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“Yeah. No two jobs are the same, and I get to travel around a lot.”
“Ever worked with anyone famous?” I ask, looking over my shoulder.
He laughs and shakes his head. “Not so far. Before I started working with the Savannah Police Department, it was usually businessmen and their families.”
“And what about before you were a close protection officer?” He doesn’t answer right away, and I turn from the sink, drying my hands on a cloth. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell me.”
“No… it’s okay. I was a cop.” He doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t push him to tell me. We’re virtual strangers. He doesn’t owe me any kind of explanation. “Tell me about your brother. Is he older or younger than you?” Clearly, he wants to change the subject, and that’s fine.
“He’s three years older than me. He joined the Marines straight out of school. He’s in Afghanistan right now.”
“I hope I get to meet him one day, especially if I’m meant to be a friend of his.” He smiles and winks before standing. “I’ll shower, then we can do that perimeter check before we head over to see your boss.”
“I’ll get changed too. Thanks for breakfast.” My eyes follow him as he heads for the bathroom. Despite not pressing him about what led him to leave the police force, the nosy side of me is desperate to know, and as I head for my bedroom, I hope I’ll get to find out.
Thirty minutes later, we’re heading down to the parking garage in the elevator. Sawyer has thoroughly checked the building, asking to see every entrance and exit. It makes me nervous knowing he’s mentally plotting escape routes in case he ever needs to use them. Despite feeling uneasy, I know it needs to be done. It’s not like that asshole will just buzz my apartment if he does come looking for me. Sawyer seems impressed with the security at the building’s main entrance and the cameras in the lobby, which makes me feel better.
As we ride down in the elevator, I explain my apartment comes with one allocated parking space. As the elevator stops and the doors open, I walk Sawyer to where my car is parked. He’s looking around as we cross the garage and still looking as we reach my car.
“There doesn’t seem to be any cameras down here.”
“Is that bad?” I ask, unlocking my car and placing my purse on the back seat. He walks around to the driver’s side, reaches inside, and scoops up my purse.
“We’ll take my car. And it’s not bad, just a little surprising considering how good the security is in the lobby.”
“I’m happy to drive.”
“I’d feel better if we took mine.”
“Okay.”
“Is the way into the garage secure?” he asks, his eyes still flicking around the well-lit space.
“No. You just drive in. You need a key fob to access the elevator from down here, though.” I lift my keys and show him the small gray fob that dangles from my ‘I’ve lived a thousand lives’ book-shaped keyring. He glances at the fob.
“That’s good,” he mumbles. “Right,” he says a little louder. “You ready to show me where you work?”
“Sure.” I lead him out outside, emerging on the sidewalk. His car is parked across the street and a little way up from the building. Spaces were limited when we arrived home last night, and we had to park where we could. “Maybe later we could take your car back and get your bike. That way, you can park it at the back of my space inside instead of having to leave your car out here.”
He stops on the sidewalk and grins at me. My stomach flips as I notice how gorgeous he is when his smile reaches his eyes.
“Sounds like you’ve given that quite some thought?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Okay! You were right. I like your bike.”
“I knew it!” I roll my eyes as a smug expression fills his face. “Maybe that means I’m right about Hawaiian pizza being the best too.”
“No way! I will never agree with you on that one.”
He chuckles as we reach his car. Unlocking the passenger side door, he holds it open for me. I’m about to climb in when my name is called. Turning around, Kitty’s running across the road toward us.
“Shit,” I mutter, and Sawyer’s entire body changes from relaxed to alert. I put my hand on his arm. “It’s my neighbor.” Before I can remove my hand, Kitty is standing in front of me.
“Hallie! I saw on the news that guy had escaped. Are you okay?” Her eyes go from me to Sawyer and then drop to where my hand is still resting on his arm. I can see she’s thinking this is some guy I’ve picked up, and that makes me a little sad as I realize how little I’ve opened up to her. If she knew me at all, she’d know I’d never have the confidence or the experience to pick up a guy. Sawyer is here because he needs to be, not because he wants to be. Dropping my hand from Sawyer’s arm, I take a step away from him.
“Hey, Kitty. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you.” She messaged me yesterday when the story of Matt escaping hit the news. With everything that happened, I’d never gotten around to replying. “Things have been a little crazy. I’m okay, though.”
“I can see that.” She winks at me before looking over again at Sawyer.
