“I’m a great cook,” he said. “I could make you a gourmet dinner right now with whatever you have in the fridge.” He left the offer on the table as bait, curious to know what she’d say in return. He knew he shouldn’t even think about whether or not a client was into him, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d have to be very careful with this one; the last thing he needed with a startup business was a bad reputation as someone who used his position to take advantage of people in vulnerable situations. Still.
“Good luck,” she said blushing. “It’s ketchup and toaster strudel. I don’t do much besides sleep here. Work keeps me really busy.”
“What do you do?” he asked.
“I’m a trauma surgeon at Brooklyn United.”
Rusty sat back, impressed. He’d let her undress him and check his vitals anytime.
“So, you know your way around a knife,” he said. “Do you even need me?”
“Only surgical knives and I’d prefer not to be in that close of proximity with this stalker, whoever he is. Now, if you gave me a couple of katana swords, that’d be a different story!” She laughed so hard, she snorted. Her face turned bright red.
Rusty throbbed in his pants; he was glad to be sitting at a table. This chick was adorable, and she knew weaponry.
“I could train you up,” he said.
“Sure,” Kaylin replied. “It’s a date.”
He wished she meant it. “Back to business,” he said, tightening his mouth into a straight line to keep from smiling giddily at her. “There’s a chance this guy is a nobody, just someone you know or encountered who is infatuated with you and doesn’t know how to talk to women. There’s also a chance his intentions are more sinister. We have no way of knowing until we figure out who he is. You sure you have no idea?”
Rusty’s face looked so stern, Kaylin felt like she was in trouble for not knowing the answer to his question. She shook her head and wondered if this guy had ever had fun in his life, or if he went around scowling since the day he was born. She sighed—too loud, he probably thought she was lame and rude—still, the desire to crawl across the table and straddle his lap was filling her up.
Kaylin shrugged. “I don’t talk to guys. I’m at work all the time. I mean, I guess I talk to them if they’re my patients.”
“Could a patient be doing this?”
She shook her head. “I don’t exactly inspire grand gestures when I’m running around the hospital wings,” she said.
Clearly, this girl has no idea how beautiful she is, Rusty thought. He wished he could tell her. Show her.
“Anyone you have or had a rapport with? Anyone who seemed more interested in engaging you than others?”
“I talk to all of my patients,” she replied. “They’re the reason why I got into medicine.”
“Not particularly helpful,” Rusty said. As far as he knew, any random stranger on the street could have seen her coming and going and gotten obsessed. She had full curves and lips he wanted to suck through his teeth. Her eyes were wide enough to make her look like a character in an anime show.
“You need to stay somewhere else tonight. And for the foreseeable future,” he said. “Until we pinpoint who this guy is. You need to make yourself inaccessible to him. You’re a sitting duck here.”
“That’s not fair,” Kaylin said. “Codex is a great guard-cat.” She picked the cat up from between her legs and set it on her lap.
“No doubt. Looks very ferocious.”
“Do you think someone would break in?”
“I can’t know what this guy will do. We’ll find him, though. I can guarantee that. But for now, you should stay in a hotel.”
“For how long?”
“Until I catch him.”
“I can’t stay in a hotel indefinitely,” she said. “That’s too expensive. I have a cat. Can’t you just install a security alarm?”
Rusty shook his head. He knew the stalker could be watching her even now, waiting for her to leave her condo. Even if Rusty escorted her to a new location, he could follow. He needed to make sure she was safe, which meant assuming the worst.
“Here’s an unconventional offer,” he said. “I’m renovating my office. It’s an old apartment building. I live in one of the units; working on joining the top few into one big living space and saving another as a guest suite for occasions just like this, when a client is in danger and needs to stay under my watch. It has a bathroom and a bed. I think you should stay there. It’s the safest option.”
“With you?” The words came out softer than Kaylin expected, surprising herself. Everything about this man was surprising—the way he made her feel safe rather than intimidated. The way her pulse fluctuated in line with how close he stood to her. His suggestion that she stay at his house, in his custody, thrilled her more than scared her.
