our bags like he would in a hotel. And I allow myself to experience the excitement, and yes hope, that this new chapter of my life with Rick represents.
Once we’re outside the vehicle in the cool, fifty-something temperatures of fall, Rick and Memphis have a quick chat about surveillance. The bottom line: Walker is watching. That’s the general gist, and it’s comforting but so is the level of monitoring by the building. It’s not long before we walk into a small but fancy lobby, with a desk to our left, and elevators straight beyond the checkpoint. On this side of the desk, is a fit, bald man I age to be in his forties, who wears a suit and an earpiece.
Rick pauses to greet the man. “Baby, this is Dandy Randy. He’s a dandy dude in his suit, and he even knows kung fu. We’d recruit him for Walker but the dandy dude owns stock in this here building. He’s not going anywhere. He’ll make sure you’re safe and all the bozos stay outside. Right, Randy?”
“A little stock. Enough to keep me loyal, and I had enough of the bad guys in the Army. You know that, Savage.” His gaze shifts to me, his eyes narrow curiously on me, an awareness there that I don’t quite understand. “As for keeping you safe here in the building,” he adds. “Always.”
“Good,” Rick approves. “Because she lives here now. And if she says yes, I’m marrying her.”
His talk of marriage only sets those butterfly wings of hope to fluttering all the faster while Randy’s eyes light on me and his lips curve. “I’m going to dare to say, that means you’re Candace.”
I glance up at Rick. He grins. “I told him if I ever brought a woman home, her name would be Candace. If I ever married a girl, she’d damn sure be Candace.”
“Been telling me that every time he drank for three years,” Randy assures me.
“Damn vodka,” Rick murmurs.
Damn my heart, is more like it, I think. It swells with just how much this man kept me in his heart. Emotion overwhelms me. “Rick,” I whisper.
He catches my hand and kisses it. “Let’s go see what you think of the apartment.” He eyes Randy. “Can you—”
“Bags on their way up now,” Randy says, giving me a nod. “Welcome to the building.”
“I’m so very glad to be here,” I murmur. “Thank you, Randy.”
Rick slides his arm around my shoulders, and we walk to the elevator. Once we’re there, and our floor is punched in, Rick pulls me to him, holding me close. His hard body next to mine is all it takes to have hell become heaven and fear become anticipation.
When the elevator halts, he catches my hand. “Ready?”
“So very ready.”
I’m smiling when he leads me down a hallway to pause at our door. He unlocks it but before he opens it, he says, “Remember. We can sell this place and pick something of our own.”
“Just open the door, Rick. I can’t wait to see this part of your life.” I reach for the door and he captures me from behind to lean in and murmur, “I can’t wait for you to be a part of my life.”
“You don’t have to wait. I’m already here.” I twist around to face him. “And I’m not going anywhere.” I smile. “Except inside.”
“I’ll carry you and we’ll go straight to bed.”
The elevator dings and a big bulky man exits and charges toward us. Is he another killer like Alejandro? I suck in air and reach for the door, eager to be inside the apartment but my hands won’t work. Rick opens the door and I hurry inside. Rick doesn’t follow. Why isn’t Rick following?
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Candace
I wait a few seconds, willing Rick to appear in the foyer of the apartment but he doesn’t.
I’m in a hallway and that’s all I know. I’m here. He’s not.
This time I will not be stupid. I reach for my purse, and my gun, but suddenly he’s walking inside and setting down our suitcases. He kicks the door shut and locks it before he catches my waist and steps into me.
“What just happened?”
“I don’t know. What just happened?”
“Ned, our neighbor rushed by our doorway, and the doorman brought our bags. What did you think happened?”
“Ned?”
“Ned,” he confirms. “Our neighbor who was running late to a meeting after staying the night at some chick’s house. He was rushing to change.”
“Oh.”
“What did you think happened, baby?”
“I think I’m seeing assassins everywhere.”
His expression tightens. “I’m