Chapter Two
Hard to believe he was the same guy who helped her move in and even brought her soup when she caught the flu two months earlier.
She should have seen it coming. Taylor warned her.
As usual, she saw the man as being sweet without seeing his ulterior motive.
When she offered to cook for him it was meant as a thank you for all he’d done.
Unfortunately, he’d taken it as an offer into her bed. Taylor’s words rang true.
“Men don’t just do nice things to be nice. He wants something, in the shape of a V. Unless you’re willing to give it up, I’d steer clear.”
“He’s forty-five, Taylor. He has no interest in me other than friendship.”
A sharp laugh from Taylor was her only response.
She should have listened. Taylor knew men.
Kenzie did not. Her kind gesture became a game of dodge and run, then an all-out shouting match with him calling her a tease.
Luckily, he left her apartment without her having to call the police.
It unnerved her that they lived in the same building but moving wasn’t an option. She remained civil but from a distance.
Her foot caught the door and she pulled back. She was balancing her handbag and keys in one hand and the steaming hot, paper bag from the Mexican place downtown, in the other. She slipped past the heavy glass door and stopped for a breath.
Between her job and racing around for Taylor, she was exhausted.
Taylor had been staying for a week. She loved having her.
It had been way too long since they’d gotten to spend any real time together.
Her ex, Drew, was not a fan of Kenzie’s, and the feeling was mutual.
Taylor was a good person with a big heart that she tended to share with the wrong men.
Drew was just another in the long line of losers Taylor had fallen for.
They all had the same ammo. They were hot, bad boys with a penchant for risk-taking, usually dragging her best friend down with them.
She adjusted her bag and ambled up the four steps to the landing of the main lobby.
The building was old. Built in the sixties, with the original linoleum, and an elevator that rarely worked.
It was made up of one-bedroom apartments.
The tenants included two types. Twenty-something singles just starting out, and old timers over the age of seventy, waiting to meet their maker.
Occasionally, an outcast was thrown into the mix. Vinny. That prick.
Her heels clicked on the floor as she started up the first flight. She thought she was lucky to get an apartment on the top floor. Little did she know about the elevator issues. She dredged up the staircase, slowing down as she approached the third-floor landing.
“Well, now, I don’t know. She looks familiar but you know these young girls today. They all kinda look alike.”
Mrs. Bower’s voice made her giggle. She lived directly below Kenzie. Sweet old woman who was half deaf. Kenzie usually opted to watch the same shows as the older woman since the sound blasted through the floor. She adjusted her bag and was looking down when she heard her name called out.
Her gaze slowly rose from the floor, landing on three sets of dark boots standing in front of Mrs. Bower’s door.
Her gaze trailed up the legs of the three men, dressed in jeans.
One had large tears at the knee. It seemed to take forever to get to their shirts, then finally their faces.
They towered over the old woman but were keeping a respectful distance.
They were massive and seemed out of place in the cramped hall.
Passing them would mean they’d need to move.
At the moment, they stood still, staring at her.
They were relatively the same height. The man with the green eyes had a harsh scar from the corner of his eye making him appear frightful.
However, the man directly behind him had her swallow the lump in her throat.
His eyebrows descended into a harsh scowl.
To say they were intimidating would be an understatement.
She eyed them suspiciously and bit her lip.
Her gut was telling her she knew them without knowing them.
A soft chuckle from the man on the far end of the doorway caught her attention.
He was resting with his shoulder against the wall completely relaxed.
He looked so different from the other two with his boy next door, sexy tousled dirty blond hair, thick eyebrows he rocked, and his light, seemingly amused eyes.
She swallowed hard and tilted her head. She’d give anything to look away but he had her in some freak of nature trance.
Those eyes. Hazel, maybe? The corner of his mouth jutted up and his eyebrow cocked. She was staring, not glancing, not gazing, but giving him full on creepy, ‘I’m your next stalker’ stare.
The heat rose from her chest to her neck and up to her face. The tingling burn had to be obvious to him. His closed mouth smile turned into a full grin leaving no doubt he was aware of the effect he was having on her.
“Kenzie, sweetheart, y’alright? You’re as red as a cherry pie. Oh, dear Lord, are you gonna faint?”
Kenzie gasped sucking in a deep breath of air. Yes, she was going to faint. The older woman’s voice seemed to snap her out of her daze. Her eye uncontrollably twitched and she blinked. Get it together.
She forced a breathy laugh. “No, I’m fine, I just, um…” Think, I have to think. “The stairs.” The men, along with Mrs. Bower, stared blankly at her. All except him. His lips pursed as if he knew what was making her blush.
She shook her head. “I mean, the stairs got me winded. I think.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from sounding more like a moron.
Mrs. Bower clucked her tongue, reaching out to the serial killer looking bald man. She gripped his wrist.
“Darn elevator has been out for months. Can you believe it? How are we supposed to deal with this? Say, you wouldn’t by chance be willing to talk to the super before you go?” Mrs. Bower squinted and grinned. “I bet a visit from you boys would get that man to fix it right quick.”
The harsh scowl faltered on the man and she caught a glimpse of what might have been a smile but not fully committed. It was the guy she had been staring at that answered as he pushed off the wall.
“I think we can do that.” His voice was deep and husky.
The kind of sound that when he told a girl to drop her panties, they slid down her thighs without effort.
It was smooth and arousing, with a glint of humor.
While he spoke to the older woman his gaze was aimed on Kenzie.
Sexy and nice to little old ladies? Her lips spread in a smile. Who was this guy?
Mrs. Bower clapped her hands together. “He’s the last door on your right on the first floor.
Thank you, sweet boy.” The idea of her calling him a sweet boy was ridiculous.
This was no boy. He was a guy with toned tight muscles peeking through his sleeves.
His t-shirt hugged his chest leaving no doubt of the roped muscles and six pack abs that lay underneath it.
And that face. It belonged on the sexiest man issue of the magazine from the supermarket.
He stepped past the other men and the corner of his mouth curved. “Maybe you could help us out? Kenzie, right?”
She nodded. It was a reflex. His voice was rendering her stupid, she couldn’t even form words now. Her name on his lips. She took a breath. She wasn’t usually this awkward around men, but this guy--there was something about him.
“I’m Bogs.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to the men behind him. “That’s T and Stone. We’d really appreciate you helping us out.”
She smiled at the prospect of what he might want help with.
She was willing to help him out with anything.
His shirt, maybe, his belt buckle? One of his brows hiked up.
It was an insinuation. What the hell? Was he reading her mind?
She should have been embarrassed but the heat from her face, masking down her neck and onto her chest wasn’t embarrassment, it was arousal.
Oh, she would help him out with anything he asked. It had been way too long since she’d met a man who piqued her instant attraction. Butterflies swarmed her belly. She cleared her throat, hoping it wouldn’t crack. “Sure, I’ll help.” With anything you need.
He reached out, grabbing a piece of paper, and turned it over. Her eyes slid down to a photo of a very familiar face.
“Have you seen her?”
Except that.
A sense of heated dread washed over her body. Her initial gut instinct, the suspicious fear she had before succumbing to hot guy’s charm slammed back into her body. She stepped away without control. A photo of her best friend stared back at her.
She concentrated on keeping her features emotionless as the truth played out in her head.
These guys were from the SUV. The ones who had been watching her place last week.
She had felt the relief every night when she went to the window and saw another car parked in the spot.
Taylor had teased her about overreacting for nothing.
She had finally been able to slightly relax and feel comfortable again.
The bag in her hand began to shake and her effort to remain calm only intensified her trembling hand. Say something. Make them go away.
“Um.” She shook her head. “No, haven’t seen her.
” She looked up to see four sets of eyes trained on her.
“Nope, never.” Mrs. Bower’s eyes widened.
“Really, ever, never.” She swallowed the knot in her throat.
“Ever.” She was the worst liar. She should have shaken her head and passed by them.
Now, she was an unconvincing mumbling idiot.
“Never?” Bog’s tone was laced with humor.
She shook her head.