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Chloe barely had timeto catch her breath before the front doors of the gym swung open and Leo strode in like a storm wearing Italian leather.He carried purpose in every step, causing people to instinctively straighten their spines.
Behind him came a woman—no, a vision—who looked as if she’d stepped out of a Scandinavian myth and decided to moonlight as a runway model.
Chloe froze mid-step when Kayne walked over and hugged her.It was brief and professional, yet it somehow sent something jagged spearing straight through her.Surely it wasn’t jealousy.Was it?That would be ridiculous and totally unwarranted, not to mention entirely inconvenient.
Kayne ushered the woman over.“Chloe, this is my coworker, Anja Johansen.”
Chloe blinked.“She’s security?”
The woman’s hair was so blonde it was practically white, swept back in a sleek ponytail that should’ve looked simple but somehow radiated authority.Her light-gray eyes took in the gym with one assessing, utterly unbothered sweep.What, had the Valkyries started doing private security on the side?
She wore fitted black tactical pants, a charcoal tee, and a jacket that saidI can break your wrist sixteen different ways and not spill my coffee.
Anja’s mouth quirked.“Is that a problem?”
“No,” Chloe said too quickly.“No problem.It’s just ...”She gestured vaguely.“You’re so beautiful.”
Anja studied her for half a second, then smiled.Not flashy or false.“Well, thank you.So are you.”
Chloe shook her hand.Her grip was firm.Confidence wrapped in bone and muscle.
“Anja used to be a detective in Pittsburgh,” Kayne supplied.“She’s handled homicide, organized crime, undercover ops.She’s the real deal.”
“And I’m an agent with COBRA Securities now,” Anja added, her tone light, almost shy, which didn’t remotely match the deadly competence rolling off her.“I’m here because Kayne said things have escalated.”
“More than I like,” Kayne grumbled.
Anja turned her attention back to Chloe, her gaze softening just enough to be human.“Are you okay?”
“Honestly?No.But I’m working on it.”
Anja nodded once decisively, as if Chloe had passed a test she hadn’t realized she was taking.“Good.Fear helps keep you alive.Denial gets people killed.”
Oddly, Chloe smiled.Not because anything was funny.Nothing was even remotely laughable.But because Anja radiated a calm that reached inside Chloe’s internal chaos and straightened it one careful notch.“You sound like Kayne.”
“Same training,” Anja replied.
“How did it go at the apartment?”Kayne wanted to know.
“It doesn’t appear to be a forced entry,” Anja said.“No pry marks along the jamb.”
Chloe winced and avoided Kayne’s eyes.
Anja’s gaze sharpened.“What aren’t you telling me?”
Boy, she was good.Kaynegood.Chloe had a feeling Anja, like Kayne, missed absolutely nothing.
With a sigh, she confessed, “I have a bad habit of forgetting my keys.Instead of calling Leo every time to bail me out, I started leaving a spare in the light sconce.”
“Ah.”
Just one word, but it landed heavily.Chloe could practically feel the judgment being filed away, tagged, and stored.
“There were no cameras in the apartment complex,” Anja continued.
Kayne grunted.Chloe didn’t need him to say it; she could hear his thoughts anyway.Why would you live somewhere without proper security?She felt faintly ridiculous under the combined weight of their competence.
