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“Maybe it’s a million things,” she muttered. “This piece of junk was on its last leg when I bought it.” She mumbled something about missing her BMW as she tried to start the car again with the same results.
Paul reached for the door and pulled it open. The hinge squealed in protest. “Let me grab my keys and I’ll give you a lift.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. She actually moved further away from him in her seat. “Oh, no, that’s very kind of you but I couldn’t –“
She really knew how to puncture a guy’s ego. He held up his hand to forestall her excuses. “Look, it’s easier to say ‘thanks for the ride’ than to hunt for a new job because you got fired from this one. After I drop you off, I’ll tow your car to this mechanic I know. He’s good and affordable. I’ll take care of it.”
She shook her head again. “But I won’t be able to repay you. I just moved here and moving is expensive. I don’t like owing anyone.” She sat back in the seat and pressed her fingers to her temple. “I don’t know what to do.”
Let me help; that’s what you need to do! Paul frowned and reminded himself he needed to take things slow and easy with Liv. She didn’t trust him or anyone else right now and it would take a while to prove himself. “Hey, everyone gets in a muddle sometimes and that’s when you have to lean on others. Which is why I offered. No strings attached, I promise. I’m just being a nice neighbor. Now come on. You don’t want to be late.” He reached for her hand and when she reached out, he gently pulled her from the car. He wanted to jump for joy when she didn’t put up a fight. He took her keys out of her hand and pulled the car key from the ring. “I’m going to take this to the mechanic after I drop you off. He’ll need the key to see what’s wrong.” He handed her back the house key. “Now give me a minute to get my truck keys and lock up. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Olivia had to hide her smile as Paul ran back to his condo. He was practically doing a victory dance. It felt good to let down her guard just a little and enjoy the moment. It had been a long time since she experienced simple things like flirting, and boy-next-door crushes. Maybe she never really experienced it because she couldn’t recall having this fluttery excitement in the pit of her stomach. Paul was someone she could daydream about if she allowed herself. Not only was he attractive, he was kind, and she would have to work extra hard to keep her guard up.
He was back in a flash and pointed her to the overgrown beast of a truck. It was lifted with huge tires. Olivia balked at it. How would she ever climb up with her injury? Paul opened the passenger door with a flourish.
“I can’t climb up there,” she admitted with a frown. “I would have to be a mountain goat – without an injured hip.”
“Then allow me,” he answered with a grin. Before she knew his plan, Paul scooped her into his arms and easily deposited her into the high seat. Color filled her cheeks at how effortlessly she’d been managed. Paul gave her a wink as he shut the door then jogged around to the driver’s side. “Now tell me where I’m taking you,” he ordered as he climbed behind the wheel. The engine started with a roar. “Don’t be scared of the power,” he added with a laugh.
His grin was infectious and Olivia found herself laughing. It had been too long since she relaxed like this. She knew she couldn’t allow him close but it was nice to imagine the possibilities. She liked Paul even though he cut through her defenses quicker than anyone else. He was easy-going and she was way too aware of him as a man. Big mistake, Olivia. The last thing she needed was to get attached to a man after all she’d been through – and would continue to go through. She’d stayed in the last place for only three weeks before Ethan tracked her down. Ethan was savvy and must have found a pattern in her habits that she didn’t even know about. Each time she moved he found her a little quicker. The thought that even now he could be closing in on her made her shiver. This was no time to relax and settle into a new relationship.
“Cold?” Paul asked. “I can turn up the heat but it won’t be warm for a minute or two.”
“I’m okay,” she insisted.
“So where am I headed?” he asked again as he backed out of the lot.
“Oh right. To the mall.” Olivia clutched the armrest as he drove but he didn’t drive as wild as she expected. She cast him covert glances. She couldn’t help being curious about him. He was persistent, she would give him that.
“What do you do, Paul? Are you self-employed?” She was breaking her own rules of “ask no questions, don’t get too close and divulge nothing,” but she couldn’t help herself. She was tired of being alone and having no one to talk to. “Your schedule must jump around more than mine does because I see you jogging at the craziest hours.”
“You see when I go for a run, huh?” he asked with a grin. He laughed as a rosy blush filled her cheeks. “Yeah, I’m self-employed, to an extent. I used to be a cop until I got burned out. Undercover. It was a dreary business,” his lips turned down in a cynical frown.
“I figured you were an officer, or military. You have a certain look about you.”
Paul cast her another flirty grin. This guy had a lot of charm. “Yeah? Is it a look you like?”
Olivia blushed more but didn’t answer so he continued his story with a chuckle, “All right, I’ll quit teasing. I help out at my sister’s flower shop. I make deliveries when her driver doesn’t show up or she gets slammed. Everyone’s happy to see flowers come to the door. And when I’m not helping Janice I run a security business.”
Olivia eyed him warily. “Security? What type of security?”
“Not the mall cop type of security. I install cameras and alarms, sensors. Mostly for businesses in the Denver-metro area, but I do some homes too.”
“Hmm.” Olivia turned back to the passenger window. There was no such thing as security with people like Ethan Moore in the world. No matter how safe Paul Justice believed his systems to be, Ethan would disable them with a few simple keystrokes.
“Hmm? What does ‘hmm’ mean?”
Olivia shrugged. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Yes, you did. Tell me.” Paul pulled to a stop at a light and turned to her. Now he was really studying her and she didn’t like it. She didn’t want anyone to see her or take notice of her. Even now, Ethan could tap into Paul’s security business – or maybe this friendly act was a ruse and Paul already was working for Ethan. No, he would have already brought her in.
Olivia turned away from his piercing look and twisted her fingers in her lap. “I meant no offense. It’s just that no one is really safe, no matter how good their security system. There’s always someone out there who can work his way around it.” Ethan could decimate any security in a matter of minutes – if it was a topnotch system. Shoddy systems required seconds and little effort. He gloated at how fast he could hack into government networks and transmit chaos. That’s how he found her the second time she tried to escape. He hacked into the city traffic cameras. When Ethan’s security guy, Dirken, had fallen asleep at his post, she’d slipped out the door. Ethan had been at a meeting with the mayor, assuring
him there was no need to panic over the bug that had infiltrated every computer in his office – of course Ethan had planted the virus himself. She’d lasted two days on her own before he tracked her down. How she’d made it these eight long months she had no idea but it was a miracle.
“Sure, Liv, the world is full of bad guys.” Paul’s shrug was casual but his gaze was warm with compassion as he studied her. “You just have to be smarter and stay one step ahead.”
“It’s not that easy,” Olivia whispered then wished she hadn’t. She clenched her fists in frustration. It was a daily battle to stay ahead of Ethan. He anticipated every step she took. She was growing weary of the chase – exhausted in fact. Sometimes she felt like she was on the edge of a mental breakdown. But if she gave up he would win.
