now.”
Garret pulled a chair out and straddled it with his arms over the back. “What’s it about?”
“From what I’ve been told, corruption of a city official.”
Garret grunted and took a sip of coffee before he commented, “That ain’t exactly news, boss man.”
Killian didn’t reply because Garret was right. His interest in the story had nothing to do with the public official and everything to do with that frustrating and slightly attention-deficient woman, Bekki King.
He pointed the remote at the television when the anchor came on. “Good Evening, Colton Faison with your news, Hope City.”
He listened to the top world stories as he sorted through the paperwork that he’d printed from the logistics checkpoint and double-checked it against his invoices, ensuring he hadn’t been shorted on any order. It had happened more times than not, so he was damn careful and so was his logistician, Jeff, but literally, the buck stopped with him.
He heard Bekki’s voice and his head snapped up. He leaned forward and turned the volume up. Garret sent him a sidelong glance but kept his mouth shut. His project manager had smarts.
They watched, and when Bekki started her verbal assault on the man a smile spread across his face. Damn, she was like a tigress stalking before the pounce, and she had him between her jaws, didn’t she?
He watched the surveillance tape and read the closed-captioned snippets of the conversation and Bekki signing off. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the end of this report. I advise situational awareness as we air the next part of this interview as the violence is graphic.”
“Violence?” Killian stood up at the same time as Garret. His eyes were glued to the television as the camera jostled and Davis berated Bekki. Spittle flew from the man’s mouth as he shouted at her. She picked up what looked like a piece of equipment and turned to leave. That’s when Davis grabbed her arm. Both he and Garret winced as she fell unabated to the floor.
“Damn, her head bounced off that thing in her hands.” Garret hissed. They watched as people gathered and helped her to a chair. Then…
Killian’s blood boiled, “Oh, fuck no.” The camera flashed down to her face, bloodied and battered.
“That is one hell of a bastard. He spun her so hard she lost her balance.”
“Yeah.”
“You know her?”
“I do.”
“She married?”
“No.”
“Are you?”
Killian whipped his eyes from the screen to Garret. “You know I’m not.”
“Then, if I knew that woman and she was hurt, I’d go over and see if she was all right.” Garret shrugged. “It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“I’ve got work to do.”
“Nothing that can’t wait. Boss, go see the pretty lady and come back in the morning. I can button up.”
“She’s not going to want to see me.” He glanced at the work on his desk and then scanned tomorrow’s tasks on the whiteboard across from him.
“Well, then you get an early night and hit the ground running in the morning. Not many early nights are going to exist in the next couple months, you should take it when you can.”
The news anchor’s face filled the screen, but he wasn’t tracking. He nodded. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll stop by her house and see how she’s doing.”
“There you go. I always knew you were a smart man.” Garret clapped him on the shoulder when he grabbed his keys and turned to leave.
He spoke to his friend on the way out. “She’s not even a friend, man. She’s an acquaintance I met through my brother.”
“She’s hot and you need to open your eyes,” Garret shouted after him as he descended the stairs.
“Duke.” He called for his dog as he hit the bottom stair. The animal came running and they made it to the truck at the same time. Duke jumped in as soon as he opened the door. Killian put the vehicle in gear and headed to the little condo he’d visited a few days ago. Anger at the bastard that sent Bekki to the floor was running like lava through his veins. He pulled up to a stoplight and drew a deep breath, slowly releasing it. As traffic started to flow again, he got himself under control. Duke panted in the seat next to him, happy to be going for a ride. Shit. He reached over and buckled the dog’s harness to the safety system he’d installed. “Sorry, bud.” He ruffled the scruff of the dog’s neck and got a wet slap of tongue on his hand as a reward.
Killian shook his head and