Page 18 of Knight's Desire

Not giving herself time to second-guess her decision, she swerved into the parking lot. She didn’t skid to a stop until she was right in front of the door to Knight Security and Investigations. She unlocked her seatbelt and threw open the car door, her music still blaring from the radio. Sprinting up to the glass doors, she jerked on the handle to find it locked. Panic seized her throat, and tears burned her eyes. Her fists pounded on the glass as she prayed for someone to hear her before the unknown driver caught up to her.

When the door flew open, she all but fell into the large burly arms of a man dressed in a security guard uniform. She turned frantic eyes to meet his surprised ones, not giving him a chance to speak.

“Please. Someone is following me. Help me please.”

Her words came out on sobs, but they were clear enough for the man to get her meaning. Bright lights flashed through the doors, and Hope whimpered at what was to come. The guard moved her away from the clear view through the glass doors before slapping his palm against a button on the wall. She covered her ears at the blaring alarm that sounded through the building and froze as the guard loudly ordered her to stay put before running outside with his gun drawn.

Hope crouched against the wall when suddenly the stairwell doors burst open, slamming against the walls with a resounding bang. A group of people filed into the lobby with guns at the ready. They barely spared her a glance before heading outside. Hope scooted on the floor to be close enough to peek out the window and watch what unfolded in the parking lot.

The security guard was flanked by three people – a woman and two men. Their backs were to Hope, and she couldn’t detect more about them than that. One man stepped into the path of the bright headlights, his gun drawn, but the vehicle didn’t slow down. Hope gasped as the man stepped out of the way at the last second. As the vehicle sped out of the parking lot, she saw it was a truck with windows tinted too much for her to see inside. She watched until it disappeared from her sight, but even then, she stayed huddled on the floor and allowed her tears to fall. Tuning out the still blaring alarm, she wrapped her arms around her knees to try and stop her body from shaking.

Suddenly the alarm shut off, leaving behind a ringing in her ears. Most of the group filed back in the building, talking among themselves but Hope couldn’t make out their words. While one remained outside, the other man disappeared through the door to the stairwell, leaving behind the woman and security guard. The two turned in circles as if searching for something. They were looking for her, but she wasn’t ready to be found, still too shaken from the ordeal to make sense of any of it.

She lowered her head and scooted closer to the wall as if that would make her invisible. Then a pair of black boots appeared at her side, and someone kneeled beside her.

“Ma’am, are you all right? Do we need to call someone for you or take you to the hospital to get checked out?”

Hope raised her gaze to meet a pair of bright blue eyes that searched her face for…something. A mass of dark curls framed the woman’s friendly face. Hope slowly shook her head in a single response to her questions. The woman smiled.

“My name is Gen. I’ve got one of my friends getting you some water. Let me help you up, and we can sit and talk for a few minutes.”

Hope wiped the tears from her face. “I, uh, I’m sorry. I know you’re closed, but I didn’t know what to do. It seems silly now.”

“Not at all. The truck chased you. You were smart to stop here for help. He could have run you off the road and hurt you if you hadn’t. Come on. Let’s get you in a more comfortable seat, and you can tell me what happened.”

Gen helped her stand and led her over to one of the few chairs in the lobby. Gen pulled another chair closer to her and sat on the edge where she could study Hope’s face. The security guard appeared at her side with a bottle of water extended toward her. She accepted the cool beverage with a sheepish smile in his direction.

“Thank you for the water and for opening the door for me. I’m sure you probably wondered who the crazy woman was pounding on the door.”

“No, ma’am. And the name is Jordan. Jordan Raines. I recognized you as the store owner next door. I’m glad you felt like you could come here for help. If you’re ever working late and need someone to walk you to your car or look after things, you let me know.”

“Thank you, Mr. Raines. That’s very sweet.”

His smile was reassuring, and she took a sip of her water to give herself a moment to calm down.

Gen continued to smile at her and gave Hope a few minutes to collect herself. “So you work next door? That’s a wedding store, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “Hope’s Bridal Shoppe. I’m Hope.”

“Nice to meet you. So were you coming to the shop for something when you noticed you were being followed?”

“It wasn’t exactly like that…” Her voice trailed off as another man strode in from outside. He stood over six feet tall and had to tilt his body to the side slightly to make his broad shoulders fit through the doorway. His jeans and black T-shirt molded to his body like a second skin, showing every dip and bulge of his well-defined muscles. Light brown hair curled around his ears and fell to his forehead. Deep blue eyes landed on her as his long legs closed the distance between them.

“I know you,” she blurted, not caring that Gen and Jordan watched her curiously. “You were at my Shoppe when the deputies came. After the break-in. And I saw you in the parking lot before that, didn’t I?”

He stopped in front of her, his eyes holding hers in a direct stare. “Are you alright?”

The low rumble of his voice washed over her, and the shaking in her limbs lessened. “Yes. Just frightened. And feeling a little foolish if I’m being honest. I can’t help wondering if I may have overreacted.”

“You didn’t.” He outstretched his arm, and she realized he held her keys and her phone in his hand. “I hope you don’t mind, but I moved your car into a parking spot and brought these inside. You’ll need to readjust your seat when you get back in.”

She reached to accept them, her hand brushing against his. Her fingertips tingled, and she stared at them in confusion, prolonging the contact longer than was acceptable. Her eyes snapped up to see if he noticed. He raised a thick brow, and she flushed as she withdrew her hand.

Gen cleared her throat, and Hope realized the woman must have noticed her unusual reaction to the man.

“Brick, I was just having Hope explain what happened tonight.”

“Brick?” Hope flashed a bewildered look between Gen and the other man. His expression never changed as he studied her.

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