, us, who has it.”
Mason arrived with a stunning woman in tow. She was the kind of beauty who turned heads when she walked by…both male and female. Gorgeous long hair, luminous blue eyes, a fit, tone body. She was incredible. And her skin was flawless.
“Kayla!”
Melody hugged Grant’s coworker with affection. She was one of Melody’s satisfied customers, investors and a good friend. “When did you get back?”
Kayla had been on a job out of state for the last few weeks. She hadn’t been able to participate in the infomercial, but she’d shot several before and after photos and her face was featured on one of the posters hanging on the wall.
Kayla glanced at it, did a double take, and cringed. “Gah. Couldn’t you find someone else to use as a model?”
“Are you kidding?” Melody looked from the poster to Kayla. “You’re perfect.”
She mock-shuddered. “Anyway, to answer your question, I just got home last night. I’m supposed to be resting up but when I found out what happened, I wanted to help.”
“Don’t hold the door for me or anything,” another stunning blond grumped as she pushed it open with her back. This one was carrying a huge box, a trained dog at her side.
“I’m sorry, Hillary,” Melody apologized. Hillary Billings was also a customer, investor and friend. She was featured on the poster along with Kayla, her former roommate. Hillary was now engaged to Reed “Abs of” Steele.
“Oh, honey, I was kidding.” She placed the box on the floor and hugged her. “I was just giving these two a hard time. We had to detour so Kota could do his doggie business.” Her eyes widened. “Is it okay for him to be here? I should’ve asked first.”
Melody was petting him absently. “Of course. The lab is the only sterile environment.”
“I’ll keep him out of there.”
Between the four coworkers, they unloaded the boxes and got down to business. She watched them work in perfect synchronicity. Mason carefully removed the bugs and then popped out the batteries so they couldn’t transmit. He’d used gloves and she wondered if they would try to find fingerprints on the devices with little brushes. It would be something the crime scene techs would do on CSI. Granted, they weren’t crime scene investigators, but they were very good at their jobs. They didn’t miss one detail.
The four demolished the leftover cookies as they worked. There wasn’t so much as a crumb left in the bottom of the box. She wondered how people so amazingly fit could eat so much sugar and it not affect their body-fat percentage. If she ate that many sweets, they’d show up on her hips. Not fair.
She remembered to tell Grant about the hidden safe. He asked her to show it to him and after he examined it inside and out, he nodded. “Excellent quality. You’d have to be Stella Bridger to crack this baby.” At her confused look he added, “Charlize Theron? The Italian Job?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. I haven’t seen it.”
He sighed, like she was so pitiful. She didn’t watch many movies. She would rather be in her lab, cooking up new products and chatting with Bob and Tony.
“Who are Bob and Tony?”
Melody slapped a hand over her mouth. She had to quit talking without realizing it. How to explain this so she didn’t sound like a crazy science lady? Grant was staring at her with a probing intensity. She sighed. No way to explain but the truth. “Bob is, uh, a beaker and Tony—”
“Test tube?”
Her eyes snapped to his to find them glittering with humor. “Yes, okay? I name things. My car, my Ficus, my chemistry equipment. I can’t help it.”
She could tell he was fighting a smile. “Mary the Microscope?”
She crossed her arms. “Marco, if you must know.” Except for Pearl, she usually gave the items male names. Huh. She hadn’t realized it.
He threw back his head and laughed before pulling her in for a quick kiss. She’d been so s
hocked she hadn’t even had time to pucker. “Don’t ever change, Mel,” he said before walking away. She stared at his back in shock. Another kiss? Really? And he didn’t even give her time to enjoy it.
She forced herself to focus. He had an annoying habit of completely discombobulating her. She arranged the items in front of the safe so it was hidden. When the landlord had showed it to her, she wondered if the space had once been used as a bank. But, surely the vault would have been much larger to hold money or gold or gems.
Most of their sales would be online, but she did have a small amount of cash on hand to use for change if someone walked in and paid. Depending on the amount, she would either store it in the safe or drop it by her bank on the way home, though she didn’t expect to do much cash sales.
She headed to her office and dropped to the rug to rub Kota, who was stretched out, relaxed but watchful. He was such a sweet dog, but she knew he was a trained weapon. His liquid brown eyes pulled you in and she nuzzled his soft mahogany fur. Hillary’s brother trained dogs. Maybe she’d look into getting one. She’d feel safe with a dog at her side. Not as safe as Grant, but beggars and all that.
Kota plopped his arms across her lap and with a big doggy sigh, he dropped his head down on them as she rubbed his back.
“Keep doing that and he’ll never want to come home with me,” Hillary remarked as she entered the office. Kota proved her statement wrong, as he abandoned Melody for his mama. “Are you ready to go home, my big ol’ ball of feathery fluff?” Kota woofed.
Melody pushed to her feet. “Are you guys done?”
“Yep,” Kayla answered as she bent down to nuzzle Kota’s black mask. The dog closed his eyes and nuzzled her back.
“Melody?”
Hearing her name uttered from Grant’s lips never failed to cause a shiver of happiness. It sounded so…melodic. She mentally rolled her eyes. Now she was getting maudlin.
“You ready to see how it works?”
She nodded and he walked her through the system using an app he’d installed on her phone. It was sophisticated, but straightforward. She called Deanna and Raine and gave them the code in case they arrived before she did in the morning.
“That should be everything.”
“Thank you all. I appreciate it.” While the other three packed up their equipment, she pulled Grant aside. “I didn’t get to sign the contract.” She knew he wouldn’t screw her over and charge her more for the system than it cost, but still, she wanted the legal document to prove she was paying.
“We’ll worry about that later.”
“No, Grant, I want to do it now.”
He sighed. “Fine. You can sign it when we get back to the compound tonight.”
“That’s something else I need to talk to you about. I was in such a rush this morning, I forgot to bring my bags with me. I hate to ask, but if you don’t mind driving me back to my house after we sign the contract, I would appreciate it.”
Silence. She stared at the giant with his arms crossed. Finally he rumbled, “You aren’t going back to your house.”
She blinked at him. “Of course I am. I was only staying at your place because of the concussion.”
“No, Mel, I was staying at your place because of the concussion. You were staying with me because someone broke into your house.” He held up two fingers. “Twice.”
She paled. He was right. “Then I’ll stay at my brother’s house. He’s out of the country so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I assume there’s a spare room for me, because you aren’t staying alone.”
“Oh, well, yes there—”
“And he won’t mind if we upgrade his security system, if he has one? Alarms, sensors, the whole nine yards.”
“Um—”
“And he won’t care if his neighbors are put into potential danger?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’ll stay…but only for another day or two.”
His smile was smug as he walked around her and muttered, “We’ll see.”
Chapter Thirteen
Melody set the new alarm and then locked the door while Grant waited at her side. Mason, Kayla and Hillary waved as they headed to their vehicle parked down the street. Melody turned towards the path that led to the parking lot, but Grant grabbed her hand and tugged her in the other direction.
“Where are you going? The lot’s this way,” she indicated with a thumb.
“It’s late, and I’m starving. I thought we’d grab a bite to eat first.”
Melody glanced down at her outfit. She’d dressed quickly this morning after Raine’s phone call. She was a bit disheveled and she knew her hair sported an unflattering goggle ring. The strap holding the glasses in place tended to leave an unflattering crease. She’d worn hers for a good part of the day when she’d been working in the lab.
“You look beautiful,” Grant insisted, reading her mind…or else she spoke out loud again. She really had to practice zipping her lips.
He was still holding her hand and it felt good. He called her beautiful. Maybe dinner with a handsome man was just what the doctor ordered. Melody moved closer, lured in by his intoxicating scent and a giddiness she hadn’t felt in…well, ever. The restaurant was on the next block, and when they approached the crosswalk, her unfortunate clumsiness kicked in and she stepped on the long brown shoelace of his hiking boot, causing him to stumble, almost taking her down with him.
“Oh, Grant, I’m so sorry.”
He was chuckling. “It’s my fault. It was loose and dragging the floor. I meant to retie it.” He brushed a quick kiss over her lips, startling her. Then he let go of her hand to fix the lace. The walk sign flashed and Melody blindly stepped off the curb. He’d kissed her—again! The sound of squealing tires penetrated her brain and she spun around and froze as two white lights came barreling towards her.
“Melody!”
Something hard plowed into her side and for a minute, she thought it was the car. Instead, it was Grant and he’d tackled her like an unblocked linebacker going after the quarterback. They rolled, and he’d somehow twisted so that he suffered the brunt of the impact with the pavement. They came to a jarring stop against the curb on the opposite side of the street.
“Melody? Are you okay?”
It took her a couple of tries to answer. All the air had been forced from her lungs. She managed a nod and he picked her up and propped her against a building. Several people witnessed the incident and rushed over to help. Grant was on the phone and she blinked up at him. The whole left side of his polo and khakis were ripped and torn. She would bet he had a pretty serious case of road rash, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
Two college-aged girls were bending down to check on her. Ma’am? She was just a few years older than them. Suddenly, she felt ancient. After everything that had happened the last twenty-four hours—being forced off the road, the trip to the hospital, the theft at her shop, someone breaking into her house, and now this—wow, she could seriously freak out about now.
“Ma’am?” The brunette was staring at her with concern.
“Yes, I think so.”
“That was close,” the woman said. “That car didn’t even slow down.”
“Probably a drunk driver,” Melody deduced.
Grant ended the call and stood with his fists on his hips. “It wasn’t a drunk driver. I heard the engine idling. He didn’t accelerate until you started across the street.”
“What are you saying?”
“He was gunning for you.”
#
Grant surveyed the area, looking for any sign of the black Dodge Charger that had attempted to flatten Melody like a pancake. The windows were darkened so he couldn’t see the driver and the plates had been removed. He’d bet the cops would find a missing car report and that the Dodge had been targeted specifically for the dark windows.
That was twice that Melody had been in physical jeopardy. He didn’t
like where his thoughts were taking him, but it felt like two separate attacks. One on her business and one on her personally.
“We got photos of the car,” a young man said, holding up his smartphone.
Grant looked at it and it was a clear shot. He had the man email it to him and then asked if he wouldn’t mind sharing it with the police, who were pulling up now with their sirens blaring. An ambulance arrived, and he caught Melody shaking her head from side to side. He nodded up and down. He wanted her to get checked out. He quite possibly cracked one or two of her ribs. He’d been careful not to let her head crack against the pavement, but man, he’d plowed into her like a freight train. He’d been terrified when he saw her freeze and stare into the headlights of the car thundering towards her. His only thought had been to get her to safety.
If the car had been parked a few feet closer, he might not have reached her in time.
“I shot video of your save.” A man held out his phone and Grant winced reliving the terror he felt when Melody was in the crosshairs of the vehicle. He winced again. He really did hit her hard.
“The video has over a thousand views already. Bangin.”
“You put it on social media?”
The guy nodded with an “of course” shrug. What was this world coming to? A woman had almost been killed and people were excited about the number of hits or retweets or what the hell ever.
“Hey, it’d be great if I could add your name to the video.”
“Grant, are you okay?”
He ignored the man’s request and turned to see Mason jogging towards him. Kayla, Hillary and Kota made a beeline for Melody. Kota was in full warrior mode. He seemed to know something had happened to Melody because he went right to her and sat against her in a protective gesture, warning off anyone who came near.
“Fine. Pissed,” he answered.
“What the hell happened?”
“He was gunning for her, man. I was tying my shoe when she started across the street. I heard the engine idling but when she stepped off the curb, he floored the gas and drove right for her.”
Say Goodbye to Melody Page 10
