Page 68 of The Hacker
She sagged against the stall door for a moment, letting the confusion of emotions swirl through her. The joy of knowing she would see him tonight overshadowed all the others. But she needed to keep her mind sharp until she got home.
She typed back:I thought Tully was against that. Has something new happened?
His response surprised a choked laugh out of her.No, I just told Tully to go to hell and take his stupid idea with him.
Someone walked into the bathroom, so Dawn flushed the toilet to make her visit sound authentic. Who knew if Chad had enlisted a female associate to spy on her?
Did it count as paranoia if there really were bad guys around, but you didn’t know who they were? Or was it just smart to assume everyone was out to get you?
All she knew was that she felt a lot less afraid now that Leland was coming. And what did that say about her feelings for him?
She pushed that thought aside as she washed her hands and strode out the door without bothering to scan for Chad’s presence.
That was the power of Leland’s message.
Half an hour later, she had given Josh the expected kiss, which he had prolonged a little more than she wanted—but, hey, it was his birthday. Now she was strolling along the well-lit sidewalk toward her building, taking it slow to make sure her unseen guardians could easily keep up with her.
Her heart lilted in her chest because Leland had told off his partner in order to be with her. That had to mean something. Even if it didn’t, she could enjoy his company for another night and that was almost enough.
“Good party, right?”
Dawn shrieked and leaped sideways as Chad jogged up to her. “Jesus Christ, don’t scare me like that!” She wanted to smack him for sending a crash of adrenaline through her so that every nerve was screaming,Run!
“Sorry,” he said without sounding at all sincere. “You were just kind of sauntering along so I thought you might like some company.”
“Maybe if the company hadn’t snuck up on me.”
“I’ll walk you home.” He matched his stride to hers.
Even knowing that she had two guardians somewhere nearby couldn’t quell the alarm bells ringing in her brain. She decided not to antagonize him since she was now convinced that he was shadowing her. “I live three blocks from here,” she said, picking up her pace, “but thanks.”
She couldn’t figure out what his game was. The gym was closed. She didn’t have a key to get in, so how was she a threat to whatever Tully thought was happening?
“It was good to see you out with the staff tonight.” Chad gave her a gentle fist bump on her upper arm. “I know it’s not so easy for you with what you’ve been through.”
How the hell did Chad know what she’d been through? At the gym, only Ramón knew the most barebones version of her story. Undoubtedly, he’d shared it with Vicky, since he thought his wife walked on water. The alarm bells in Dawn’s mind turned into a wailing fire siren.
“They look up to you, you know,” Chad continued when she couldn’t think how to respond. “You’re the best trainer at Work It Out. You’re a role model for others.”
She needed to just skate on the surface of this conversation, not let her brain go into a tailspin as she delved into the subtext. “Wow! Thanks for the nice compliment. The trick is that I care about my clients.”
“Hey, sorry I made a crack about that guy Lee. That was unprofessional on my part.” Again, he didn’t sound sincere. It was like he was reciting from a script.
“It’s okay. I might be a little sensitive on the subject because it ended badly.” She hoped her guards had told Leland she had company so he would make sure to be well concealed. “Honestly, I don’t usually get involved with clients. It was a dumb idea. And unprofessional, to use your word.”
“The heart doesn’t listen to logic, does it?” Chad gave a sigh.
Dawn nearly snickered at the absurdity of Chad talking about the heart. “I guess not.”
Three blocks had never seemed so long.
“So where did you work before Ramón hired you?” she asked to steer the conversation away from her.
“A gym in California. It was a nice place but I’m an East Coast kind of guy. So I loaded up my car and drove across the country. I figured I’d settle wherever I got the first job offer. And here I am.”
“Did you grow up around here?” She just wanted to keep him talking until they reached her building.
“Nope, in Florida. That’s where I played ball too.” He seemed to be enjoying himself now.
