Her laughter followed us into the night.
As we made our way to his truck, his hand once again on my lower back, I noticed his eyes scanning the lot the whole way.
Lately, it always seemed as if something or someone was going to jump out of the shadows, but with Lyric the feeling of safety washed through me and it felt damn good.
With him around, I didn’t think anyone would stand a chance. He had been in the military, was a cop, and it was easy to see he looked after himself. Lyric was built with a rock-hard body.
Maybe I could just keep him with me at all times?
A small burst of laughter escaped me at the thought and I stumbled. Thankfully, Lyric’s quick reflexes grabbed my arm before I toppled over on the pavement.
“You good?” he asked as he stopped us.
Now my face wasn’t just blushing, it was beet red.
“Yes, all good.”
“Want to tell me what you were laughing at?”
“Umm, that would be a hard no.”
Lyric chuckled and then got us moving again toward the truck. When we reached it and he opened my side for me, he told me that he would take me back to my car, but that he’d be following me home to make sure everything was good.
“You don’t have to do that.” He had done enough for the night. “Plus, you need to eat.”
“I’ll be fine and it will make me feel better.”
The man was proving to be as stubborn as my younger brother.
“Okay.”
His eyebrows raised, surprise shown in his eyes. Clearly, he thought I was going to argue the point longer and not give in so easily.
But by agreeing it meant I got to keep Lyric with me longer and the feeling of safety that came with that was monumental if only for a short time.
And I planned to cherish every second.
ChapterThree
LYRIC
I wasgood at keeping my cool.
However, as I followed Ruby home, my blood boiled, threatening to bubble over and seep from every pore in my body at the thought of someone terrifying her, along with the worry over not knowing how far they would take it.
People were unpredictable. I’d seen that firsthand being in the military and then becoming a cop.
Nobody should ever feel the way she was, but something about it being Ruby had me seeing red even more than normal and I was trying not to analyze that too much.
There was a job to do and I needed to direct my thoughts on it and keep focus.
Even if the strikingly beautiful redhead made that difficult.
Pulling up behind Ruby at the end of the long driveway I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t the prodigious, country-style home that was surrounded by a sizable amount of land.
It was clear that it would take time to keep up with everything and I was beginning to understand even better how much Ruby had on her plate between the jobs, the house, a younger, moody brother as she called it, and an aging grandfather.
To say I was impressed was an understatement, but I was worried too. How did she do it all? I wasn’t sure but I was going to find out.
