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“Oh yeah. He hates to see innocent people being dragged into shit.”
“Whatever it costs,” I say.
“Right. See you soon, man. And stay calm. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Alex disconnects as Gwen walks back into the room wearing fitted black pants and an emerald-green blouse. She looks beautiful except for her pained expression.
“I got this, Gwen,” I reassure her.
She comes to me and takes my hand giving it a squeeze. “I don’t doubt that, honey.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s going to cost a mint to have my car repainted. And I don’t even know if they did anything else to it. If it’s kids, they do all sorts of dumb things. I heard that they put sugar in the gas tank and stuff. That causes a lot of damage. I’m just starting to inch ahead, and then this happens.” She waves her hand to the window and her car sitting on the driveway.
“Dad knows a great mechanic. He has a shop that does bodywork too. He’s reasonable and honest. Your insurance will cover the damage. You do have insurance, don’t you?”
She wrinkles her nose and looks up at me. “Of course, I do. It would be irresponsible not to have insurance.” She’s like a feisty kitten when she gets riled.
“Then no worries, babe. I’ll take care of the culprit and make them pay for what they did, and the insurance will take care of the expenses.” I don’t want her mind to linger on this too long, so I remind her about getting to work.
After locking up the house, I walk her past her car, keeping her to my left where I can block the car from view. I drive her to the library and go into the building with her and find that she’s alone.
“Where’s the rest of the staff?”
“Nancy comes in around nine thirty. It’s just me for the first part of the morning. Our budget was cut, so the part-timers have reduced hours. It’s really sad because this is a busy place and we’ve had to cut back on some activities because of the staffing issues,” she says as she goes around the counter and starts flicking on the lights. She begins to go about her day, but I’m inclined to sit my ass down until this Nancy person gets here. Gwen notices that I haven’t moved and tilts her head to one side. “Don’t you have to go catch bad guys? Especially ones who damage women’s cars,” she teases.
“This is a security issue.”
“What is?”
“No one should be alone in the workplace. Anything can happen. What if you got sick or fell or something?”
“That was our argument to the board, but since the city isn’t willing to give the funding, there’s only so much we can do to stretch what we do get. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for them,” Gwen says.
“It’s not safe,” I insist.
“I’ll be all right,” she says gently, walking to me. “What happened with Malcolm won’t happen again. He wasn’t trying to hurt me. He was in such emotional distress, and he wanted his boy back. He’s getting the help he needs to deal with the loss. His wife texted me yesterday to tell me they were working together to move on. You were a big part of that, honey.”
She’s too damn good for this world. I pull her body flush against mine. “I’m falling in love with you, Gwendolyn Honeyton,” I tell her, then kiss her soft and slow. I feel her fingers in my hair, tightening their grip, and she moans sweetly. I take my time, etching this moment into my memory.
When our kiss ends, she whispers, “I’m already in love with you. I’ve known it since I first saw you when I moved in. I thought you were the handsomest man I’d ever seen and secretly hoped that one day, you’d notice me.”
“I noticed, baby. It scared the shit out of me. I couldn’t face what I was feeling for you, and instead, I was an asshole.”
“That’s why you were being so mean! I couldn’t figure out what I could have done to piss you off so much. I just figured you caught on that I liked you and were trying to put me off.” She grins. “FYI, that didn’t work. You’re even hotter when you’re pissed.” She giggles.
I burst out laughing. Before Gwen, I don’t remember laughing this much or this hard. She does that for me.
“Seriously, though, I don’t like you being alone.”
“Mrs. Chenovski comes in soon. She likes to come in early so we can have a chat. She and her husband used to come here often, but since he passed away last year, she comes on her own, and we sit and talk while I work,” Gwen says. When I hear the creak of the door, our heads turn and an older woman in her seventies walks through it.
“Mrs. Chenovski?” I mumble.
“Yep.”
Mrs. Chenovski’s not going to be able to protect Gwen, but having someone else with her is a small consolation. I do need to get back to the scene and connect with the guys. Reluctantly, I let Gwen go.
“Be good, my doe. I’ll be here for five to pick you up.” I kiss her cheek and force myself to walk away, giving Mrs. Chenovski a quick hello on my way out.
