In the Shadows (The Club)

“Of course.”

Vivian followed Zeke back to the steps, where he provided his apartment’s address and his work and cell phone numbers. Once she had the information, Mancini returned her attention to Vivian. “We’ll work on these new notes. But be careful. Stay aware of your surroundings and call us if anything else happens.”

“I will. Thank you for coming by so quickly tonight.”

Mancini nodded and headed toward the front. Alone at last, Vivian chanced a look at her defender. Zeke leaned against the doorframe, hands stuffed in his leather jacket’s pockets, completely at ease. “Need to lock up?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get to it.”

He followed her inside, closing the door behind them. Her heart thumped at that sound. In an instant, she was far too aware of being alone with a man whose name she’d only just learned. “Ezekiel Harding,” she murmured. “Huh.”

“Huh what?”

“Oh, it’s just funny to finally know your name,” she said as she locked the front door and headed for the back door.

“Why’s that funny?”

His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his stance relaxed. The light from the kitchen slanted over his face, throwing his eyes in shadow and lighting the soft curve of his lips. He was so composed, so perfectly ambiguous. A Rorschach test in the flesh.

“After you introduced yourself this morning, I figured you had no intention of ever talking to me again.”

A blond eyebrow rose. “No?”

She wrinkled her nose and looked away, embarrassed to explain herself. Her purse sat on the counter, contents spilled from her panicked digging for her cell. She stuffed everything back in place as he crossed the room to stand at her side.

The soft glide of Zeke’s fingers down her arm sent goosebumps shivering over her skin. It was a deliberate motion, with enough pressure that the back of his fingers never lost contact. A tender movement.

“Why would you think that?”

His fingers slid down to her wrist, tracing the fine bones of her wrist. Her mouth dried. “No offer of a name. No phone call.”

From the corner of her eye, she could see his mouth twist. “Hasn’t it been less than twenty-four hours?”

He drew his hand back when she lifted her purse from the counter. She smiled. “I guess after how long it’s taken just to meet you face to face, I should have been more patient. You know, expected a call in a few weeks or something.”

“I was going to call you tomorrow.”

It was difficult to tell who was more surprised by the admission: her or him. She finished shrugging her purse on, trying to play it cool. “Well, I guess you still could. But it’ll be awfully hard to beat tonight. Chasing down that guy and acting all protective afterward is pretty heroic.”

She’d meant her comment to be a compliment, but the immediate stiffening of his spine and his sudden coolness showed that she’d made a costly misstep.

“I’m not a hero,” he bit out. “Are you ready to go?”

There wasn’t really a way to respond other than to nod her head. He remained silent while walking her out the back door. The silence stretched on as she locked up the back door. It wasn’t until she stood, waiting for him to head toward the parking lot of his work building, that he spoke.

“Where’s your car?”

“Three blocks over in the public lot. I can walk there on my own.” She glanced away. “Thank you for your help tonight. I appreciate it.”

“I’ll walk you there,” he said gruffly.

“You really don’t have to,” she assured him.

He muttered something under his breath and ran a hand over his hair. “Look, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. Sorry.”

She wished he didn’t look so damn contrite. It made her want to forgive him and move on, see if she could get to know him better and find out why he was so convinced he didn’t fit that heroic mold. She was still fascinated by him and that wasn’t going to change any time soon.