“Raina,” I began, ready to shut down this line of conversation, but Langston interrupted.
“I’m keeping Aven safe. Our history makes the working relationship easier. I already know her habits, her routines,” he replied smoothly.
Raina hummed, clearly unconvinced. “Mmhmm.”
“Raina!” I snapped.
Langston’s expression remained neutral, though I noticed a twitch at the corner of his mouth. “The security system working alright for you? No issues with the motion sensors?” he asked Raina, changing the subject.
Later, as I walked Langston to his car, parked on the street in front of Raina’s home, I noticed how he positioned himself between me and the street, his body serving as a physical barrier against potential threats. The protective gesture was both irritating and oddly comforting, a contradiction that seemed to define everything about our current relationship.
“You don’t have to do this… you know… stand guard all day… follow me around. You have an actual security firm to run.” I reminded him as we reached his car.
“Tamika’s handling things. And yes, I do have to do this,” he replied, scanning the quiet street before returning his attention to me.
His closeness sent contradictory signals through my body: a desire to lean into his embrace battled with the urge to maintain the independence I’d fought so hard to establish.
“You can’t protect me forever.”
“Watch me try. Get some sleep, Trouble. I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow morning.”
It was almost midnight,and the office had emptied hours ago, leaving Langston and me behind. Either we were dedicated to finding my stalker, or we simply wanted to be in each other’s presence while doing so. My screen highlighted the scattered files tracking local suspects, anyone who might have connections to both me and Leo, anyone who might know those specific details about my time in South America. So far, we’d had nothing but dead ends and coffee cups piling up between us.
“I think we need to call it. Fresh perspective in the morning might help.” Langston ran a hand down his face.
I rolled my shoulders to ease the tightness from hours of work. “Yeah. My brain is fried for real.”
We shut down the computers, gathered the files, and locked the file cabinets. It was like we’d been doing this for years instead of days. Langston waited by the door while I grabbed my purse.
We stepped inside when the elevator doors opened. Langston tapped the button on the panel to the lobby. I leaned against the elevator wall, aware of my bone-deep exhaustion.
“You good?” Langston asked, studying my face with his penetrating eyes that always made me feel transparent.
“Just tired. Going from one stalker to another is fucking draining.”
Langston opened his mouth to respond when the lights flickered, then went out completely in darkness. The elevator stopped abruptly, throwing me off balance.
“Must be a power outage,” Langston stated calmly. Then the emergency lights kicked on.
“Perfect. Please tell me this thing has an emergency phone. I’m not getting a signal,” I muttered. The universe apparently decided I hadn’t had enough stress for one day.
Langston checked his cell phone and then moved to the control panel, picking up the small handset embedded there. After a moment of listening, he replaced it with a frown. “Dead.”
I pressed the alarm button, but no sound came. “Wow. We’re really stuck, aren’t we?” I tried the open button repeatedly, then all the floor buttons, but none of them responded.
“Looks like it. The backup generator should kick in soon, or the night guard will notice the elevator’s stuck. Could be a few minutes. Could be longer.” Langston leaned against the wall opposite me.
The confined space suddenly made me acutely aware of Langston’s presence, the width of his shoulders, and the way his eyes never left my face in the dim light.
“This is awkward,” I said, desperate to fill the silence.
Langston smirked. “Being trapped in an elevator, or being trapped in an elevator with me?”
“Both… I didn’t mean?—”
“I know what you meant. Things between us are complicated,” he interrupted.
That was putting it mildly. Between our history, that night in his office, his declaration I should stay, and now him appointing himself my personal bodyguard, complicated didn’t begin to cover it.
