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Jack frowned. “There are a lot of other people in your program, Dr. Chang. Did Aaron… did he explain why he’d targeted me?”
Chang studied him, and Sierra watched her eyes soften. “You know you’re extraordinarily talented,” she said after a moment. “You started graduate school when you were nineteen. You’re four years into it, and you’ll finish your dissertation less than a year from now. And your work is ground-breaking. Aaron is good, but he’s nowhere near you in terms of talent or ability.” She sighed. “I suspect he’d always been the smartest one in school, and when he got here, he wasn’t anymore. For some people, that’s hard to handle.
“Which isn’t your fault,” she said quickly. “The fault is in Aaron. I hope he gets the help he needs. But it won’t be in Evanston.”
“I hope he gets himself straightened out,” Jack said. “He’s a bright guy, and he has good ideas. I want him to succeed.”
“That’s very gracious,” Chang said. “Considering what might have happened if he’d broken in.”
Jack turned red. “Everyone deserves a second chance.” His gaze stayed on Dr. Chang for several beats too long, then he looked away.
“Only if they earn it, Jack,” Charlotte Chang said softly.
Cody stood up. “We’re headed out, Jack. Thanks for putting up with us. And good luck with your dissertation. Charlotte, nice to meet you.”
“What he said.” Sierra smiled as she stood up. “I’ll be in touch, Jack.”
He glanced her way. “Yeah. Thanks, Sese.”
Cody grabbed their bags and they exited the apartment. Jack and Chang had their heads together, but Jack lifted his hand to wave goodbye.
Once in Cody’s car, they exited the parking garage. “Where to now?” Sierra asked. Her voice was too bright, and he figured she was as unsettled as he was.
“Your house,” he said, typing her address into his mapping app. “We’ll start there and figure out where we go from here.”
Chapter 19
The ride to Sierra’s house was mostly silent, other than when she spoke to give Cody directions. His eyes flicked between the windshield and the rearview mirror, but he didn’t react to anything. She assumed that meant he’d seen nothing that concerned him.
When he finally pulled to the curb in front of her house, he swiveled in his seat to face her. “Where do you want me to keep my car?”
She frowned at him. “I assumed you were returning it.”
He glanced over at her. “That would mean we’d be using your car.”
“Duh. Why would that be a problem?” What was going on with him?
He studied her for a long moment and finally said, “The guy who pulled you over? The cop without a name tag? He knows your car. If we’re driving your car around Evanston, it’s easier for him to spot you.”
A cold finger traced ice down her back. She swallowed. “Isn’t that why I have a bodyguard? You’d be with me. So that’s not an issue.”
“He’ll know where you work.”
“If he knows who I am, he already knows where I work,” she pointed out. Sitting stiffly in the seat, staring at her house, she wondered if anyone had broken in while she was gone.
Why would they? She had nothing to do with the reason Alex had been targeted.
Then why had that cop pulled her over?
Keeping her eyes on her house, she said, “You decide. My car or yours. You’re the one who’s an expert at close protection.”
The silence in the car was heavy with unspoken words. She wanted this to be over. Wanted Cody to vanish from her life. Leave her alone to lick her wounds.
Instead of speaking, Sierra kept her gaze on her house. Her legs twitched, desperate to move. To leap out of the car. Run inside her house. Make sure everything was okay.
But she didn’t move. Waited for Cody to make the call. Her car or his.
Finally he said, “Might as well return the rental car. You’re right. That cop already knows where you live. No point in keeping two cars when we’ll only use one.”
