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“What do you think they had in mind?”
He shrugged. “No idea, but whatever it was wasn’t good.”
She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her herself, feeling suddenly chilled.
Jed reached behind her for the blanket and laid it over her.
“Thanks, again. And how did you get in the shop?”
“I was on my way over to see you. Saw the dude flip the lock and knew something was up, so instead of busting your front door in or shooting the lock, I came around back and used the code to get in.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot I’d given that to you.”
He swept his hand over her hair. “You can change the code if you want to.”
“Are you kidding? You saved my life today.”
He sat on the sofa next to her. “I don’t know about that, but I’m glad I could be here for you.”
“It was handy timing. My shop seems to have been targeted.”
Or Elena was the target. Jed wasn’t sure. He’d been in the condo, and once he spotted the two guys pulling up in front of her store, he’d zeroed in on them. They’d waited until Marco left before going inside, a sure sign they were scoping her out. He’d hightailed it out of the condo, got a scan of their bike tags and headed for the front door. That’s when he saw the one lock it, so he’d hurried around the back and used the code to slip inside.
He wasn’t sure if these guys were part of the burglary ring going around, or if they’d been after Elena. He intended to find out, but his first priority was making sure she was safe.
He stood, went to the window and looked out. Lots of bikes cruising by slowly, some appearing to look into Elena’s shop. A few people walking by stopped at the door, then walked away. There was no way to tell if they were just shoppers or if anyone was dangerous.
“You can take off now,” Elena said, drawing his attention away from the traffic outside. “I’ll be fine. I really should reopen the shop.”
He leaned against the windowsill. “Not a chance.”
She pulled her legs up behind her. Yeah, she didn’t look ready to run back downstairs and open that door.
“I can’t stay closed, Jed. I have a business to run.”
He knew she was right, but he’d stick closer from now on. “You’re still pale, and it’s almost dinnertime. How about I fix dinner?”
She raised a brow. “You cook?”
“Uh, by fixing dinner, I meant we could order a pizza or something.”
She laughed. “I like pizza.”
“That’s good, because I don’t really cook. I can make eggs and bacon and toast. And I fix a mean bowl of cereal.”
She laughed. “I’m a great cook.”
“Then I might just have to keep you around so I don’t starve to death or blow my budget on take-out food.”
She directed him to her stash of take-out menus and he ordered them a pizza. Thank God the woman liked to eat. They agreed on a pizza loaded with sausage and pepperoni, and they each got a salad to go with it.
While they waited for the pizza to arrive, Elena went to change clothes. Jed sent a quick text to Grange, letting him know what happened along with the tag numbers of the two bikes. He told Grange he was sticking close to Elena. Grange texted him back and told him he’d check up on the bikes and get back to him.
Jed really wanted to go after those bikers, but he couldn’t be in two places at one time, and his main job was to keep Elena safe.
Normally he liked the action—chasing down the bad guys. He’d left his job at the FBI because there hadn’t been enough of the action. Too much time in the office, too mu
ch research work. Now he was stuck inside with Elena—protection duty basically.
