Lion's Dangerous(Kings of the Jungle #1)(61)

        

Things had changed between them, though. Jude hadn't said as much but she suspected he wanted to stake his claim, declare himself not to her but to the people who mattered in his hidden life.

An appointment with her accountant and an early evening class provided a handy excuse to continue avoiding the decision. She didn't have time-or mental space-to think about it as she drove her rental car from the store to the accountant's office and back to the store again.

"I am so glad you're here," her assistant, blurted when Lily stepped through the door and into a crowd of chatty knitters. "I've misplaced my keys and all the materials for the spinning class are in the stock room. Can I borrow yours?"

Again with the keys? Lily bit back a sigh. "Yeah, sure. Let me know if you don't find them. We'll have to make arrangements for opening tomorrow."

Maybe she could beg off meeting Jude with the excuse of having to open.

"I'm sure they're somewhere," Tina replied. "I'll look again after I get your class set up."

Tina headed to the back of the store and Lily smiled at a customer who caught her eye from the counter. Fifteen minutes and one circular needle demonstration later, she found herself face-to-face with a young, familiar-looking blonde.

"Can I help you?" She couldn't place the sense of recognition.

The young woman smiled sheepishly. "I'm Summer. Jude's sister. I wanted to introduce myself and say hi."

Oh. Well, hello awkwardness. Lily blinked past her surprise. It was a wonder she hadn't made the family connection to Jude. Summer had his eyes as well as a narrow, feminine version of his nose and chin.

Summer bit her lip. "Um."

"Sorry." Lily shook herself. "Summer, of course. The other end of the Billy Idol ringtone."

She rolled her eyes. "He is so old. That ringtone's embarrassing. I'm very well-behaved."

Lily found herself smiling. "I'm sure you are."

"Right?" Summer quirked a grin. "Maybe you could tell him to relax and put away his shotgun. Over dinner with us tonight."

"Oh. Tonight. I, uh … "

"Have plans with him. Yeah, he mentioned. But he's being selfish with you so I figured I'd invite myself to the dinner portion. Do you mind?"

Gah. Her Friday night appointment-slash-date, which she hadn't realized would include dinner-or maybe hadn't remembered-already had her on edge. Sharing a table with his sister beforehand …

"It's cool if you don't want to," Summer said, interrupting Lily's panic. "I just thought I'd ask." 

"I do want to," she said, surprised to realize she meant it. "I just-"

Summer squealed and hopped in place, her blonde bob bouncing at her jaw. "Great! Do you have anything against seafood?"

"Er … no. Fish never did me wrong," she said, helpless in the face of Summer's exuberance.

Summer entered Lily's cell number into her contacts and they chatted for a few more minutes before Lily had to step away in order to welcome her students.

The class took more out of her than it should have. She was drained by the time she ushered her last customer out the door and locked up. Tina's keys were still missing despite a thorough search. The other woman left with the intention of searching at home, which was where she'd gone during her lunch break. Lily snapped the blinds closed with a sigh and went to work tidying the disarray left by a busy Friday crowd. One more excuse to delay meeting Summer and Jude at the popular restaurant Summer had chosen via text message.

As she got down on her knees to straighten the yarn bins closest to the floor, the chime of the bell over the door dropped her heart into her stomach. She'd locked that door.

"If you move I'll put a bullet in the back of your head," the intruder warned.

Her thoughts tumbled and tripped over one another, all trying to escape at once. One clawed to the surface above the rest.

She knew him.

And it wasn't comforting knowledge.

Swallowing to fight a surge of bile, she spread her fingers on the floor to steady herself as terror jacked her heart rate to a roar in her ears.

Nasal and too high to be attractive on a man, that voice had hurled obscenities at her across a courtroom...every one of them justified. She had broken his body and ruined his life, just the way she'd broken and ruined Rhys. The court had determined she wasn't responsible, but Katt had disagreed.

This man, the driver of the other car … God. Of course it was him hunting her. She should have finished making Jude's list.

If Jim Katt had any inkling as to the thoughts running through her head, he didn't give any indication. He was silent as he approached, footsteps heavy on the thin rug. Acutely aware of her vulnerability, she made a mental sweep of the store. Her cell phone was in her bag behind the counter. The landline phone was behind the counter too, along with the panic switch for her alarm system.