Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
She waited for Gideon’s reply to her simple I’m sorry I’m late. Unexpected holdup. If you still want me to come, it will be another half hour before I can get there. Will explain when I see you. She hadn’t taken a chance on saying anything else.
Rory waited. Her friends waited with her. All eyes were on her phone. The answer came fast, proving Gideon had been waiting for a text from her. She didn’t know if fast was good or bad, but she took a deep breath and looked down.
Will be waiting on roof. You have the code to get in. Looking forward to seeing you.
She couldn’t understand the joy that blossomed through her, but she knew it was in her eyes when she looked at her friends. “He’s waiting for me.”
“Then go get ready,” Lydia urged. “Do you need us to throw together food?”
“I’ve got that covered, but thank you,” Rory said, rushing for the elevator.
* * *
Gideon, she’s on the move, Javier reported. She’s being followed again. Same man. He’s staying way back. He’s not the only one watching her. Two cops. Undercover, dumb enough to think no one’s going to make them. I spotted them going into her building earlier with two other cops.
Gideon moved across the roof to the street side of his building, staying in the shadows of recesses he’d had built into the thick railings. It didn’t take him long to spot Rory. She was beautiful, totally feminine, moving with her natural grace around the few people on the sidewalk. She had her head up, and she wore a long skirt that flowed over her hips to her ankles. A sweater buttoned down the front clung to her breasts and ended at her midsection, drawing attention to the fact that she had a small waist. Her hair cascaded down her back in a riot of curls and waves.
Gideon pressed his palm over his heart and forced his gaze from her. He was looking to find the man following her. It didn’t take long to spot him. It was definitely the same man who had been in the restaurant. He was about a block and a half behind her, staying in the shadows, keeping to the doors and alcoves, his gaze on the two undercover cops more than on Rory.
The two detectives—Javier had identified them as John Westlake and Leo Carver—were watching Rory as she walked from her apartment to his building. Gideon didn’t like the idea of anyone spying on her, not even the cops. He was aware a body had been removed from her apartment complex. Since it had become apparent to other members of Gideon’s unit that Rory was important to him, they had set up surveillance on the complex. Javier had made it his mission to keep Rory under his eagle eye once they realized someone was following her.
Gideon could see Javier talking and laughing with a group of teens. He stood right next to the cop car, obscuring the detectives’ vision of Rory as she stopped at Gideon’s building and put the code in to unlock the door. Gideon couldn’t help smiling as Westlake shoved open the passenger door and leapt out onto the street in an attempt to see around the group of teenagers who had stopped in the wrong place. With much more dignity, Carver got out onto the sidewalk. Rory had already disappeared into the building.
Cursing, Westlake shoved through the crowd of teenagers and hurried up the sidewalk to try to catch up with Rory. He seemed to forget he wasn’t wearing a badge or a uniform or driving an official vehicle. Led by Javier, the teens flipped him off and shouted curses at him. Carver got back into the car, leaving Westlake to stomp back on his own, muttering curses back at the teens and flinging himself into the car, glowering at his partner. Carver drove away.
Gideon found himself grinning. He knew Javier would follow the man stalking Rory. Gideon could enjoy himself with the woman he’d been looking forward to seeing all day. He looked around his rooftop to make certain he had everything ready for her. Two comfortable chairs close to the firepit, which was already lit, the flames burning low. His night flowers were in bloom, looking beautiful, the blossoms turning their petals up toward the moon. Even the weather had cooperated, giving them a relatively clear night so the stars could be seen.
The trapdoor opened slowly. Gideon knew he should help, but he found himself frozen, unable to move a muscle, watching Rory’s face come into his line of vision. She was really here in his home, on his rooftop, meeting him. He’d never been open to relationships at all. In fact, he knew he was a very closed-off person. He had been since he’d been that boy who was homeless with the other street kids. He’d seen too much, had been betrayed too many times. To be in any kind of a relationship, one had to have trust. He had lost that ability far too many years ago.