Chapter 8
“Would you like something to drink?”
Ellie blinked herself out of a daze and glanced up at the young woman standing in the doorway. Blonde, mid-to-late twenties, and a figure with curves most men probably went nuts for, Hannah Murphy had been introduced to her earlier as the office manager for Eagle’s Nest Securities.
And she’s still waiting for an answer to her question.
Problem was, Ellie had no idea what that question had been.
“I’m sorry.” Her cheeks grew heated. “What did you say?”
Hannah’s kind smile deepened a set of twin dimples, giving her major girl-next-door vibes. “I was asking if you’d like something to drink. I have coffee, tea, bottled water, soda…”
Right on cue, Ellie’s mouth stretched with a perfectly timed yawn. Waiting for it to pass, she offered the kind young woman a chagrined smile. “Coffee would be amazing.”
“I’m guessing the stronger the better?” Hannah grinned.
“Can you put it into an IV drip?”
The other woman’s shoulders shook with a chuckle. “You know, Ithinkjust used my last IV bag on another client, but I’ll see what I can do.”
Ellie laughed, offering her thanks once more before Hannah spun on her heels and exited the security firm’s small meeting room. Settling back into her black leather chair, she was more than ready for the morning’s second round of coffee.
She’d drank her first cup before she and Lucky ever left her apartment, but her throat had still been bone dry all morning. Her non-medical brain said it was probably just nerves. It madesense, seeing as how she’d been on edge since Lucky had told her about the early-morning meeting with his team.
Me in a room full of former Navy SEALs who now all seem to act like my surrogate big brothers? What could possibly go wrong?
She’d asked Lucky about the purpose of the meeting, but the usually chatty man had just mumbled something about going over updates and seeing where everyone was with their part of the investigation.
When Ellie had attempted to push for more, he’d chosen that moment to make a so-called “important call”. Even the drive over had been quiet, which only served to put Ellie even more on edge than before.
Deep down, she knew the meeting wasn’t the root of her anxiety. It was the sudden shift in Lucky’s behavior.
Fun-loving. Playful. Annoying. Aggravating as hell.
That was the Lucky she was used to. But this quiet, almost stoic version of Lucky…
He scares me.
Ellie wasn’t afraid of him. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. She knew with every fiber of her being that the mouthwatering security specialist would never physically hurt her.
No, this new sense of dread that had been slowly making its way to every cell in her body stemmed from whatever—or whoever—had a man like Lucky feeling scared. Because the fear was definitely there, swirling around in that incredible blue stare of his.
Fear. Anger. Determination.
All three had come together, creating the perfect, emotional storm. One so powerful, she worried there may not be an escape.
“You’re still here.” Lucky’s voice pulled Ellie’s focus back to the room’s open doorway. “I half-expected you to make a run for it.”
The hard thump of her heart was as familiar as the man himself. It should be. The damn thing always seemed to kick the inside of her ribs whenever he appeared.
Sitting up straighter, she rested her elbows atop the small, rectangular conference table and flashed him a tight grin of her own. “The thought did cross my mind,” she half-joked.
A crooked grin lifted the left corner of his delectable mouth, despite the man’s earlier mood. The move exposed the shallow dimple that slashed into his cheek, the sight sending Ellie’s pulse racing through her veins.
“What made you stay?” Lucky asked as he made his way to the table.
You.