What was she supposed to do, leave her other shoe on? Maybe he’d pocket that one too.
“No serious injuries. I’m sure. Just some scrapes and bruises, probably.” She tried to return his intense gaze with an assertive one of her own. “And my name is Maylin.”
He might have saved her—and she was thankful—but as knights in shining armor went, he lacked any sort of courtly charm. Not a big deal. No need for princesses or fairy tales here. Those had been An-mei’s favorite stories, not hers.
“Pretty sure your head hit the pavement when I took you down.” A pang of regret there, she was sure of it. “We should get you checked for a concussion.”
She thought about how they went to the ground and the strength it must have taken for him to roll both of them away from the street. Admittedly, his size probably helped him. He had a lot of height and weight on her. But he and his colleagues had been several yards behind her, even if they had been catching up to her on the way out of the alley. How fast was this man?
Sirens. The ambulance, most likely. And if she didn’t string her thoughts together more coherently, they might decide she really did need to go to the emergency room.
“I’m also not sure that was a DUI, so why don’t you tell me more about your missing person and why someone might not want you to find her?”
She stared at him wide-eyed and took in the grave expression, sharp eyes hidden in shadow, and the angle of his jaw. Tall, dark and seriously impressive as this man was, why did he believe her now?
His colleague crouched down on the other side of her. “What are you saying, Gabe?”
“I’m saying I’m fucking sure as hell that car was idling on the street. It was waiting for her.”
Chapter Two
“You didn’t have to see me all the way home. Honestly. The only reason I drove my car tonight was because of all the extra catering stuff I wanted to bring with me. Otherwise, I could have walked.”
Gabe followed her with an armload of cooking gear in the early morning hours before dawn. None of it looked like anything he’d ever used in a kitchen, and he did know how to cook. If she’d brought all this in the first place, he wasn’t sure how she’d managed to carry it all and still see over it to walk. In hot stiletto heels no less. One of which was poking a hole in his side, still in his jacket pocket. Thing could’ve been a murder weapon.
“I figure it’s the least I could do since I did give you a bump to the head.” And didn’t he just feel like shit about that. Mostly because she hadn’t gotten mad at him in any way and it’d even been a scuffle getting her to let him carry the damned box. Not to mention how it’d taken him, his team and the paramedics combined to convince her to be seen by a doctor. She was a trooper, even after hours in the emergency room stressed and obviously not wanting to be there. “Besides, like you said earlier, I’m one of the best—personal security, private military contractor, pack mule.”
The laugh he hoped for wasn’t forthcoming, but she did glance back with a soft smile on her face. Ah well, he wasn’t much of a comedian anyway. Actually, he was shit for small talk.
He wondered if she’d realized she’d clung to him on the ride there in the ambulance or if she’d tucked herself against him instinctively as she came down from the shock. The woman wouldn’t have gone at all if he and Marc hadn’t backed up the paramedics with the recommendation to be checked over.
He hadn’t minded her soft little form pressed against his side, though. It’d been reassuring. She’d come pretty close to turning into road pizza and he was shouldering some guilt over not agreeing to listen to her in the first place.
His stomach churned as he considered it, another reason why he’d come home with her. A hunch. Anyone who’d known to wait for her on the street after the event would probably know other things about her too, like where she lived.
“A mild concussion is a small price to pay since things would’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t gotten me out of the way.” Maylin jiggled her key in the deadbolt before succeeding in turning it, then struggled similarly with the doorknob.
Deadbolt and lock on the doorknob. Good. Too many people were complacent in upscale apartment buildings like this one. Considering the location and the security, actual issues inside the building were most likely unusual, but the parking garage probably had its share of incidents. No live security and not enough camera coverage.