Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(55)

I paced through the living room and kitchen until, out on the street, headlights lit up the front of the house. A car parked at the curb behind mine.

“Looks like he’s here,” I said. Footsteps approached the front door, and I peered through one of the sidelights to see Greyson. “Hey, thanks for coming on such short notice.” I opened the door and welcomed him in.

Greyson stepped inside. “No, problem. The kids are all in bed so it was easy to sneak out.”

“Oliver, this is Lee Greyson. He’s one of the two men working with you this weekend.”

Oliver stood. “It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for coming over.”

Greyson noticed Oliver’s busted lip and swollen eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” He turned his gaze on me. “You guys all right?”

“Yeah, we’re all good now.”

He shifted back to Oliver. “You should probably put some ice on that eye.”

“In a bit. I need to sit for a few more minutes. Were it not for this woman here, I might not be breathing.”

I smiled. “The worst is over.” I twisted the door knob. “Be right back.”

Greyson nodded. “Take your time.”

Five minutes later, I pulled into the gas station parking lot. Inside, I roamed the shelves looking for a couple little packets of long-lasting antacid pills and a roll of the chalky tablets he could chew for more immediate relief. I bent over and searched for the fruit flavored ones Oliver had asked for.

“Now there’s a vision,” a voice said from behind me.

I recognized it immediately. “Gabe? What are you doing here so late?”

“My date cancelled, so I stayed at the office and worked my way through a stack of contracts. I was filling up before I went home, and then I saw this beautiful woman walking in here. Thought I’d stop in and introduce myself.” Gabe leaned against a shelf of candy bars. “Gabriel Montgomery, I’m in mergers and acquisitions. What’s your name?”

“Cute.” I raised my brows and laughed.

“What’re you doing here? Were you coming over?”

“No, I needed to grab some medicine. Oliver’s stomach is upset.”

“That’s nice of you to run errands for a client. A bit unusual, hmm?”

“What can I say? I’m a nice person.”

He furrowed his brow. “I thought he was staying in the city.”

“He is. I had to take him to a safe house.”

He straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. “What happened?”

“Nothing. We got into a little thing, and Oliver and I have to hang at the house until I get the all clear. Standard procedure.”

“Where’s Vance?”

“He had to tie up some loose ends.”

His eyes twitched, and he grunted. “Sounds like something major went down.”

“No, it was just a silly media thing, that’s all. No big deal.” Yes, I lied.

“So then when you get back it’ll just be you and Oliver in the house?”

I tilted my head down and looked up at him. “Yes.”

He rubbed the growing stubble on his chin. “And you’re going to be sleeping alone in a house with the man you’re rumored to be having an affair with. I’m not so sure I like the sound of that.” There was a touch of humor in his voice, but there was nothing to laugh about.

“Ha. Ha. We talked about that already. It’s too bad I only have eyes for you.”

“It is too bad for him, isn’t it?”

“Mm hmm.” I returned to searching the shelves and grabbed a roll of tropical flavored antacids plus two packets of pills. “Look, I need to get back. I called someone over to cover for me. You should go home. You look exhausted.”

He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. “I wish you were coming home with me.”

I held my hands together behind his back and looked up at him. “I wish I were too. I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I can.”

He leaned down and kissed me, inhaling against my cheek. “Throw that stuff on the counter and I’ll walk you out.” After getting rung up, Gabe escorted me to the Rover. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

He gave me another kiss and shut my door before walking back to his car at one of the gas pumps. As I drove past him, he waved from inside his car.

When my tires met the open road, thoughts of Vance filled my head again. At the first traffic light, I checked my phone. I’d hoped to have heard something from Vance or Commander Rivas by this point, but there were no missed phone calls or texts. At the second traffic light, I dialed Vance. His phone rang and rang; he probably still had it set to silent. I tossed my phone in the center console and turned onto Bayberry Drive. I drove down to the long, dark street and parked in front of Greyson’s car. As I was grabbing the bag off the front seat, a neighbor pulled into the first driveway at the top of the street and shut off its lights. I headed back inside.

Greyson was seated in a chair across from Oliver. “Hey, back so soon?”

I held up the medicine in my hand and closed the door behind me. “Yep, I have a couple of things for you.” I handed the bag to Oliver. “I’ll get you some water.”

“Thank you,” Oliver said, exhaling through puffed cheeks.