touched his arm and his face got redder.
Kelly, Lyle and Nancy went to her office to plan for the next day’s show. When they finished, Kelly said goodbye to Nancy and she and Lyle headed out to the parking garage together.
“You and Nancy are close, right?” he asked as they entered the elevator.
“We are.”
“Do you think she’d ever be interested in getting dinner with someone like me?”
“Someone like you or the actual you?”
Lyle rolled his big blue eyes. “The actual me. I’m bad with rejection. If you could give me a heads-up on my chances, I would be forever in your debt.”
Kelly had suspected there was some interest on his side of things for a couple of months. He laughed at all of Nancy’s jokes. Especially the ones that weren’t even a little bit funny. He had memorized her coffee order even though it was some ridiculously long demand that would drive any barista to quit. And today, the man was completely flustered by a simple touch.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but I could ask.”
“Don’t be super obvious about it, though. If she’s not interested, I don’t want her to know I am.”
His fear of being vulnerable was relatable. Kelly wasn’t the biggest fan of being 100 percent up front about her feelings, either. Being open meant the possibility of being hurt. Being hurt was no fun. She would make sure Nancy knew nothing if there wasn’t a chance. “I’ve got your back on this one, buddy,” she assured him.
Instead of thanking her, Lyle stopped dead in his tracks.
“What’s the matter?”
“That’s your car, isn’t it?” He pointed behind her.
Kelly spun around and gasped. Both headlights had been smashed and on the hood of her car someone had keyed the word TEASE into the paint.
“This is my fault,” Lyle lamented.
Kelly’s heart beat double time and it was hard to breathe. She scanned the parking lot, fearing that her secret admirer turned hater was still nearby. No one else was around. The garage was eerily quiet. It was definitely time to call Uncle Hal.
* * *
“WALSH! GET IN HERE, right now.”
Hal Bonner was not the kind of boss you wanted to cross. He was similar to all of the commanding officers Donovan had ever had in the Marines. Unfortunately, Donovan had been on the captain’s bad side ever since he had lost his temper and broken the jaw of a known drug dealer. The guy completely deserved it but had better lawyers than Donovan had expected. While the case was under investigation with Internal Affairs, Donovan was stripped of his gun and badge and stuck on desk duty. It was worse than prison.
“Sir,” he said, standing in the captain’s doorway.
“Come in and shut the door.”
Donovan did as he was told and waited for permission to sit, something the military had ingrained in him. Captain Bonner didn’t look up from his computer because he was too busy typing. Two fingers pecked at the keys. Technology wasn’t his strong suit.
Captain glanced up and noticed Donovan standing there. “For the love— Sit down!” he snapped. He shook his head as Donovan complied. “If only I had been there to say, ‘Don’t break his jaw,’ you wouldn’t be in this mess, apparently.”
Donovan was very good at following commands but did have a tendency to let his emotions get the best of him in the field. That had been an issue in the Marines, as well.
Captain finished typing and rubbed his eyes. The man looked exhausted. “I’m putting you on a special assignment.”
Donovan sat up a little straighter. Special assignment sounded so much better than desk duty. “I’ll do anything you need me to do, sir.”
“Glad to hear that.” He jotted something on a scrap of paper and handed it to Donovan. “I need you to go to this address and pick up my niece, Kelly. You will then spend the rest of your shift watching her. I have squads sitting outside her place at night, but I need someone on her during the day. Wherever she goes, you go.”
Babysitting? Desk duty wasn’t sounding so bad all of a sudden. “Sir, I don’t—”
“You don’t what? You don’t think you want to help me keep my niece safe from harm?”
“No, sir. That’s not what I was going to say.”
“Good, then it’s settled. I’ve got some unidentified jerk running around Nashville obsessed with her. Yesterday, he vandalized her car. I want to make sure he doesn’t get the chance to lay a hand on her. You start now.”
Donovan tried to think of something to say that could get him out of this, but there was nothing. Nothing that would change Captain Bonner’s mind. Babysitting someone in relationship trouble was worse than desk duty.
“Goodness, Walsh! Stand up, walk to your car and go to the address I gave you,” Captain said in a huff.
Donovan did as he was told.
He said a silent prayer that she wasn’t in high school. If Donovan had to spend the whole day surrounded by teenagers, he might just quit. Living with one was bad enough.
“Where you headed, Walsh? Did they put you on administrative leave?” Detective Steven Dillon was Donovan’s partner.
“Special assignment. I have to go babysit his niece—” he pulled out the piece of paper with her name and address on it “—Kelly. Know anything about her?”
Dillon’s head fell back as he laughed. “Oh, man. My only words of advice are look but do not touch. Captain will crush anyone who even thinks about having inappropriate thoughts about that woman. Good luck with that.”
Not a teenager at least. Donovan wasn’t worried about having inappropriate thoughts about anyone. Once his niece and nephew were out of his house, he planned to live the rest of his life very much alone.
He drove to the apartment building and took note of his surroundings. It was a quiet street. Not a lot of cars. No traffic lights or businesses nearby with cameras, however. The complex was secure but there was no one manning the entrance. He punched in her apartment number in the intercom.
“Hello?” A voice came through the speaker.
“Miss Bonner, I’m Detective Walsh. Your uncle sent me. I’m supposed to—” he wasn’t sure she’d take too kindly to him calling it babysitting “—keep you company today.”
There was no answer and no opening of the door. Donovan buzzed the apartment again.
“Hang on.” She sounded exasperated.
She was annoyed? He was the one who had to follow her around doing whatever mundane things she had on her agenda for the day. This could be a bigger nightmare than he imagined.
A
