Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
One hand on the small of Everleigh’s back, he maneuvered her around the building and held the door open as she entered Vantage headquarters. Vivi was seated at the reception desk, and she threw a curious gaze their way as they passed.
Everleigh lifted her hand in a tiny wave, and Vivi reciprocated, a tight smile on her face. He knew he was going to have to address the issue of the tension between them soon, but right now he had more pressing things to deal with.
He headed straight for his office, unlocking the door and flicking on the light before taking Everleigh’s purse. “I've got to get a little bit of work done. You ready to meet with Ink?”
He had already asked how she felt about learning some self-defense and had requested Roman meet them there that morning. Everleigh offered a nervous smile. “Ready as I'll ever be, I guess.”
“You'll do great.”
He kissed her on the forehead, then took her hand.
She fell into step next to him as he led the way out of his office and up the stairs to the workout area.
Roman could at least give her a rundown of the basics, making sure she would be able to take care of herself.
Not that he planned to be away from her long enough for anything to happen, but still.
It made him feel better, and he wanted her to have that confidence as well.
He pushed open the door and waved Roman over. When he started to introduce them, Everleigh waved him off. “We met at the cookout.”
“Right.” He gave a little nod. His throat tightened uncomfortably at the memory of that day, and he swallowed down his riotous emotions. He turned his attention back to Ink. “I'll leave her with you then.”
“Sounds good.” Roman gave a clipped nod, then gestured for Everleigh to follow him onto the mats. “Let’s get started.”
He reluctantly left, throwing one last lingering look over his shoulder before heading back down to his office.
With the door closed, ensconced behind his desk, he finally dug out his cell phone and dialed the mechanic he had spoken with yesterday.
The man in reception answered, and he explained why he was calling.
The man promised to take his information and have Mr. Kline call him back when he was free.
Nearly an hour passed before his phone rang, and he saw the auto shop’s number on the screen.
“Mr. Castillo, what can I do for you?”
“Hey, sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if you'd had a chance to look at Ms. Beaumont's car yet.”
“Yes, sir,” the mechanic replied. “After you told me what happened, I checked all the other wheels, and they appear to be fine. All five of the lug nuts must have been loosened. I checked the others, but it looks like they only missed the right front wheel. I got replacements on, so it’s ready to be picked up. ”
He hadn't explained exactly what happened, just allowed the mechanic to assume they hadn't been tightened down and had come free as she drove. “Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of. Sounds like she was awful lucky not to have wrecked. There was very minimal damage to the axle, and your tracking device is still intact, so you won't have to worry about replacing that.”
Every cell of his body went completely still at the mechanic's words. “Come again?”
“The tracking device. Looks to still be working.”
“Good to hear.”
He wondered if the mechanic could hear the tension in his voice, because he cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Anything else?”
“No, thank you. I'll be in to pick it up tomorrow.”
He hung up and set his phone on his desk. The ice water in his veins began to boil until heat suffused him. The man had been tracking her. He hadn't been brazen enough to approach her while she was at his place, but the second she went back to her parents’ place...
Well, that explained a lot. He wondered exactly how long it had been there. Maybe from the very beginning, so he could follow her when she went into town. Everleigh was incredibly lucky he hadn’t come after her at home before now, but that made the situation all the more dire.
He shoved his chair back and stood, needing to see her.
He hadn't gotten any work done, but he didn't care.
The only truly important thing right now was that Everleigh was safe.
He headed back up to the gym and peeked through the window in the door.
A noise on the stairs behind him drew his attention, and he tossed a look over his shoulder at Mason.
Mason lifted a brow, a sardonic smirk tilting his lips as he tipped his head toward the gym. “Regretting that yet?”
Ink stood in the middle of the mats, Everleigh plastered to his muscular body as he held her in a headlock. A wave of jealousy hit Knox hard, though he knew it was unfounded. Roman was so crazy about his wife Irina that he would never consider touching another woman intimately.
Even so, just the thought of another man’s hands on Everleigh was enough to drive him out of his mind. She was his.
Knox barely held back a snort. “You have no idea.”
Mason’s expression turned serious as he extended the paper his way. He slipped it from Mason’s fingers and silently reviewed the background check.
“David Tate,” Mason said needlessly. “Seems to be between jobs at the moment.”
He flicked a glance at Mason. “This is our guy?”
“Almost positive.” Mason nodded.
“I think it’s time to meet with Mr. Tate,” he said softly. “I just spoke with the mechanic. Looks like he’s had a tracking device on Everleigh’s car.”
Mason swore. “Explains how he always knows exactly where she’ll be.”
“My thoughts exactly. Let’s see how he feels when the shoe is on the other foot.”
He dropped his gaze back to the photo in his hand, absorbing every detail of the man’s face. He'd been following Everleigh for weeks, and it was time to make it stop.