“We were lucky out here,” he said, stepping off the porch to round the cabin. His phone rang, and he answered quickly before giving a few quick “Yeahs” and “Uh-huhs” before ending with a “Will do.”
“What was that about?” I asked, being nosey.
He shook his head with a smile that said he was going to tell me anyway. “Calder said the streets are pretty flooded, but the town lucked out. He wants us to check out your place.”
“My apartment?” Did he know something we didn’t?
“Yeah,” Knox said, grabbing a small branch from the yard that had blown off in the storm. “If Rex planned to send a message, that’s the time and place he’d do it.”
What was up with his obsession with this Rex guy? “Are we expecting Rex to leave me a message?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Let’s just say he has an MO. If he’s interested, he’ll have made a move by now.”
It seemed like a lot for one dude. Why didn’t he just ask for my number?
Knox walked past me, close enough that I caught the scent of his soap. I breathed in a deep gulp of it. How was he so irritating and attractive at the same time?
Hot body.
Horrible mouth.
I hated that the longer I was around him, the mouth part didn’t bother me as much.
Knox drove—the car we used on the way in had no damage—and I sat quietly in the passenger seat for about three minutes of the drive.
“Do you think Princess Penelope will be okay in the cabin alone?” I asked as he drew closer to my apartment.
He sighed. “I think we should have put her outside like she belongs.”
“Knox,” I smacked his shoulder. “She’s so skinny. Someone has to take her in.”
His smile grew, letting me know it was all a joke. He had fallen for that cat. “We’ll get her a can of tuna or something after this.”
A thick tree trunk blocked the entrance to my parking lot. Somewhere in the distance a chainsaw buzzed, but it sounded like it had a ways to go until it made it this far. We parked outside the parking lot and got out, ready to go the rest of the way on foot.
“Are you okay?” Knox asked, somehow sensing my unease as I met him at the front of the vehicle.
I nodded. “Yeah, I just hate the feeling of life being out of my control.”
He snorted. “Welcome to life, babe.”
Yeah, but why my life more than anyone elses?
“Wait,” I said and tugged on Knox’s arm as we made it into my parking lot. “There’s a guy standing next to my car.”
I hated that everything from yesterday had me on edge, but I also trusted him.
The tall guy, wearing a leather jacket in this heat, which made him extra suspicious, had leaned himself against a light pole as if he belonged here. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he had a baseball cap pulled low. Something inmy gut said he was not a resident. I’d certainly never seen him before.
Knox’s body grew still in a way that screamed danger. If he hadn’t been on my team, I’d have been extremely worried. Like running in the other direction, worried.
“That’s not normal,” I said, thinking of the posture and leather jacket.
Knox shook his head and whispered, “No, it’s not.”
We inched closer but made it less than three feet before the man straightened and looked directly at us.
He smiled, and my stomach flopped upside down.
