Okay, the military escort was unexpected.
The driver who met Lizza at the SEA-TAC airport had been all stiff-backed and muscular. Could be he just worked out, but then he kept calling her Ma’am—which made little sense. She was only twenty-six, and she looked eighteen, plus her driver was easily in his forties. At least, he didn’t hit on her, like a lot of older guys. She didn’t have time for any guys, much less creepsters. The driver dropped her at a downtown Seattle office building that looked normal enough but then their security was way decked out in black tactical gear like they expected terrorists to crash through the windows any minute. Plus the short-buzzed hair was a dead giveaway.
The military-security guys said little, just checked her credentials and took her suitcase. She kept her tote bag—with her computer, purse, sketch pads and Mr. Charley, the tiny rainbow unicorn that went everywhere with her. She’d only brought the minimum in her hasty exodus from Harvard over the last twenty-four hours—she’d barely made the cutoff for dropping her classes, and her advisor only had a small heart attack when Lizza requested a sabbatical. All to dash across the country to work in a secret lab doing secret science. That extensive Non-Disclosure Agreement she signed meant no talking about the research, either, much less publishing it.
But it’ll change the world. That’s what Charlotte Netherman said when she recruited Lizza—and honestly, she hadn’t hesitated a picosecond. Charlotte’s work was brilliant. And exciting. And just freaking cool. Lizza hadn’t nailed down her Ph.D. thesis yet, and she’d been avidly looking for ways to build on Charlotte’s transdimensional framework studies ever since they met at the American Institute of Physics regional conference. And now Charlotte—Dr. Netherman—wanted to bring Lizza in on her secret project? Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Totally worth dropping everything for.
The military-level security just stamped legit on that decision.
Still, Lizza was relieved when she reached the 70th floor, and the military escort guy keyed her into the entrance then fell back, leaving her to a cubicle field bustling with normal looking people. Scientists. Probably some engineers and techs. Definitely a lot of IT, given the computation-heavy work they were doing. Although Charlotte promised she had a prototype built for testing her theories on transdimensional travel. And a wall at the back was scrawled with big black letters that said SExI MRI. That had to be it.
Lizza grinned. She was totally in the right place.
“Well, hello there,” a slimy male voice said. A guy had emerged from one of the cubicles and was quickly crowding her space. “You can’t be lost. We have spectacular security these days.”
Everything in her cringed, but she forced herself to extend her hand. “Elizabeth Robinson. Biophysics and quantum mechanics.” She shook his hand then tried to pull it back, but he held on with two hands and kept shaking. Ugh. Creepster.
“I’m Dr. Jerry Treacle, lead physicist.” Ew—he was talking to her chest now.
She was still in her Tesla Was Robbed! t-shirt and jeans from traveling, but she knew it didn’t matter what she wore. Guys always stared at her boobs. Or her butt. But mostly her boobs. She’d inherited her mother’s Italian curves, even though she’d gotten her father’s red hair and blue eyes. Lots of days, she wished it was the reverse. Then again, that probably wouldn’t stop the creepsters, either. Her dad might if he were still alive. For sure, any creepster would rue the day he pissed off her mom… but her parents were both long gone. Lizza hoped they might be still watching over her—and she ran her life accordingly.
The guy just wouldn’t let go. And he was still talking. “So you’re going to be working with us.” The drool was practically oozing out of his mouth, and he was rubbing his thumbs over her skin. Ugh.
Dang it. Would she have to make a scene before even getting started? “Yeah, well, Jerry, I’m here to do some science—”
“Release her.” The voice jolted her with its sudden nearness, but Dr. Creepster jumped back like he’d been electrocuted.
Her body was still shuddering from the shock, but she turned to see who made him back off, and… Holy Hotness. Another security guy with the same black tactical gear as the guys downstairs, but this one… if he wasn’t on a Top 10 Hottest Men list somewhere, he’d been done a grave injustice. Slightly messy brown hair, but totally sexy. Cheeks that looked sculpted by an ancient Greek artist. A five-o’clock shadow that somehow didn’t toughen him up—like he had an infinite well of sweetness that even rugged sexiness couldn’t tame. And the thick lashes around those deep brown eyes…
Hot Security Guy wasn’t even looking at her—too busy shooting death-ray glares at Dr. Creepster—but then he swung his gaze to lock with hers, and her heart jolted again. The blazing anger on his face softened immediately, turning those brown eyes into something sweet and gentle and… kind was the only word she could come up with. “Dr. Robinson? Are you all right?”
“Sure. Yeah. I’m…” She glanced toward Creepster Jerry, but he’d already oozed back into his cubicle. She cleared her throat and looked back to Hot Security Guy. “I’m fine.”
His shoulders were broad under all that body armor, and a small nameplate glinted shiny black on his chest. Oriel. Such a strange name. She jerked her gaze up to meet his again. There was so much concern on his face, it seemed like a force drilling straight into her head. For a moment, she couldn’t speak. Lots of guys were creeps, some were borderline creeps, and the ones who were semi-decent still had eyes that roamed her body like a dessert they couldn’t wait to taste. But this guy… he seemed completely indifferent to all that. And he was searching her face like it held the secrets of the universe.
Then a frown marred all those good looks. “You do not look fine, Dr. Robinson.”
She could barely hold back the smile. Guys never said she looked “not fine.” Not that she was Miss America—they just all seemed to think complimenting her looks was the way to get in her pants. Little did they know, that wasn’t on the agenda for any of them.
“I appreciate the save,” she said, hooking her thumb toward Jerry’s retreat into the cubicles, “but I promise I’m fine. Not the first time I’ve had to deal with something like that.”
He scowled deeper. “All right.”
It didn’t seem all right with him. Which gave her the strangest feeling in her stomach, like butterflies were having a party in there.
Then he swept his hand out toward the back of the cubicle land. “If you’d come with me, Dr. Robinson? I was told to escort you to the laboratory.”
“Great!” She let her smile loose and turned to walk with him. “Oh, and I’m not Dr. Anybody. Haven’t gotten the degree yet.”
“Oh. I, um… apologize.” He seemed ridiculously flustered by that, staring at the industrial carpet ahead of them.
She gave him a smile because, really, it was nothing to apologize about, but he didn’t see it. “No big deal,” she said, trying to catch his attention. “Just call me Lizza.”
His gaze snapped back to her. “Lizza? But your name is Elizabeth… oh. Right. A nickname.” He dropped his gaze, awkward again.
“Does that break some security protocol?” she asked, teasing. “Using first names?” What was this guy’s deal? It was like he’d flown in from Mars and had no idea how to interact with the natives. She’d seen her share of awkward geek guys during her time at Harvard, but this was something different.
His gaze was sharp on her again. “Of course, not. We can use any name you’d like.” He took a breath, wincing at some internal thought he was obviously not sharing. They had stopped in front of the SExI MRI door. “Sorry, I’m a little new to this job.”
She smiled again, trying to ease some of that awkwardness, but she really couldn’t puzzle out this guy. Oriel. Was it Greek like the Greek Adonis he appeared to be? He was young-ish—mid-twenties like her—so maybe he was fresh out of Security Guy Training or something.
“First day jitters?” she asked.
“Yes, exactly.” Then he beamed a smile, and it about knocked her out. Holy heck, he was gorgeous. And there was a sweetness about him—a kind of innocence—that made his soft brown eyes mesmerizing.
Don’t stare, Lizza. Good grief, what was wrong with her? She cleared her throat. “Well, no worries. I’m new here, too. Obviously. Excited, though.” She gestured to the door. “Can’t wait to see what Dr. Netherman has cooked up in her secret lab.”
“They’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” His expression dropped into seriousness as he pressed his security badge to the door, and it clicked open. He held it for her but gestured for her to go first. Inside was like a full-keg party at a geek-boy frat house—wall-to-wall people and strange equipment. Not that she partied. Like, at all. She went to one, got groped, and decided that was enough of the “college party” experience for her. Besides, she’d devoted herself to fulfilling her parents’ hopes and dreams, and that meant a lot more time in libraries than beer-soaked parties.
Lizza edged into the room with Security Guy’s encouragement—Oriel. She should remember his name. A giant MRI dominated the room with its metallic donut structure, but it was also Frankensteined out with all kinds of extra cabling, monitors, and tubing. The tiny twenty-feet-per-side lab had maybe a dozen people attending to all the tech.
It took her a moment to spot Charlotte—she was bent over some piece of equipment—but when she stood up, her long black hair and bright, animated face lit up the room.
Lizza waved and couldn’t help the grin.
“Elizabeth!” Charlotte exclaimed then nudged the security guy standing next to her.
Holy crap. Were all the security guys European models or something? The one by Charlotte’s side was just as gorgeous as Oriel only with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. As they wove through the crowded lab toward Lizza, she saw his nameplate said Tajael—another strange name. These guys were definitely from some other planet. Probably one called Source of All Male Hotness. She may not date guys as a general and pretty much absolute rule, but that didn’t mean she was blind.
Then her attention was entirely captured by Charlotte’s beaming face. “You made it!” she said.
Lizza shifted her tote so she could put out her hand, but before she managed it, Charlotte had swept her into a hug. Okay. They were on hugging terms. Cool. Lizza hugged her back, and by the time Charlotte pulled away, Lizza’s smile felt like it was cracking her face.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about all this,” she gushed. Then internally cringed. Way to fangirl, Lizza. “I mean, all this secrecy and the NDA… I figure you must have something pretty lit going on.” Okay, that was only slightly better. Somehow, she always reverted to sounding like a teenager when she got excited.
“You have no idea.” Charlotte exchanged a smirk with Tajael the Hot Security Guy. Whoa. Okay, those two… they were totally together. As Lizza was trying to wrap her head around that, Charlotte went on, “You are going to be amazed, Elizabeth.”
“Please, call me Lizza. That’s what my friends call me. Er, not that we’re friends-friends…” Shut up, shut up, shut up! The message finally got through to her mouth, and it obeyed.
Charlotte laughed lightly. “We are definitely friends. I knew that the minute we met at the conference last year. And I wouldn’t be bringing you in on this otherwise.”
The full-scale panic in Lizza’s body relaxed a little, and she forced the grimace off her face. “Sorry. I kinda ramble when I’m nervous.” The understatement of the century.
Charlotte smiled. “I bet you’d like to see what we’re doing.”
Lizza nodded, trying rein it in and not be a complete spaz.
Charlotte stepped around some cabling to get closer to the MRI and gestured Lizza forward. Oriel had stuck by her side this whole time, but now he shuffled over to stand next to Tajael. They had some kind of brief non-verbal conversation comprised of tilted heads and nods.
Charlotte captured her attention again. “I know you’ve signed the NDA, Lizza.” Her voice was serious now. “But I hope we are friends. I didn’t just bring you in because your paper on quantum effects on biological systems was groundbreaking and insightful.”
Lizza struggled to keep the glow of that praise inside.
“I need people who are capable of understanding what we’re really doing here and who I can trust. And I need you to understand that this has to remain strictly secret for now.”
“Totally,” Lizza replied quickly. “This is your research. I’m just excited to be part of…” She gestured with both hands at the MRI. “Whatever this is.”
Charlotte frowned. “The NDA isn’t because I’m worried about you stealing the research. Or taking credit for it. This is very important Lizza, so please listen carefully.”
Lizza nodded, eyes wide. A prickling sensation ran up her back.
“When I said this technology could change the world, I was dead serious,” Charlotte continued. “And I’m not talking about inventing a new iPhone or a better way to sell groceries. I’m talking the kind of change that could bring about great or terrible things. The kind that is dangerous. The secrecy for this has to be absolute… or people could get hurt. A lot of people.”
Lizza’s mouth had run dry. What had she gotten herself into?
“It’s not too late to back out.” Charlotte’s words were almost a whisper, but they rang through the lab, which had gone silent. The crowd had thinned out, leaving just three lab techs gathered by the monitor on the far side, but they had stopped working to listen. Oriel and Tajael were both watching Lizza closely. Everyone was looking at her.
She swallowed down the dryness in her throat. “Great science isn’t about publishing papers and winning over your thesis committee. Great science is about changing the world. I want to change the world, Dr. Netherman. I’ve dropped everything to come here. I’m not turning back now.”
Everyone must have been holding their breath because an audible sigh went through the lab. Charlotte grinned and gave some kind of hand signal to the techs. They turned to the monitor and tapped away. Oriel and Tajael were having a whispered exchange—she could almost hear it, but it was a foreign language she didn’t recognize. Then Tajael stepped to the far side of the lab and called someone.
The MRI started humming.
Charlotte grabbed headphones off a rack—a pair for each of them. “Put this on,” she said over the rising clacking sound. “We’ll talk over the headset.”
Lizza quickly did so. Everyone else in the lab donned ear protection as well. Charlotte reached out to tap something on the side of Lizza’s headset. It beeped, and then Charlotte’s voice came through loud and clear over the now-muted hum of the MRI.
“Can you hear me all right?” she asked.
“Yes.” There was no microphone, but the headset must have something built in.
Charlotte edged closer to the MRI, bringing Lizza with her. “You know my theories about transdimensional travel, right?” her voice said over the headset.
“That there’s an over-dimension connected to ours,” Lizza said quickly. Of course, she’d read all of Charlotte’s papers, including her thesis. The published ones, anyway. “Like a 4th physical dimension that might account for the source of gravity… and other quantum effects.”
Charlotte nodded and pointed to the inside of the MRI. Sitting in the middle was a small clay pot with a patch of grass. “This machine—I call it the dimensional drive—uses Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to shove physical items into extra-dimensional space.”
Lizza leaned back and frowned. “You mean, you’re using the MRI to measure the part of the plant that exists in extra-dimensional space.” Her brain was reeling. How was that even possible?
“No.” Charlotte grinned. “I’m sending the whole thing there.”
Lizza glanced at the potted plant. “Like… right now?” The MRI had started clacking and banging in earnest, its magnets revving up to take a measurement. It looked like a standard MRI, the kind used in hospitals all over the country, except for all the tricked-out extra gadgets.
“Ready when you are, Dr. Netherman,” one of the lab techs said over the headset.
Charlotte pointed to the plant. “Keep your eyes on it,” she said to Lizza. Then she glanced at Tajael, still on the phone in the back, and then the techs. “I’ll count it down for our new physicist. On my mark… three… two… one…”
The plant disappeared.
Lizza blinked.
It was there one moment… and then just gone. The pot, grass, dirt… everything. Like it had never existed.
She turned to Charlotte. Her mouth was hanging open so wide she could barely form words. “Where? Where did it go?”
“That is precisely the question.” But Charlotte was grinning like she already knew the answer.
“You sent it to the over-dimension.” Lizza’s gaze was dragged back to the MRI. To the empty space where the plant had been. “Ho-ly crap.”
Charlotte beamed. The MRI was already winding down.
“I thought…” Lizza was sputtering now. “I thought you said you had a prototype.”
“There’s a ton of work yet to be done,” Charlotte said, but she was still grinning. “That’s why we need you. I’ve worked all the math for transporting physical objects, but living things present a whole new level of difficulty.” She gestured to the machine. “We’ve tested it on plants, and the theories hold, but we don’t know the status on the other end.”
Lizza’s head was spinning like crazy. “Cellular function. The spark of life. You don’t know… you don’t know how—or even if—it transports.” Holy crap. She knew precisely why Charlotte had brought her in now. This was exactly what she was looking at with her quantum effects of biosystems research.
“For all we know, it’s a lump of lifeless jelly in the over-dimension,” Charlotte said, nodding. “And there’s the small matter of getting it back.”
This was it. This was the thing Lizza was meant to do. She had to fight back the tears as the realization slammed into her. All those years ago, as her father lay dying from his cancer, he’d made her promise she would do something great with her first love—science. He was a physicist too, so there was no question about which field. She was only sixteen at the time, but she’d made a solemn vow that day. Then, when she and her mom were in the accident just a few months later—the car crash that killed her mother and kept Lizza in the hospital for three months—she’d doubled down on that vow. She’d been given a second chance at life, and she would do something great with it, just as she’d promised.
And this was that thing.
“I need everything you’ve got,” Lizza said in a rush. “Theories. Calculations. Experiments. All the data.” The words were breathless, and her hand had gripped Charlotte’s arm without her realizing. She forced her hand to unlock. “Oh. Sorry. I mean… when you have a chance.”
Charlotte laughed and pulled off her headset. “I was hoping you’d say that.” The machine was quiet now, so Lizza took hers off too. The security guys—Oriel and Tajael—had edged forward, standing behind Charlotte and watching the two of them closely.
“But you’ve been traveling all day,” Charlotte said, “and you have to be tired.”
“No, not at all.” And it was true. Energy was surging through her. “I want to get started.”
“Let’s get you settled,” Charlotte insisted. “Then we can get you started.” She beckoned Oriel forward with a finger, and he stepped up. “Oriel will see you home. Get some rest, and we’ll see you back here in the morning.”
Home? “Oh, um…” Lizza had rushed out here so fast… “I haven’t got a hotel room yet. Maybe I can just camp out here tonight. Find a cubicle. I could get started on reading up on what you’ve done—”
Oriel was frowning and sending pinched looks to Charlotte, who was practically laughing at Lizza. Her hot security boyfriend Tajael seemed like he was getting a good laugh at her, too. Okay, maybe she was a little over-enthusiastic, but she really had no place to stay, and she really did want to get started…
Charlotte put her hands on Lizza’s shoulders and peered into her eyes. “We are going to do great science, Lizza. In the morning.”
Lizza forced her shoulders to relax. “Right. Of course.”
Charlotte released her. “Besides, I was serious about the security on this project. Everyone working on it has personal security at work, home, and in between. I’ve already arranged an apartment for you. Oriel will take you there and bring you back in the morning. If you need to make any trips outside the apartment, please make sure you’re escorted at all times. I know that’s kind of draconian, but believe me, it’s vital. And it comes with the job. Also required is getting enough rest so you can bring that brilliant mind to work fresh in the morning. Understood?”
“Understood.” Lizza swallowed. An apartment? Round the clock security? But it made perfect sense. They were going to change the world.
“All right then.” Charlotte gave a nod to Oriel.
He looked a lot more relaxed as he swept his hand toward the door to the laboratory. “If you’ll come with me, Lizza…”
“Right.” She strode to the door but turned at the last minute. “Dr. Netherman?” Charlotte was already conferring with her hot security guy. She turned to Lizza. “You don’t know how much this means to me. Being on this project. Thank you.”
She smiled. “See you in the morning.”
Lizza ducked her head and hurried out before she gushed anymore. Oriel stuck close to her side, even as she scurried away. For a minute, she didn’t even try speaking—she really was tired. And hyped. And overwhelmed with finally getting a chance to make her mark. To fulfill her vow. To do the thing she was meant to do with this second-chance life of hers. As she and Oriel rode the elevator down, she had to keep blinking and looking away to keep the tears from leaking out. Totally embarrassing, but also nothing she wanted to explain.
But when they didn’t stop in the lobby, just went straight to the parking garage where a black sedan waited, she finally had to say something. “Um, where are we going?”
“To your new apartment, of course.” Oriel held the car door open for her. The driver was the same forty-something guy from the airport.
Lizza climbed in, setting her tote on the bench seat in back. Oriel joined her, and a nod to the driver had them whisking away.
They were two blocks down before she remembered… “Wait! My luggage is back at the office.”
“That’s all taken care of,” Oriel said. “And your apartment is stocked with food and any other necessities you might need. Just let me know if there’s something different you’d prefer, and I’ll make sure it’s brought to you. It’s truly better if you don’t leave the apartment for any reason, but if you must, as Dr. Netherman said, please make sure you call for an escort.” He pulled a phone from a pocket in the leg of his black body-armor suit and poked hesitantly at it, frowning. “We are supposed to exchange phone numbers.”
It was like the guy had never run a phone before.
“Here,” she said, reaching for it. She quickly tapped in her number and sent herself a message. Since he seemed kinda new to the phone thing, she smiled for a selfie then entered her name and picture into his address book. When she was done, she handed the phone back to him.
His eyes were alive with curiosity.
“I sent myself a text, plus now I’m in your contacts,” she explained. “See, right here.” She tapped at it and brought up her contact listing with the picture.
He just blinked, seemingly mesmerized by the selfie.
“You got this?” she asked. It was so strange—like he totally understood some ordinary things, like taking care of her luggage, and was complete mystified by others, like the phone. Her theory about him being from Planet Hot Guy was gaining ground.
“Yes,” he said, and it was convincing enough.
They quickly arrived at a towering apartment building—still in downtown and close to the office. While she was climbing out, Oriel retrieved her roller bag from the trunk. The sedan slipped away, but Oriel kept close by her side. His gaze was sweeping everywhere as they entered the lobby and summoned the elevator. They were alone on the ride up, and Oriel finally broke the temporary silence when they exited on the tenth floor.
“Dr. Netherman’s apartment is just a few doors down.” Oriel pulled her bag up to a door with 10B shining on it in brass.
“Really?” Lizza stared at the door he’d pointed to. “Does everyone on the project live here?”
“No, just the two of you.” He unlocked her door, gestured her inside, closed it behind them, then said, “Stay here.” Before she could respond, he was off hurrying through her apartment, apparently checking for lurking bad guys. Or whatever. It wasn’t a huge place—Lizza could see most of it from the door. A tidy living room and an open kitchen were most of it, with a hallway disappearing down to the left. Oriel went down the hall then re-emerged a few seconds later.
“All clear,” he said.
“Are we going to do that every time?” she asked.
“Probably.” He grabbed her suitcase and wheeled it toward the back. “Come. I’ll get you settled then leave you to your privacy.”
Such an odd way of talking. As Lizza followed him to the bedroom, she was just now realizing Oriel was her “personal security.” She’d won the lottery with that. He was ridiculously hot, seemed totally uninterested in leering at her body, and had this gentle way that seemed discordant with the black body armor. He also carried no weapons that she could see—was he some kind of martial arts expert? That flashed up an insanely sharp curiosity about just how muscular he was under those black Security Guy clothes.
Heat rushed to her face. Get a grip, Lizza. Sure, he was hot, but this was a professional relationship—she wasn’t going to break her long-standing streak of avoiding romantic entanglements, professional or otherwise, now. Not on the most important project of her life. And definitely not with her personal bodyguard.
Oriel set her suitcase on the bed and turned to her. “You should find everything you need in the kitchen. If you don’t…”
“I’ll message you.” Lizza frowned. “Wait… you’re not like hanging out the hallway, guarding the door, are you?”
He hesitated, searching her eyes, then dropping his gaze.
Okay…
Then he looked up. “No.”
That was the most yes she’d ever heard in a no.
“All right.” What in the heck? And then she remembered… Tajael and Charlotte… they were together. Was that… expected? No. Even now, Oriel’s steady gaze was entirely on her face—watchful, concerned, overridingly gentle—but there was nothing about that which said I’m trying to get you in bed. “So… you’re going to be nearby enough that if I need something, you’ll be able to help out. But you’re not lurking by the door or anything?”
Relief seemed to loosen his shoulders. “Exactly.”
He stepped forward, getting way too close into her personal space, but somehow it wasn’t uncomfortable—the opposite. Comforting. “Lock the door behind me, but rest assured. The entire building is under surveillance, and security is a moment’s notice away. Myself and others. But I’m to be your point of contact, plus it’s my job to make sure you’re safe, comfortable, and ready to do your very important work. So please don’t hesitate to call me, no matter the time.”
“Um… okay.” Her brain was still spinning with all this. She frowned. “What is it exactly you all are afraid is going to happen?”
“Nothing’s going to happen. I promise we’ll keep you completely safe.” But he grimaced, and she could tell she was pushing the boundaries of what he was supposed to tell her. Like there were Top Secret things she wasn’t supposed to know. And somehow this was tormenting him.
“It’s okay.” She reflexively put a hand on his arm to reassure him. “You don’t have to tell me.” His muscles were like steel under the thin fabric of his shirt, and her touch seemed to startle him. She quickly dropped her hand. “I’m sure it’ll all be fine.”
He stepped back from her, eyes a little wide.
Why had she touched him? That was a stupid thing to do.
“If there’s nothing else, then?” He looked like he couldn’t wait to bolt for the door.
“No, everything’s great.” She tried a smile to erase some of the awkwardness, but that just seemed to make him more agitated.
He gave her a sharp nod and high-tailed it toward the front.
She hesitated then realized she had to lock the door behind him, so she followed him out. Sure enough, he was waiting by the front door for her. Somehow, with his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave, he seemed like he’d composed himself again.
“Remember to lock the door,” he said.
“Sure.” He was halfway out the door, when she blurted out, “Oriel.”
He stopped.
“Tajael and Charlotte… they’re together, right?”
His eyes went wide, then he locked down his surprise. “He will be in her apartment most nights—keeping guard as well as… other things. But if you require assistance, I would not interrupt them.”
“No, of course not.” Did he really think she would?
“You should contact me if you require anything.”
“Right.” She would wait until he was gone, then she would kick herself—hard—for even bringing that up. What was her problem? She was all nervous knee-jerk responses around this guy. Was it just because he was blindingly hot?
He stood half-in and half-out of the door, staring at the carpet again. Then he looked back to her. “It’s going to be all right, Lizza. I promise.”
She nodded, keeping her stupid mouth shut before it got her in any more trouble. He finally left, and she closed the door behind him, locking it as instructed.
On the one hand, she completely believed Oriel would keep his promise and keep her safe. On the other hand… what in the world had she gotten herself into?