Danger Next Door (Red Stone Security Series) by Katie Reus Page B

some audible answers.”
    Belle pushed out a long sigh. “I’m…fine.” Her breath hitched once. “When I saw you I guess I lost it. I’m so sorry. I’m officially the worst neighbor ever.”
    Frowning, he reached out and pulled her into a gentle hug, resting his chin on her head. He was just glad she was all right. Her hair smelled like chlorine and something fruity. “Honey, you have nothing to be sorry for. Some asshole attacked you in the middle of the day. There’s no way any of us could have seen this coming.” He refrained from giving her hell about going outside. It would be cruel and unnecessary considering what she’d already suffered.
    She rubbed her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. When she did, the blanket that had been barely hanging on pooled at her feet. He wanted to make a grab for it, but didn’t want to take his arms away from her. Gently he rubbed her back until she eventually stepped away, sniffling but not crying.
    With strength he didn’t realize he had, he kept his gaze averted from her mostly bare body. Looking over at his king-sized bed—which actually made things worse because all he could think about was her stretched out on it, completely naked and his face between her legs—he rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m going downstairs to talk to Carlito and get everyone cleared out of here. You’re sure you’re okay to take a shower on your own?”
    “I’m good, I promise. Just sore, but that’s okay,” she said softly.
    Throat tight, he nodded once then let himself out. He’d never experienced such raw terror in his life. He and Belle had just started getting to know one another. She was gorgeous, sure, but she was so sweet and funny. Imagining a world without her in it was impossible. He grabbed the door handle, not wanting to leave her, but when he heard the shower start he froze. The image of her completely naked was too much for his brain to handle. After getting his breathing under control, he headed downstairs.
    One thing was clear. Whoever had attacked Belle hadn’t picked her randomly. And the fact that her attacker had come after her in the middle of the day said a lot about his arrogance and his intent to kill her.
    Grant had officially taken a job at Red Stone Security today after ironing out all the details with his father and brother, Harrison. Now he knew what his first job would be. Belle might not be a dignitary or have any political pull and definitely wasn’t their normal type of client, but until they figured out who was after her, she was officially under his protection. Whether she liked it or not.
    That wasn’t why he’d left Belle today though. His brother Harrison had needed to talk. Grant had never heard his brother sound so damn desperate but something was going on with him and his new wife, Mara, so Grant had gone to talk things out with him. Dealing with his new job stuff had been secondary and now he hated that he’d been gone when he should have been watching a woman who was starting to mean way too much to him.

Chapter 5
    Belle stared almost blindly at the row of feminine products. While she’d been a little leery of leaving the house only two days after her attack she’d realized it was the best thing for her sanity. She started back to work the upcoming weekend and needed a sense of normalcy in her life before then. Plus she was not sending Grant inside the grocery store to buy her tampons.
    He’d been a little edgy about her going into the store by herself, but he’d dropped her off right at the front and it was the middle of the freaking day. Well, that didn’t mean much anymore considering someone had tried to drown her during daylight hours, but at least here she was surrounded by a ton of people.
    When she spotted her normal brand, she grabbed the pink box and tossed it into her basket. While she was here she might as well pick up some chocolate too. Her refrigerator was nearly empty but she always had to