Wolfensen turned away and growled into the phone. “She’s a grown-ass woman. If she wants to see him, there’s nothing you or I can do about it. I wouldn’t want to stop her from having a friend.”
“Sure, having him as a friend and talking on the phone is fine. But now he’s saved her life, and she’ll probably think of him as some kind of hero. I had hoped by her being blind, she’dnotbe under the influence of the handsome firefighter’s looks. If she’d actually get to know the guy, who is probably just an average Joe Schmoe, she’d realize she can do better. I thought by letting her discover that on her own, she’d make the right decision.”
Noah tried not to show his irritation. How dare this guy assume he was some kind of moron? He became a firefighter because he wanted to. He could’ve gone to college, but why? His destiny was to protect the city just as his father and his grandfather had, and he was the sixth brother to follow that path. He was proud to be one of the legendary Fierro firefighters.
“Now she’ll be gazing up at him with adoration,” Dr. Samuels said, sounding dismayed.
“Maybe she genuinely cares for him. He seems like a good guy,” Nick was saying. “Won’t you even give him a chance?”
After a brief silence, the elder Samuels said, “I hadn’t realized I’d hired a relationships expert. I thought I’d hired a PI and bodyguard for my daughter.”
Nick shrugged absently. “You did. And if that’s all you want, that’s all you’ll get.”
Noah had hoped to invite Kizzy to his place, but he didn’t know what kind of luck he’d have now. She had already snuck in the back door and put the book back in its hiding place. It was probably time to find out where her loyalties lay.
He bent and whispered in her ear. “Why don’t we go to my place? There’s nothing you can do here now, and I can show you the other book.”
Her gaze snapped to his face. “You would do that? Show me the other book?”
“Absolutely. It’s important to compare them, but it seems as if they’d be safer apart…for now.”
“You’re right. Let me just speak to my father for a minute.”
Noah nodded and removed his arm. He watched as she strolled over to Nick’s side and waited her turn.
“I think your daughter wants to speak to you.”
“Put her on.”
“Dad, I’m going to Noah’s apartment for a little while. I need to tell you something but not here with all these people around.”
“Can you stay there until I get home?”
“The place is a mess, and I don’t even know if we can live in it.”
At last, her father sighed. “Wait until I get there. Then I want you back home as soon as things settle down. I can wait for the insurance inspector and the fire inspector, but the minute they deem the place safe to go in, we’ll grab some important things and relocate. I also want to ask you some specific questions about how close they came to the you-know-what.”
“Very, but with Noah’s help, they didn’t get it.”
“How did he help?”
“I tossed him the book so I could have both hands free. He held it so I could use my powers to force the entity to retreat.”
Dr. Samuels’s voice raised. “Did he see what you did?”
“Yes. There was no way to avoid it. And he didn’t freak out. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it, but I think we need to do that and soon. There’s something else I want to check out at his place. Something he just told me about.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you after I see it. It might be something important or nothing at all. I won’t know until I see for myself.”
“Fine. Just don’t leave yet. Let me get there first. Can you hand the phone to the police? I’d like to talk to whomever is in charge.”
Kizzy returned to Noah while her father spoke to the police and the fire chief. He must have asked to speak to Noah, because the chief walked over to the two of them and handed Noah the phone.
“Hello, sir.”
“I understand Kizzy wants to go to your apartment. For how long?”
