Karissa stood there looking like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to smack her brother again or dig a hole in the floor and crawl in. Hale thought she might actually be blushing. Then again, it could simply be anger.
“If you’re here, I assume that means everything is taken care of with Patterson?” Karissa said to her brother. “He’s canceling some of his more ill-conceived appearances, now that he has a healthier appreciation for how dangerous this hit man really is, right?”
Hale’s confusion must have shown on his face because Karissa turned his way. “After the fight was over and we’d gotten Patterson and his son safely locked down in his penthouse suite with guards in every room, I sat down and tried to get him to realize exactly how dangerous this guy is without revealing too much of the supernatural stuff. I needed him to cut back on all these huge social events making it damn near impossible for me to protect him.”
“How did he take that conversation?” Hale asked.
He’d never met Dominic Patterson so he couldn’t say for sure, but something told him that a man like that wouldn’t like anyone trying to tell him what he could and couldn’t do.
“I don’t know,” Karissa admitted. “I ended up leaving to come find you before I could get an answer out of him. Which is why I’m hoping my brother has something good to tell me.”
Hale turned to look in Deven’s direction, even as his mind replayed what Karissa had said. She’d been trying to find him. He assumed it was in regard to trying get STAT’s help identifying the hit man, but why hadn’t she said anything about it?
“There’s some good news but probably not exactly what you were hoping for,” Deven said with a slight wince. “After I stressed the fact that the hit man could show up anywhere he wants, Pattersonagreed to curtail most of the larger social events he had planned over the next week or so before the grand opening of his plant. But he insists on going on with several smaller, more personal events, including dinner with the governor and several key investors at the Monarch restaurant. It’s tomorrow night and Patterson wants you at one of the nearby tables so you blend in but are still close enough to keep an eye on him.”
Hale could immediately tell from the expression on her face that Karissa wasn’t thrilled about that plan.
“I don’t have anything to wear to a fancy restaurant like that,” she said. “I’m going to be up half the night shopping online and hoping I can get a dress delivered by tomorrow.”
“No need. Patterson had his assistant, Peggy, order something for you. It’ll be here in the morning,” Deven said. “I think he assumed that I’d be going with you as your date—which is all kinds of weird—but now that Hale has agreed to help, he can go instead.” Deven looked at him. “Do you have a suit, or do I need to get one for you?”
Karissa started sputtering and stammering about how he was far too busy to go on adatewith her tomorrow night. Hale had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling. Damn, she looked adorable as hell all discombobulated as she tried to figure out what to say next.
“I have a suit,” Hale said, locking eyes with Karissa for a second before looking at Deven. “We have to do formal functions for the mayor and chief of police occasionally. They like us to look nice.”
“It’s all settled then,” Deven said, giving them a broad grin. “The two of you can have a nice dinner together—paid for by Patterson, of course—while still being close enough to protect him, and I get to stay behind the scenes in the security room watching the monitors and sensor feeds, where I can do what I’m best at.”
Karissa still looked rather dazed, but Hale got the feeling she wasn’t too upset about having dinner with him at a fancy restaurant. At least he hoped not. He was definitely looking forward to tomorrow evening. He’d wanted to have a chance to spend some time with her to see if there was still anything between them. Thisdatewould give him that chance.
Chapter 10
Karissa stood in the lobby of the hotel off Elm Street, waiting for Hale to arrive, feeling more than a little self-conscious in the dress she was wearing. Not that she didn’t wear nice clothes as part of her protective details, but truthfully, she’d never worn anything remotely like this.
She’d thought Patterson’s assistant was sending over something ordered at an upscale department store, but the gown that had shown up at her suite looked like a designer original that probably cost more than she wanted to think about. While the emerald-green silk with the tiny gemstones sewn in here and there on the bodice fit perfectly, there was no place to hide her throwing knives. Worse, the heels that had come with it were ridiculously high. It made her feel like she was walking on stilts. And yet, the only thing she could focus on at the moment was what Hale was going to think when he saw her in the dress.
Which was absolutely bonkers since she shouldn’t give two hoots about his opinions. But at the same time, she did. It was bizarre, unsettling, and all-around confounding. It was as though he continued to have this hold on her ten years after he’d dumped her.
She was about to go check in with Deven so she’d stop obsessing over her ex when she caught sight of Hale walking into the hotel, looking incredibly attractive in a dark suit that almost certainly didn’t come off the rack. The jacket was perfectly tailored to hug his broad shoulders and emphasize his powerful chest while the pants showed off his trim waist and muscular legs. Her pulse skipped a beat at the sight of him.
“Well, thank you,” Hale said as he stopped in front of her, a sexy smile tugging at his mouth. “I try never to miss leg day.”
It took about five seconds to realize she’d said at least a portion of her thoughts out loud. Possibly all of them. She seriously needed to stop that. She was considering doing that aforementioned check in with Deven before she embarrassed herself any further when she saw that Hale’s eyes had suddenly gone from their usual baby blue to bright gold.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was a trick of the light coming from the crystal chandeliers high above them.
But shedidknow better.
She’d realized there was something different about him that first night, given the way he’d fought the creature in the alley and then again when she’d seen how fast he’d been able to run after the van at the police station. On some level, she supposedshe’d accepted he might be a supernatural. She had no idea what kind, and truthfully, she’d been avoiding having to think about it. But the glowing eyes were making that rather difficult now.
“Don’t you both look amazing,” a voice said from off to her right, making Karissa jump even though she knew it was Deven. “From the way you were getting lost in each other, I’d almost think you guys were on a real date.”
Karissa glared at her brother. “What are you doing out of the security room? Who’s got eyes on Patterson if you’re here being a nuisance?”
“There are a dozen discreetly dressed but heavily armed guards already on the restaurant terrace, all within a few strides of our client and his son,” Deven said, motioning them toward the elevators. “There are more in the main part of the restaurant and in the kitchen. As far as why I’m down here being a nuisance, it’s to make sure you arrive in time for your dinner reservation. Can’t have the two of you losing the perfect location to watch Pattersonandenjoy the romantic Dallas skyline.”
Karissa would have glowered at her brother again, but he was already walking ahead of them toward the elevators, motioning for them to keep up. She started to follow, but a warm hand on her arm stopped her. Glancing down, she saw Hale’s long, exquisitely shaped fingers draped casually around her wrist. When she looked up, she noticedthe gold glow had disappeared from his gaze. But the heat was still there.
“I didn’t get a chance to say it before your brother showed up,” he murmured softly, leaning in so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “You look absolutely stunning in that dress. Even now, it’s hard to find the words to tell you.”
