Leo blinked and forgot how to inhale.Forgot his own name for a second there.He briefly considered introducing himself as, “Hi, I’m an idiot.”
She shut the door, glanced around, and when her gaze landed on him, his heart did something undignified in his chest, like a puppy skidding across hardwood.No traction.Zero dignity.
He opened his mouth.Closed it.Opened it again.
“Hi,” she said, voice calm and confident.“I’m Anja.Kayne sent me.”
Oh.Right.Words.He should absolutely make some of those, preferably in the correct order.
“Yes,” he managed.“Anja.”A beat.“Wow.”
Wow?Really?That was the best he had?Fantastic.Just great.His cousin’s life was turning into a Lifetime thriller, and he was over here rediscovering puberty.
A breathless little laugh slipped out of her—at him—which should have offended him but mostly made him want to hear her do it again.It was deeply problematic.
“Try to pace yourself,” she teased, sweeping past him toward the entrance.
He stepped aside, clearing her path, reminding himself he had bigger problems than his sudden inability to function around beautiful, dangerous blondes.
“The police have already left.”
Her expression intensified, a predator scenting threat, and something inside Leo eased a fraction.Whatever she was—cop, agent, Valkyrie—she looked as if she could handle it.Possibly with one hand tied behind her back.
Thank God.Chloe needed steady hands right now.Not Leo, who was apparently operating on hormones and adrenaline alone.
He watched the energy shift in Anja’s shoulders as she took in the hallway.She wasn’t rattled or even fazed.She was already cataloguing details, reading the air as if it owed her answers.
Anja Johansen was trouble.Beautiful, competent trouble that showed up exactly when you needed it and rearranged the world on your behalf.
Leo exhaled slowly, rolling out his shoulders, forcing himself back into protective big-brother mode.Later, after the police reports, the security sweeps, and the overwhelming urge to punch a brick wall settled, he’d allow himself to think about the way her eyes had pinned him like a searchlight.
Right now, Chloe came first.He’d stop the world before he let anything hurt her.Even if it meant pretending he didn’t notice the stunning blonde operative who had just knocked the breath out of him at first sight.Which was, frankly, a lie he was already terrible at telling.
Chapter Thirteen
Kayne spotted him outof the corner of his eye.Joel Erickson, the construction worker with the resting scowl and the habit of watching Chloe a little too long.The man hovered near the end of the hallway, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders tight as rebar.
