All he could see was a silhouette backlit by the bedroom light, showcasing a riot of out-of-control curls and delicious curves.
Poppy.
“Jesus, woman.” His breath came out in a burst. “It’s just me.”
“One can never be too sure which dark, lurking shadow to aim at.”
It was clear by the quiver in her voice she was scared. Like bone-deep scared.
He took the hammer by the handle and set it on a nearby sawhorse. “Let’s aim for something else, okay?”
“I saw someone out by the gate and thought his accomplice had broken in. But I’m fine.
Really fine. Fine fine fine.”
“Say it one more time and maybe I’ll believe you,” he said. “I saw him, too, which is why I came down.”
“Then why are you headed this way instead of out there?” she asked.
“I was coming to get you. I figured we’d have a little board meeting.”
“With a prowler on the loose?” She sounded horrified and dumbfounded. And when she put it like that he realized that a board meeting was ridiculous.
“I was trying to show you that I heard you.”
“Well, show me in another way. For right now, can we go scare that guy off before he actually makes it onto the set and, I don’t know, unalives Kiki?”
“I heard what you said the other night about being a team, which is why I’m not going to try to stop you from coming. But I am going to ask nicely if you’d stay here so I don’t have to worry about you and whoever that is down there.”
“Thank you for validating my wishes, but we had a team meeting, and decision: made. We go together.”
He suddenly regretted his team meeting decisions on so many levels.
“Fine. But stay behind me and if that guy has any kind of weapon, and I mean even a pencil, you hightail it to the pool house and hide with Kiki. Got it?”
“Yes, Thor.”
He took Poppy’s hand and put it on his shoulder so he could feel where she was at all times. Then he silently opened the slider. Scanning the yard, he caught sight of Backpack right as his two feet dropped onto the soil of the set-side of the fence.
“Bold little fucker,” he whispered as the guy made his way across the grass and directly toward the workshop.
“He knows where he’s going,” Poppy said. “Maybe it’s someone on the crew.”
“Have you seen any six-foot-three people on the crew?”
“No.”
Their prowler lifted the padlock and, as if he owned the place, let himself in.
“With all the expensive equipment you have, one would think you’d remember to lock up,” Poppy deadpanned.
“Lock it from whom? According to Jack, the set is supposed to be Fort Knox. We can’t even get phones in here.”
“No set is ever completely safe,” she told him.
Crouched down, they slowly made their way to the side ofthe workshop and hid in the shadow of the porch. He waited until Backpack had made himself nice and cozy and whispered to Poppy, “I’m going to pop out and scare him. You stay hidden here. Got it?”
Eyes wide, lips trembling slightly, Poppy nodded. He was about to step out of the shadow when she cupped his cheek and mouthed, “Be safe.”
