Trust by Design (Colorado Trust 2)

If only she’d completed the call to 911.

She scrambled to pull her cell from her jacket pocket and keyed in the number 9 when she heard a rough-sounding “Sonofabitch,” as the office door scraped against the glass on the floor again. Her hand shook so bad she nearly dropped the phone.

Light flooded the room again. “Gina?”

Dean’s alarmed voice brought her out of hiding so fast she slipped on the paper beneath her feet and fell back against the wall. She banged her head as the little bit of air she’d managed whooshed from her chest.

He rushed around the desk, and his warm hand engulfed hers. One pull brought her to her feet. “Are you okay?”

She nodded while catching her breath and her balance. More involuntary tears flooded her eyes and she tried to blink them away. “I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” His hands gripped her shoulders and his piercing gaze roved over her face and then down the rest of her body.

“Yes. I just—you scared me half to death.”

“I’m sorry.” He pulled her into a hug.

She didn’t resist as his strong arms wrapped her in a rock-solid, protective cocoon that smelled of leather and man. The hand that rose to gently rub the back of her sore head pressed her face to his chest. The steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek reassured her she was safe, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the delayed flood of relief that weakened her knees.

It finally registered that she’d seen him drive away, and she reluctantly pushed from the comfort of his arms and wiped the moisture from her face. “What are you doing here? I thought you went home?”

“I saw you go inside and didn’t like the idea of you up here alone this late at night. You weren’t planning to work longer, were you?”

She’d stayed late alone plenty of times, but his disapproving concern warmed her heart. Especially since tonight the concern part was warranted. “I realized I forgot my laptop earlier,” she explained, finally feeling a bit more composed. “I certainly didn’t expect this.”

“You should’ve called 911 immediately.”

“I was about to when I heard the elevator and thought whoever did this had come back.” She glanced around and saw her phone lying on the floor under her desk. Before she could even take a step forward, Dean bent to scoop it up. He glanced at the screen, then shifted his gaze to her desk as he extended the phone to her.

“Your laptop is still here.”

“Thank God.”

“No, I mean, obviously, someone broke in, so why didn’t they take your computer?”

“I don’t know.” She hadn’t even thought of it that way, but now that he mentioned it, it was weird. Suspicion and curiosity pulled her to the desk. Not that she had anything on it of worth to anyone else, but it made no sense that a thief would leave easy money behind.

She reached with one finger to press the space bar and disengage the screen saver. The password-protected security screen came up.

Dean moved in close enough for her to feel his body heat. “That how you left it?”

She nodded even though she was fighting awareness of him so she could do the math in her head. Her timer was set for two hours because with the number of things that took her away from the computer while she was working, she had gotten tired of constantly being prompted for her password. She’d left the office with Dean almost three hours ago.

Okay, so what was the person looking for that they’d left her laptop alone? Her attention shifted to the papers all over the floor.

“Do you keep anything else of value in here?”

“No.”

“Money? Bank statements? Other important documents? Anything?” He tossed the questions over his shoulder as he walked toward the door.

A frown formed as she watched him. “No. The most valuable thing in here is my laptop.”

He was in the hall now, looking down one side, then the other. “Did you notice if any other offices had been broken in to?”

“Not really. I was in a hurry and focused on my own door.”

He turned back to face her. “Are you okay to stay here if I take a quick look on this floor?”