“And that’s the problem. You’ll keep sinking everything you’ve got into this place, and no matter what, you’ll never quit.” The image of the men attacking her was raw in his mind, making him suddenly angry. “Those men could come back with knives anytime they want, and what could you do to stop them? Nothing, not a damn thing. Don’t you get it, Geena? Those men live here, and more just like them. You have to leave.”
“I’m not giving up The Gee Spot, and I can’t believe you’d ask me to.”
“You can set it up again. Geena, I’m offering to buy you a new store in a good area that’s custom-made for your requirements. It’ll be a damn sight nicer than this place.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to bite them back.
She drew in an outraged breath. “So that’s what you really think of my store? All this time it was so beneath you and you never let on.”
“Geena, that’s not what I—”
“You can’t just whip out your wallet and replace something I’ve poured my heart and soul into. This is one thing your money can’t buy. You can keep your riches, I don’t want them.”
Damien shook his head. It was no use trying to argue now. “I’ll go. We can talk about this tomorrow.”
Her mouth twisted. “You know what’s funny? Part of the reason I dyed my hair brown was because I wanted to look more like the woman I thought you wanted. But now I realize how stupid that was, to change for you or anyone else. Somewhere out there is a man who thinks I’m good enough as I am.” Her voice softened. “But that man isn’t you.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t want you to change, Geena. All I want is to keep you safe.”
“But this isn’t really about the store, is it? Even if I moved somewhere else, you can’t watch me every minute. You can’t guarantee that nothing will happen to me.”
She was right. If she stayed away from the Cross she’d be safer. But even then, he couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t do something crazy.
So where did that leave them?
“Just go,” she said wearily. “Please.”
He nodded. Maybe that was best for tonight. He needed more time to think about things. To decide the best path. Pulling her close, he kissed her forehead. She didn’t resist.
“Goodnight, Geena. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She waited until he’d started down the stairs before she answered, and her voice was so soft he could barely hear it.
“Goodbye Damien.”
19
Geena adjusted the lingerie on one of the mannequins in her window display and surreptitiously scanned the street outside. Sure enough, there was a man loitering outside Ralph’s coffee shop, sipping a cup of coffee. Okay, so that wasn’t remarkable. Except he’d been nursing that same cup for at least an hour, and she’d noticed him walk past her store too many times over the last few days for it to be a coincidence.
Maybe she was just being paranoid after her scare with the muggers. The man could have business in the area. Or maybe he wanted to buy something but was too shy to come inside. Although he didn’t look like the shy type.
When she’d first noticed the man kept reappearing, she’d wondered if Damien might have paid someone to check up on her. But after she refused to talk to Damien the day after their disastrous dinner, he hadn’t tried to contact her again. Did he care enough to send someone to watch her? Or could her stalker have something to do with the two guys who’d tried to mug her?
This morning she had an appointment at the station to look at some photographs and hopefully identify her muggers. It was only a ten minute walk, but now she didn’t want to go outside. What if the man was a friend of theirs, set on stopping her from testifying?
She grabbed her handbag, then pulled out her cell phone and considered for a moment. The man looked perfectly respectable in jeans and a green T-shirt. He wasn’t doing anything illegal, and probably when she looked out again, he would have wandered off. Could she just be imagining things?
Making her mind up, she called Ally.
“Maybe I’m going crazy,” she said when her sister answered. “But there’s a guy hanging around outside the store. I’m alone in here, and a bit nervous.”
“Want me to come over?”
“No need.” Geena peeked out again, and sure enough the man was walking off. “Maybe I’m jumpy because of being attacked the other day, but I wanted to be talking to someone when I went out there, so you can call the cops if something happens.”
“Geena, don’t go out. Stay inside and call the police, and I’ll come and wait with you until they arrive.”
“I’m due at the station. Just stay on the line, okay?” Geena stepped out into the street and locked the door behind her. “He’s gone now, I think.”
“You can’t see him anywhere?”
“No.” Geena did a full scan around, checking for any sign of his green T-shirt before she started walking. “Anyway, did you get the article about Damien? I wrote the whole thing in the end, but you can rewrite it if you want.”
“I’ll check my email. Thanks for writing it.”
“It was easier than I expected. Once I started, the words came pouring out of me.”
“Probably good for you to let it all out. How are you feeling?”
“I’ll be okay.” She’d thought it had hurt when Justin had dumped her, but that had been nothing. She felt like Damien had ripped out her heart and taken it with him. Not that she’d let her sister in on just how rough she was finding it.
“Let me know if I can help.”
“Thanks, sis. How’s the wedding going?”
“Pretty much organized now, I think. Oh hey, do you want to hang out the night before the big event? I’m not supposed to see Max that night, and we can have a bonding session.”
“Love to.” Geena forced herself to sound cheerful.
“Any sign of the man who was outside your store?”
“No. And I’m almost at the police station, safe and sound.”
“Okay. Well, call me if you see him again.”
“I will. See you next week.”
Hanging up, she turned her head to put her phone away and caught a flicker of movement. She stopped and turned. It was the man in the green T-shirt, walking out from a side street.
What kind of asshole stalker was he? It gave her the creeps, and she was already jumpy enough about people coming up behind her.
Suddenly she was filled with anger. Why should she be afraid on a public street in broad daylight? And with a police station in sight, for heaven’s sake. He was the one who should damn well be afraid.
He’d stopped and was looking in a shop window, but there was no way she’d let him get away with it. She strode up to him. “Are you following me?”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You’re watching me. I’ve seen you outside my store.”
“I don’t know what you—“
She raised her voice several decibels. “Tell me why you’re following me or I’ll scream my lungs out. There’s a police station just ahead, and they’re sure to hear. You can explain it to them.”
The man lifted both hands. “Okay, okay. I’m supposed to keep an eye on you, and make sure you’re safe.”
She drew in a breath, closing her eyes a moment. “Damien.”
He pulled out a business card out of his pocket. “Here are my credentials.”
Geena took the card. She didn’t know whether to be seriously mad at Damien for not telling her about this guy, or happy he cared enough that he didn’t want her to be hurt again.
No, she should be angry. Definitely angry. What about her privacy? What about her right not to have some guy watching her all the time?
“And are you supposed to tell him where I go? What I do?”
He shook his head. “Nothing like that. Just to protect you, that’s all.”
“Well, you’re out of a job. I don’t want to be followed, and if you keep at it, I’ll report you to the police. There must
be some law against watching someone without their permission.”
The man sighed. “Fine. I’ll let Mr. Courtney know I’m off the job.”
“And tell him not to send anyone else, or I’ll do something about it.”
“I’ll pass that on.”
Geena strode into the police station. Her heart was slowing its mad racing, but she was definitely going to call Damien and let him know what she thought of him sending someone to watch her.
The policeman at the front desk looked up at her approach. “May I help you?”
“I’m Geena Dennis. I reported an attempting mugging, and Detective Mills asked me to come in and see if I could identify the men from some photos.”
“This way.”
He led her through a door into another waiting room, with chairs and magazines. But the room wasn’t empty. A man was standing with his back to the door, talking on his cell phone.
Damien.
“Please wait here. Detective Mills will be with you shortly.”
She nodded, her heart thumping, and the policeman went out. He’s had a haircut. Oh, it suits him. And had I forgotten how broad his shoulders are, or have they gotten broader since I saw him last?
Damien turned and his dark eyes found hers. “Call me later,” he said abruptly to whoever was on the other end of the phone, and hung up.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded. Dammit, her hands were sweaty, and she felt more on edge than she had when she was mugged. The reaction he seemed to effortlessly spark in her traitor of a body was exactly the reason why she hadn’t wanted to see him again.
“The detective called me to say he had photos that could be of the men who attacked you. I want them off the street, so I said I’d come in and have a look.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I told that creep you sent to stalk me to get lost.”
“That was him on the phone. He said he was impressed by your courage, and not many would have confronted him like that.” Damien frowned. “Geena, you need to think before you act. What if he’d been a stranger out to do you harm? Was accosting him really the best idea?”
“Don’t try to make this about me. How dare you send someone to follow me? Have you ever heard of privacy? Or how about asking me first?”
“You would have said no.”
He was so infuriating. Stop racing, heart. He doesn’t deserve me, remember? “Haven’t you learned anything from the backlash after you tore down the Kingston? You can’t do what you want all the time.”
“I did what I had to. If you refuse to worry about your own safety, then I’ll have to take care of it for you.”
“You have no right to do anything of the sort.”
He shrugged and she wanted to strangle him. But now the adrenaline that had coursed through her when she’d confronted the man, and then seen Damien, was starting to leave her system, and her anger was fading with it. So he’d gone about it completely the wrong way, but it was still kind of sweet that he wanted to take care of her.
She took a deep breath. Did she only want to forgive him because she was so attracted to him? “Damien, I—”
Detective Mills — the policeman who’d taken her statement the day after the attack — opened the waiting room door, cutting off what she’d been about to say. “Sorry for the wait, Mr. Courtney. Please come this way.” He shot a glance at Geena. “Won’t take long, ma’am. Would you please wait here for a few minutes?”
Damien inclined his head towards Geena. “Ladies first. I’ll wait.”
The detective looked at her and shrugged. “Ms. Dennis?”
She shot Damien a long look before following the detective. Damn him for making her so confused about everything. Why was nothing ever easy?
20
Damien watched Geena leave the waiting room with the detective and shook his head. He liked that she was stubborn — except when it came to turning down his protection. Didn’t she understand he only wanted what was best for her?
He’d offered for her to go first out of a sense of gallantry, but he also had some business calls to make and the waiting room was as good a place as any to catch up. He picked up his phone, but hesitated before dialing. A faint whiff of Geena’s sweet scent still hung in the air. Although it had only been a few days since he’d left the store, he’d missed it. He’d missed her. Even this dingy waiting room had lit up when she’d walked in.
He was still standing motionless with his phone forgotten by his side when the detective stuck his head back into the room.
“Okay, Mr. Courtney. Sorry for the wait.”
Damien followed him down the hall and into a small interview room that held a table and chairs, and a television in one corner. The detective had some mug shots laid out on the table.
Damien picked out the two men who’d attacked Geena. “How did you find them?” he asked. The police hadn’t been able to catch the men who’d raped and killed Cilla, so he hadn’t held up much hope for these two to be brought to justice.
“We have a CCTV camera where the incident happened,” said the detective. “These two can’t have known, because their faces were easy to make out.”
“There’s footage of the attack?” Damien raised his eyebrows. “Can I see it?”
“Sure.” The detective picked up the television’s remote. “Ms. Dennis wanted to see it too.”
He turned the TV on and found the right place. Damien watched Geena walk into the frame. The footage was jerky, the camera set to take a series of still images. But he was held mesmerized, his guts tightening, as Geena turned to confront the two men coming up behind her. Though he knew the outcome of the attack, he couldn’t help his body reacting against it, his fists clenching and his breathing quickening.
The two men held back, assessing Geena. Then she dropped her handbag and stepped back.
That’s it. Well done. Give them what they want and they might take it and go.
One of the men went for the handbag. The other went for Geena.
Damien’s fists squeezed tighter as Scarface’s friend lunged at her. Even with the footage so jerky, he clearly saw her knee come up between the man’s legs.
“Good move, huh?” The policeman sounded like he was grinning, but Damien couldn’t tear his gaze from the screen to check. “Who’d have thought she’d pull something like that?”
Damien shook his head, riveted to the television. Geena had said she’d taken self-defense classes, but how could he have known she’d be so badass?
Scarface went to his friend, shielding him from the camera as Geena took several steps back, obviously getting ready to run. Then the front of Damien’s car came into shot, and he leapt out and ran at Scarface.
At the time, Damien had been so fired up he’d barely absorbed that one of the men was already doubled over when he’d arrived. The camera didn’t show that either, because Scarface was standing in front of his friend. But after a kick like the one Geena had dealt him, there was no way he’d be going anywhere in a hurry.
After that, it was just as he remembered. He’d had to punch Scarface three times before he went down, then he’d grabbed Geena’s bag. The skinny one had put his hands up at once, and now Damien realized it wasn’t because he was so afraid of Damien coming at him next, but because he’d already been beaten.
Geena wasn’t as vulnerable as he’d assumed. She’d been alert for danger, had swung around when she heard the men behind her. She’d done everything right. And if Damien hadn’t turned up, she might still have got away safely.
Not to mention that she wouldn’t even have been walking down that street if he hadn’t pushed her away.
The footage ended with their two attackers scrambling away and him standing in front of Geena. Both their faces were obscured so it was impossible to tell he was berating her. Damien took a breath and forced his hands to unclench. He’d overreacted. Shouting at her was the worst thing he could have done, and the way his insides had been churning at the time was no excuse.
<
br /> And maybe he’d also overreacted when he’d told Magnum to keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe. Her jab about the way he did what he wanted without considering others had hit home. He’d been heavy-handed. At the very least, he should have told her what he was doing before asking Magnum to watch her.
“She’s got guts, that’s for sure,” said the policeman. Exactly the same words Magnum had used.
“She has,” Damien agreed. He couldn’t help but smile at the image of her kicking Scarface’s friend in the balls. It must have hurt like a motherfucker.
“You seen enough?” asked the detective.
“Thanks. You’re going to arrest those guys?”
“That’s the plan. We’ll keep you informed.”
Damien walked out of the police station feeling a little dazed. Nothing was quite how he thought it was. Since meeting Geena a week ago, his view on King’s Cross and its residents had tilted.
Thinking about it, he found himself looking towards the homeless shelter where he’d served lunch the other day. It was after midday, and there was sure to be a line of people queuing for a meal. The woman who ran the place had mentioned they were often short-staffed, and maybe the men he’d spoken to the other day would be there. They’d intrigued him, though they’d only opened up a little. If they got to know him better they’d probably be more willing to talk about themselves.
His cell phone rang.
“Where are you?” Bryce asked when he answered it. “Alexa Washington called me. She’s waiting for you.”
Shit, he’d forgotten about their lunch. He’d have to revisit the shelter another day.
“I’m fifteen minutes away.”
“She’s not going to like it.”
He walked towards where his valet was waiting with his car. “Tell her to have a cocktail and relax.”
“She doesn’t drink.”
“What does she look like anyway? How will I recognize her?”
“You didn’t Google her?”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Look for a gorgeous blonde drinking something that looks too healthy to taste like anything but dirt.”
The Rich List Series: Contemporary Romance Box Set (Millionaire, Billionaire, CEO) Page 34
