“Are you packing?” I don’t know what made me ask the question, but it seemed like something I should know about my bodyguard.
Stocks shook his head. “No weapons. I’m on probation.”
Awesome. Before I could ask him what he’d been convicted of to earn said probation, Havoc reappeared to give us the all clear. Stocks marched into the store while Havoc held me back to give me a passionate, panty-melting kiss.
“Be careful,” he said, squeezing me against him. “Call me if anything happens.”
“You do know I work at a bookstore, right?” I asked. “The most danger I’ve seen was when you were making books crash around me.”
He grinned. “That was fun. We should do it again soon.”
That sounded like a fantastic idea. I matched his grin, backing into the store. “I still have two more chairs we can break.”
He chuckled. “Challenge accepted.”
Oh boy.
He watched as I locked the barred glass door behind me, and then I watched his nice ass walk away. He swung one leg over his bike, gave me a smirk, slipped his helmet on, and motored off. I stared after him, wondering how that smirk managed to make my chest flutter every stinkin’ time he flashed it. He turned out of the parking lot, and I was no closer to solving the mystery, so I pushed off the door and headed into the break room to start coffee. While the pot was brewing, I unlocked the store, turned on all the lights, and turned the sign to open.
“How do you like your coffee?” I asked Stocks on my way back into the break room.
“Black,” he replied, taking up his position beside the big storefront windows where he had a good view of both the street and the store, clearly taking this guard duty gig pretty seriously.
Trying not to roll my eyes at his unnecessary sincerity, I dipped back into the break room to pour our coffees then carried them both out to the counter. Stocks stepped forward to accept his, thanking me, and I took my place behind the counter. We sipped in silence for a moment as he watched the street and I watched him.
“How long have you known Havoc?” I asked.
“A few months. Met him in the slammer.”
I wouldn’t have pegged Stocks for a convict. From his short, dark hair to his clean-shaven face, to his perfect posture and hardened eyes, he looked like a soldier or a cop. Maybe a firefighter. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d done to get locked up. I was trying not to pry, but he wasn’t exactly the sharing type and my curiosity was one hell of a nosy bitch.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “What were you locked up for?” I asked.
“Work incident.”
My eyebrows rose. “What was the charge?”
I didn’t think he was going to answer me, but he relented. “Destruction of private property and aggravated assault.”
“So, you lost your temper at work.” I shrugged. “Happens to the best of us. So… what exactly happened?”
He shook his head, chuckling. “Anybody ever tell you you’re relentless?”
“No. They usually use the word nosy. I’ve also been rightfully accused of meddling.”
Grinning, he said, “Havoc could use some meddling, the tight-lipped motherfucker.”
I cocked my head to the side, wondering if we knew the same Havoc. He didn’t blab or gossip or anything annoying like that, but Havoc and I spoke plenty.
Before I could ask Stocks what he meant, my cell dinged with an incoming text. I pulled it out of my purse and thumbed it on. Another unknown number.
‘Times up, Julia.’
I’d known he was going to contact me, but it still took the wind out of my sails. My shoulders tensed and I braced, waiting for something bad to happen. For the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
“Everything okay?” Stocks asked.
I forced a smile. “Peachy.”
