Chance Encounter

by Christy Reece

  Next, Kacie approached what might be an even more delicate situation. “I also wanted you to give consideration about our partnership, Edy. You’re a well-established agent, but this could have negative impact on your career. I totally understand if you’d rather part ways.”

  Temper sparked in Edy’s eyes. “I won’t even dignify that insulting remark with an answer. You’re my client, and I care about you, and now that I know the truth, I admire you even more. And no self-serving, asshole blackmailer or perverted fiend is going to scare me away from you. Got that?”

  Grateful tears flooded Kacie’s eyes. She had hoped that Edy would feel that way and was heartened by her support. “Thank you, Edy. You’ve been one of my biggest champions from the beginning.”

  “Now don’t go getting all sentimental on me.” She leaned forward, determination stamped on her face. “So, listen up. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

  Brennan rubbed his tired, grit-filled eyes. There was an endless amount of information related to how to deal with intimacy after a rape. For the last twenty-four hours, on minimal sleep, he’d been doing research. Trying to figure out how to handle a situation like this was tantamount to tiptoeing around landmines.

  One thing for sure—he sure as hell hadn’t handled yesterday correctly. First, he never should have kissed her. That’d been way out of bounds for a bodyguard. Second, he never should’ve kept kissing her. Just because she’d tasted so damn good might be the truth, but it was a piss-poor reason all the same. And lastly…oh hell, he’d seen the heat and the desire in her eyes, felt it in her body, but when she’d gotten flustered and blurted out what she’d said, he’d responded with all the grace and dignity of a twelve-year-old. She’d been uncertain, scared, excited, and vulnerable. And he’d handled it with the finesse of a lumbering ox.

  So he’d done the only thing he could do until he learned how he should have handled things. Then, he’d go from there.

  Hell, after the way he’d acted, she might not have any interest in doing anything other than calling McCall to request his immediate removal. Couldn’t blame her. Not that he would listen. Whether Kacie wanted him to stay or not was no longer her decision. He didn’t quit when the going got rough. Someone wanted to hurt her. Someone who was capable of murder. Even if Brennan had to protect her from a distance, he’d make sure she stayed safe until the asshole was caught.

  With everything she had on her mind, that ill-timed kiss probably was the least of her worries. Not only did she have some sicko trying to destroy her life, she was being forced to make incredibly difficult decisions about her career.

  The soft knock on his door was a pleasant and welcome surprise.

  Clicking off the link to a rape victims’ advocacy blog, Brennan went to the door. The instant he opened it, his heart shattered. Her eyes were swimming in tears.

  Ignoring all the curses he’d thrown at himself because of yesterday’s screw-up, Brennan grabbed her arms. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

  “Edy was insulted that I would even think she would want to drop me.”

  His opinion of Edy Brown went way up. After the party the other night, he hadn’t been impressed with Kacie’s agent. Now he was quite sure he might like her quite a lot.

  “And she called Montague. He doesn’t want to pull me off the campaign. He said that he’ll stand behind me, no matter what.”

  “That’s great.”

  “Yeah, it is.” And then, as if yesterday’s awkward words had never been exchanged, she threw herself into his arms.

  Brennan closed his eyes, determined to not mess this up again. Her easy hug… her ability to touch him without fear, was a gift.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered against his chest.

  “I thought you might need some space.”

  She pulled back and faced him bravely. How the hell did she do that? “I said something really stupid because I was so nervous. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t owe me an apology, Kacie. I never should have kissed you.”

  “You didn’t like it?”

  “Oh, hell yeah, I liked it. Too much.”

  “Good. I did, too.” And before he could explore that extraordinary confession, she said, “I’m dying to get out of the apartment for a while. Want to go grab some lunch somewhere?”

  Her mercurial moods were one of the many things he found so charming. “Sounds good.”

  “Let me grab my purse.”

  Shaking his head at the odd turn of events, Brennan strapped on his ankle holster and tucked in his gun. This unusually optimistic mood was a dangerous thing. In his experience, it was almost always a precursor to disaster.

  Hours later, he learned how much he hated being right.

  Chapter Eighteen

  She wouldn’t go so far as say it was the best day ever. After all, she still had some major hurdles to overcome, and they loomed in the distance like a faraway thunderstorm. However, Kacie firmly believed that today was in the top three of best days ever.

  She wasn’t so sure that Brennan felt the same.

  Contrary to what her employees liked to believe, Kacie wasn’t yet a totally recognizable public figure. Sure, some people recognized her, but many on the street going about their daily lives didn’t know her face from Adam’s housecat. On the other hand, Brennan Sinclair’s ruggedly handsome face was once splashed all over televisions and newspapers. That might have been years ago, but New Yorkers liked their football. Plus, Brennan had the kind of face that was impossible to forget.

  They’d walked only two blocks before he was recognized. Knowing how he felt about his former fame, Kacie didn’t know what to expect when a street vendor selling NYC memorabilia called out, “Hey, Brennan Sinclair! You were the greatest. Can I have your autograph?” He held out a Jets cap and a black pen.

  Brennan stopped at his booth, gave him a quizzical smile. “You going to sell it if I do?”

  “No way, man. It’s going up on my shelf at home.”

  Brennan took the cap and pen, scrawled his name across the top of it, and gave it back.

  “Gee, thanks, man.” The vendor held it to his chest as if it meant a lot to him.

  Brennan nodded, took Kacie’s arm and started walking. Three more times, before they could make it to the Chinese restaurant seven blocks away, they were stopped for autograph requests. Once for Kacie, twice for Brennan.

  The instant they entered the restaurant, she could feel Brennan’s shoulders relax, and it occurred to her that even though he’d been gracious and kind to everyone who had stopped him, he had definitely not enjoyed the attention. But instead of acting like a horse’s ass, which some celebrities seemed to have no problem doing, Brennan had taken it in stride.

  It was early afternoon, so the restaurant was filled with the lunch crowd. They managed to get a small table in a secluded corner, and Kacie couldn’t think of a better place to be. Here they could sit in relative anonymity and pretend they were just a guy and a girl getting to know each other better.

  While they dined on dim sum, kung pao chicken, and Mongolian beef, she settled down to learn all she could about the real Brennan Sinclair.

  “We both seem to know about the worst times in each other’s lives, but tell me about your best day.”

  The instant she said it, she wanted to take it back because she already knew what his answer would be, and she knew it would make him sad again.

  “The day Cody was born.”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you talk about him? Tell me what he was like? Did he look like you?”

  “He was a miniature of me. Green eyes, black hair, stubborn little jaw. Had a sweet disposition though…was easy going. Had the cutest little laugh.” His voice went husky. “When I was home, he was like my shadow…would follow me everywhere.”

  She reached across the table and briefly touched his hand. “I’m sorry, Brennan. I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”

  “Memories of my son don’t mak
e me sad. I only get sad when I remember what kind of parents he had.” His face went granite-like. “He deserved a helluva lot better.”

  He leaned back in his chair, and though his eyes remained solemn, he smiled and said, “What’s Kacie Dane’s best day?”

  She’d be revealing too much if she said that this was one of them. Instead, she remembered the day she got her first modeling gig. “I got the call when I was still working at Macy’s. I didn’t get to return the call until I was on my lunch break. When I was told I got the spot, I swear the whole store heard me scream.”

  “Who was the first person you called to tell?”

  “Skylar. Hands down, she’s been my biggest supporter. My mentor. My best friend.”

  “And did you call your mother?”

  “Not for a couple of days. I knew she would have something sarcastic and demeaning to say, so I waited.”

  “And did she?”

  “Of course. By then it didn’t matter.”

  “She’s jealous of you, you know.”

  “That’s what Skylar says, too. Hard to understand a mother being jealous of her own daughter.”

  “You have youth and beauty on your side. She’s losing both. And you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”

  “Still no reason for her to be jealous.” She shook her head. Talking about her mother was a sure prescription for putting her in a bad mood. “Let’s talk about more-pleasant stuff.”

  “Like what?”

  There were so many things she wanted to know about him. If she started bombarding him with questions, though, she figured he’d clam up like he had before.

  “What do you do in your spare time when you’re not protecting damsels in distress?”

  He looked so completely blank for a moment that she knew she had caught him off-guard.

  “Would you believe scrapbooking and knitting?”

  She tilted her head, as if considering his question. “Scrapbooking? No. But I could definitely see you with some knitting needles.”

  He grinned. “That’s because they can be lethal weapons.”

  “Exactly.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of downtime, but when I wasn’t on an op, I taught a weekly self-defense course at the local Y. Sometimes even the smallest amount of knowledge can save a life.”

  She nodded, completing agreeing. After her recovery, she’d taken self-defense courses and classes on how to spot a predator. She would never be unprepared again.

  Brennan didn’t like that look on her face. She’d been relaxed, carefree, until he’d caused bad memories to return. He wanted her to be aware and ready when trouble struck, but today he wanted to see her relaxed.

  “You ever been to the Empire State Building?”

  Her brow furrowed. Yeah, it’d been a one-eighty turn in the conversation, but it worked.

  “Of course I have. Haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, but a lot of New Yorkers haven’t. Thought you might want to play tourist today.”

  Her nose scrunched in a cute way. “Too many people. You’d be recognized by every other person. We’d never make it to the top.”

  He still couldn’t believe he was still so recognizable to New Yorkers. Whenever he looked in the mirror, he saw a completely different person than he’d once been. Even harder to believe that no one had yelled obscenities at him today. That’d been refreshing.

  “How about a walk in the park? We can work off the meal we just consumed.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  After paying the check, they walked out the door. As if they were just like any other couple, he took her hand in his and began to stroll down the sidewalk.

  Kacie gave him a quick, smiling glance and then started talking. She told him silly, nonsensical things that made him laugh. Made him wish that today wasn’t an anomaly, that it could be this easy every day.

  But he had the darkest feeling in his gut that this day was the calm before the storm.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kacie went through the main door of her apartment building feeling as though she could conquer the world. Brennan still held her hand—as he had almost the entire day. They’d talked and laughed like nothing scary or unusual was going on in her life. And for a few hours, she managed to forget that they’d both seen horror and sadness. Or that a new horror might well be around the corner.

  The instant they entered, Vincent stood to welcome them, his smile good-humored and kind. “Good evening, Ms. Dane, Mr. Sinclair.”

  “Hey, Vincent. How’s your day been?” Kacie asked.

  “Perfect. My youngest grandson walked for the first time today. My wife said there’s video on my phone, but I’m going to have to wait to get home to watch it.”

  “Why?”

  His big shoulders lifted. “I can’t get it to play.”

  Before she could offer, Brennan said, “Want me to try?”

  “That’d be great.”

  He handed his phone over and watched while Brennan clicked a couple of buttons. Seconds later, the video of a wobbling toddler appeared on the screen.

  Vincent’s eyes lit up, and then he beamed like a proud grandfather. “Thanks, Mr. Sinclair.”

  “You’re welcome. He’s a good-looking boy.”

  “Takes after his mother.”

  Brennan took Kacie’s hand again and headed toward the elevator. Just as the elevator dinged, Vincent called out, “Oh, Ms. Dane, I forgot to tell you that Ms. Greenfield came by earlier. Said she left something for you to take a look at.”

  “Okay, thanks,” Kacie said as she walked into the elevator.

  A thoughtful frown appeared on Brennan’s face. “How many people have a key to your apartment?”

  “Other than me, just two. Tara Greenfield, my personal assistant, and you.”

  “Your secretary doesn’t?”

  “No, Molly never comes to my apartment. She works in our offices in Midtown.”

  “She works for the Kacie Dane Foundation?”

  “Yes, both she and Tara work for the foundation and have offices there, but they also work for me personally. Tara is my right-hand person…I don’t know what I’d do without her. And Molly handles a lot of my personal correspondence.”

  “Molly’s the one who sent over that note that sounded like it was from Harrington?”

  And the honeymoon was officially over. Even though Kacie had known reality would have to intrude eventually, she hadn’t been ready for it to arrive so soon. She could see where Brennan was going with this line of questioning, but it was unthinkable.

  “There’s no way Molly would have anything to do with that. She’s barely old enough to vote.”

  “What does voting have to do with any of this?”

  “Nothing. It’s just my way of saying she’s a young girl who would have been way too young to know anything about Harrington.”

  “They’re teaching kids to read quite early these days.”

  Kacie rolled her eyes as she inserted her key into the lock. When the door swung open on its own, she swallowed her sarcastic comeback.

  In one effortless move, Brennan pushed her behind him and pulled his gun from his ankle holster. “Stay here.”

  Gun at the ready, Brennan stepped into Kacie’s apartment. Reaching behind him, he flipped the switch at the wall and watched carefully as light filled the main floor. Nothing looked out of place.

  He went from room to room, checking closets, under beds, behind furniture, but found no one and nothing out of place.

  Brennan went back to the front door and found Kacie with her back against the wall, pointing her can of pepper spray directly at the door. Though her face was pale, her eyes blazed with resolve. This was one woman who was determined to never be caught off guard again.

  “Looks okay. Can’t find anything out of place either, but I want you to go through the rooms with me, just in case I missed something.”

  They went from room to room together, and as he had the first time, they fo
und nothing wrong.

  “Tara must’ve forgotten to lock the door.”

  “Is she irresponsible like that?”

  “No…she’s incredibly mature. She’s never let me down.”

  “Why don’t you call and ask her?”

  She pulled her cellphone from her purse and punched a speed-dial number. When he heard Tara answer, Brennan mouthed, “Put her on speaker.”

  Though she frowned slightly, Kacie didn’t argue and punched the speaker key. “Hey, Tara, it’s Kacie. Did you come by my apartment today?”

  “Yes. I left you some ideas for the commercial we wanted to run during Domestic Violence Week. They’re on your desk.” She paused a second, then said, “Did you not see them?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to look yet. Listen, do you remember locking my apartment door?”

  “Yes, I’m sure I did…I…well, I can’t say I remember exactly, but I’m sure I did. Why?”

  “The door was open when we got back. We thought someone had broken in.”

  “Oh no, Kacie. I would never…I—” She stopped abruptly. “I did have my hands full, though. You asked me to take that gown you wore to the party the other night for cleaning, plus I had my bag and a cola in my hand.” She paused for a second and said, “I’m sorry, Kacie. Now I’m not sure.”

  “It’s no problem, Tara, No harm done.”

  “I’ll be extra careful next time. I promise.”

  “No worries. I just wanted to check and make sure that’s what happened. I’ll see you soon.”

  Kacie ended the call and dropped her phone back into her purse with a gusty sigh. “That’s a relief.”

  “If that’s what really happened, yeah, it is.”

  “What other explanation could there be? No one else seems to have been here, nothing’s missing or out of place. It was a simple mistake on her part.”

  Brennan wasn’t so sure, but he’d reserve judgment until he could check for himself. Though Kacie swore her employees had been thoroughly vetted, he was glad that Justin and Riley would do a more thorough search on them.