“Don’t worry.” He reached over, took hold of her left hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You got this.”
She tightened her grip and gave a succinct nod.
About twenty minutes later, they pulled into the parking garage connected to her building. Hawk was disgusted to find out there was no guard at the entrance, not even so much as a gate requiring a card or code. Anyone could access the structure.
Many of the overhead lights had burned-out bulbs, and some of the ones that were still working were dim, almost to the point of ineffective.
“That’s my spot, over there.” She pointed to the farthest corner from the elevator.
“Jesus, Charlotte.” It was the middle of the day, and her assigned spot was one of the darkest in the building. “Have you always parked in that spot?”
“Actually, no,” she said.
He rolled to a stop, stretched his arm across the back of her seat, reversed into the spot. He pressed a button on the dash to shut the engine down, and Remy woke up. The dog stood, stretched, and moved to the door.
Charlotte lifted her bag from the floor, unclipped her seat belt, and started to reach for the door handle.
“Wait there.” He hopped out of the truck and checked his surroundings as he hurried around to open her door.
“Thanks.” She looped the strap of her bag over her head and swung her legs out to jump down.
“I’ve got you.” Hawk put a hand on each side of her waist and lifted her out.
Her eyes connected with his as he slowly lowered her down until she was steady on her feet. His hands remained on her waist, her mouth opened slightly, and he noticed her heartbeat pulsing at the side of her neck.
Everything around them faded, and they remained that way for a minute. He couldn’t be sure. The urge to kiss her burned through him and—
Tires screeched from somewhere nearby, and he quickly tucked her behind him, placing himself between her and the possible threat.
She leaned sideways to peek around him. “It’s just a car parking.”
“Let’s get Remy and get you inside.” He opened the door, grabbed his partner’s leash from where it lay on the floor but didn’t clip it on just yet.
Remy hopped out, sat in front of him, and waited for his next command.
Hawk pressed the key fob, and the horn honked once to indicate the doors were locked.
“Ready?” He rubbed his hand up and down Charlotte’s arm.
“Let’s do this.” She adjusted her bag, drew her shoulders back, and took his left hand when he offered it.
He wanted her on his left side because he needed unfettered access to his gun, which was holstered at his right hip.
“Break.” Remy stood and walked at Hawk’s side, keeping pace with them. “Why did you switch parking spots?” He liked the feel of her small hand in his as they fast-walked their way to the elevator.
“It wasn’t my choice. Our new head of security moved me to that spot.” She looked up at him. “I was given my old spot because I often work late and end up walking out alone. So I put in a formal request to my boss asking to be moved back, but he said it wasn’t up to him anymore.”
“Were other employees shuffled around or just you?” Hawk’s suspicions pinged, knowing Vincent Kimball was responsible for the relocation.
“I don’t think so. Reserved parking is a big deal here. If anyone else was moved around, it would’ve been all over the office.” She slowed to a stop, her brows beetled in thought, then she tilted her chin up to him. “Now that I think about it”—she checked the area and lowered her voice—“my parking spot was changed right around the time they did that systems check.”
When they discovered she’d accessed the file.
“Vincent Kimball is the one who moved you, right?” He gave special attention to the minivan parked near the far wall and determined it was no threat.
“Yeah.” She shivered. “That guy gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
“You have good instincts.” He slipped his phone from his pocket. “What does he look like?” Hawk was pretty sure he already knew.
