“No, but I didn’t even meet the whole Pack so how would I really know?” She raised an eyebrow, challenging him. Taking the bait, he stood up, making his presence felt in the room. Flora knew he was second-in-command, a right hand to the Alpha; but this feeling was different. He was pressuring her to listen, to get closer. She was drawn to him. Even with her internal body heat rising, shivers still ran down Flora’s arms.
“No, I don’t have a mate…or a girlfriend,” he said. He kept his eyes trained on hers for what felt like five minutes before he slowly sat back down, that damn smirk still on his face. She knew he got to her, and he knew it too. Flipping her hair off her shoulder, she turned toward her computer. While she had plenty of things she could be doing, she pretended to write an email.
“I have a question, too.”
“What is your question?”
“Have you fallen for me yet, Flora?”
Flora began to choke on air, the shock taking a firm hold of her throat. Dylan handed her a water bottle. Taking a sip, she glanced over at him. Would he be disgusted if she had a crush on him? Did he actually care? Would he be happy? Who the hell knew — his stoic, chiseled face wasn’t giving away shit.
“I’ll let you get away with that one, Flora Larkspur.” He laughed, the same sound that made her heartbeat faster.
Flora rolled her eyes jokingly.
“Damn,” he muttered.
Damn? What does he mean by ‘damn’? Damn, she doesn’t have feelings for him? Damn, he really missed a bullet with that one? Feeling lost, she focused on her computer screen, trying to forget the conversation that took place.
“Okay, so what do you think about Hale from the printer room?” she asked, trying to change the subject. She looked for any reason to avoid answering the question, even if that meant going through their potential suspect list.
“He’s on my list of suspects. He was staring a little too hard.”
“Maybe he had a crush?”
“On you? That would only add proof to the pudding.”
“No silly, you,” Flora said, laughing at the shocked expression on his face.
“On me?” he asked, pointing to himself.
“Yeah, he’s gay and loves a bad boy dressed in black.” Flora laughed at the idea Dylan didn’t think he was attractive to his own gender. Who wouldn’t fall for the dreamy bad boy? Flora sure couldn’t stop herself.
* * *
“Hey,um, I forgot my phone in the car; will you be okay getting in?” Dylan asked, patting his pockets.
“I’m a grown woman, Dylan. I can handle it,” Flora said with a nervous laugh. She’d seen Dylan do this a thousand times. She could check her own apartment. Even so, the fear built up with each step she took alone up her apartment stairs. She could hear her car door open, and knew Dylan wasn’t far. But why did she feel as if she was completely alone?
Flora steadied her hand on the doorknob before unlocking it. She walked into the apartment, searching as Dylan normally did before finding herself back in the kitchen. That wasn’t too bad: checking the windows, in closets, and under furniture, running her hands along surfaces and under lamp shades for recording devices. The search came up clean, as it had been for the last three weeks. Setting the keys down on the black countertop, she plopped onto the barstool at the kitchen’s mini island. She let her head collapse into her arms, wondering where this all started. From being stalked to needing a bodyguard, being attacked, and not knowing what would come next.
Tears welled up as frustration built from her throat. Flora’s body shook with each silent sob. The embarrassment she felt for having to need protection became overwhelming. Since when was the protection from her panther not enough? Since when had she actuallyneededsomeone else? Sitting in the kitchen the silence rang in her ears begging for any small noise. Being alone had become a double-edged sword. On one side, Flora could unleash the cries she’d been holding in since that morning. On the other, she was open to attacks from anyone — her attacker included.
Consistent tapping noises filled the kitchen. Wiping a tear away, Flora dragged herself off the stool and listened, trying to figure out what made the noise without moving too much.
“Enough, Dylan, this is not the time,” Flora’s shoulders rose with tension. He’d never joked like this before, but she really hoped it was him. Thinking for a moment, she realized that she didn’t hear the door open, and that Dylan hadn’t come in yet. Looking around Flora listened to the sound, it was repeated over and over and getting louder as seconds passed. With shaky sock-covered steps, she walked toward the window in the living room, following the sound. With trembling hands, she opened the curtains an inch, and peeked out the window.
She let out a scream and fell backward onto the floor. A medium sized rock bounced off her window. Scrambling back, she bumped into the couch, sending another wave of terror through her body. A pounding on the door made her jump.
“Flora, I’m opening the door. It's Dylan,” Dylan's panicked voice yelled from outside the apartment. He shot into the room, eyes searching for danger. Seeing Flora curled up on the floor with tear-stained cheeks, he darted toward her.
“The window! Someone is trying to break in,” she screamed, pointing to the only window with the curtain open. She focused on the sound of Dylan busting open the window, checking for someone, anything that was out of the norm. Once he deemed the apartment was safe, he ran back to her.
“They must have run off when I came in.”
By that point, Flora was curled up on the hardwood floor behind the couch, facing away from the window. Her legs were pulled into her chest as she firmly pressed her back into the couch. Her eyes tracked Dylan’s movements, trying to find something to focus on. Dylan took a deep breath before taking a seat next to her, his legs spread out on the floor. Moments passed, as they both sat there staring at nothing. Silence welcomed them as Dylan regulated his breathing and Flora's thoughts raced.
“Before you run deeper into the darkness of your mind, tell me what happened,” Dylan suggested, still not looking her way.
