bad. It couldn’t be.”
When she couldn’t speak, couldn’t respond, he smiled. It was a little smug, which irritated her, but when he unlatched the seat belt and swooped in to kiss her, all thought of irritation fled.
In fact, she stopped thinking all together.
The world narrowed to the sensation of his mouth on hers, of his hand on her face, drawing her closer. Nothing seemed real except those two things.
When he broke it off, sat back and relatched his seat belt, she felt bereft.
“Never bad, Torie,” he reiterated. “Not with you.”
Pulling away from the curb amidst honking horns, he took her hand, lacing their fingers together. It was an intimate gesture. Lover like.
Into the deepening silence he asked, “And what did you think about it?”
How did she put it into words? She had asked for it, initiated it. The result, the chance to finally touch him, be with him, had been mind-blowing in so many ways. The fact that she’d been able to trust him enough to find her own release, not just kind of moan and fake it, was actually scary.
“Torie?” He pulled into the parking deck at his office, and parked. “Talk to me.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” she said, struggling to keep her voice level. “It was—”
“What?” he interrupted, sounding anxious.
Looking at him, facing him, she told the truth. “Beyond my wildest expectation. Incredible. What do you want me to say?”
He smiled. A true smile that twinkled in his eyes. “That works.”
People were coming and going in the garage, and he glanced at them. His newly upgraded parking space was second row center, close to the elevator. Way too visible to do what he was obviously thinking about.
“It works for you? I’m so glad,” her reply was half-pleased, half-sarcastic.
His smile stayed in place, but he sighed. “It’s not going to be a picnic, Torie. It’s already so complicated with all you have going on, just with the fire. That alone is terrible. When you add in everything else, it’s so complex, it’s mind-boggling.”
“Todd,” she whispered. “The shootings.”
“Everything from Todd to the vandalism. It’s all directed at you now. It’s the worst time for any kind of additional complication, especially for something between the two of us.”
“You say that like everything is my fault.”
“No,” he said sharply. “It’s not about fault. This isn’t your fault. Someone has fixated on you, Torie, and that’s dangerous.” He frowned, looking away. “There are so many things we need to get out. Clear the air.”
“Secrets,” she began.
Before they could continue, both their phones rang.
“Yes. We need to talk. When we can be alone. You’ll stay at my house again tonight. We’ll talk then.” He whipped out his phone and answered it. “It’s what?” He flicked a glance her way. “I’m in the garage. I’ll be right up.”
Torie listened to her insurance agent detail the next steps she needed to take, taking in as much of it as she could manage. Part of her mind was still thinking about Paul, about what he’d said. She heard his surprise and looked over. He looked like a storm cloud, angry and fierce.
“Um, Barbara, may I call you back? Thanks.” To Paul, she said, “What? What is it?”
“Somebody hacked into the firm’s files. Everything in every file which mentions you or Todd has been deleted or corrupted. I have to get up there and see how much I have in the paper files, be sure none of them were tampered with in the break-in the other day.”
“Oh, my gosh. How?”
“We don’t know. Now I’ve got more police to talk to. Cybercrimes, this time.”
Torie sighed, leaning back into the seat for a moment. “I want to say ‘what next?’ but I don’t dare.”
“No, please. Nothing more.” Paul laughed ruefully. He hesitated. “Take the car, do what you need to do. Call me, let me know where you are, okay?”
“Okay.” She tried to disentangle her hands from his, but they were firmly planted on hers. “What?”
“Be careful. Really careful. Whoever this is, whoever wants to hurt you, isn’t sane.”
A shudder ran up her spine. “I know.”
“I need to…”
“I know. Go. I’ll manage. It’s what I’ve learned to do.”
Paul was about to say something, but his phone rang again and he shook his head. “We’ll talk. Just be careful. Don’t drive too fast, either. Let Marco keep up.”
“Will do.”
She came around the front of the car as Paul moved toward the stairs. He stopped again, phone to his ear as if to come back to her. Was he going to kiss her? In public?
Evidently he thought better of whatever he’d been about to do, pressing the phone more firmly to his ear and
