Chapter Fifteen Spock
Puma’s promise settles over the room, easing some of the tension in my chest.
I don’t like Chloe being involved in our plan. Even if Spark and Juliet bury her identity behind shell companies and encrypted files, every connection creates a risk. Still, I know better than to speak for her.
Puma pushes back from the table. “Darby, get those documents together. Spark will give you a secure way to send everything. Until our lawyer reviews the partnership agreement and Red Rock’s contract, don’t tell your partners about our offer.”
Darby nods. “Understood.”
“Everyone else knows what they need to do.” Puma glances around the table. “We’ll meet again once we have the records. Until then, nobody makes a move against Red Rock or Canyon Crest without clearing it with me.”
Chairs scrape against the floor as everyone begins standing. Spark pulls Juliet and Darby aside. Avery slides off Dice’s lap, and the two of them move toward the kitchen with Alisa.
Chloe releases my hand and looks at the time on her phone.
“I need to get back to Inferno Ridge,” she says. “I want to check the progress before the crews start shutting down for the day.”
“I’ll drive you over.”
“It’s across the street. I can walk.”
“I know.”
Her lips twitch. “Spock, I can see my trailer from the clubhouse parking lot.”
“Then it’ll be a short ride.”
She laughs, the warm sound wrapping around me. “You want to drive me across the road?”
“It’s safer.”
She crosses her arms beneath her breasts, a move that momentarily distracts me from my argument. “That highway barely gets any traffic.”
“Barely isn’t the same as none.”
“I crossed it without incident before.”
“And now I’m available to give you a ride back.”
She studies me for a second. “You realize this makes absolutely no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. You’re too important to risk.”
Her playful expression softens, and something warm flickers in her eyes. “You’re determined to get me on the back of your bike, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“You could just ask me to go for a ride.”
“I am asking.”
“Across the highway.”
“For now.”
She shakes her head, but she follows me outside.
The afternoon heat hits us the moment we step through the door. I walk to my bike and grab the spare helmet, holding it out to her.
Chloe stares at it, then at the entrance to Inferno Ridge across the nearly empty highway. “This is ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
“You admit it?”
“I admit nothing. Take the helmet.”
She laughs again before snatching it from my hand. “Fine. But only because arguing with you will take longer.”
I steady the bike while she climbs on behind me. The moment her arms circle my waist and her body presses against my back, I decide this is the best idea I’ve had all day.
I start the engine and take my time pulling out of the clubhouse lot. The trip lasts less than a minute, but I enjoy every second. When I stop beside her construction trailer, I kill the engine but don’t immediately move.
“We should go for a longer ride later,” I say.
She removes the helmet and climbs off. Her cheeks are slightly flushed, though I can’t tell whether it’s from the heat or being pressed against me.
“I’d like that.”
A grin spreads across my face as she hands me the helmet.
“Tonight?”
“If I finish here at a reasonable hour.”
“I’ll make sure you do.”
She arches a brow. “How do you plan to do that?”
I shrug. “I’ll figure it out. You’ll find that I’m extremely resourceful.”
She grabs her supplies from the back of her truck and settles the hard hat over her hair. The professional transformation should cool my interest. It doesn’t. If anything, watching Chloe survey the construction site with confidence makes her even more attractive.
She glances back at me. “You don’t have to stay.”
“I know.”
“But you’re staying?”
I lean against my bike and cross my arms. “I like to watch you work.”
Her blush is adorable.
Chloe turns away from me and walks deeper into the construction site, her hard hat firmly in place and a tablet tucked beneath one arm. I stay where I am, leaning against my bike as I watch her work.
She stops first beside a pair of men installing exterior sheathing on Puma’s house.
The three of them study the wall while Chloe points to something on her tablet.
One of the workers shakes his head, then gestures toward the corner.
Chloe listens without interrupting, then nods and updates something on the screen.
There’s no impatience in her expression. No attitude from the men. They talk to her the same way they would talk to anyone whose judgment they trust.
She moves inside, where a woman is kneeling beside a stack of tile. Chloe crouches next to her, studies the pattern laid out on the floor, and offers a suggestion. A minute later, both women are rearranging pieces.
I smile to myself.
Chloe doesn’t stand around barking orders. She checks in with every member of her crew, asks questions, and listens to the answers. When she reaches a group struggling to position a window frame, she sets down her tablet and grabs a tool belt hanging from a nearby sawhorse.
One of the men says something that makes her laugh. She bumps him with her shoulder before pulling out a level and climbing onto a short ladder. The men follow her directions without hesitation.
I pay attention to more than the work.
I watch their expressions when she turns her back. Listen to their tone when they call her over. Look for the tight jaws, rolling eyes, or muttered comments that come from men who resent taking orders from a woman.
I don’t see any of it. Instead, they show her respect. Good.
If someone on Chloe’s crew is behind the vandalism and attacks, hiding that resentment all day would be difficult.
Not impossible, but unlikely. From everything I see, these people want the project to succeed as much as she does.
Of course, a different crew is working at Riversedge.
I make a note to speak with Hawk about whether or not any of the crew on that site caught his attention.
The rumble of an engine pulls my attention toward the clubhouse. Rush rides out of the parking lot, but instead of turning down the road, he crosses the highway and enters the construction site. He parks beside me and removes his helmet.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“Watching.”
His gaze follows mine to Chloe, holding the window steady while one of her crew secures it. “Yeah, I figured that out.”
I ignore his smirk. “Her crew respects her.”
“You expected them not to?”
“I wanted to see it for myself. The trouble could be coming from inside her company; if it is, there’d probably be some sign of resentment.”
Rush studies the workers for a moment, then nods. “Makes sense.” He gestures toward the saddlebags on his bike. “Spark gave me the cameras for the Riversedge site. They’re small enough to hide, and they’ll feed directly into his system. You want to head over and put them up now?”
“Yeah, but I want Chloe with us. She should see what we’re doing and know where the cameras are.”
Rush glances toward the descending sun. “We’d better grab her soon.”
As if the workers heard him, the sound of power tools begins dying away. Men and women carry equipment toward the trailers, secure materials, and clean their work areas. Chloe retrieves her tablet and walks toward us.
“All finished watching me?” she asks.
“No.”
She smiles. “At least you’re honest.”
“Rush has security cameras for Riversedge. We’re going over to install them.”
Her teasing expression disappears. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Ride with me.”
She looks toward her truck, then back at my bike. “What about my truck?”
“I’ll bring you back. That way I can have you on my bike longer.”
Rush snorts. “I’ll go ahead while you two negotiate.”
Chloe laughs as he starts his motorcycle and drives away. She removes her hard hat, places it in the back of her truck, and retrieves the helmet she wore earlier.
“There’s nothing to negotiate,” she says. “I already agreed to the longer ride.”
“This one doesn’t count.”
“I figured you’d say that.”
She puts on the helmet and climbs on behind me. Her arms slide around my waist, and I wait until she settles against my back before starting the engine.
Riversedge Apartments is only a few miles away. When we pull onto the site, Rush and Hawk are already talking. I pull up next to the office. Chloe doesn’t wait for me. She jumps off the bike and rushes to the office.