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I could feel the raindrops stop pelting me as I sensed a large form over and behind me. I turned around and swung an adrenaline-powered fist. Pain throbbed as it made contact with something hard and warm. I was about to bring my knee up when the urgency of my name being called halted my movement.
"Madelyn! Madelyn, stop. It's me. Holt."
Air returned to my lungs as I registered his familiar voice. Startled, I stared at him in shock. The only thing that kept me from collapsing to the sidewalk were his hands clasping my arms. Raindrops dripped from his hair and ran down his face.
I groaned in relief and frustration before glaring at him. "Geez, Holt! Didn't your mother ever teach you not to sneak up on someone? That's twice tonight you almost gave me a heart attack!"
I shook my hand, still throbbing from where it hit him. I still didn't know where my fist had landed; only that it was hard as a rock, apparently like his head. Couldn't this man just leave me alone? The last thing I could handle tonight was more Holten Andrews.
"Didn't yours ever teach you to dress appropriately for the weather and not to walk alone in the dark? It's not safe." He practically growled the last words before he bent to pick up an open umbrella from the sidewalk. We stood close enough I could smell the subtle spiciness of his cologne.
He couldn't possibly know how much his words stung. "No, she didn't." I crossed my arms. "And dark nights aren't the biggest things to be afraid of," I added under my breath.
He held the umbrella over me, making it easier to look up at him. He gazed back. "Know a lot about dark knights, hmm? Does that have anything to do with your previous accusations? What was it you said? My 'ivory tower 'and my 'barb-coated arrows'?"
I ignored his misunderstanding of my words. "Yeah, um, I'm sorry about that. I swear I used to have a brain to mouth filter. I seemed to have lost it over the past few years. Manners don't get you as far in prison as they do in this life. But, I shouldn't have said that. I read a lot, and sometimes I tend to have a flair for the dramatic."
"I noticed." His hand rubbed his shoulder. "By the way, next time, aim for the crotch. It will have more of the result I think you were looking for, although, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try it on me."
"Mr. Andrews," I sighed, "as nice as this is, why are you out here in the rain besides scaring the shit out of me?"
"It's Holt. And I stopped because I saw you walking alone in the dark on a rainy night. I was an ass earlier this evening, but I'd like a chance to make it up to you.
I eyeballed him carefully but saw nothing but sincerity in his expression. "So you left the warmth of your ivory tower to rescue a damsel in distress?" I added a small smile to prove I was only teasing.
His grin warmed the chill right out of me. "I even have my trusty black steed over yonder." He pointed down the street a short ways where I recognized his truck.
It was tempting, but things didn't usually end well when the two of us were together. "Thank you, but I'll be fine. It's only a few blocks."
"Please get in the truck, Madelyn. It's a lot easier to rescue a damsel when she cooperates. Besides, I can practically hear your teeth chattering."
I snorted. But I was cold. And the way I figured it, he did owe me from earlier. "Well, I wouldn't want to tarnish a knight's armor by keeping him out in the rain, so thank you."
He chuckled and placed his arm around my back and held me close so that the umbrella continued to cover both of us. It was a comfortable feeling, warm and secure, and I missed it the second he pulled away to open the door.
Holt turned up the heat and by the time we reached the end of the block, I had stopped my shivering. He was quiet as he navigated the streets. I used the silence to reflect on the shift that had occurred between us tonight. I was about to ask him why he was working so late when he spoke.
"I have a confession."
"Shouldn't you have counsel present before you say anything?"
He chuckled. "You'll have to do for now." His face grew serious. "I didn't just happen to drive by and see you walking. I saw you at the bus stop and how you helped that old man. Why didn't you get on the bus, too?"
My jaw dropped. "You were spying on me?"
"Let's just call it an observable moment."
"Potayto, potahto," I smirked.
"Answer the question, Maddy."
Bossy much? "Does it really matter?"
He shrugged. "I'm just curious. It's not something most people would have done."
I stared out the window. "You mean, especially someone who would kill a man." My words were barely above a whisper, yet they echoed off the window and back at me as if confronting me, challenging me to deal with my real identity.
"Madelyn." His deep voice was tinged with exasperation. "You're projecting again, putting words in my mouth that weren't there."
