Killian (Hope City #8) - Kris Michaels Page 0,69

to touch me.” He stood, too. “Perhaps one of Bekki’s sisters in law could get her change of clothes. I’ll head straight back to the Pinnacle.”

“That’s probably for the best. I’ll give you two a moment while I start this process.” Her father walked to the door before he turned and looked straight at her. “You did damn good work here, Bekki. I probably don’t tell you as much as I should, but I’m very proud of you.”

Tears immediately misted her eyes, but she smiled at him. “Thank you.” He winked at her and dipped out of the office.

“Wow.” She fanned her face. “I guess I’m still a little girl at heart.”

Killian chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “That’s not a bad thing. Congratulations, princess, you did it.”

“We did it. If you hadn’t helped me, I never would have known where to look.” She lifted on her toes and kissed him.

When he pulled away, she reached up and placed her hands around that strong chin and made him look at her. “You be careful. You heard what he said. They may be coming after you. Keep your gun handy?” A shiver crawled up her spine and forced its cold fingers through her entire body.

“I have it in the truck now and I’ll take it with me to the site, and I have Duke and a crew to watch out for me. I’m not going to do anything foolish.” Killian hugged her tighter and rocked them slowly from side to side.

She drew in the feel of him. His hard muscles, the softness of his words against her hair, and the feel of those work-worn hands cradling her gently. “I’ll come over to the site tonight after the report.”

He chuckled. “Are you sure? That bed is probably pretty small and lumpy compared to yours.”

She lifted her head so she could see him. “It is, but there is nowhere I’d rather be.”

“Well, then. We’ll have to see about better arrangements at the site.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her nose. “Maybe an RV, that way we won’t have to order out every night.”

“Seriously? You’d do that for me?” That was one hell of a commitment, wasn’t it?

“For us.” He leaned down and kissed her once more, taking his time. When he lifted, leaving her breathless, he released her and stepped away. “Take them down, princess.”

“I will.” She lifted her chin. She’d blow the story out of the water and let law enforcement clean up the mess.

Killian took her hand and laced their fingers together. “Do you need anything from the site? We left all your papers and computer.”

She walked with him to the office door. “I don’t think so. I have a hard copy of the information, so I think I’m good to go. If I need something, I’ll send someone over, but I’ll call before I do that.”

“I’ll check my voicemails as much as I can. We’re putting footings in for the high rise, so I might not hear the call.”

She turned to him and smiled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Only if your father says it’s safe to be out and about on your own.” Killian lifted an eyebrow in challenge.

“Deal, but you need to be careful, too.”

He smiled. "Always."

She couldn’t see a reason why she wouldn’t be free to do whatever she wanted after the story aired, but after the incident at the bar, she'd gladly wait for the all clear call from her father. Putting the truth out in the world was the best way to force the rats back into the dark holes they creeped out of when they chose to terrorize people. But she wasn't a fool. Her report could also make those damn rats aggressive, too. She lifted on her toes and kissed him one last time before she opened the door and watched him walk away.

Killian straightened and groaned loudly. The power flickered again and then plunged the entire site into darkness. His men shouted at each other as he worked his way toward the edge of the trench where he was bending rebar for the footers. When he reached the point where he’d need to climb out, an emergency generator fired, illuminating the very center of the work site in a pale-yellow glow.

“Looks like this whole grid is down, boss.” Garret stomped out of the darkness and lifted his hard hat, scratching his head.

“Where are we at with the footings?” He rolled his shoulders.

“Maybe an hour or so left, no more than