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“That’s great. I haven’t been in a few years. Did you enjoy the live music or partake in any of the games?” she returned, relieved he was seeing someone else until a familiar flash of irritation crossed his face at her reply.
“Yeah, it was all fun. Your dryer buzzed.”
His clipped tone wasn’t lost on her, nor the fact he didn’t take the hint and reciprocate about her weekend. She filled the basket with her dry clothes, suspicions rearing their ugly head again as he carried it back to her apartment. “Thanks again for coming to my rescue,” she told him, opening her door.
Bracing his arm on the doorframe, his look turned earnest. “I hope you know I’m always here for you if you need anything.”
Ricky started to reach for her, leaning down as if to kiss her, and Allie shuffled inside, out of his reach, nervous again. “I appreciate that. Let’s hope I don’t need rescuing around here again though. Good night.”
He spun on his heel, and there was no mistaking the slam of his door. Allie locked the door, releasing her breath on a relieved sigh. She had dodged a bullet tonight, possibly more than one. Now, what to do about them. She didn’t have proof Ricky was behind her recent troubles and couldn’t tell anyone else her suspicions until she did. In the meantime, she would avoid Ricky as much as possible.
****
Brett found a parkingspace in the visitors’ section at the county building where Allie worked and turned off the truck. His anger and regret were eating him up even though he admitted there was no way he could have anticipated or prevented the attack on his pro bono client that landed her back in the hospital in critical condition. Restraining orders against men who have assaulted a woman only worked if the person feared the law coming after him. It didn’t help when their victims continued to fall for their lies, believing they had changed.
Shelly White lay in intensive care with machines keeping her alive because she had believed her ex’s latest apology and slipped away from the security he hired to meet with him. Seeing her condition reminded him how easily Allie could have been seriously hurt when she’d been run off the road. It worried him they hadn’t found who harassed her that night or determined if the same person was responsible for vandalizing her car at Casey’s. Something in her guarded tone over the phone the last two days prompted him to make the trip into Casper to assure himself everything was all right with her.
He wished it were otherwise, but she wouldn’t come to him with a problem. Clingy was a label he would never attach to his girl. Satisfaction loosened the knot in his abdomen as he got out and leaned against the truck, waiting for her to leave work. His brothers would love hearing him call Allie his girl, but he was still adjusting to admitting he’d fallen for her, the pleasure of discovering his feelings too new to share yet.
Brett straightened when several people left the building, his gaze searching for a brightly clad woman with pink-striped blonde hair and an infectious smile in the group. The women were all dressed in conservative business attire, and, when the exodus of employees dwindled to a trickle, he started to question whether Allie was here, until one woman left a group to stroll his way.
“Well, I’ll be.” Brett took in the gray skirt with a matching jacket and pale-pink blouse. With her hair pulled back in a bun and only one pair of plain silver posts adorning her earlobes, he almost didn’t recognize Allie. That didn’t stop his heart from rolling over seeing those expressive blue eyes widen in surprise, or his cock from twitching eyeing those slender legs closing the gap between them, recalling their snug grip along his sides and back as he drove into her.
“I almost didn’t recognize you.” He greeted her with an appreciative look, noticing the plain, clear nail polish and absence of rings.
Instead of pleasure, annoyance flashed in her direct gaze. “What are you doing here, Brett?”
Something was off with her, the dark circles under her eyes his first clue. Brett recognized the signs, that and she’d left the other morning in good spirits, acting as pleased with the turn in their relationship as he. “Two things. You sounded preoccupied the last few nights on the phone, and I thought I’d take you to dinner.”
“Why? Because you’ve seen I can dress appropriately for the occasion?” She lifted a slim brow. “I’m still twelve years younger, and my preferred wardrobe when not working is the same as what you’ve seen these past weeks.”
Brett’s ire rose swiftly, and he only managed to curb it by taking in her tense posture and catching the way she scanned the parking lot with worry, as if looking for someone she didn’t want to see. “In case I didn’t make it clear Saturday, I don’t care about the age gap as much as I do you, and you can dress in a burlap sack and it wouldn’t make a difference to me. What’s wrong, Allie?” He reached for her hand, and, mindful of where they were, pulled her next to him but kept a respectable few inches between them. Her slim fingers shook in his, another telltale sign something untoward had occurred. “Tell me.”
She gave him a jerky nod and pointed to where he could see the bright-orange top of her car in the employee section. “Not here. Follow me back to my place. I prefer ordering something in for dinner.”
“Okay.” Reluctant to let her go yet, he kept hold of her hand and walked her over. At least she was willing to talk.
“Really?” She sent him one of her irrepressible grins, her face losing that wary look. “Now I can’t walk across a parking lot without my big, bad, protective boyfriend escorting me?”
Boyfriend?He hadn’t worn that label since high school. Hearing it now amused him. “I’m much more than a boyfriend.” Her gasp and sudden stop drew his gaze where hers was focused on her car. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, not caring who heard him when several heads turned their way. The knife jabbed through a note into her front tire made his blood run cold.
Yanking her hand free, Allie stomped forward and kicked the flat tire with her heeled gray pump, wincing from the impact. “I’ve had it with this shit!”
“Allie, wait,” he demanded when she bent to grab the knife. She glared at him, her mouth set in a mutinous line, her eyes narrowing. Before she could say anything, he laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “In case there are fingerprints, and the culprit is in the system.”
“Oh, didn’t think of that.” Moving aside, she gave him room to handle the knife and note using a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.
“You’re not thinking straight, which is understandable.” Brett withdrew the knife from the tire, leaving the note attached. Pushing to his feet, he held it up so they could both read it, a white-hot ball of rage gripping his muscles as he realized this new threat confirmed someone had targeted Allie starting at Casey’s.
You should have heeded my warning to stay away.
“Are there security cameras here?” he asked when she didn’t comment. From the look on her face, she, too, had connected the dots.
“Only inside and around the doors, not the parking lot.” Allie raised blue eyes swirling with accusation. “This started at Casey’s when I showed an interest in you. The only one who would care about that is your wife.”
Brett had considered Gina at first but then discounted her. She couldn’t drive a large truck, like the one Allie described that rammed her from behind. Gina was an in-your-face kind of person. He could easily imagine her confronting Allie in person, even threatening her to her face, but not committing this kind of scare tactic.
“The notes and your accident are connected, and there’s no way she could handle a vehicle the size you say came at you that night. She’s vindictive, and I’ll have a word with her, but she’s not behind these incidents.”
