be seen.
Hiding. But not.
The contradiction puzzled Harley a bit, and he glanced back toward Liz. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest rising and falling with short breaths. Her reaction clued him in to the man’s intent. The guy wanted to blend in for the general public, but also to make sure one person knew he was there.
And that person is Liz.
Concern drove away Harley’s other feelings and made his gut twist with protective instinct instead. His urge was to reach out to the woman beside him—to defend and soothe—but he stopped himself just short of doing it.
Instead, he tipped his head and—in a low voice—asked, “Someone you know?”
“What?” Liz’s response was at first startled, then too innocent. “Who?”
“The guy over there who’s making you look like you swallowed something sour.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The stiff defensive tone and the blatant lie put an idea into Harley’s head. “Look. I’m not here to judge. If you need help...if he’s an ex, or—”
Liz let out a laugh that sounded genuine. “Oh, God no. Nothing like that.”
“All right.” He knew his reply sounded dubious.
She clearly picked up on it, too. “Look. He was just an unhappy customer.”
“A really unhappy customer?”
“It happens.”
“Okay.” He paused, and he noted the way her eyes flicked back to the hooded figure. “But if you did need help...”
“You’re the knight in clay-stained clothes I’d call first,” she assured him before she turned to call out to her kid. “Teegs! Anytime you come down from there would be good!”
Harley smiled as the little girl started to expertly scamper down. From the corner of his eye, though, he watched Liz, searching for another sign of fear. Even though he’d had the pretty woman and her activities under close surveillance for the last two weeks, this was the first hint that there was even something to watch. He’d actually been questioning whether or not he and his partners were way off base in having him in to keep an eye on her. Was this a sign that they were right after all? Was Liz’s obvious fear of the hooded man related to the case they’d been investigating for the last fifteen years?
Even though she’d already denied knowing the shadowy figure, Harley wished he could ask a more pointed question without giving himself away. Something told him that even if he’d been able to, drawing attention to the situation right that second might backfire anyway. Liz was too on edge, the man close enough to see if she reacted poorly. The last thing he wanted was to put Teegan—who was now using cartwheels to propel herself toward them—or her mother in danger, so he kept his mouth shut and turned back to the other man to assess for any immediate danger. The hooded figure was on the move now, his head still down as he shuffled out of the doorway.
Harley tensed automatically, preparing for a fight. Preparing to tell Liz to grab Teegan and run. He was hyperaware of the fact that he’d left his gun in a coded lockbox high on a shelf in his closet. A safety precaution, which now seemed like an unsafe choice. He wished he had it strapped to his side in easy reach.
But it only took a second to realize it wouldn’t be necessary. The man was headed in the opposite direction.
Still uneasy, and with his hands flexing, Harley took a quick inventory. He noted the fact that the guy was too covered for the late-spring warmth. He saw his limp and tried to mentally calculate whether it was a fresh injury or something older and more permanent. Before he could reach a conclusion, though, the guy disappeared around the corner.
Just in time, too.
Teegan’s fresh giggle filled the air as she flung her arms around Harley’s knees. “You lost! I totally beat you!”
Harley gave the street corner a final glance, tucking what he’d seen into the caches of his memory for future perusal, then smiled and turned his attention to the little girl.
Liz exhaled, overwhelmingly glad that her shaggy-haired neighbor had shown up. She didn’t know Harley all that well, but just his brick-wall appearance was enough to make her breathe a little easier.
As he bent to speak to her Teegan, she gave the back of his head a surreptitious, grateful look.
In the week and a bit since he’d been staying at the studio adjacent to her apartment, he’d been friendly and helpful. Ready with a smile, but not overbearing. He had a nice-guy vibe that she’d liked since the second she’d met him. His wide shoulders and solid build weren’t exactly off-putting, either. And at the moment, not only was his presence a soothing buffer but he was also a good distraction for her too-intuitive daughter.
“You completely kicked my butt,” he said to Teegan, before shooting a conspiratorial wink Liz’s way. “Don’t tell your mom I said that.”
Teegan gave him an eye roll. “I’m pretty sure she can hear you.”
“Darn it. You might be right.”
Harley grinned, and Liz did her best to smile back. She knew her effort was probably lacking. Her teeth felt wooden, and the rest of her mouth was still dry with fear. Being held at knifepoint and having her daughter’s life threatened wasn’t exactly something she would forget anytime soon. In fact, she was pretty sure her brain hadn’t even started to process it, let alone figure out what to do about it. The adrenaline still coursed through her body. And she knew that the second it stopped, she’d probably collapse, if not physically, then at least emotionally.
Which you don’t need to do here.
“Teegan,” she said, her voice shakier than she would’ve liked, “I think we should go inside and get cleaned up for dinner.”
“Did you even see me, Mom?” her daughter countered, still clinging to Harley.
“I did. You were so high up that I just about had a heart attack.”
“Mom! That is not true, and you always say—”
Teegan’s protest cut off in a giggle as Harley stood up with her still attached to his arm. She dangled from his bicep, her bare feet almost a yard from the ground, utterly pleased by the situation. Harley spun, and Teegan sailed in a circle. The spinning motion gave Liz another few seconds to scan the surrounding area.
Was her assailant still watching from somewhere she couldn’t see? Had he spied Harley’s broad shoulders and goofy display of strength? Did it make him think that she and Teegan weren’t completely unprotected?
God, she hoped so.
She turned her attention back to Teegan and Harley. The well-muscled man spun in a final slow circle, making her daughter’s laughter echo
