In Rides Trouble (Black Knights Inc. #2)(43)

So why didn’t he propose? Why didn’t he talk about her? Was it possible she was simply a friend with benefits?

That’s what made the most sense.

Yeah, now that she thought about it, Ms. McGivesItUp had to be Frank’s go-to gal when the ol’ libido started acting up. But, damnit, why did the big dill-hole have to go all the way up to Lincoln Park when she, Becky Reichert, was right there, ready and willing to fill that particular position in his life?

If all he wanted was a little in-and-out, she had a slot A that would be more than willing to accommodate his tab B on occasion and then, maybe, they could—

“Oh good. You’re awake.” Frank came to stand in front of the sofa, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a watermelon-flavored Dum Dum in the other. He handed over both.

“Thanks.” She accepted them gratefully, noting the fact that he brought in her usual breakfast, in bed no less…er, perhaps it was more accurate to say he brought her breakfast in sofa?

Whatever. Regardless, it was clear that although he might not like to entangle himself in messy, personal relationships, he sure as heck knew her personal habits. So, like it or not—and she was very sure he would prefer or not—the two of them were entangled.

Just not as entangled as she wanted them to be.

“What’s up?” She took a sip of the scalding coffee and unwrapped the sucker.

“Just got a new order in from one of the Blackhawks players. He wants a custom-made Black Knights chopper to auction off for a charity he’s sponsoring.” He handed her a memo with the details, and just like that, it was business as usual.

Frickin’ frackin’ great.

But really, did she expect anything else?

“But uh…you don’t…what I mean to say is that if you’re n-not ready…” He took a deep breath, scratched his chin, and muttered a curse as he stared at the scuffed toes of his biker boots like they might hold the secrets to the universe.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t business as usual, because that halting, stuttering man in no way resembled the never-hesitate, suck-it-up, get-back-to-work Frank Knight she’d come to know over the past three-plus years.

Glancing at him curiously, watching the muscle tick in his square jaw, she scratched a crusty glob of sleep from the corner of her eye in order to get a better look at the man standing before her. “What?” she asked around the sucker. “If I’m not ready for what?”

“For work,” he ground out, searching her face. “If you need time to see doctors or specialists or…f*ck, I don’t know. But if you need time to—”

“Doctors for what?”

“For…for.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bouncing in the thick, tanned column of his throat. “For all the things that happened while you were held hostage by those goddamned pirates.”

Her chin jerked back as her eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. She popped the sucker from her mouth. “And just what do you think happened while I was held hostage by those goddamned pirates?”

“I don’t know,” he groaned, rubbing at his chest as if his heart hurt. “And not knowing is killing me, but I’m afraid knowing is going to be worse, because the thought of—”

“Frank.” She lifted a hand, stopping him. The concern in his fierce eyes made her chest warm with pleasure. “Nothing happened. I wasn’t beaten. I wasn’t raped.” His eyelids squeezed closed as he drew in a deep breath. “The worst thing I suffered while on board the Serendipity for those six days was a moderate sunburn and a little mental anguish.”

His eyes flew open as he regarded her intently. “Do you need to talk to someone about that, uh, mental anguish? Someone professional,” he was quick to add.

“No. At least I don’t think so,” she said when he gave her a disbelieving look. “I feel okay about the whole hostage situation. Really, I do. I knew if I could just keep the boat in the water that you and the guys would come for me eventually. I knew that. And that knowing helped keep the terror at bay. So I don’t think I’m suffering from PTSD or anything. Nothing that serious. In fact, I feel pretty good. I’d feel better if Sharif was in custody, but…” She shrugged.

“Don’t worry about that. Interpol will catch him. And if they don’t…well let’s just say me and the boys will make sure this is one loose end that gets tied up in a pretty little bow. Even if it means we have to scour the wastelands of Somalia in order to do it, we will find him and bring him to justice.”

“Oh Frank,” she replied softly, “I know you will.” If there was one thing the Black Knights were good at, it was protecting their own. Her boys wouldn’t sleep until they knew she was safe, until they knew Sharif no longer posed a threat. That support system, that knowing there was always someone there who had her back, was more precious to her than she could ever express. It gave her the courage and the strength to continue, “And while we’re on the subject of things that happened out on the Indian Ocean, I think we should discuss that little incident down in sick b—”

“Let it go,” he growled with a raised hand and a terse jerk of his stubbled chin.

“But—”

“And since you’re feeling up to getting back to work, the date of the Blackhawk’s charity auction is two months away. That should be plenty of time for you to design, fabricate, and get the bike out to the powder-coater and chromer.”