He stepped back into the office.
“You okay?”Chloe asked, tightening her ponytail, completely unaware that danger had been within arm’s reach.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, pulse steady only because he forced it to be.“Next candidate?”
She instantly perked up.“Robin Day.She ran a yoga studio and two wellness retreats.I think she’d be great for our class schedule.”
Kayne returned to his post by the door, posture relaxed, and expression unreadable.He could’ve passed for bored.
But something shifted inside.The part of him forged from SEAL training and fieldwork knew danger didn’t kick down doors or announce itself with fireworks.It lingered quietly at the edges, leaned against walls, and waited to see who noticed.
Someone had been watching her, close enough to touch the plaster outside her office and test their boundaries.
It wouldn’t happen again.
His gaze slid back to Chloe.Her head was bent over the papers, soft features creased with concentration.Trust was written into the line of her posture, and she was oblivious to the shadow tightening around her life.
Yeah, they weren’t touching her.Not while he was breathing.
Chapter Six
Chloe was halfway throughsorting the next stack of résumés when the main door banged open hard enough to rattle the temporary light fixtures.
“Oh, fabulous,” she muttered.
Her half-sister, Danica, swept in, mistaking the construction zone for a red-carpet premiere.Her glossy high ponytail could’ve blinded someone, her lashes were long enough to create wind current, and her outfit—some kind of slinky designer set in blush pink—was about as appropriate for the dusty renovation site as stilettos on a hiking trail.
“Chlo-eee,” she sang, dripping faux sweetness that always meant incoming chaos.
Chloe forced a tight smile.“You’re late.”
Danica dismissed this with a flick of her manicured wrist.“I had a facial.Emergencies happen.”
Yes,Chloe thought,for people who confuse exfoliation with crisis management.
Before she could redirect her sister toward literally anything helpful, Danica spotted Kayne.More accurately, shezeroed inon him like a heat-seeking missile, instantly transforming into a predator who’d scented fresh prey.
