Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Adriana: Why haven’t I heard from you yet?
A few dots popped onto her screen and then disappeared before popping up again. She set her phone on the kitchen island and removed her blazer.
She was officially off duty, and yet, no word from Knox.
As soon as they’d ended their call earlier that day, she’d immediately pulled up the GPS on her phone to calculate the distance and driving time from D.C. to Charlotte, and he should have arrived by now.
And the friend finder app they used . . . of course, he’d turned it off.
At the sound of the chime she had set for Knox’s texts, she snatched the phone off the counter.
Knox: Traffic. We’re ten minutes away. You worried about me?
Adriana: Me worry? Nah. That’s your job.
A total lie.
She poured a glass of wine, turned on the news, and muted the TV.
She missed him already. He’d been in town since the second week in August. She hadn’t spent this much time with him since summers during their college days.
Somehow, sharing one of the worst nights in her life had bonded them in a way that couldn’t be described in books or depicted in films.
A relationship born out of tragedy that she’d defend until the end of time, even if she wanted more.
But was she scared of losing what they had to even take more for a test drive? And Knox, well, he’d nearly fled from her apartment last weekend as if worried more might happen, and it’d been a prick to her lungs, deflating her and pulling her back to their stuck-in-the-friend-zone reality.
But Knox’s parents were shot at today, so the last thing she should’ve been thinking about was her relationship with him. No, she needed to worry about how to be his rock. To support him as he’d always supported her.
If Knox’s dad had died . . . or his mom killed in the crossfires . . .
As much as Knox griped about his family, she knew he loved them. And she never wanted him to experience a loss like that.
She forced away the emotions stirring inside, fighting back the sting of pain that gathered whenever she thought about the night she lost her mom.
Knox: Maybe I should’ve brought you with me. My dad has always had a soft spot for you. He’d do anything you ask.
It took her four years to discover the Bennetts, at Knox’s request, were the reason her father was able to keep their home after her dad turned to the bottle. It’d been the Bennetts’ money that kept her family afloat, but it was Knox who kept her head above water.
Adriana: You’re a good son, you know that, right?
Knox: Tell that to my dad.
Adriana: He loves you in his own way.
His father had retired from the military years ago, but he walked like a soldier. Squared shoulders. Head held high. Eyes gleaming with respect. Knox was the same in that way. A strong man.
Knox: Where’s that date of yours taking you? What does he do? Social Security number?
Adriana: That’s a lot of questions.
Knox: Pick one and go from there.
And he was deflecting.
Adriana: I canceled. And why are we talking about my love life when someone just tried to kill your dad?
Love life? God. What love life? She hadn’t had sex in FOREVER.
But after Knox crashed her last attempt at dating back in the spring, and she’d so easily tossed her date aside for a night to hang out with her best friend, she was pretty sure she needed to figure out where her head was at before she dipped a foot back into the dating pool.
Knox: I have to live vicariously through you since I don’t get any action.
“No action my ass,” she grumbled, and a sting of jealousy—no, a full-on assault of jealousy—hit her at the idea of him with another woman. But she had to be the cool girl who could be friends with a hot guy and not get jealous, right?
Adriana: Lies. Lies. Lies.
You’re H.O.T. and women THROW themselves at you. The few friends Adriana had introduced him to always fell in love instantly. They said he reminded them of that actor who loved to call every fan he met “baby girl” . . . but she’d given her friends one hard and fast rule.
Knox was off-limits.
They were welcome to date any of her exes, coworkers, the president’s son for all she cared, but not Knox.
She’d never met anyone Knox dated. Of course, Knox refused to talk about other women with her, but she was certain he didn’t have girlfriends.
One-night stands were probably his go-to. The man was married to his job, after all.
But Knox was always up in her business about men. None were ever good enough, and he made sure she knew that.
For a while, she’d convinced herself he wanted to keep her to himself. They’d have a fairy-tale happy ending. Not glass-slippers-pumpkin-turned-carriages kind of happy, but their version of happy. Their version, in her mind, would be far superior to Disney’s.
Adriana: You need to stop deflecting. You can’t talk about sex and pretend today didn’t happen.
Knox: We’re talking about sex?
Adriana: Action = Sex. Does it not?
And he’s distracting me again. Damn him.
Knox: You have a dirty mind, girl.
“Yours is way worse,” she said at the phone as if he could hear her. She turned off the TV, unable to handle the barrage of footage showcasing the shooting.
Adriana: Call me when you’re at your hotel later and let me know how everything went.
Knox: Wish me luck. I’m gonna need it.
Before she could respond, her work cell began ringing.
“Hello, ma’am,” she quickly answered the call.
“You have a new assignment,” her boss began. “We need you in Charlotte.”
If she hadn’t already been sitting, she would’ve fallen to the floor.
“Isaiah Bennett has finally given in and accepted a Secret Service detail. No doubt today’s incident was the deciding factor.
We’re assigning eight agents. Two or three of you will run point on the investigation with the FBI and DHS, and the rest will handle protection and future threat assessments. You do want the position, right?”
Yes, but . . .
“Is there a problem?” she asked when Adriana hadn’t yet found her voice.
Yeah, there was a problem. No way in hell would the Bennetts allow her to protect their family.
“I—”
“Pack your bags. You fly to Charlotte in an hour.” Adriana’s boss ended the call abruptly, which was her normal MO.
She held her phone out and stared blankly at the last message from Knox, now back on her screen.
Shit. You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?