He pulled out of her embrace. “Know what I like about you?”
“What’s that?” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“You’re a smart woman.”
“Because I admit I need you?”
He shook his head. It wasn’t that simple. “Because you’re willing to compromise your hard-won independence until we resolve this. First thing tomorrow, I’ll go on down and ask some questions while you’re at work. Hopefully, by the time you get there for lunch, I’ll have some answers.”
“You knew I’d be going anyway?”
“I know you.”
“And you aren’t going to try to talk me out of it?”
He shrugged. “Would it do any good?”
She laughed. “Not a bit.”
He’d known that. “Which is why the best I can do is be there first, to stake things out and keep an eye on you. Leon—the guy from the basketball courts—has a lot of connections. I’ll discover something. Find some way to make it safe for you down there.”
What had begun as a search for information for her grandmother had just turned into something far more personal: his personal crusade to keep Grace safe.
Her hands came to rest on his chest, her flat palms covering his nipples. He let out a strangled groan. “Grace, this is serious.”
“I know. And my private detective and his expertise will take care of the threat. In the meantime, I’m going to take care of you.”
* * *
A persistent ringing woke Ben out of a sound sleep. Surrounded by warmth—Gracie’s warmth—he had no desire to move. A steady knocking began to accompany the doorbell’s harsh sound.
Beside him, Grace groaned. “Go away.”
“Not a morning person?” Leaning over, he brushed her hair off her face and placed a kiss on her cheek. “That’s okay. I liked your kind of night games.” He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
She didn’t answer, not even a playful response or swat.
He chuckled, realizing he even liked her grumpy and disheveled in the morning. He pulled on his jeans, standing to zip them but not taking the time to button the fly. “Sure you want me to get that?” Because he had no desire to answer her door half-dressed. “The neighbors might talk.”
She yanked the pillow over her head in response.
He laughed all the way to the door… until he glanced out the peephole. Standing in the hall were two well-dressed, good-looking people, people he’d seen in photographs around Grace’s apartment. The man studied his watch in concern while the woman patted his arm and tried knocking again.
If Ben had hesitated about answering her door before, he really didn’t like doing it now. He glanced back toward the bedroom.
“Come on, Grace,” the male voice in the hall called out.
Ben groaned. He had no choice.
“Doorman said you’re here. It’s… your brother,” Logan said just as Ben swung the door open wide. “You’re not my sister.” The concern on Logan’s features turned into an open scowl as his gaze swept Ben, from his morning razor stubble to his unbuttoned jeans to his bare feet.
Ben liked the situation even less now. He didn’t have any siblings, but he knew without a doubt if he were in Logan’s place, he’d want to kill. No matter that his sister was an adult, this first—and only—meeting would not go smoothly.
“Well, this is awkward.” A blond woman wearing black jeans, a black T-shirt, and a wide, leopard-print headband stepped forward. “I’m Catherine, Grace’s sister-in-law. And this is her brother, Logan.” She jabbed her husband in the ribs. “Quit scowling. Grace is an adult. She’s entitled to live her life the same way we are. Don’t jump all over her the second you see her and give her even more reason to back off.”
Catherine paused in her monologue to stick her hand out toward Ben. “And you are…?”
He grinned. Yet another member of this family he liked immediately. “Ben Callahan. Neighbor.” He figured bare minimum information was sufficient. Unfortunately, the details were all too obvious.