Page 19 of Forged in Peril

“Not a chance,” she said.

“Do you need me to stick around any longer, or do you think you’ll be able to sleep okay?” He asked gently, hoping against hope that she would take his words exactly as he intended them–an offer to keep an eye on the trailer, and nothing else.

She shook her head, giving him a half smile, her freckled skin bright in the yellow glow of the overhead light.

“I’m okay now,” she said. “Really. Now that I’ve had some time to let the adrenaline wear off, I’ll sleep just fine.”

He stepped back, resting against the vinyl siding of the trailer. “I’m going to keep my cell phone right by my bed with the ringer on full blast. Call me if you need anything. Please don’t worry about waking me up, I’m used to it.”

“If anything else happens, I’ll call you and the police right away,” she said, her tone firm. “Promise.”

“Make sure you lock up well, including the windows and any sliding doors.”

“Of course.”

“I already hired a car to pick you up for work in the morning,” he said, pausing for a moment as he noticed the scowl crossing her face. “I figured I wasn’t going to convince you to stay home, so it’s the least I can do.”

She was so pretty, even when she was mad. Sometimes especially then.

“It’s not necessary–”

“Bristol,” he said, reaching up and rubbing a hand against his temple, “I’m not going to argue about this. You’re my employee now, and your car was damaged on company property. I feel horrible that this even happened. Please, let me at least make sure you’re not worrying about finding a way to get to work.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, though he could see her expression softening. “Okay,” she said at last. “I really didn’t have any idea what I was going to do about my transportation situation, so I appreciate that. Thanks, Cam.”

“You’re welcome.”

A beat passed between them as their eyes met.

He could hear the sound of the chime hanging from the corner of the porch, a cool breeze sweeping past them and making him shiver in his t-shirt. Bristol stepped back, retreating toward the warmth of the living room behind her.

“Well, goodnight,” he said finally.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And with that, she was gone.

He hurried toward his Jeep, trying to think about anything else besides the way her green eyes seemed to pierce right through him.

CHAPTER

SEVEN

BRISTOL

Bristol sat at her desk, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed up yet another of Jaclyn’s endless handwritten notes. The first couple of hours of her day had passed rather quickly–she’d sat in on a Zoom meeting with Jaclyn and one of their clients–and now she had a few minutes to breathe as she tackled one of her job’s more menial tasks.

Though usually Melanie, the intern, handled it, she didn’t mind typing duty. As she listened to the sound of the keys clattering beneath her fingers, she let her mind wander, reflecting on the events of her first week at Forge Brothers Security.

Aside from the destruction of poor Boris, the rest of her first week at the office had been rather uneventful, though work had consumed most of her working hours. Things had indeed slowed down a little now that the Pellman trial had concluded, but Jaclyn already had her hard at work on several new projects, and she still went home long after dinner each night.

Not that she had anywhere else more exciting to be, anyway.

If anything, aside from the extra money, spending so much time at the office was helping her to settle into her new role more quickly than she otherwise would have. She found herself becoming more and more open to Grace’s overtures of friendship, and she’d even gotten to meet Reilly Forge’s wife, Lauren, who was currently heavily pregnant with their twin baby girls.

Cameron had for the most part kept his distance, but she ran into him at least once a day, and she feared she’d never get used to the reaction that she had whenever she saw him.

Even though she had no interest in letting him get any closer, her racing heart and sweating palms had a way of making her question her own sanity.

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