think this is funny?”
“Hey, Montana,” his partner called out. Montana, who Markie had been referring to as Kojak, turned away to respond to his partner.
Montana turned his attention back to her and said, “I could bring you in, you know. You were reported driving a stolen car earlier.”
“Which was deemed to be false. You can arrest me if you like and I’d tell you the same thing at the station that I’m telling you now. You’ll just be wasting your time and mine.”
They had a staring contest to see which one would back down first and she probably would have fallen over if Beck wasn’t behind her holding her up.
“Better put some ice on that eye,” Montana said and marched off to talk to his partner.
The pickup may have missed her, but she felt like something had run over her. She pulled away from Beck and headed toward her SUV. She was about to cross the street when he called after her.
Markie stopped and hung her head, not trusting herself to turn around. She swallowed hard and waited for Beck to catch up to her. She slowly turned around to face him.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
He was all touchy feely again. The back of his hand swept along her jaw slowly and instead of pulling away as she should have, she stood there under the streetlight and laid her head on his shoulder. Just this once she thought…just this once. She allowed him to hold her as she listened to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat while his hand gently caressed her back.
Just this once, she would give in and lean on someone and not be afraid that they would walk away. And she did. Forgetting about the chaos around her, she slipped her arms around his waist and held on. He was warm, strong and just what she needed.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
His voice shattered the delicate balance of peace she found in his arms and she stiffened. The world around her was once again alive with the reality of what had just happened and the destruction it had caused. Smoke from a damaged car curled into the air, a woman crying pinned under debris, blue and white lights flashing…chaos. And she was at the center of it.
“No. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said when his hand tilted her chin upwards and she met his eyes.
When Markie got home half an hour later, she was still hurting. Every muscle in her body ached. After a long hot shower, she took two ibuprofens and climbed into bed.
For the first time in a long while she wished she had someone lying next to her, holding her, telling her everything would be okay and that Sydney was all right. Beck came to mind and she closed her eyes, remembering how it felt when he held her. With that thought, she fell asleep.
• • •
Exhausted and wired, Beck punched in the security code to enter his condo. All he could think about was Marklynn as he entered the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
Beck wondered if she’d gotten home okay. He actually entertained the idea of calling her but decided against it. It didn’t seem like she relied on anyone and would probably interpret his concern as an intrusion.
She could have been killed and that didn’t sit well with him at all. There were many unanswered questions regarding the security breach that plagued him at his company. His team was working around the clock to find answers.
Tonight more questions surfaced. Like, did the attempt on Marklynn’s life have anything to do with what was going on at his company? And if it did, why was she targeted? How was Sydney involved? Was she working with the hackers?
Opening the water bottle, he looked beyond the stone countertop towards the living room. The large white sectional sofa spanned two walls. Behind the sofa were wall-to-wall arched windows with a view that stretched across the city.
Two Greek columns marked the entrance of the dining area and stood proud from floor to ceiling. A large glass table with eight white leather high back
“Hey, Montana,” his partner called out. Montana, who Markie had been referring to as Kojak, turned away to respond to his partner.
Montana turned his attention back to her and said, “I could bring you in, you know. You were reported driving a stolen car earlier.”
“Which was deemed to be false. You can arrest me if you like and I’d tell you the same thing at the station that I’m telling you now. You’ll just be wasting your time and mine.”
They had a staring contest to see which one would back down first and she probably would have fallen over if Beck wasn’t behind her holding her up.
“Better put some ice on that eye,” Montana said and marched off to talk to his partner.
The pickup may have missed her, but she felt like something had run over her. She pulled away from Beck and headed toward her SUV. She was about to cross the street when he called after her.
Markie stopped and hung her head, not trusting herself to turn around. She swallowed hard and waited for Beck to catch up to her. She slowly turned around to face him.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
He was all touchy feely again. The back of his hand swept along her jaw slowly and instead of pulling away as she should have, she stood there under the streetlight and laid her head on his shoulder. Just this once she thought…just this once. She allowed him to hold her as she listened to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat while his hand gently caressed her back.
Just this once, she would give in and lean on someone and not be afraid that they would walk away. And she did. Forgetting about the chaos around her, she slipped her arms around his waist and held on. He was warm, strong and just what she needed.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
His voice shattered the delicate balance of peace she found in his arms and she stiffened. The world around her was once again alive with the reality of what had just happened and the destruction it had caused. Smoke from a damaged car curled into the air, a woman crying pinned under debris, blue and white lights flashing…chaos. And she was at the center of it.
“No. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said when his hand tilted her chin upwards and she met his eyes.
When Markie got home half an hour later, she was still hurting. Every muscle in her body ached. After a long hot shower, she took two ibuprofens and climbed into bed.
For the first time in a long while she wished she had someone lying next to her, holding her, telling her everything would be okay and that Sydney was all right. Beck came to mind and she closed her eyes, remembering how it felt when he held her. With that thought, she fell asleep.
• • •
Exhausted and wired, Beck punched in the security code to enter his condo. All he could think about was Marklynn as he entered the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
Beck wondered if she’d gotten home okay. He actually entertained the idea of calling her but decided against it. It didn’t seem like she relied on anyone and would probably interpret his concern as an intrusion.
She could have been killed and that didn’t sit well with him at all. There were many unanswered questions regarding the security breach that plagued him at his company. His team was working around the clock to find answers.
Tonight more questions surfaced. Like, did the attempt on Marklynn’s life have anything to do with what was going on at his company? And if it did, why was she targeted? How was Sydney involved? Was she working with the hackers?
Opening the water bottle, he looked beyond the stone countertop towards the living room. The large white sectional sofa spanned two walls. Behind the sofa were wall-to-wall arched windows with a view that stretched across the city.
Two Greek columns marked the entrance of the dining area and stood proud from floor to ceiling. A large glass table with eight white leather high back
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