Don’t hurt her again. Whatever the hell you do, don’t hurt her.
“So…” Her voice reached him easily. “What’s supposed to happen now? Are you going to be my shadow all weekend? From this threat that I don’t actually see coming?”
He turned to face her.
“I don’t know how you intend for this to work.” She stood in his doorway, looking uncertain and far too lovely.
Don’t fuck up. Don’t.
“Just who is it that you think will be coming after me?”
“Quincy Atkins had a brother. One who didn’t exactly take it well when the guy vanished.” He saw her shoulders tense. “Unfortunately, I learned that Daniel Duvato was trying to contact that guy…shortly before Daniel’s rather well-deserved death.”
“You think the brother will come after me?”
“I think I want you safe, and I don’t want to take chances.”
She seemed to absorb that.
“As for this weekend…I thought you might want to come with me and see Reflections. I mean, it is your project. So getting a first-hand look at the place should benefit you.” He tried to sound casual. Not like he was offering her a date. That would be sleazy, all things considered.
Right? Or would she be open to—
She looked down at her watch. “I-I have an…appointment first. But then I’d love to see the place.”
What kind of appointment? He bit back the question.
Her gaze slid toward him. “Don’t worry. I’m not meeting with the FBI.”
“Never said you were,” he murmured.
“Don’t lie,” she chided him. “Special Agent Monroe called me twice today, and I refused to talk to him both times.” She sighed softly. “The guy is going to keep dodging my steps.”
He’d have to deal with Monroe.
“I’m not ready to talk with him.” She firmed her shoulders. “But I do have another meeting that can’t be delayed.”
A meeting? Or a date?
“I’ll have my driver take you over.” After her attack this morning, the last thing he wanted was for her to be out alone.
“Thank you,” Carly said. “I’d…appreciate that.”
Shock rolled through him.
“What?” Carly asked, tilting her head to the side so her hair slid over her shoulder. “Did you think I wouldn’t appreciate a ride? Seriously, Ethan, my day has sucked. Getting a ride in a fancy car isn’t something I’m going to argue about.”
Great. Then maybe she wouldn’t argue when she realized he was going with her.
He grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door. He wanted to take her hand, but he controlled that impulse. For her, he would try and act the gentleman.
She’d been willing to kill in order to keep him safe. A man never forgot a woman who’d done that for him.
They rode down the elevator in silence, and when they headed through the glass doors of the building and out into the busy city streets, he wasn’t particularly surprised to see Agent Monroe standing at the corner.
But when Monroe saw him, the guy glowered.
Ethan’s car was waiting right out front. As Ethan opened the door for Carly, he gave the special agent a friendly wave…
With his middle finger. Then he climbed in the car after her. The door shut with a soft thud and Carly gave him their destination address.
When they pulled away from the curb, he didn’t look back to see if the FBI agent was following him or not. Right then, he wasn’t doing anything that would get him in trouble.
That part would come later.
***
Having a car take her through the city was nearly heaven to Carly. Traffic was insane, of course, but then, it was New York, so how could it be anything else? But when Ethan’s driver pulled to a stop in front of Dr. Nelson’s building, he didn’t seem to have any trouble finding a place to park. Mostly because Carly realized the guy had just made a spot for the sleek car.
A privacy screen separated them from the driver, and that screen had made her feel far too conscious of her close proximity to Ethan.
“Who are you meeting?” Ethan asked her.
Her hand had already gone to the door handle, but she hesitated. “You know so much about my life. Surely you know this part, too?” And she hated that. Hated that her soul was so bare. “If this is going to work…” Carly didn’t even know that this was, not yet. An uneasy relationship? An alliance? She cleared her throat. “If we’re going to get through the next few days, I really think it would be better if we didn’t lie to each other.”
His fingers feathered over her shoulder. “I’m not lying to you. I have no fucking clue who is waiting in that building. It could be a lover. It could be a PI. I own the public relations company, yes, but I didn’t push into your whole life.”