Chapter 6
1221 Words
Jake
Emma made it back to her desk before I did.
I watched her pull the invoices toward her, shoulders squared like some asshole hadn’t just walked into my shop and threatened her ten minutes ago.
Her hands were still shaking.
She picked up the pen anyway.
Tougher than she knew.
My phone buzzed.
Nash: Got the plate. Also found something else. Office.
I glanced at Emma before heading toward the back.
Nash was waiting with his laptop open.
“Plate belongs to a rental,” he said. “Cash deposit. Fake contact number.”
“Of course.”
“There’s more.”
He turned the screen toward me.
Security footage from the Iron Horse showed Derek Blackwell sitting at the bar earlier that morning. Same expensive suit Emma had described. Same face Nash had pulled from public records.
Derek was talking to three men.
One was the guy who’d just been in my shop.
“Bartender heard enough to get uncomfortable,” Nash said. “Derek’s offering ten grand for information leading to Emma.”
“So the guy wasn’t bluffing.”
“Nope. Bartender called one of our guys after Derek left. Said he wanted no part of it.”
Ten thousand dollars.
That kind of money made honest people reconsider how honest they were.
“Does Derek know she’s here?”
“His guy does now.”
Which meant the clock had started.
⸻
I crossed the shop.
“Emma.”
She looked up. “You have your serious face.”
“I have a serious face?”
“You have several. That’s the one where you’re trying not to scare me.”
Fair enough.
“Can we talk?”
She followed me into the break room.
I showed her the picture.
Her face went pale.
“Derek.”
“He was at the Iron Horse this morning. Nash confirmed the ten-thousand-dollar reward.”
She stared at the screen. “He’s paying strangers to find me.”
“Yeah.”
“And now one of them knows I work here.”
“Yeah.”
I wasn’t going to lie to make her feel better.
She wrapped her arms around herself. “What does that mean?”
“It means we need to talk about your room.”
Understanding hit immediately.
“It’s four blocks away.”
“And the building doesn’t have a locked lobby, cameras, or anybody controlling who walks upstairs. If somebody starts asking around this neighborhood, finding where you sleep won’t be hard.”
“What are my options?”
That question mattered.
Not what are you going to do with me?
What are my options?
“Raven has a couch. We can improve security at your room and have somebody keep an eye on the building. Or I’ve got somewhere more secure.”
“What kind of somewhere?”
“A penthouse downtown.”
She blinked.
Then blinked again.
“You have a penthouse?”
“Yeah.”
“You own a motorcycle shop.”
“I do.”
“And a penthouse.”
“Also true.”
“Those two things don’t seem to go together.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled. “There’s a longer explanation.”
“I’m guessing there is.”
“I own the building. Cameras, twenty-four-hour doorman, private elevator that requires a key. Nobody gets upstairs without being noticed.”
She stared at me.
“You own an entire building?”
“We’re getting distracted.”
“No, I feel like that’s a pretty reasonable thing to be distracted by.”
That got me.
I laughed once.
Then her expression sobered.
“You think that’s the safest place.”
“I do. But I’m not telling you where you’re going. If you want Raven’s couch, that’s where you go. If you want better locks on your room, I’ll have them installed today.”
“And if I choose your place?”
“Guest room. Private bathroom. Lock on the inside. No expectations attached.”
She searched my face.
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Your place.”
⸻
We waited until the shop closed before going to her room.
I stood in the hallway while she packed, keeping an eye on the stairs.
It didn’t take long.
A duffel bag.
A few clothes.
Toiletries.
The paperback from her nightstand.
Three weeks after running from a three-year marriage, her entire life fit inside one bag.
That pissed me off more than it should have.
“You knew it was small when you found it,” she said.
I looked around the room.
“I did.”
“It was better than the couch.”
“At the time, yeah.”
She zipped the duffel. “And now things changed.”
“Now Derek’s offering ten grand to strangers.”
She slung the bag over her shoulder before I could offer to carry it.
“Then let’s go.”
⸻
The ride downtown was quiet.
Emma stared through the passenger window while I tried not to think about what bringing her home meant.
Nothing.
It meant nothing except security.
I needed to remember that.
The private elevator opened directly into the penthouse.
Emma stepped out and stopped.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city. The place was too big for one person, something I’d known from the day I bought it and ignored ever since.
“Holy crap.”
“That’s one review.”
She turned slowly. “Jake, this is insane.”
“It’s secure.”
“You keep saying that like I’m not standing in a penthouse that probably costs more than my entire childhood neighborhood.”
“Guest room’s down there.”
She gave me a look.
“Fine. We’ll discuss my questionable real-estate decisions another day.”
That almost earned a smile.
I showed her the guest room and bathroom.
“The bedroom door locks from inside. Private elevator won’t move without my key or building security releasing it. Doorman knows not to give out information.”
She set her bag on the bed.
“And you’re down the hall?”
“Yeah.”
Something flickered across her face.
Relief, maybe.
“Can I really stay here?”
“As long as you need.”
“I’ll pay you.”
“No.”
Her expression hardened immediately.
Wrong answer.
I corrected myself.
“You’re already paying me back for the room. Let’s finish that before you invent another debt.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
“Fine.”
“And Emma?”
She looked at me.
“Living here doesn’t mean you owe me anything. Not conversation. Not time. Nothing.”
“I know.”
I hoped she did.
She glanced around the room, then touched the lock on the door.
“Thank you.”
“Get some sleep.”
I left and pulled the door almost closed behind me.
A few seconds later, I heard the lock click.
I stood in the hallway staring at that door.
Three weeks ago, she’d run barefoot into the street because a locked house had been a prison.
Tonight, she’d locked a door because she’d chosen what was on the other side of it.
There was a difference.
And as long as she stayed under my roof, I was going to make damn sure she never had reason to forget it.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD