Molly’s feet had barely hit the front porch before her cell was ringing. Strangely enough, it was Chris, inviting her to dinner with him and Callum. Even though the invite had taken her by surprise, she’d agreed. What kind of fool passed up a chance for dinner out with two sexy men?
Besides, it would offer her the chance to get to know Callum without being obvious. Or at least not very obvious. The man was a walking wet dream, and she could use dinner tonight as an excuse to stock up on some fantasy material.
There wasn’t much open around town on a Sunday evening, so Chris had suggested a drive to Mumford, the next town over, for some sushi in a few hours. That gave her enough time to load Bo into her convertible after his bathroom break and hustle to her apartment to pack a few things for her two weeks at the farm. Bo gave a brief bark of delight as they pulled away, leaving the gravel lane behind them.
It was a short drive back into town. She was packed and heading back to the farm when she spotted a black SUV with heavily tinted windows. It was idling on a side street around the corner from her apartment. As she passed the intersection, it pulled out to follow her.
Even though she knew better, she felt the urge to speed up, putting distance between her and the tail. Her brother’s words of advice kept her steady, though. Gabe would want her to keep her cool. She could handle this, make him proud. If only she could reach him. He’d been gone for over seven months, out of contact. She’d left several messages with his command since moving to North Carolina, but as of yet he hadn’t been able to return them.
Keeping her pace slow, she circled around to head to the pub. If she drove by and Callum’s black truck wasn’t there, then she’d make her way to Chris’s apartment. If that failed, she’d visit the damn grocery store. She would not be leading anyone back to the isolated farm.
The SUV stayed a few car lengths behind her, but with so little traffic there was no place for them to hide. Once she came close enough to the pub to see Callum’s gleaming truck in the lot, she braced Bo in his seat and whipped the car to the right at the last second. The tires gave a quick squeal of disapproval, and Bo fell against the door before he could right himself. Giving another sharp jerk of the wheel, she pulled into the space closest to the service entrance. In seconds she bolted from her still-running car, too panicked to care, grabbing Bo’s leash as she went.
The tail had followed her into the lot, but at a much slower pace. She was sprinting to the service door when she realized she’d left her keys in the car. Praying the service door was still open, she gave a brief look over her shoulder. The windows were too darkly tinted to see anyone in the vehicle. It was circling, about to make another pass in her direction.
So much for keeping her cool. If that damn door was locked, she was trapped, with no one to blame but herself.
She was only a few feet from the service door when it was flung open, causing her and Bo to skid to a halt. Callum Eversman exploded from the door with a 9mm Glock at the ready, clad in only his boxers. “Get inside. Go. Go.”
The intensity of the moment washed over her once she reached the confines of the service hallway, and she started to shake. She could not fall apart now. Whoever was out there meant business, or they wouldn’t have followed her into the parking lot, hoping to find her alone. And now Callum was out there, alone. Tucking Bo into the office, she shut the door behind her after reaching into the right-hand desk drawer.
Turning for the exit with Noah’s semiautomatic in her hand brought a calm she hadn’t expected. It had been a long time since Gabe had taught her to shoot, but every bit of training he’d given now anchored her. The rising panic was gone. In its place was a cool, steely determination. Noah’s Ruger was a bit larger than her own gun, but she adjusted her grip to accommodate it then exited through the service door in a low crouch.
Callum stood at the edge of the walk with his gun at the ready, tracking the retreat of the black SUV as it sped away from the Drunken Duck. Without turning, he spoke. “How did I know you wouldn’t stay out of the way?”
She wanted to offer him a scathing response, but instead she almost swallowed her tongue as she took him in. He was practically naked, gloriously exposed down to his bare feet, and his muscles flexed as he relaxed his stance. He was probably six feet tall, but with the aura of menace radiating from him, he appeared larger than life.
She followed his movement as he made his way to her car and turned the engine off. Her two-seater didn’t have much space, so she’d stowed her overnight bag on the passenger side floor. Callum tugged it free and made his way back up the walk.
“Did you get a look at them?” Now that the threat was gone, her shakes were coming back, and it showed in the way her voice quaked.
“No.” He took her gun then handed her the bag. “Is this the first time they’ve gotten this close?”
Cal watched the expressions cross Molly’s face at his question. He saw her desire to lie, a brief panic that lying wouldn’t work, then the acceptance of the truth. “Yes. This is the first time they’ve ever really scared me.”
He could hear the shock in her voice, which was weak and thready. She followed him into the pub and he locked the door behind them.
“How did you know I was in trouble?”
Before answering her question, he let the dog out of the office, and the three of them made their way through the pub. “I heard the squealing tires.”
She let out little huff of surprise. “What?”
“Come on, Molly. Upstairs. We can talk about this after we call Chris.”
That drew her up short. “Like hell. I’m not dragging him into this. Whatever the fuck this is.”
Well, he could deal with her anger, he was glad to see her panic give way to something less destructive. “He’s already involved. Noah and Chris knew something was up a few weeks back.”
“Oh. My. God. That’s why you’re here.” The statement came out breathy and stunned, barely above a whisper. Panic was beginning to bleed back into her voice.
“Get your ass upstairs. Now.”
The dog gave a bark and bounded ahead of them.
She threw him a mutinous glare but followed his orders, and this time he watched her ass as she climbed the stairs. She was still in the pajamas from earlier, which weren’t exactly the sexiest thing she could be wearing, but his dick still tented his boxers. Only this time he didn’t have a bag to hide behind.
He couldn’t understand how a woman he’d known for all of two hours had managed to get under his skin already. When he’d heard her car tear into the lot below the apartment, he’d felt the kind of all-consuming fear that tore at his control. Then, when she’d come out of the pub with a gun drawn like a pro, his control had slipped a bit more, just in a different way.
Now she stood in the apartment with hands on her hips, about to give him the what-for, and it made him smile. Stowing the guns in a drawer in the kitchen after thumbing the safety on the Ruger in place, he turned to face her. She had advanced on him and was about to stick a finger in his chest.
Snatching her hand, he pulled it away from his body and went nose to nose with her. “Don’t bite my head off. Noah wanted backup, and you were too stubborn to go to anyone in the first place. So, you’re stuck with me until this gets resolved.”
Her breath shuddered and she leaned into his larger frame. There was nothing he could do. Except kiss her.